Day 1 - Saturday, May 24, 2008.
Group arrives in Moscow. Dinner, orientation session and transfer to the hotel for o/n.

Day 2 - Sunday, May 25, 2008.
We will start our day with an introductory lecture by Irina Yazikova, professor of iconology at Kolomna Theological Seminary and Lecturer in Sacred Art at St. Philaret Theological University. Then we will continue to the magnificent Moscow Kremlin. While all of the cathedrals are interesting and significant for our exploration, special attention will be devoted to the Dormition Cathedral - important for its age and its role in Russian church and state history. It is also very important as a museum since it houses a very fine collection of the earliest Russian icons. After a short break for lunch we will visit the Red Square with its famous Cathedral of the Protection of the Theotokos, more famously known as St. Basil’s, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, rebuilt just 15 years ago and the Chapel of our Lady of Iveron. So is “Christ the Savior” Cathedral that is marked in all tour books as a “must see” attraction. It is indeed so. But few people know that, along with its mammoth glory, it contains some of the nicest modern icons in its lower church and a fascinating collection of Medieval Byzantine and Russian Icons in one of its galleries. 

Day 3 - Monday, May 26, 2008.
We will start our day with a visit to Novo-Spasskiy Monastery, another significant religious site in Moscow, adorned with an iconostas and frescoes from the 17th century and Andronikov Monastery, home to the second largest (and probably second best) collection of Russian Medieval Art. In the afternoon we will visit Novodevichiy Convent, with its magnificent iconostas and frescoes that are preserved undisturbed from the 17th century. We’ll end our day with a visit to Arbat Street for some book and souvenir shopping. For those who wish, a visit to the church of St. Simeon, one of the most perfectly restored medieval gems of Moscow, may be arranged. 

Day 4 - Tuesday, May 27, 2008.
After a morning visit to Visoko-Petrovskiy Monastery that serves as a wonderful example of the restoration where various styles of iconography are organically co-exist, we’ll tour the best icon collection in the world in Tretyakov gallery. We plan to spend several hours here. Later in the afternoon we will transfer some three hours east of Moscow to explore the city of Vladimir.

Day 5 - Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
This morning, we will explore the Medieval Russian Capital of Vladimir. Here, our plans are to visit Dormition Cathedral with some surviving frescoes by Andrei Rublev, St. Dimitry Cathedral with its fantastic stone bas-reliefs, Cathedral of Knyaginin Convent, with frescoes dating back to 1649 and the newly restored/rebuilt Bogoyavlenskiy Monastery. After the tour of Vladimir we will transfer for lunch to another important medieval city of Suzdal’. It is practically impossible to try to describe that miracle little town, doubtlessly the jewel of the Russian Golden Ring and of all Russia. Multiple churches and monasteries always leave something new to explore for an attentive visitor, no matter how many times you have been in Suzdal’. Here we will visit the Suzdal’ Kremlin with its fascinating Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos, built in 1220’s. Along with the cathedral we will see the collection of church artifacts and the icon museum in the former archbishop’s palace. The we will explore the architectural ensembles of Pokrovskiy (Protection) and Spaso-Ephymiev (St. Ephymius) Monasteries. The latter is especially famous for its magnificent cathedral adorned with splendid frescoes. Time permitting, we’ll try to visit the 12th century church of St. Boris and Gleb in Kideksha.  The church is rather small and is in a very humble state. But the curious visitor will have the joy of observing some 12th century frescoes – a rarity not only for Russia, but for most places worldwide.

Day 6 - Thursday, May 29, 2008.
Early in the morning we will transfer to Yuriev Pol’skiy, a small and for the most part neglected town that nevertheless has some spectacular sites to offer. We will explore St. George’s Cathedral (built in 1152), in age and quality of artistry rival to that of St. Dimitry in Vladimir; then  the Archangel Michael Monastery with its small, provincial, and perhaps due to that, even more precious museum.  After another short transfer we will continue our day with the exploration of Pereslavl’- Zalessky, the home town of the Russian Duke Alexander Nevsky. Here we will visit the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral (dated back to 1152-1157) and Goritsky Monastery (museum now) with its fascinating baroque cathedral and art museum with a collection of Russian icons. After lunch, we will travel west, back toward Moscow to the small town of Sergiev, famed for its astounding Holy Trinity Lavra that needs no introduction. Holy Trinity Lavra, being a functioning monastery for several hundred years, also became a museum under the open sky with lots for anyone to see. Its Holy Trinity Cathedral contains not only the relics of one of the most beloved Russian saints and Lavra’s founder – St. Sergius of Radonezh - but also has the only surviving intact iconostasis attributed to Andrei Rublev. The main church of Lavra, Dormition Cathedral strongly resembles the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, and has some fine icons and frescoes painted by masters from the city of Kostroma. After our visit to the monastery, we will visit a little church with a unique white stone iconostas with frescoes by Fr. Zenon. For overnight we will return to Pereslavl’

Day 7 - Friday, May 30, 2008.
After breakfast we will transfer to yet another “jewel” of the Golden Ring, the “fairy tale” city of Rostov the Great. Being small, it nevertheless fully lives up to its name “the Great” due to its stunning monuments – Kremlin, monasteries, churches and a museum full with ancient artistic treasures. After lunch at the restaurant in Rostov, we will depart for the city of Yaroslavl’, our home for next couple of nights. In Yaroslavl’ we will start the exploration of the fascinating architectural treasures of the city with a visit to the Holy Transfiguration Monastery on the city’s main square. Monastery was turned into museum some decades ago and became a perfect storage place for a fascinating collection of icons. The main Cathedral of the monastery is well worth a visit. At the end of the day an optional tour to the small town of Tutaev - one of many Volga’s jewels may be organized.  

Day 8 - Saturday, May 31, 2008.
Today we will continue the exploration of Yaroslavl’ – the greatest icon center of medieval Russia. Its artistic treasures easily can compete with those of Moscow and Novgorod. We will continue our tour with visits to some of the most famous churches that will give us a good overview of the history and splendor of the Yaroslavl’ fresco school. Among them: Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, St. Nicholas Church (“Nikoli Nadeina”), St. Elias (perhaps most famous of them all), ecclesiastical complex of St. John in Tolochkovo, and Church of the Holy Theophany. Later in the afternoon we will visit Tolga Monastery on the outskirts of the city, to honor, to admire and to adore the Tolga Icon of the Mother of God. We will have a brief tour of the monastery as well. There isn’t anyone who was not moved by the site of the efforts that the sisters made to bring this desecrated convent to its former glory.