Village libraries and parishes
welcome distribution

Some of the clergy who received Scriptures for their churches through Opportunity 21 stand in front of the Worship Cross, a 19th-century Christian monument. Altai Republic, Russian Federation. Photo: Bible Society in Russia (RUS02DJ-2)

NOVOSIBIRSK, Siberia, Russian Federation — In 1998, the Bible Society in Russia (BSR) began a project aimed at taking the Word of God to the remote communities of the Russian Federation, primarily in Siberia and the Far East. In its first two years, ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ provided more than 50,000 Scriptures for children and young people alone. Below, Alexei Bulatov, Director of the Siberian Branch of the Bible Society in Russia, reports on another trip staff made under the auspices of the O-21-funded project to the Altai Republic.

“Our trip to the Altai Republic last autumn was the second time we had been there. This time the party of travellers included staff from the Bible Society of Russia in Novosibirsk and Moscow, representatives of the Barnaul and Altai Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, and local Orthodox clergy. Our purpose was to distribute Christian literature to public libraries and Orthodox parishes in Altai.

Many people

Our first visit was to the library in a village called Ust-Muny, which is near Gorno-Altaisk. Tatiana Sargina, the librarian there, told us that many people had been asking her for religious literature.

“Unfortunately,” she said, “we have nothing to offer them. In recent times the Bible and Christianity were forbidden topics for reading or research and we don't get new books so even we ourselves don't know anything about it. Last year I begged a copy of the Children's Bible from the director of an orphanage in Manzherok village.”

It turned out that this book was one we left there during our trip through Altai last year! Ms Sargina asked us a lot of questions about the Bible, its history and content, and finally she promised us she would organize an exhibition of Christian books at the local community centre.

The most vivid impression we gained was during our visit to the library in a village called Verkh-Belo-Anu.

A few years ago the librarian, a native Altai called Galina Mardar, acquired an empty shop as premises for her library. She obtained a grant to buy new stock from the Pushkin’s Library project and the library now has a good range of periodicals and numerous stands on which new publications and topical selections of books are displayed. Moscow City Council helped her to arrange a trip for local children to the capital where they took part in the Kremlin’s New Year celebrations and saw many of the sights.

Now she and her husband are refurbishing a former warehouse as a conference hall where she plans to hold evenings of music and poetry. In addition to all this, she is constantly raising funds for the library.

Pro-active

The 1,000 roubles (over US$20) she has achieved so far is a lot to raise from an Altai village. We all agreed it was a real pleasure for us to help someone who is so pro-active.

At the request of Barnaul and Altai Diocese we gave some of our books to Orthodox parishes in Altai. With the Altai clergy we visited churches in Gorno-Altaisk, Maima, Ust-Muny, Kebezen, Balykcha, Chemal, Ust-Kan and Ust-Koksa. The priests received our literature with gratitude, saying it would help them in their mission and education work.

Revolution

Something else we did during the expedition was to re-establish the great Worship Cross at the south end of Teletskoe Lake. This was originally established in the 19th century by the ministers of the Altai Mission. As well as bringing the Gospel to the people of the region, the Mission brought improved agricultural methods, literacy and medicine. In the wake of the Revolution, however, the monument was destroyed. In 1999 members of the Makarian Fellowship, the successor to the Altai Mission, raised it again but later it was burned down. Now it stands restored once more

The last call we paid was to a village called Ust-Koksa, in the most famous region of Altai. One notable feature there is Belukha mountain, a sacred site for followers of many esoteric cults who are drawn there every year from all parts of the world.

Fire

For a few years Father Andrei Sukhovsky, a former psychiatrist from Moscow who is now the dean of the Church of Protection of the Holy Virgin in Ust-Koksa, has been constructing a small but very beautiful church building there.