International Orthodox Christian News

The itinerary of the festival includes a festive service in the church and a photo exhibition displaying frescoes from Ferapontov Monastery in Northwest Russia painted by 15th century icon-painter Dyonisius. The Russian church was built in the Southern Tirol region at the end of the 19th century, when the area was still part of the Austria-Hungarian empire.Merano, a resort with a very mild climate, attracted many Russians at the time.A private charity foundation of Russian residents of Merano was set up in 1875 and the St Nicholas’s Church was consecrated in 1884.

It was located in the basement floor at first and was later moved to the upper story of a two-story house, crowned with the Russian dome.The consecration ceremony took place December 15, 1897, a few days before the day of veneration of the church’s patron. The church stayed open until the beginning of World War I, in which Russian and Austria-Hungary fought on opposite sides of the front.The period of oblivion lasted through to 1991 when rare services – once or twice a year -- started in it. In 2002, the first Russian Orthodox community reporting to Moscow Patriarchate was registered in Merano and the services became more frequent.