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These Russian Orthodox Nuns are all over the place with offering boxes. Here is one sitting at the entrance to the church with a couple of offering boxes. You can actually go and buy a prayer from her as she is sitting there reading.
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This summer, I've been trying to photograph many of the churches in Minsk, here is one of them, I'll post more as I go.
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This is a Russian Orthodox Church. It has 3 cross bars, top one symbolizes the Plaque placed over Jesus' head, Middle one is normal, and bottom one tradition states is almost like a balance for where Jesus was placing his feet, showing that one thief on one side was more righteous than the other and would be going to heaven.
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This is the Metro Stop for Lenin Square. You can notice that it is still called Lenin Square, and it still has the Communist symbol in the middle of the stop. After the fall of communism, this is one of the few countries that did not remove all traces of him, in fact, they still honor him. They are also the only country that still has an active KGB that did not undergo any changes after the fall. At first I didn't like this until I got it into PS and adjusted levels and shadows, now, it looks just like an old photo that I see in books here all the time espousing the quality of life here in Minsk.
Mike I am really enjoying seeing your photos of Minsk. Tghank you. Now what does it say at the bottom of your post??
Thanks, Mike, for educating us a bit on Minsk. Where is Minsk from Moscow? Or is it in one of the other former USSR countries. (Forgive my ignorance on the subject, please.)
Mike, this is so interesting. Thanks so much for showing us your part of the world.
Do you have freedom to preach the Word?
Marilyn: Signature says For God so loved the world (in Russian), I kept trying to put the whole verse in, but it kept cutting it off, so I had to settle for just those first words.
Pat: Yes and No. I have a missionary visa to live and work here. In the churches and in the Bible School, I have freedom. There are some restrictive laws here which make it difficult to be open and free on the streets.
Janet: Minsk is the capitol of the country of Belarus. It is one of the former Soviet Countries. It is a separate country from Russia. It is about 10-12 hours away from Moscow.
Mike, could you please put the whole verse here in a post with the reference and let me try to put it in your Signature?
I'd love to see it there.
Ибо так возлюбил Бог мир, что отдал Сына Своего Единородного, дабы всякий верующий в Него, не погиб, но имел жизнь вечную. Евангелие от Иоанна 3:16
That's what I tried, but after typing it in all the way, it would cut it back and truncate it. Don't know for sure why. This one I just copied and pasted from the web.
Mike have you noticed that John 3:16 is also my signature?
Mike I tried as Administrator and got the same results so I've posted on the Help site for this software and they are trying to figure it out. We might not be able to due to another language but I certainly hope we do get it figured out. Stay tuned.
Pat ~ Is it because you are allowed so many characters in your signature? That is what I am thinking.
Mike ~ These pictures are fabulous. I am learning about your country. Is there a website or a map of Belarus related to other countries in that area? I am a geograpy freak!!! I love maps and when I can locate areas on a map, I can relate to the people better. Just wondering. Also are you from the US of A originally? Where?