Gonfalons for the Army Church

St.George the Victorous

The Novo-Tikhvin Monastery sewing workshop opened soon after the Monastery’s rebirth in 1994. Little by little the sisters improved their skills in sewing monastic garments and vestments. Computerized embroidery machines now allow us to create vestments of any specification, no matter how complex. Recently we finished an elaborate order, embroidering gonfalons for the Church of St. George the Victorous in Ufa. The congregation of this church is made up of special military unit soldiers and of cadets of the Ufa Military School.The commission costs were fully born by the Ufa Office of the International Industrial Bank. The sisters spent about a month designing computer programs which copied the ebroidery pattern of the Vernical and of St. George the Victorous on the canvas. The process of embroidering itself took a few days.

To embroider a holy image we take threads of hundreds of shades

Church has always been dedicated to St. George, who protects Russia. Russian squads always marched into battle with church blessing. Princes, tsars and emperors always had holy images in their military camaigns; in the head of the army they always carried gonfalons with the images of the Vernical, Our Lady, or St.George the Victorous — the heavenly guardian of all the warriors. During the battle holy images were carried through the troops; after a victory priests conducted special thanksgiving services.

Now many people are reverting to the spiritual and moral thruths of Christianity, which have for centuries been the foundation of Russian life. Sacred gonfalon as a symbol of victory and a symbol of valour shall support and inspire the warriors of today in their devotion to our land.

Also read
— The Monastery Embroidery