Where Vyatka began: Metropolitan Mark celebrated the liturgy in Nikulchino

      August morning in Nikulchino was filled with silence and anticipation. The sun was already high, a gentle wind was blowing from the river. On the high bank, offering a view of the Vyatka plains, the faithful had gathered again — from Kirov, from the surrounding districts, from nearby villages.

      The church, restored in 2001 on the site of the destroyed church from the turbulent XVII century, stands here as a symbol and a memory. Its history dates back to the 12th century — it is said that it was then that Novgorodians erected a church on this site, and one of the first Orthodox prayers was voiced here on Vyatka land. From this, the spiritual journey of the region began.

      By nine in the morning, the church was filled with people. The bells pealed — clearly, perfectly, awakening not only the space but also the inner silence. And then Metropolitan Mark, as in previous years, began the service — calmly, focused, with a depth familiar to everyone who stood nearby on such days.

      The liturgy took place within the narrow wooden walls, under a high vaulted ceiling where thin smoke of incense rose. It clung to the beams, dissolving into the air. The choir sang softly but deeply, woven into the breath of the church and those gathered.

      There was no need for much here, because everything was already present: in the very air, in the people, in the memory of this land. Prayer was not simply heard — it was happening.

      At one point, the silent presence of the pious princes Boris and Gleb was especially felt — not as images, not as stories from hagiographies, but as living, gentle witnesses.

      Their memory here was not church formalism but warm, restrained closeness.

      When the liturgy ended and the parishioners stepped out into the open, the crystalline ringing of the bells lingered over Vyatka for a long time. It seemed to cleanse, remind, and connect — just like the service itself, which became part of the unhurried, profound life of this land.