SW News: The history of Christianity is peppered with efforts to wipe out the faith but each time the Church has risen from its ashes with renewed zeal. Russia is a case in point where the Soviets once declared that God is dead and brutally tried to erase Christianity. But history proved otherwise. The citadel of communism has fallen and the faith once again thrives. Christian circles in the country are abuzz with news regarding an underwater exploration to examine the conditions of a historic monastery that was submerged a century ago. It is the monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God of St Paisij that was sunken by the Soviets as they undertook a hydroelectric project across the Volga River in Uglic.

Believers view the exploration as an act of providence as there are chances that the monastery could be restored to its former glory someday. The exploration got underway on November 15 and it is being spearheaded by the Regional Department of Economic Development of the Jarslavl in northern Russia with the blessings of the bishop of Pereslavl and Uglic. Professional divers, civil defense members and historians are part of the underwater exploration.

The historic complex was flooded as part of the systematic implementation of atheism by destroying churches and monasteries. During the late 1930s, when the Soviet Union was led by dictator Joseph Stalin, he ordered parts of the monastery to be demolished and its stones to be used to construct the hydroelectric plant.

The monastery was built by St Paisij in the middle of the 15th century and he was commissioned by his spiritual father and uncle Makarij of Kaljazin. Uglic was one of the most prominent spiritual centers in Russia and the monastery was one of the first stone structures in the city. The monastery helped revive the faith in that region that was under Muslim Tatar rule for two centuries.

The monastery church is so big that it can easily accommodate 2,000 worshippers and its walls contain several priceless murals painted by celebrated iconographer Andrei Rublev.

As reported by Asia News, the head of the exploration project Dmitry Sirgaev championed the cause of the sunken monastery in order to pass on the legacy and history of Uglic to the next generation. In his opinion, the spiritual influence of the place is immense given the role of St Paisij in reanimating the faith. Local people believe that his relics are still lying in the monastery below the reservoir. There are also reports of the sound of bells ringing now and then. A local expert on the region’s history Viktor Erokhin is helping the explorers with old topographical maps and plans of the monastery before it was submerged. He said that there are chances of one of the golden crosses being discovered.