Under the Auspices of H.G. Bishop David
Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England
You are invited to
The 3rd Annual Trip
RUSSIA 2019
When: Friday 7/19 – Sunday 7/28, 2019
Price: $2,200 per person (Double Occupancy).
Text Fr. Andrew (203) 455-7447 for information about Airline reservation & Trip
H.G. Bishop David will Honor us during the Trip
To Reserve or for More information Please text
Father Andrew
203-455-7447
Checks should be Payable to “St. Peter & St. Andrew Church”
Attention: Father Andrew Awad
Address: 138 Evergreen Hill Road
Fairfield CT 06824
You can send payment through Venmo @Abouna
Please click here to register for the TRIP
Please find the recommended flight below. Please be aware when you reserve your ticket to chose multi-destination. Arriving at JFK to St. Petersburg and Departing from Moscow to JFK.
Please make sure to arrive at St. Petersburg international airport by 3 PM. If you arrive later you will need to plan your own ride to the hotel.
Day 1, Saturday, July 20, 2019 Meals: Dinner
Group arrives
Day 2, Sunday, July 21, 2019 Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Smolenskoye Cemetery where famous Russian Saint and heavenly patron of St. Petersburg, St. Xenia is buried. After our visit to Smolenskoye Cemetery we will explore SS. Peter and Paul Fortress that is located in the very heart of St. Petersburg. The day when the ground was broken to build this first stronghold in the newly regained Russian lands became the birthday of St. Petersburg. The main Cathedral of the fortress also serves as the Mausoleum of the Romanov Dynasty that ruled Russia for 300 years. After lunch we will travel to the Historical State Park “Peterhof” with its world-famous Golden Palace that is surrounded by a Park with arcades of golden fountains. We will finish our visit to Peterhof with a stop at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, an Orthodox Architectural Masterpiece build in Neo-Russian style. This church is also famous for an interesting ceramic iconostasis and rich decoration of the interior. Overnight in St. Petersburg
Day 3, Monday, July 22, 2019 Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
First visit today will be to the Cathedral dedicated to the Icon of our Lady of Kazan, thus known as Kazan Cathedral. At times it is referred to as a smaller Russian version of St. Peter’s in Vatican. It is the Bishop’s see of the city of St. Petersburg and the place where a miracle working copy of Icon of our Lady of Kazan is housed. Then we will visit splendidly decorated Cathedral of St. Isaac, one of the world’s largest domed Cathedrals. Never a parish church, it was built as a dedication to the Heavenly Patron of Peter the Great, St. Isaac of Dalmatia. The cathedral is very Western in style but adorned with truly Eastern lavishness. The panoramic view of St. Petersburg from its observation deck around the dome is truly magnificent. After lunch we will continue onto the State Hermitage, once the Winter Palace of the Russian Tsars, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of Fine Arts. Countless artifacts on exhibit cover the evolution of Art from the Neolithic time and Ancient Egypt up until the beginning of the 20th century. Overnight in St. Petersburg
Day 4, Tuesday, July 23, 2019:Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast we will visit State Historical Park “Tzarskoe Selo” (Tsar’s village), one of the summer residences of the Romanov dynasty with the splendid Catherine’s Summer Palace. Built in the second half of the 18th century, it represents the glory of Russia’s “Golden Age”. The interiors of the palace are fully restored after they were savagely destroyed during WWII. The amber room that was recently restored once again conquers the imagination of visitors. After Lunch on that day we also could visit one more architectural jewel of Russia, 18 century palace in Pavlovsk. It was built in 1780 by Catherine the Great personal architect, Charles Cameron in honor of the birth of Catherine’ grandson Alexander (the future Russian Tsar Alexander I). Emperor Paul and his wife will use this as their summer residence, and after the murder of Paul, it will become a permanent residence to his widow Empress Maria. Palace is surrounded by an English garden with multiple pavilions. The estate in Pavlovsk covers over a thousand hectares. Overnight in St. Petersburg
Day 5, Wednesday, July 24, 2019 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
In the morning we will visit famous “Savior of the Spilt Blood,” or Holy Resurrection Cathedral, that was built to commemorate Russian Tsar Alexander II who was mortally wounded on that very place by terrorists. Magnificent by all means, it is nicely decorated on the outside with tablets on which Tsar Alexander’s laws and orders are inscribed, along with the dates of the most important events that had taken place during his reign. The inside of the Cathedral is completely covered with mosaics. There are over 21 thousand square feet of mosaics inside and outside the Cathedral. We will continue our day with a boat cruise on the canals of the city that gave her nickname “The Venice of the North”. After lunch and just before the transfer to the train station we will visit one of the largest historical shopping centers in St. Petersburg known as “Gostiny Dvor”. It is an 18 century shopping mall, still fully operation and filled with the stores and items for all tastes. Transfer to the train station, transfer to Moscow (train ride is 3.5 to 4 hours). Arrival to Moscow. Check in and Dinner.
