Postcard from Bishkek

On Christmas Day – that is January 7th which would have been December 25th on the old Julian Calendar that the Orthodox Church still maintains whilst the rest of the world has adopted the Gregorian Calendar – as usual, I went with a couple of our staff to the Orthodox Cathedral.

Whilst I was waiting for Lisa to buy her candles before going in to the service, I started reading the many notices on the noticeboard by the gate … and one small notice low down at the bottom of the board caught my attention; announcing the opening of  a new Church Museum.

I turned to Tatiana and asked, “There’s a museum?”, to which she replied that it was new.  We looked around for it and found that it was closed … well it was a holiday … It was also a Monday and like most of the museums here in Kyrgyzstan, it is closed on Mondays.

So we made inquiries and an arrangement to come back during the week.  Then we got a phone call saying it would be better to go on Saturday morning at nine o’clock.

The reason for the change of plans became obvious when we learned that a new exposition was being mounted … Crosses and Icons: Metal art from the 18th and 19th Centuries.  Saturday was the first day and the opening ceremony was due to start when the museum opened at nine o’clock.

Saturday was epiphany, so there were lots of people at the Church … with long queues of people wanting to pay homage to the relics of Saint Matrona and Peter and Fevronia, but not many found their way up to the Museum, even though there were posters advertising the exhibition.  What was a bit more surprising was that there were few press even though they all the agencies had been been informed and invited.  That was a pity … but then, I suppose they will come on other days.

The museum is located on the second floor of the new building on the left of the main courtyard.  Up the stairs to the second floor, (first floor, English style), and the main door is opposite.   It’s not very big – just two rooms, but it is new and they are just beginning to build up a collection of the Russian Orthodox Church and its presence here in Central Asia.

It is the first such museum on Central Asia.  For many years the church in Kyrgyzstan fell under the authority of the Archbishop of Tashkent who, since the days of the Tsarist Empire, was responsible for the whole of Turkestan – the name given to this region.

In the collection there are a variety of books and photographs, documents, architectural drawings  of  the Cathedral here in Bishkek and a number of fine, (if somewhat weather worn), icons.  Opposite the main door, in pride of place as it were, is the Psalter and bozhemater, (Madonna and Child), icon used by Irakliy -  Kyrgyzstan’s own saint whose remains lie in the main hall of the Cathedral.

The Crosses and Icons exposition is in the second, larger, room and contains some examples borrowed from the collection belonging to the Raritet Museum which is part of the bookshop in the Dom Druzhba building.   They include a wide variety of artifacts, crosses and holy pictures (icons) cast in metal, Cossack badges, and medals.

In one of the cabinets is another book – with a red cover and four metal medallions.  It is a copy of the Gospels  dating from the 19th Century and used in services.  It’s in a poor state because it was used throughout the Soviet period when there were little or no facilities for its care.

Metal crosses and icons were used as devotional items.  They tended to small, and they would often be used by travelers, easily packed in their baggage.  On the other hand, many are handed down from generation to generation.

When the formalities of the opening were over, the small crowd walked around looking at the individual exhibits. The curator pulled out some interesting photographs and documents that were not part of the display … yet.

The museum is, to be honest, quite small but they are still acquiring material and I think it will not be long before they have to think of finding more space.  Tatiana and Lisa, for example, presented them with a couple of journals, Church calendars with photographs of Church dignitaries, and someone else donated a book.

 

This is only the first of several exhibitions  that are planned and I hope that news of the museum and the special expositions that they mount reach a wider audience.  It is worth a visit even though, as I said, it’s a small museum and also represents a special interest.  I’ll certainly suggest it as an addition for tour groups who ask for the church to be included on their itinerary.

 

Here is a gallery of some of the exhibits in the museum.

 

The Museum is open daily, (except Mondays), from 09:00 am until 04:00 pm on weekdays, and 01:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Crosses and Icons exhibition will be on display until March 1st.

Entrance is Free.

 

Tags: Bishkek, Religion