Mid-April Summer in Omsk

ОМСК I attended the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, marking the celebration of St. Helen, mother of Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine, who found the cross of Christ, which had been buried in Jerusalem with two other crosses. Not knowing which cross was the one the Lord was crucified on, they placed each on the corpse of a man who had just died. When the true cross touched the man, he returned to life. This year, we have another miracle, as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was completely closed by the Israelis and no one was allowed inside; thus, the Saturday where the Holy Fire descends might not have happened, the first time in history. But, suddenly, the ban was lifted, and pilgrims streamed into the church on that day, and God comforted the Orthodox and many others on Holy Saturday.The weather has turned nice in Omsk, and now we&have day after day of near 20 degrees Celsius temperatures and pleasant summer-like weather. Not unusual for Omsk, April is very dry without even a sprinkle of rain. And so a fire hazard is real for the area, and in the past the dust could kick up and combine with fire smog on this western plain of western Siberia. I took a walk around the hockey stadium, always impressive. The Omsk team has made the semi-finals this year, and the stadium is one of the finest in Russia.