Sweet-smelling bread and salt are what Russians give to those who arrive in this seemingly endless country stretching all the way from Europe to Asia, from the Arctic’s frozen seas to the Pacific Ocean. The wounds left by the history of the Soviet republic still sting: vivid memories of a socialism that attempted to cancel God, memories of the blood spilt by Christians faithful to their convictions. And yet, despite the apparently impenetrable and dark curtain surrounding this land, tourism by several focolarini, the arrival of a Hungarian family and meeting some priests in the West, helped Chiara Lubich’s spirituality spread silently through it. Today communities set alive by the spirituality exist beyond the Urals, in Siberia, at Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Divnogorsk and Krasnoyarsk.

Going again over the steps of this story, starting from the first contacts in the 70s of focolarini present in Eastern Germany with people from the then Soviet Union, we come to recent times. In May 2011, the whole of the community of the Movement gathered together from every corner of the land to welcome for the first time Focolare President Voce and Co-President Faletti to Moscow. There were 200 at the meeting. They came from places as far apart as St Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk, some even having travelled by train for 42 hours though 3,500 km of steppe and forest like those who came from Chelyabinsk.

‘When I arrived in Russia I found myself immersed in a deeper union with God and I remembered the expression “Holy Russia” that I heard when studying Russian literature. I felt carried along by this life of holiness that is in the air here in Russia as well as in its history of Christianity. And I understood that Russia’s gift to me and to the whole of humanity can be this holiness – thanks also to its martyrs of all denominations.”

What happened to the pioneers fascinates us even today. There were intriguing details to be learnt about secret rendezvous, but also memories of persecution. They were recounted by Oleg, a follower of Father Alexander Men. Men, who was assassinated by the regime in 1990, had founded a small Bible study communities that had tremendous ecumenical openness. They came into contact with the Focolare. At the meeting with Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti, others spoke of their discovery of a Gospel-based spirituality that goes beyond difference and diffidence between churches. Father Vladimir, a Russian Orthodox priest from St Petersburg, recalled how his ‘prejudices about Catholicism were cancelled by the beauty to be found in the spiritual life of the Focolare which knows no denominational boundaries and which incarnates Christianity and love for one another in daily life.’

Among the pioneers, there have been others who came from other lands to spend their strength, enthusiasm and intelligence here – like Eduardo Guedes, a Portuguese focolarino who passed away in January 2011. He was remembered by many with great affection. He was someone who, without preaching, gave humble witness to a God who does not abandon us or forget us, but who always welcomes both the disadvantaged and the powerful and who, in ‘Holy Russia’, deepens the desire for a modern kind of holiness, open to everyone. Regina Betz, a German focolarina, who lived in Moscow from 1990 until 2008, was also remembered tenderly for establishing true and lasting relationships with many people.

After the fall of the Soviet Regime, Russian society was in search of an identity. In this journey, the Movement’s way of acting was always appreciated, especially in the relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. At times, official representatives of the Patriarchate of Moscow took part in Focolare gatherings. Focolare co-president Giancarlo Faletti’s presence at the enthronement of Patriarch Kirill, in February 2009 was significant for the community of the Movement. Some members of Orthodox associations watched the ‘Together for Europe’ project with great interest, and have attended the event since 2004.

The majority of the Movement’s members in Moscow are Orthodox. There are many families, in a society where the institution of the family has suffered a great deal, and many young people, who know how to put their lives on the line for sake of the Gospel. One of them, Nina Vyazovetskaya, spoke in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, at the celebration commemorating the third anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death. She said: ‘I come from Moscow, and I belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. I am a doctor and I trained at the Moscow Hospital. I grew up in a family of unbelievers, as many people are in Russia. In 1990 they baptized me a bit “by accident” because, with the fall of Communism, there came a time of change and everyone was searching for something new. But after that day, I never went to church. Meeting the Focolare Movement was a turning point in my life. I met God and my life changed. In order to get to know Him, I turned to the focolarine, who are Catholics, and they brought me to my Orthodox church. This was how I began to discover the beauty and richness of the church, of the Christian life, of living for God. And now I have decided to follow God along the way of Chiara in the focolare.’

Visita the page dedicated to Russia in Focolare Worldwide