Christmas Patriarchal Party In The Bolshoi Theatre

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Slav Fund of Russia has invited children to the Christmas Patriarchal Party in the Bolshoi Theatre which was organised on Friday. Two thousand children from Sunday schools in Moscow and the Moscow Region attended the party, said the president of the Slav Fund, Galina Bogolyubova. That day the Bolshoi gave one of its best performances - the opera Le Coq d'Or by Rimsky-Korsakov. The Patriarch, who also attended the party, was greeted by the choir of the church singing school of the Moscow Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan. The exhibition of children's drawings in the White Foyer of the theatre was dedicated to the Christmas Holiday. Before the opera started, Alexy II congratulated the children on the holiday and wished that day to become bright, happy and solemn for them."Such days unite people and teach them to be good," said the Patriarch.