Russian Christian Association

"SAN VLADIMIR"
Via Carso, 9 – Po Box 67
96100 Siracusa (Italy)

  "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (Jn 17:23).

These words, pronounced by Christ before his death, lead to the creation of the Russian Christian Association "San Vladimir".

The deepest longing the Church has ever had is to look for common values and exchanges between Eastern and Western culture, in order to promote ecumenism. The biggest risk ecumenism is running is to be confined in a theoretical and doctrinal discourse in the hands of the hierarchy only. The Council, instead, would like lay people to collaborate in paving the way to Christian unity too. Then, each baptized person has the task of working hard in gathering all believers in Jesus Christ. Lay people have to take part in this task, working together with their separated brethren in order to establish peace, to enforce the Gospel, and "to relieve the afflictions of our times such as famine and natural disasters, illiteracy and poverty, housing shortage and the unequal distribution of wealth" (Unitatis redintegratio, 12).

"SAN VLADIMIR" ASSOCIATION, was founded in 1980. It promotes collaboration, love, charity and harmony, by means of pastoral activities in favour of the Eastern Church and Soviet Union in particular. Within the ecumenical movement, the members of the Association, who share with the Eastern world the veneration for the Virgin Mary, are really interested in Oriental culture. They ask for help from the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in order to fulfil the task of giving unity to the mystic body of the Church.

Working in Siracusa makes them even more responsible for communication between Eastern and Western Churches, because, " the Russian Church looks at Sicily as the natural bridge between East and West". (S. Dimsha, in The Weeping Madonna, official review of the Shrine "Our Lady of Tears" from Siracusa, January 1975, p.7).

It is not by chance that the Virgin spilt Her tears in this city. Her crying can be interpreted in many different ways; unlike Her apparitions in Lourdes and Fatima, Her tears do not convey a clear message.

Probably the reason of this silent message, of this mysterious crying, is "to give many answers to the question of why she cried", so that all the answers could be acceptable at the same range.

It is possible, then, that the Mother of Christ, as Mother of the Church, as Mother of all Christians, cried for the Russian Church’s sufferings as well, for the splitting and disagreement within the Church.

The members of the Association would like to cooperate for the realisation of ecumenism, making Pope Paul II’ s hope their own: "the Church can begin once more to breathe fully with her two lungs, the East and the West."

In order to understand the spirituality and the problems of this people, the members of the Association study Byzantine liturgy, Russian language and culture, iconographic art and visit expositions. Moreover, they send books about the roots of the Eastern faith (in the original language) to the Eastern people. Lately 20.000 copies of "The Russian Saints" by Kologrikov have been sent freely.

ICONOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION