Apple-Blessing Feast (Feast of the Transfiguration), Azdamichy 2011. Яблычны Спас (Ператварэньне), Аздамічы 2011 год.
The Orthodox feast of the Transfiguration (August 19) is a classic example of syncretism in the expression of Christian faith in Belarus. While the Orthodox church places the emphasis on the celebration of Christ’s transfiguration, parishioners eagerly await the blessing of the season’s first fruits at the end of the church service. The service in the central Polesian village of Azdamichy is the parish’s most heavily-attended feast in the cycle of the year. Here Father Aljaksandr anoints parishioners’ foreheads with holy oil.
