Vybuty, Russia, July 25, 2019
Photo: pskov.ru
Bell ringers from Russia, Belarus, and Latvia came together on Tuesday in the village of Vybuty to offer a concert in honor of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Olga. The concert was part of the first international bell ringing festival, held on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Pskov Province, reports the Pskov administration’s press service.
The idea for the festival belongs to Olga Gabova, the bell ringer for the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Pskov and was sponsored by the Pskov Metropolis and the Pskov city Department of Culture.
“I had previously taken part in bell ringing festivals held in Russia,” Gabova said, “but I really wanted to organize a similar event in our city.”
“Practically every Pskov church has a set of bells, and the ancient bell ringing traditions are gradually being revived, and that is why Pskov can and should become the capital of bell ringing festivals in modern Russia,” Gabova explained. “It is symbolic that the festival is happening this year on very important days for the Pskov people, pilgrims and tourists, when we remember the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. She was a native of the city of Pskov and that is why the festival is named in her honor.”
Photo: pskov.ru
On the feast of St. Olga yesterday, the participants in the festival held a cross procession to the Pskov Kremlin, accompanied by the festive ringing of the bells of the churches of Pskov.
Another bell concert then began at the bell tower of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Pskov, followed by an academic conference on the history of the bells of Pskov. Pskov became one of the largest centers of bell production in Russia in the 16th century, its craftsmen gaining fame far beyond the city limits, and bell towers became an integral part of the architectural ensembles of the Pskov churches.
According to the organizers, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has already given his blessing for the festival to be held twice a year in Pskov, during the Paschal celebrations and for the day of St. Olga.
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