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Call me Belle of Visiting Pretty Church Buildings, as either a sightseer or attendee of a service or ceremony: in Italy and France, England, Poland, Germany and Austria, the Czech Republic and the USA.After I was asked to answer this question, I began purposely visiting churches just so I could provide an enhanced range of pictures of pretty church buildings to the list previously accrued.I will let the viewers decide which is prettiest for themselves. My answer can be found embedded in this gallery.I will post pictures of some of the churches that I have visited that might qualify for prettiest.All are a feast for the eyes.Get ready to scroll!Note: I had to grab a few pics from the internet for some churches. All are acknowledged.The first three pictures are of a church in Swidnica, Poland. It is the largest, Baroque, wooden church structure in Europe. Built in 1672 under limited conditions being that it is a Lutheran church, the Habsburg monarchy gave the builders one year to complete the construction. What a work of art. It is very, very pretty.It is listed on Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. Churches of Peace in Jawor and ŚwidnicaChurch of Peace (Kościół Pokoju), Świdnica, PolandPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Front entrance, Church of Peace, Swidnica, PolandPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Balcony and organ, Church of Peace, Swidnica, PolandPhotos source: Michele Shipley Klika, ceiling view, Church of Peace, Swidnica, PolandAnother pretty church that I have visited is the Pilgrimage Church of St. John Nepomuk at Zelená Hora, (kostel sv. Jana Nepomuckého), completed in 1727, in Bohemia near Moravia, now the Czech Republic. What an unusually shaped church. It made Unesco’s World Heritage list in 2009. Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená HoraIt is a very, very pretty church building, both outside and inside. Maybe it should be called “gorgeous.”Photo source: Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora Pilgrimage Church of St. John Nepomuk, Zelená Hora in the Czech Republic/CzechiaPhoto source: Zelená hora začíná sezonu velikonočními prohlídkami, Pilgrimage Church of St. John Nepomuk, Zelená Hora in the Czech Republic/CzechiaNext on my list of prettiest church buildings are cathedrals, which are incredible works of art coupled with a feat of amazing human effort and tenacity, usually taking more than 100 years to complete. I have been to Notre Dame in Paris, St. Stephen’s in Vienna Exploring St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna | PlanetWare , St. Paul’s in London St Paul's Cathedral, St. Vitus at the Prague Castle complex St. Vitus Cathedral - Prague Castle for visitors, and The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. See Photos of the National Cathedral in Washington, DCTheir immense size and attention to architectural detail are bound to knock our socks off and hopefully rouse awe for the One who inspired those who built such structures.All cathedrals can vie for prettiest.Notre Dame, listed on Unesco’s World Heritage site, left a big impression on me during my visit there in 1980. A couple photos are deserved. Construction on Notre Dame began in 1163 and lasted 170 years. Notre-Dame de ParisPhoto source: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris et son trésor - Paris tourist office Notre Dame, Paris, FrancePhoto source: The Best Cathedrals In Paris | Beautiful Parisian Churches Notre Dame, Paris, FranceI have to include a couple photos of St. Stephen’s in Vienna, Austria. The original structure from the 13th century was bombed nearly to destruction during World War II, but has been restored and wow! is it ever pretty.Photo Source: Exploring St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna | PlanetWareLook at how elaborately it is decorated on the interior.Photo Source: Exploring St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna | PlanetWareFor comparison, check out gothic St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic. Construction began in 1344.Photo source: St. Vitus Cathedral - Prague Castle for visitorsPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Front entrance façade, St. Vitus Cathedral, PragueElegant, gothic vaulted ceilings are the something that make this structure grand and makes me catch my breath each time I see it.Photo source: St. Vitus Cathedral - Prague Castle for visitors balcony viewPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika eye-level view of the nave, bay, transep, chancel and ambulatory, St. Vitus Cathedral, PraguePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika view of rose window, St. Vitus Cathedral, PraguePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika side chapel, St. Vitus Cathedral, PragueAnd St. Paul’s in London, dating from the late 17th century, is too pretty to be left out of this cascading gallery.Photo Source: St Paul's CathedralPhoto source: St Paul's CathedralOn to basilicas, both enormous and small.In Europe, these dot the countryside like villages dot a map. Even the most humble are beautifully adorned on the inside.I have been to big names such as Sacre Coeur in Paris and St. Peter’s in Rome.Following are a few photos from jaunts in the Czech Republic.Church of the Holiest Trinity (Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice) is situated in the small town of Chýnov in Southern Bohemia. It was built on the site of a fortress which dates back to the late 10th century. The church itself in its present form dates from the late 17th century, while the striking clock tower with the onion-style dome is from the early 18th century. (Information: translated from a church brochure.)Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Holiest Trinity, Chýnov, Southern BohemiaPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Holiest Trinity, Chýnov, Southern BohemiaThe next church building is one of two Gothic found in Jindrichuv Hradec, also in Southern Bohemia. I only was able to visit one, the Church of St John the Baptist (Kostel Sv. Jana Křtitel). The beginnings of the church date from the mid-13th century. It isn’t the prettiest on the outside, but this is offset by its beautiful gothic interior.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St John the Baptist, Jindrichův HradecPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St John the Baptist, Jindrichův HradecI am including a photo of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the Mount (kostel Proměnění Páně na hoře), on the main square in Tábor, southern Bohemia, built in the 15th and 16th century. I will point out here how frequently a clock tower appears next to a church. I would also like to mention that Tábor is historically important to the Protestant Reformation as the Hussite movement operated from this city. Hint: Visiting this city is worth the time if one is visiting Bohemia.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the Mount, on Žižkov Square, Tábor, southern BohemiaPhoto Source: Tábor interior, Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the Mount, on Žižkov Square, Tábor, southern BohemiaHere is another gothic jewel from southern Bohemia, in Soběslav, Church of St. Vitus (kostel Sv. Víta), founded in 1375. I have to admit, I am most fond of gothic church buildings. I love the elongated, tall windows and the vaulted ceilings inside.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Vitus, SoběslavDue to renovations, a peek inside was all that was available. It is a simple church, but disarmingly fetching. I secretly like this pretty church the best.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Vitus, SoběslavWe visited an early gothic church from the 13th century, Church of St. Peter and Paul ( kostel Sv. Petra a Pavla) in Soběslav as well. The church was burned by Hussites, and restored in 1485. During our visit, the sanctuary was not open to visitors due to much-needed renovations, even for a peek, but the clock tower was. We went up that in what turned out to be a terrifying climb. I have a picture of the view from above to prove that I braved hoisting myself up all those stairs.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Kostel Sv. Petra a Pavla, (Church of St. Peter and Paul), in SoběslavPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika view of lower Soběslav from the clock tower of St. Peter and Paul church.Photo Source: Římskokatolická farnost Soběslav – Wikipedie Church of St. Peter and Paul, in SoběslavWe also visited the Baroque Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Klokot Monastery, (kostel Nanebezvetí Panny Marie, Klokotý klášter) in Tábor, the Czech Republic. Construction took place from 1701 to 1730. Now this is a very, very pretty church building, inside and out.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Klokot monastery in TáborPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika. Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Klokot monastery in TáborSome restoration is in progress on the mosaic.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Klokot monastery in TáborPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Klokot monastery in TáborHere is an example of an early Baroque basilica, under construction from 1642-66, originally part of an Augustinian convent, Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary (kostel Narození Panny Marie), in Tábor, lower Bohemia.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, in Tábor, lower Bohemia.I always feel a rush when the church is open and I can slip in and take a quick snap. This is an example of one of those times.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, in Tábor, lower Bohemia.This late Baroque period church, Church of St. Wenceslas in Srbská Kamenice (kostel sv. Vácala v Srbské Kamenici), under construction from 1772–1776, is located in the teeny, tiny village of Srbská Kamenice (pop. 266), in a region of the Czech Republic/Czechia known as Czech Saxony Switzerland. First mention of the parish is from 1352.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Wenceslas in Srbská KamenicePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Wenceslas in Srbská KamenicePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika view from the vestibule, Church of St. Wenceslas in Srbská KamenicePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Wenceslas in Srbská KameniceStone empire-style Church of St. Wenceslas the Martyr (kostel Sv. Václava, mučeníka), in Harrachov, was completed in 1828. The original structure on this site was a wooden chapel built in the early 1700s.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Wenceslas the Martyr, in Harrachov, visited August 2018Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Wenceslas the Martyr, in HarrachovGothic debutante, Church of Our Lady of the Snows (kostel Panny Marie Sněžné), Prague, is nestled in a small courtyard, near miniscule Jungmann Square. I had never noticed this church in all my years of visiting the grand city and its spectacular center. The building looked semi-small and unobtrusive from the outside.And then you step inside and your eyes go flying out of their sockets. Incredible stuff! The original building, notably larger, was mostly destroyed during the Hussite wars. The church which now stands was modified in the second half of the 17th century.Michele Shipley Klika Church of Our Lady of the Snows, PragueMichele Shipley Klika view from Jungmann square, Church of Our Lady of the Snows, PragueMichele Shipley Klika the arch and the vault, Church of Our Lady of the Snows, PragueMichele Shipley Klika the vault, Church of Our Lady of the Snows, PraguePhoto source: Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné, Church of Our Lady of the Snows, PragueThe church along with a monastery of the Carmelite order was founded in 1347 on the occasion of the coronation of Charles IV and his wife Blanche of Valois. The Carmelites were a mendicant order since 1245, which meant that they were not allowed to own any land. They therefore had no sources for building the church. Charles IV donated them a large plot, which they could partly rent, and the wood which had been used to build his coronation hall. This, along with contributions from the citizens of Prague, was enough to construct the currently visible part of the building. The construction of the church was delayed because of the problems with funds. Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Prague) - WikipediaThis pretty early Baroque Church of St. James the Greater (kostel Sv. Jakuba většího,) to the northeast of Prague, in Jičín, is quite impressive in the impressive town of Jičín. The church cornerstone was laid in 1627.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. James the Greater, JičínSource: Michele Shipley Klika - Church of St. James the Greater, JičínA beautiful town north of Prague, Roudnice nad Labem is home to Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary (kostel Narození Panny Marie), founded in 1333 as an Augustinian convent. It is another gothic wonder, especially on the inside.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, Roudnice nad LabemPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, Roudnice nad LabemPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, view from the street, Roudnice nad labemPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of the birth of the Virgin MaryPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Christmas trees of 2018 flank the altar, Church of the birth of the Virgin Mary, photo taken early January, 2019Mělník, a short drive north of Prague, is a city where the Elbe and the Moldau/Vltava rivers meet and Gothic Church of St. Peter and Paul (kostel sv. Petra a Pavla) sits above, next to the chateau, overlooking the rivers. The church is not the prettiest on the outside but it gets high marks for the interior. The parish is first mentioned in 1172, with construction of the main presbytery beginning in 1380.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Peter and Paul, MělníkPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Peter and Paul, MělníkPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Peter and Paul, MělníkPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika (kostel sv. Petra a Pavla), Church of St. Peter and Paul, Mělník, still decorated after Christmas 2018, photo taken early January 2019Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika (kostel sv. Petra a Pavla), Church of St. Peter and Paul, Mělník, still decorated after Christmas 2018, my husband and I sit in on Mass in early January 2019.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika (kostel sv. Petra a Pavla), Church of St. Peter and Paul, Mělník, still decorated early January 2019 after ChristmasI have visited a few churches for the midnight Christmas mass or because a special speaker was going to be there. Here are a few churches from those times.The Church of St. Ludmila (kostel Sv. Ludmily) is a landmark in the small village of Tetín. It just celebrated the 1100th anniversary of Saint Ludmila in 2018. The Baroque style building dates from the 1680s.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Ludmila, TetínPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika. Church of St. Ludmila, Tetín, our choir is preparing to sing for the annual children’s Christmas service. Photo taken 24th December 2018.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika children's Christmas Eve service, December 24, 2019, Church of St. Ludmila, Tetín, - services are well attendedThis is Baroque Church of St. Vojtěch (kostel svatého Vojtěcha) construction completed 1733, in Počaply, Králův Dvůr (pop. 1000). Perched on a prominent hill, it is quite visible from the highway between Zdice and Kralův Dvůr. I love the way it looks. We visited this church in 2014 to hear a priest from India who is serving at an orphanage in Africa speak.Photo source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Vojtěch, PočaplyPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Vojtěch, PočaplyKostel sv. Vojtěcha v Počaplech je mistrovským dílem K.I.Dientzenhofera Church of St. Vojtěch, PočaplyThe Church of St. James the Greater (kostel sv. Jakuba Většího) in Beroun (pop. 19,000), looks rather daunting on the outside, but it doesn’t hold so many people on the inside, and it is COLD in the winter. I used to sing with the St. James choir for Christmas Mass, and attended a friend’s baptism on Green Thursday several years ago. The original church was founded in the 13th century but several fires in 1736 opened the way for reconstructions that led to its present baroque features.Photo Source: File:Beroun, kostel sv. Jakuba - 2.jpg Church of St. James the Greater, Beroun, view of the gothic apse and baroque clock tower from the exteriorPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika. Church of St. James the Greater, Beroun, entrancePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika vault and view of altar and apse, Church of St. James the Greater, BerounPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika apse and altar, Church of St. James the Greater, BerounAnother Gothic beauty, Church of St. Mary Magdalene (kostel sv. Maří Magdaleny) in Sobotka, Czech Republic, is awesome in size for such a small town. An original wood structure stood on this site from the late 14th century. The present day building was completed in 1596. Its construction was financed by the Lobkowicz family. Kostel sv. Maří Magdaleny s farouPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Mary Magdalene, SobotkaPhoto source: Kostel sv. Maří Magdaleny s farou Church of St. Mary Magdalene, SobotkaPhoto source: Bohumír Fotogalerie Město Sobotka a zámek Humprecht. - Sobotka, vnitřek kostela sv. Máří Magdaleny - č. 966238 interior view, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, SobotkaPhoto source: Farnost Sobotka Mass at Church of St. Mary Magdalene, SobotkaITALYI also have visited some churches in Tuscany, Italy, getting the occasion to view the inside of at least 10 basilicas. All are extremely pretty, many dating from the early days of the Renaissance. Some are simple, some very ornate.Walled medieval city Lucca, haven for old churches, boasts 100. Lucca's 100 churches (I only saw three of them today) - ArtTravThis is the Renaissance Church of San Paolino (Santi Paolino e Donato) in that beautiful town of Lucca. The final structure was completed in the year 1515.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika San Paolino, Lucca, Italy, statues of Saint Paul of Antioch and DonatoPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika view of apse and altar, San Paolino, Lucca, ItalyRomanesque Church of San Michele in Foro (La chiesa di San Michele in Foro), in Lucca is a contender for prettiest on my list of pretty churches. It was built over the remains of an ancient Roman forum. First mentioned in 790, the church was rebuilt in 1070.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika San Michele in Foro, Lucca, ItalyPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika quiet and peaceful morning in San Michele in Foro, Lucca, ItalyChurch of St. Andrea (Pieve di Sant'Andrea), Pistoia, Italy, most likely dates from the 8th century, although smaller than its original size. The present structure, which serves as a baptismal, was completed in the 12th century.Photo source: Sant'Andrea a Pistoia Church of St. Andrea, Pistoia, ItalyPhoto Source: Michele Shipley Klika baptismal, Church of St. Andrea, Pistoia, ItalyWhat you see on the outside of this church building, Church of St. Ignasius of Loyola (Chiesa di Sant Ignazio di Loyola) in Pistoia does not match at all what is on the inside, which is like some of us, right? This church of the Jesuits hails from the mid 17th century.Photo Source: Chiesa di Sant Ignazio di Loyola - Picture of Chiesa di Sant Ignazio di Loyola, Pistoia - TripAdvisor Church of St Ignatius of Loyola, Pistoia, ItalyPhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pistoia, ItalyIn Venice, there are so many basilicas and churches that one might suspect the sponsors of the construction of trying to ease a guilty conscience, considering that Christian piety is not what the city was known for in the past. I loved the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, or as it is known locally, I Gesuiti. Unfortunately my own pictures of it have disappeared, so I pulled a couple from the internet.Photo source: I Gesuiti, Venice - WikipediaPhoto source: from Chiesa dei Gesuiti, VeniceNot all basilicas are in Europe. I have been to the one in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for a wedding of a friend and for the same friend’s father’s funeral eight years later. Here is the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. I think the blue ceiling with stars is most