While Orthodox and Catholics around the world celebrated yesterday the “Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy,” Russian and Ukrainian expatriates in Nice prayed together in the Russian Cathedral of Nice.
Eighteen days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was time for the faithful to celebrate the restoration of the veneration of icons within the Church, a festival established in 843.
According to our colleagues from Nice-Matin and Le Monde who were present on site, the tension outside the cathedral was more than palpable… Indeed, a few days earlier, death threats had been made against its faithful, an intimidation taken very seriously by the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, which ordered the local pro-Ukraine demonstrators to postpone their gathering.
The rector of the basilica also called for caution, and many police cars patrolled the vicinity of the event.
“Two rooms, two atmospheres”
Inside the building, a completely different atmosphere prevailed. Archpriest Eliseev did not fail to remind that peace and unity were part of Christian duties. Despite their opposing opinions, the Russian and Ukrainian faithful ended up praying together.
