A Visit to Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Running head: A VISIT TO CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR
A VISIT TO CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1A VISIT TO CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR
Part I
Introduction
Christianity is the world's largest and widely practiced religion. Christ the Savior is
among the oldest and the famous cathedrals in the world. As a part of my assignment, I visited
this Russian Orthodox Church. This paper reflects the feelings, thoughts, fears, and assumptions
experienced during the visit by me. I belong to Sikh religion; thus, visit the church was a new
and unique experience for me. The expressions of Christianity was very unfamiliar to me, so
before the visit, I did some research about the orthodoxy. However, it was delightful and
amusing to learn about this religion.
Discussions
Overview of the church
Christ the Savior is an Orthodox Cathedral of Russia located in Toronto, Canada. The
architectural structure of the church is small, and it has completed its hundred years (Kounine,
2018). After World War II, many Russian settled in Toronto and visited the church. One of them
was Olga Alexandrovna, the Great Russian Emperor Nicholas II's sister. She purchased many
icons of the church out of which, the image of the Pochaev, the Mother of God was the famous
one (Kolega, 2019). This icon is very famous as the people offer prayers for healing in front of it.
A short description of thoughts running through mind while visiting the church and its
services
The people have faith that if a sick person does prayer in front of this icon, he or she is
heal very quickly. At the entrance of the church, one can feel the immediate sense of holy

2A VISIT TO CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR
reverence and respect. Everybody was in proper attire; especially the women were wearing the
headscarf to cover their heads. The people make the cross and bow sign while they enter the
sacred ground. The cross is their symbol. The interior wall contains various saints and biblical
characteristics. The environment inside was very peaceful and silent as the people were service
oriented and converse very less. The people were offering prayers solemnly in front of the Jesus
Christ idol. The priests and the people harmoniously performed the rites and rituals way. The
choir sound is incredible and gives a goose bump to the first time visitor. The feeling is
immensely majestic and depicts the magnificence of the holy place as a heavenly one. The
liturgy is silent, ritual and meditative; therefore, freedom of movement is restricted.
Unique features of Christianity and its acceptance by the followers
Christianity is unique, and several features are distinguishing it from other religions.
Firstly, the personification of God in Jesus Christ is a unique feature. They consider Christ as
their god and no leaders or founders in other religion made such claim in the world. Christianity
mentions that one God exists in three people and they are the Father (God himself), the son
(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Secondly, regeneration is a distinctive feature where
confessing sin is consider a universal sacrifice. Thirdly, the Bible is the holy book of the
Christians. It is not the collection of global stories but is a historically reliable book.
Learning experience by observing their service
By watching their service, one can feel the importance of a sacred place. The people
were, and there was silence all around. The environment was very peaceful as the people were
busy worshipping harmoniously. Nobody was communicating between himself and herself. By