becoming.Photo Source: Historic Church Tour #5 Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USASource: Mount St. Mary's Chapel of the Immaculate Conception | R.S. Mowery Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USAI also spent a fair amount of time in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel on the grounds of the former St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, while a student at UMBC. I believe this to be an extremely pretty church building, especially on the inside. It is at this church building that I first heard people singing in tongues. That was a beautiful sound.Photo source: Our Lady of the Angels Chapel by Timothy Patrick DorePhoto source: Michele Shipley Klika Our Lady of the Angels Chapel, Baltimore, MarylandToday, it is host to Charlestown Retirement CommunityPhoto: Michele Shipley Klika Our Lady of the Angels Chapel, Baltimore, MarylandI grew up attending a Lutheran church located in Keysville, Maryland. It is fair enough pretty and quite typical for the style of architecture of Lutheran or Methodist churches built in the early 1900s. Keysville Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1904 in a village that has a population of fewer than 100 people, though in a 5-mile radius the population increases to closer to 10,000.Photo Source: Keysville Evangelical Lutheran ChurchPhoto Source: Keysville Evangelical Lutheran ChurchSo many pretty stained-glass windows.Photo Source: Keysville Evangelical Lutheran ChurchPhoto Source: Keysville Evangelical Lutheran ChurchI have to include a very unusual church in this collection of pretty churches, the Church of Brethren in Černošice (kostel Církev bratrská / Černošice) which is about 10 years old and is located in the town of Černošice, near Prague. I have visited this church for several services. The interior walls have an interesting texture in conjunction with the surprising exterior, which is a draw for the curious.Photo Source: Církev bratrská | Černošice Church of Brethren Church, ČernošiceThe archtectural design is supposed to lend itself to a person picturing Noah’s ark.Photo Source: Církev bratrská | Černošice Church of Brethren Church, ČernošicePhoto source: Soubor:Modlitebna Církve bratrské 3.jpg – Wikipedie Church of Brethren Church, ČernošicePhoto source: Novoroční ekumenická slavnost 2019 ve sboru Církve bratrské v Černošicích Church of Brethren Church, ČernošiceAscension Episcopal of Westminster, Maryland is the church my father used to attend. I have been there for services many times. Construction begain in 1844 and the building was consecrated in May, 1846. Its stone exterior and a becoming interior including an attractive altar make it eligible for my “pretty church” nomination.Photo Source: " Directions Mistletoemart.com Ascension Episcopal Church, Westminster, MarylandPhoto Source: http://www.mistletoemart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/altar.jpg Ascension Episcopal, Westminster, MarylandI can’t leave out the church I got married in. My husband and I needed something big for all the guests as our regular church would not hold 150+ people, so we chose Baker Memorial Chapel on the campus of Western Maryland College, now called McDaniel College, in Westminster Maryland. It is a classic and pretty church building.Photo Source: Michele Shipley Klika Baker Memorial Chapel, Westminster, MarylandMichele Shipley Klika Interior, Baker Memorial ChapelWhich one do I think is the prettiest? They all have something making them worthy of prettiest. I think it is to a congregation’s credit and to God's glory that a group seeks to make its church building as attractive as possible, both inside and out.

Yes and no. In Muslim regions and ethnic groups definitely yes, though in various degrees: Tatarstan would be more secular than Chechnya and Dagestan. Tatarstan and Chechnya are rightfully proud of their bright new huge mosques. Space around fewer mosques in big Russian cities is densely covered with prayer rugs and kneeling men on Sacrifice Festival and a couple of other special days of Muslim calendar because of great influx of workforce from Central Asia and the Caucasus mountains. Their mass presence is not always perceived positively by some groups of native residents, though on personal level there may be warm or simply business-oriented communication between people of two communities, the majority of locals sooner or later using service of Muslim guest workers as home decorators, builders, shop assistants, private nurses, taxi and public minibus drivers.As for Russians proper, Julian calendar Christmas is a bank holiday, and middle-aged and older Russians send Christmas and Easter greetings to each other on social media on a par with New Year, Women’s Day, Army Day (“Men’s Day”). Christmas and Easter celebrations church services are nationally broadcast. But as to actually regularly praying and especially fasting numbers would be smaller. Some fasting younger or rather middle aged people would cite health and diet reasons (losing weight) rather than or together with religious reasons. But downright agressive atheism is not very popular, though there are public pages with it on social networks. There are even ones dedicated to transhumanism.Jewish