Day 6, Thursday, July 25, 2019 Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Our first stop today will be at the Sretenskiy Monastery on Lubyanka Square that wondrously combines venerable antiquity with magnificent modernity. From here we will transfer to Sergiev Posad, to visit the famous Holy Trinity Lavra (Monastery). The monastic settlement here was established by St. Sergius in the 14th century and became the single most important spiritual center of all of Russia. We will have time to explore the territory of the monastery with many churches and adjacent territory with a number of little shops. Overnight in Moscow.
Day 7, Friday, July 26, 2019 Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
We will start our day by a visit to Moscow Kremlin. Kremlin (kremlin is a general term used to describe strongly fortified central part of the Medieval Russian City). Moscow Kremlin is a true Pride of Russia. Among many other special attractions here we will visit Uspenskiy (Dormition) Cathedral, once the place of the installation of the Russian Patriarchs and Crowning of the Tsars. The Patriarch’s Palace contains some unique historical and ecclesiastic Artifacts. Visit to the Armory Yard (former arms storage, and now World-Famous Museum of the most exquisite historical and jewelry artifacts). After Lunch visit the Red Square – with its iconic “picture of Russia,” the famous Cathedral of St. Basil. Before returning to the hotel visit GUM, central department store of Moscow, located in a lavish building, right by the Red Square opposite Kremlin. Overnight in Moscow.
Day 8, Saturday, July 27, 2019 Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
In the morning we will visit the Tretyakov gallery that houses a very fine collection of Russian art from the 10th to the 20th centuries. In the attached museum church, we will see the miracle-working “patron” Icon of Russia, Our Lady of Vladimir. After lunch will visit the largest functioning Orthodox Church in the World, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This magnificent building was demolished in the 1930s and has been rebuilt in recent years, becoming a symbol of changes in the country and the resurrection of the religious life in all of Russia. Time permitting: stop at the Church store “Sofrino” for some “religious” shopping. Overnight in Moscow.
Day 9. Sunday, July 28, 2019 Meals: Breakfast
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport. Departure back home from Moscow.
Price includes:
- Centrally located hotels in St. Petersburg (****) and Moscow (*****)
- Comfortable motorcoach with A/C
- Group transfer from the airport in St. Petersburg & to the airport in Moscow
- 17 Meals (8 breakfasts, 7 lunches (3
course ) and 2 dinners (3course )) Train ride from St. Petersburg to Moscow- Boat ride on the Canals in St. Petersburg
Entry fees to the museums & churches as per itinerary:
- The State Hermitage, St. Isaac’s, Savior on Spilt Blood, Kazan Cathedral, Peterhof, Pushkin
and Pavlovsk State Park and Palaces in and near St. Petersburg - Moscow Kremlin, St. Basil’s, Tretyakov Gallery, Christ the Savior, Holy Trinity Lavra and Sretenskiy Monastery in and near Moscow
- Folk Show “Kostroma” in Moscow or similar folk show in St. Petersburg
- English speaking guides in St. Petersburg and Moscow
- Whisper sets
Price does NOT include:
- International Airfare
- Cancellation/Medical insurance
- Individual transfers from/to the airport
- Meals other than specified
- Beverages during meals (except water and tea or coffee)
- Optional/additional tours and/or extensions and associated entrance fees
- Entrance to temporary exhibits … or to any exhibits that cost extra to the general museum fee
- Porterage, gratuities* and extras
- Optional Extensions
- It is customary for the tour participants to tip, on a personal basis, the tour escort, driver and local guides based on the satisfaction of the services received. Please use the following as a guideline:
- Driver: 2USD per person/per day.
- Local guides: 3USD per person/per day
