June 1, 2016
Today, June 1, world famous Russian adventurer and Orthodox priest, Fedor Konyukhov, heads off to Australia where he’ll begin his around-the-world flight on a “Morton” hot air balloon. The priest shared some details about his upcoming trip the day before at a press conference held by the Russia Today news agency. On this dangerous flight he’ll be taking a reliquary cross with him that contains the relics of 60 saints and a particle of the Crown of Thorns and the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, reports Blagovest-info.
According to Fr. Fedor, the Morton balloon will be taking off in the West Australian desert between the 15th and 25th of June, and is expected to circumnavigate the world in approximately 15 days’ time. Together with its passenger it will overcome nearly 35,000 kilometers, flying about 5,000-10,000 meters above the ground at a speed of 240 kilometers per hour. The temperature outside the balloon will range from -40 to -60 degrees Celsius, while cabin temperature is expected to be maintained at a steady 3 to 5 degrees. “I won’t be able to drink neither coffee nor tea on board. To keep my food warm I’ll be heating it up on the balloon’s ventilator”, shared the priest, adding that during the flight he won’t get much chance to sleep either. The difference between this journey and Fr. Fedor’s previous around-the-world trips is that this time he’ll be seeing “nothing but stars at night and the Sun during the day. I’ve never experienced anything like this, I’m going to be flying above the clouds,” he explained.
Fr. Fedor also shared that during breaks between his risky journeys he’s busy building chapels. For instance, the day before the press conference he and his friends laid the foundation stone of a chapel dedicated to the Holy Martyr Varus near Pereslavl-Zalessky, while in the Tula region a chapel dedicated to the ancestor of the priest – Priestmartyr Nicholas Konyukhov – is already being built. Also, by the end of the flight, another chapel will have been built in a newly founded village. “This chapel will mark the beginning of a village named after Fyodor Konyukhov,” stated Nadezhda Eremina, a representative of the Pallada Eco company.
After the flight, Fr. Fedor intends to the lay the foundation of a church together with the Morton company, the main sponsor of his trip. The reliquary cross, given to the priest by one of his sponsors during a press conference, will take its place on the altar of the new church. As mentioned before, the cross contains more than 60 relics, including the relics of St. Mary of Egypt, St. Gregory the Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves, St. Fyodor Ushakov, and a particle of the Crown of Thorns and the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. As it turns out, Fr. Fedor himself took part in choosing which relics the cross would contain. The reliquary will accompany him throughout the entire flight.
The traveler was also given an icon of the Archangel Michael by representatives of the Archangel Michael Union of Patriotic Forces. The icon was written on Mt. Athos and was recently brought to the Optina Monastery. The donors of the icon assured that the monks of Optina will be praying for a successful outcome of the flight.
The press conference was attended also by representatives of other sponsor organizations wishing to participate in the preparation of the flight. They presented a pressure suit, special communications equipment, books written by Fr. Fedor, etc. When asked how he chooses his expedition partners, the priest replied that, basically, his sponsors are usually just friends that he’s well acquainted with. He also mentioned that the name “Morton” is close to him: “Morton is the name of the north wind, as the Pomors say. I’m a Pomor myself. When I first traveled to the Southern Hemisphere as a child, I dreamed of bringing an albatross back to Russia, because they aren’t able to fly across the equator. Now I’m only dreaming of how our Morton balloon itself could make it across to the opposite hemisphere”.
Alexander Ruchyev, the president of the Morton company, described the proposed flight as a “bold move”. “I hope that with God’s help, which accompanies Fr. Fedor in all his journeys, he’ll be able to accomplish this feat,” he said.
Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, Roman Skorry, sees Fr. Fedor as a “stimulus for promoting the Russian Deed”. “A halo surrounds a Russian man capable of doing the impossible. Fedor is a symbol of courage and perseverance, a promoter of the Russian brand ‘Russia in exploits’,” said the official.