people and Buddhist peoples may also observe traditions of festivals rather than be regular prayerers.Russian and Russian Orthodox Christian community is not uniform. Ordinary people may go to church on a festival day, but be otherwise close to agnosticism. To enter a church, women have to cover their heads and many do this only at the church doorstep. On the other hand, pilgrimage tours to monasteries are full - especially of elderly women, though they were raised in atheist times in the spirit of the Communist party propaganda. And monasteries have revived since Soviet times. Many were restored from very poor condition. The same goes for churches. Better doing financially are parishes in big cities where affluent sponsors are not uncommon - or in newly developed residential areas for businesspeople, sometimes in even rural native places of rich people, as contribution to church is in fashion, while some business people are truly religious like the controversial traditionalist Gherman Sterligov. Many of them make contributions for sanctifying ceremonies at their places of work and living, and holy water may be seen sprinkled on luxury cars or cattle farms. Maybe even space rockets. Luxury cars and watches of church hierarchy were shown and criticised on liberal media.Church community is not uniform. The rich and beggars, conservatives and rather liberal thinkers, many with social media and TV presence. Ultraconservatists speak against technical innovations like microchips, national taxpayer identification numbers and new passports with numbers supposedly putting on their bearers the Apocalyptic stamp, being the Beast Number, but higher church authorities cannot support these anti-government initiaves and issue statements against any such things. Conservatives bemoan the fate of the last Emperor and his family and domestics, and majority of our compatriots most likely agree that their mass execution, most of the victims being young people outside any political influence of their own was a downright ungrounded atrocity. But ultraconservatives go even further and speak for recognition as saints two historical figures whose reputation is viewed traditionally as gloomy: tsar Ivan IV the Terrible and faith healer Gregory Rasputin. Their supporters say the tsar was fighting traitors and enemies, increased the national territory, and Rasputin was a God-sent assistant to the Royal family. They are countered by intellectuals within Church itself, like the historian protopresbyter George Mitrofanov, saying Ivan’s murders including the one of his Metropolitan who tried to reason the monarch and Rasputin’s orgies cannot be overlooked.Positive activities of clergy are also media covered. Successful big city parish clerics are also given second parishes in poor rural areas and may be also successful, bringing back to life church activities with the help of their city flock. Saint Petersburg priest Vyacheslav Kharinov in his suburban parish undertook caring for wartime enemy graves, making a German cemetery near his rural church a peace monument and organising exchange memorial visits. He also inspires local motorbiker community into looking after graves of Soviet WWII soldiers. His city church parish has accumulated material for two museums in the church, one being a memorial museum of victims of post-revolutionaty repressions against the faithful leading to new martyrdom. Church music concerts and festivals are given by church and secular choirs at secular concert halls and the one at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra downtown monastery founded by Peter I. Another Saint Petersburg clergyman heads a previously unheard-of benefactory establishment - the hospice for children with incurable diseases, giving them state-of-the-art palliative care on the premises and helping parents with such children when they are at home. The hospice staff also helps young patients to fulfill their dreams - to meet a soccer star, to learn to paint or to go on a helicopter tour of the city. I read this on the social networks page of their former PR secretary and activities organiser who had been my undergraduate philology student and later earned an advanced degree in history of Russian literature and is now press secretary of Vyborg diocese covering north and east of Leningrad oblast. Before this I had visited accidentally a charity concert in favour of the hospice given in Saint Petersburg by a handbell choir of a US church parishioners.I have about five (female) acquaintances from my Alma mater, for whom being Russian Orthodox Christian is very important. They all have degrees in Russian and/or English or German philology and are thoughtful, caring and talented people. One is a teacher of English, German and history of the Russian language as well as a poet recognised by a one prize, one shortlist and publication in a national literary journal. She is a strong person fighting type I diabetes and other illnesses. She’s also a classically educated musician with an absolute ear of music, like another of my former students and a church-goer, s folk choire singer, a graduate student of German traditional tales and a postgraduate student of Russian folklore. Another is a teacher of German with a