Moscow Kazan Cathedral: Russian Orthodox Service

2016-06-20 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Exterior of a Russian Orthodox church with red brick and white decorations

People walking on a bridge with Moscow city buildings visible in the distance — Along with the Communist Party rally, a marathon is also taking place. It's a busy weekend in Moscow in many ways.

~~My posting time has changed again. This post is from the morning.~~

If you don't go inside the Kremlin and just stay in Red Square, you can see two Russian Orthodox buildings. One is St. Basil's Cathedral, which we've seen countless times while playing Tetris at the arcade. The other is Kazan Cathedral, which might be unfamiliar to Koreans, but there's one in every major city, much like Lenin statues. Since St. Basil's Cathedral was closed due to the rally, I went into Kazan Cathedral, which had its doors open. From the outside, it didn't look much different from a typical Russian Orthodox building. That makes sense because (as I learned later) the cathedral was repeatedly destroyed and restored, completely demolished by Stalin, and then newly rebuilt after the collapse of the Soviet Union. ~~Stop destroying it already...~~

Kazan Cathedral featuring golden domes and ornate decorations — Kazan Cathedral, which has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt countless times.

On the outside, it was just a pretty cathedral, but inside, I was incredibly lucky to catch a service in progress, giving me a great opportunity to compare it with other religions. A huge crowd of people completely filled the small chapel, all standing (Russian Orthodox churches don't have the long pews found in other churches). People who would be like pastors and evangelists in Korean Protestant churches, or priests in Roman Catholicism, were repeatedly preaching and leading the service. Watching the proceedings, it felt very similar to Roman Catholicism: the priest would chant something like Hallelujah and the believers would sing back in unison, and he would bless each person one by one while making the sign of the cross. (The saints are different, though.) The only things that felt truly different were the priest's long white beard and the lack of chairs. The outward appearance might seem completely different, but watching the actual service, they share so many similarities that you could almost consider them the same religion.

It's a mystery why they've been divided and fighting for such a long time.

Multiple bells visible through the arched windows of a church bell tower — Bell-ringing ceremony at Kazan Cathedral in Moscow

Expenses based on 1 person / might be for 2 people

Breakfast: Shashlik Plov 250RUB
Lunch: Mu-Mu 820RUB
Kremlin 500RUB
St. Basil's Cathedral for two people 700RUB
Dinner: Salad, bread, sauce 300RUB, Chicken 125RUB, Shashlik 126RUB, Ikra (caviar) 100RUB, Vodka 400RUB (my share 251RUB)

Total Expenses: 2,521RUB

Total Trip Expenses: 525,936 KRW + 21,012RUB + $53.16