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Pilgrimage trip of the Zvenigorod deanery to the Butovo training groundtranslated

July 6, 2026 · 1 min read

On July 4, a pilgrim group from the Zvenigorod deanery visited the Butovo training ground on an excursion.

The pilgrims visited the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Butovo site, built in 2007. On the walls of the lower church, in an annual circle, there are icons of the glorified saints killed in Butovo, and the vaults of the upper church are decorated with frescoes describing the tragic pages of the history of our country.

At the worship cross, the dean of the Zvenigorod deanery district, priest Nikolai Kurenkov, and parishioners performed a prayer service for the Butovo new martyrs.

At the end of the excursion, after visiting the worship cross, the pilgrims were treated to delicious field porridge and tea.

Memorial Scientific and Educational Center "Butovo", - Butovo training ground, former special zone of the NKVD-FSB "Butovo", where in 1937-1938. More than 20 thousand people were shot and buried, of whom about a thousand suffered as confessors of the Orthodox faith, and more than three hundred people were glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as saints, including Hieromartyr Nikolai Rozanov (Zvenigorodsky), the last rector of the Ascension and Alexander Nevsky churches in Zvenigorod, who was shot in 1938.

Source: Site: Одинцовская епархия · Read the full story →

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Rebecca Davis

Thanks for sharing this. It's sobering to read that Fr Nicholas Rozanov from our own Zvenigorod churches was among those shot there in 1938. The field porridge at the end sounds like a simple touch that fits the day perfectly.

Олександр Коваль

Yes, it is interesting to know that Father Mykola Rozanov, our last abbot of the Ascension Church, is among them. It's good that the pilgrims prayed at the venerable cross and tasted that field porridge - after such a day, it must have tasted especially good.

Ion Nistor

Yes, I learned about Father Nikolay Rozanov from our Ascension Church for the first time. It's good that the pilgrims prayed at the cross precisely to him and the rest of the Butov martyrs. А полевая каша после такое дня — самое то, простая и по делу.

Тодор Кирилов

Yes, Father Nikolay Rozanov from our Ascension Church — this is ours, Zvenigorodsky. It's good that they prayed precisely at the cross and that after everything they treated them to the usual field porridge with tea, like on a fishing trip.

Красимира Колева

Yes, that's right, Father Nikolay Rozanov is ours, from Zvenigorod, and I always think of him when I pass by the old church. It's good that you prayed right there at the cross, and the field porridge afterwards is like a trip to the forest - simple and delicious. Have you ever been on such a pilgrimage, Todore?

Irina Dumitrescu

Yes, I also learned more about father Nicolae Rozanov only now, from this story. I thought it was nice that they prayed at that very cross with the whole group from Zvenigorod. Have you ever been to Butovo, Ion?