minor in Russian. She manages to share her time between university teaching and working hands-on at a church embroidery workshop. She is interested in Japanese painting as well and used to chair foreign languages department at an arts college. Yet another one is an academic collector of Russian regional accents and a lexicographer. The eldest was our teacher of mostly Western theoretical linguistics and English grammar, a profound connoisseur of Russian and Western art and of church traditions. Yet I was surprised that she found something not only in that and in what she saw on her tour of Rome and Vatican, but also in the works of Michael Jackson as shown in a memorial documentary on him she showed us.And not only some humanities scholars can be found in Church. A few clergymen have rather advanced degrees in science. A Candidate of Physics and Mathematics was the chaplain for our University chapel. A youngish and prolific full professor of geology (crystallography) at Saint Petersburg State University Sergei Krivovichev with a mineral bearing his name to his credit has a very busy life as the father of many children and the Chair of Crystallography Department. He also managed to get a degree in divinity and became a clergyman, abd newspapers displayed sensationalist headlines saying “a clergyman” was put at the head of Kola Peninsula branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. A clergyman indeed, but first of all a recognised scientist.At the Academy of Fine Arts Repin Institute there also is a chapel, similarly to other state higher education institutions (though formally Church is separate from the State since the Bolshevik Revolution), and the chapel is directly connected to the Academy’s icon painting studio.There’s a probably small number of Orthodox medics. In Saint Petersburg, Church Acadeny students from warmer and drier regions suffer from colds, but can visit a Russian Orthodox ear, nose and throat physician at the First Medical University. Another clerical medic - a retired Pacific submarine doctor, a Colonel of Medical Service, in 1990ies set up a rehab facility for alcoholics and other addicts with his therapy sessions. He became full professor at another of the city’s medical universities, chaired psychiatry and psychology department there and later psychology at a secular Christian academy of humanities. He also earned doctorate in divinity, was ordained and trusted a suburban parish church in fast developing residential community. He has had monthly radio broadcasts against addictions on the city radio for more than two decades stating that addictions take space in human lives when devoid of meaning and spiritual life.But there are people who don’t care. And those who are ignorant in matters of religion but yet may be equally fervent proponents of religion or atheism.The State promotes religion in different areas, introducing from secondary school subject on basic religious education (or secular ethics) to army chaplains.

There is no reason to believe that either Obama or Trump are atheists. I don’t know if Obama attends church regularly any more, but he did for some years and professes to be a Christian. It is true that some people make false religious professions for the sake of show, but I can think of no reason to suppose that to be true in Obama’s case.As for Trump, he is a dolt who is too ignorant to choose between atheism, religion, or anything else. One might suppose him an atheist in that he probably doesn’t believe in anything bigger than himself, but to call him an adherent of any definite philosophical view is to pay him too great a compliment.America was founded by people of many different types, but earnest religious believers were among them. These included the Pilgrim Fathers, the Puritans, Quakers, Anglicans, and Catholics. Religion was important in the early life of our nation. Washington, though personally a Deist, chose to swear the oath of office on a Bible, and after he was sworn in, immediately attended a church service with his wife and Vice-President and Mrs. Adams. Adams, when addressing Congress to dedicate the new US Capitol Building, called it a “temple.” Religious metaphors and concepts were central to our understanding of ourselves and our identity as a nation. As late as the 1950s, we added ‘In God We Trust” to our money to distinguish ourselves from the Soviet Union and its program of state-sponsored atheism.As an atheist, I for one am glad to see that fewer and fewer of the rising generation are identifying with organized religion, and many are simply designating themselves “none” on surveys; I am glad that Presidential candidates no longer feel obligated to appear at a mega-church to commend themselves to the religious, and I am glad that the likes of Rick Warren is no longer considered necessary to give an invocation at presidential inaugurations. And of course I know that if every true unbeliever stood to his feet and declared himself, a lot of Christians would be quite surprised to discover that among them were deacons, Sunday school teachers, choir directors, and even pastors. But that does not mean it is valid to just assume someone is an atheist, and it is not obvious to me that it is true of Obama or Trump.