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Southern Ohio Hosts Russian Priest
 Fr. Nikolai Aksenov Special to Episcopal Life Contributed by Beth Counseller March 2000 With God's help and with your help we have been able to refurbish our church in which here have been no services in 70 years. We are now standing on the foundation that was laid by Episcopal and Orthodox youth." Fr. Nikolai Aksenov, a Russian Orthodox priest from Sablino, Russia spoke these words of thanks to representatives of MVERN, the Miami Valley Episcopal Russian Network, during a visit to the Dayton, Ohio area in January. He was referring to a new church that is nearly completed thanks to financial assistance from MVERN and to the sweat equity of diocesan teenagers on a youth exchange program to Russia last summer. "On a dark rainy night in Sablino," he recalled, "I showed you the foundation of a church I would like to build. Since then, we have all performed a real miracle." Miracles seem to be MVERN’s M.O. The group is a consortium of twelve Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Southern Ohio that have formed a parish partnership with the St. Nicholas parish in Sablino, a community 30 miles from St. Petersburg. Organized by Chris Saunders of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Dayton, it has spent four years exchanging information, nurturing relationships and reciprocating visits of clergy, parishioners, teachers and young people between the two countries. Clothing, toys, computers, teaching and medical supplies have been collected and donated, and cultural and religious traditions have been explored. The partnership was initiated through FIPE, the Foundation for International Professional Exchange, which is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization that has worked within the former Soviet Union for ten years. FIPE's Vice-President for that region and for Europe, Dr. Igor Tolochin, is a professor of English at the University of St. Petersburg and accompanied Fr. Nikolai to Ohio to serve as his interpreter and to address the Dayton Council on World Affairs. The MVERN/St. Nicholas connection came at a critical time for the Russian Orthodox Church. During the 1990s, with the collapse of the communist regime, people were allowed to worship openly for the first time in seven decades. While this was liberating, it also meant that churches must be reclaimed and rebuilt. Many had been converted to garages, night clubs and museums by the communists, or had been dynamited into oblivion. St. Nicholas Church was one such casualty during Stalin's reign. Since the 44-year-old Fr. Nikolai has been rector, he conducts religious services in a tiny cemetery chapel. MVERN provided for the fundamental need of a bigger and more appropriate place to worship in Sablino. Now it is also helping Fr. Nikolai establish social outreach programs for his parishioners and members of the community. "The church was an outcast in the social life of Russia," the priest explained of the conditions under communism. "Outreach ministries were impossible and illegal. Now the position of the church has changed. New laws allow it to design and carry out Christian ministries such as programs in education, medicine, care of the homeless, of orphans and of the elderly. The church and the community are developing a new relationship." There is no prototype in Russia for this kind of cooperative relationship. The needy within the community, historically provided for by the communist state, no longer have any means of support. The religious community, while willing and well intentioned, does not have the funding to help them. "We are now free to do this," Fr. Nikolai said, "but it is difficult because ministries require financial support." The soft-spoken and determined Aksenov, whom Saunders affectionately describes as "a creative, imaginative, deeply spiritual man," is decisively on the cutting edge of this difficult social transformation. He initiated a prison ministry in the largest women's prison in Europe. In an unprecedented accomplishment, the persuasive priest received permission from the government to build a chapel within the prison compound. Primarily financed by MVERN, it has had a remarkable impact. "For many of these women," Fr. Nikolai commented, "this is the first time they have ever heard the word of God." He also ministers to an orphanage, which houses 80 children. With a monetary gift from MVERN, he purchased fabric and engaged the women prisoners in sewing new clothes for the children. He has plans to establish a community center, a halfway house, and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. He also envisions a Christian elementary school where released women prisoners will work with the children. "Many of these women want to break with their past and turn over a new leaf, “he explains. "But they have no opportunities." MVERN introduced the priest to several American social programs. Coordinated by Doris Miller of Christ Church, Dayton, and Teresa Virgint of Trinity Church, Troy, meetings and tours of facilities enabled Fr. Nikolai to gather information, observe the environments, talk with staff and interact with the people being assisted. Among his stops were soup kitchens, halfway houses, homeless shelters, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, Headstart programs and several schools. The priest's straightforward questions and perceptive observations indicated a quick grasp of the concept and logistics of each venue. Armed with this information, he will mobilize his local resources to implement Russian versions of these services. Information was not the only gift MVERN arranged. A successful Advent project, coordinated by The Rev. Deacon Art Good of St. James Church, Piqua, provided the parishioners of Sablino with enough money to purchase a sorely needed van to replace the small and unreliable car that Fr. Nikolai uses to shuttle his flock. The gift was presented in the guise of a toy model car and accompanied by an envelope bulging with $8000, enough to purchase a 1995 turbo-diesel Volkswagen van. MVERN had learned during this visit that the construction of St. Nicholas Church was stalled due to lack of funding. Within three days, the staggering amount of $10,000 was discreetly raised and given to a speechless Fr. Nikolai at his farewell party. His humble awe was understandable; during one evening he had been presented with almost eight times the annual income of his Russian parish. But the most important part of this parish partnership was articulated by Fr. Nikolai when he said, "I have not only visited a number of churches, schools and charities, I have talked with a lot of people. Such contacts destroy stereotypes and myths, which were forced on us for many decades, and are still being created by politicians and media. Our personal contacts are very important." Such warm, personal contacts during this visit included a Thanksgiving dinner that Teresa and John Virgint prepared; this holiday tradition is unknown in Russia. There was the Choral Vespers at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church celebrated in English, Greek and Old Slavonic as the vested Russian priest chanted with the Greek choir in his native tongue. Wanting to purchase shoes for his children while in America, Fr. Nikolai needed their sizes. Across Saunders’ fax late one night came the penned outlines of little Russian feet. There was the standing ovation given to Dr. Tolochin after his optimistic address on the Russian economy to the Dayton Council on World Affairs. He expressed his appreciation to his American friends for welcoming him into their lives so that "I no longer feel like a foreigner here." The priest and the professor were thrilled at the simple gifts of holiday fruitcakes, and they objected when their hosts offered to close the drapes to prevent the sun from shining in their eyes. "We do not see the sun very much in St. Petersburg at this time of year, “Tolochin explained. At one and two o'clock in the morning, Fr. Nikolai made phone calls to an alcoholic parishioner who had relapsed in the priest's absence. Across nine time zones and 6000 miles, his support and counsel was with her. A tile mosaic created by the youth group of St. Paul's parish, Dayton, represented their church and that of their Russian friends. A respectful Brittany King asked that it be blessed. Tolochin interpreted the blessing by saying, "Fr. Nikolai has sanctified the mosaic in the names of St. Paul and St. Nicholas." "This is a ministry that we have been called to," Saunders said in summary of these events. "We have been given gifts to share." From an ecumenical celebration to an American meal, from financial assistance to sunshine, the people of MVERN shared their gifts. In response, Fr. Nikolai said, "No matter how powerful or emotional my words are, they will not express what you have done. Thank you for the love you have shared with a small parish far away in Russia."
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