Patronal feast in the Holy Cross Church in Kolomna 09/27/2026translated

On September 27, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the patronal feast day was celebrated in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kolomna. For this day, a unique mosaic Cross was made for the church on an oak base with an icon case made of ancient Karelian birch. At the end of the festive Divine Liturgy and religious procession, the rector of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in the city of Kolomna, Priest John Bakushkin, congratulated the parishioners, after which a tea party took place. On the eve of the holiday, an all-night vigil was held with the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. The cross is made using the Roman mosaic technique (micromosaic) - one of the most labor-intensive: the image is assembled from the smallest tesserae pieces. The micromosaic technique originated in the Vatican in the 16th century, when it was necessary to preserve the paintings of the great masters of St. Peter's Basilica. Vatican masters have kept the secret of Roman mosaics for centuries. In 1845, Emperor Nicholas I, amazed by the Roman mosaics in the Vatican, decided to replace the frescoes of St. Isaac's Cathedral with mosaics.

A mosaic workshop was created at the Academy of Arts, and Italian masters shared their secrets with their Russian colleagues. Today, such products are considered pieces of jewelry...