Lowell Bells Get Russian Farewell

July 24, 2007

Author: Anton S. Troianovski

Source: The Harvard Crimson

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=519373

MOSCOW—Lowell House's new bells got quite a send-off on Tuesday as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated them at a ceremony attended by the Moscow mayor, a crush of news media, and hundreds of believers.

Even though it will be a year until all of Lowell's current bells return to the Moscow monastery where they hung until 1930, officials hailed Tuesday's event as a milestone in the post-communist rebirth of the Orthodox Church.

"This is a special event that is connected with the return of not only our history and not only our memory, but with the return of all that which was always so valuable for our people: the return of our spirituality," said Moscow's longtime mayor, Yury Luzhkov.

A throng of worshippers gathered in the outdoor courtyard of the Danilov Monastery where the hour-long ceremony was held, standing on their toes to get a peek at their spiritual leader, Patriarch Alexy II, as he blessed the bells with incense and performed other Orthodox rites.