{"id":4829,"date":"2026-06-22T11:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atmintiesvietos.azuolynobiblioteka.lt\/memory-office\/konstantin-pankrasov\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T07:29:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T07:29:42","slug":"konstantin-pankrasov","status":"publish","type":"memory-office","link":"https:\/\/atmintiesvietos.azuolynobiblioteka.lt\/en\/memory-office\/konstantin-pankrasov\/","title":{"rendered":"Konstantin Pankra\u0161ov"},"content":{"rendered":"

Konstantin Pakra\u0161ov, a diakon in the Kaunas Orthodox Church and a seventh-generation Kaunasian, tells us about his Russian lineage, introduces the Kaunas Orthodox Church Community together with his role in it, and discusses the long history of different cultures and religions getting along in his hometown<\/em>.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cIn Lithuania I am a seventh-generation Kaunasian. I am of culturally diverse descent, as my father was an Old Believer, and my mother was Orthodox. I could say that our family does know what exile is, as back in their time my mother\u2019s relatives came to Lithuania from the Ural area because of exile. A rebellion that broke out in Kruonis was eventually put down. People who had rebelled against the Tsar were captured and sent away to U\u017eural\u0117. Meanwhile, local people who also probably had done something wrong were sent away to Lithuania. During the time when Old Believers were oppressed, my father\u2019s relatives who were living in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg fled from Russia to other parts of the world, including Lithuania. Near Kaunas there is the Nar\u0117p\u0173 House where a big Old Believer Community was formed, and where Old Believers used to live\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cYes, it happens that young people fall in love. It does not matter whether you practice different religions or belong to different nationalities, because love has no boundaries. Even though at that time it was not considered to be a good thing, my father fell in love with an Orthodox woman, and the Orthodox woman fell in love with an Old Believer. It comes as no surprise that my father\u2019s family opposed their love. However, because my mother\u2019s family was a lot more tolerant, her parents simply said \u2018If you love him, so be it\u2019. Well, and this is how I was born\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cI am of Russian descent, a Slav. People often ask me, \u201cWho are you?\u201d. In Russia they tell me, \u201cYou are not Russian\u201d. In Lithuania they tell me, \u201cYou are not Lithuanian\u201d. I always define myself as Slav living in Lithuania. Of course, I am of real Russian descent; my lineage stretches back to both Old Believers and Orthodox. The fact that I am Russian does not bother me. I love Lithuania, and I do not feel unwelcome here. In my whole life I have never had any problems here in Lithuania. I think that everything depends on the person. If you love the country, how can you not be loved back? I do not understand that. Maybe it is different for other people, but I love Lithuania, I love Kaunas, and I love Lithuanianness\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cAt Easter, which we celebrate at night, my parents left me at the church in our village U\u017eusaliai. I was a little boy. While I was sleeping at a table my mother was singing in a choir, and it just happened that after everyone had joyfully left the church after Mass, no one woke me up. I cannot call the Church my home, because it is the house of God, and I together with everybody else am only a guest here. I feel good here. I cannot say that I chose the Church, because it seems to me that I was the one who was chosen\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cOur community does not have that many members, and unfortunately, many of them are currently abroad. I suppose we have around 200-300 members. This is the number of people that usually gather on holidays. However, we are strong. <…> In our church, the Annunciation is the revelation celebrating the day when Gabriel came to Mary and said \u201cYou will conceive Christ Jesus, the Son of God\u201d. The history of our church is not that long, as it was built in 1934-1936 by Edmundas Frykas, a wonderful architect. Its whole interior came from the Saint Michael the Archangel\u2019s Church in Liberty Avenue, which is now known as the Garrison Church. We are in contact with the city, open to other people, and many guests visit us. It is great that our church is located next to the bus station, because this way people who travel or walk by can visit the church, light a candle, ask for a blessing and pray for a safe trip. There have been instances when people visit the church for a short time after their bus makes a stop\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cI love Ramyb\u0117s Park, and my wife and I often go for a walk here. This place is sacred for me. I often tell Orthodox believers that \u2018You are walking through a park now, but there was a time when it was a cemetery. Not everyone was moved to a different place, and many people are buried here forever… When you walk around this place, remember that and pray. Remember that not everyone who was buried here was a Christian; Muslims were buried here too. All of them were humans, God\u2019s creations. Is it hard to cross yourself and ask God to remember those people who are buried here?\u2019 This is the most important thing for a human-being: to simply remember\u201d.<\/p>\n

– – –
\u201cThere is nothing wrong with people of different cultures visiting us. It is wonderful. You can meet them, and you can talk to them if you can. If you cannot do that, you can greet them with your eyes. If you are kind and they are kind, that is enough. You smile and continue with that you were doing. These people come to us with good intentions; it is a church after all. They can be Muslims or even Buddhists (they visit us too!). We are connected through kindness, and no religion teaches bad things. They all teach love. We are open to people not only in Kaunas. Our provost lives in K\u0117dainiai, and he goes from there to Kaunas to serve. Everything is the same there… Sometimes he has to go to Jonava, and everything is the same there, too. We do not keep only to ourselves, because that would be boring. Yes, sometimes people tell us \u2018I am not Christian, I am Muslim\u2019. However, the important thing is that they are all humans. And everything else… I do not believe in it\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

KONSTANTIN PANKRA\u0160OV<\/h2>\n

Konstantin Pankra\u0161ov was born in 1977 in Kaunas, in Fjodorov and Sofiya Pankra\u0161ov\u2019s family. The family of Konstantin\u2019s father comes from the suburbs of Saint Petersburg which belonged to the Old Believer Community and which fled to Lithunia in order to escape Peter the Great\u2019s oppression. His mother\u2019s Orthodox family comes from the Ural area. Because they rebelled against the Tsar, they were exiled to Lithuania together with other rebels. Konstantin is a seventh-generation Kaunasian who was raised in \u017daliakalnis, studied at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, sang in a choir, and has been taking part in the Kaunas Orthodox Community\u2019s life since he was a child. Konstantin is a diakon at the Kaunas Orthodox Church, which is located in the Kaunas Old Cemetery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Date of the interview: May 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Konstantin Pakra\u0161ov, a diakon in the Kaunas Orthodox Church and a seventh-generation Kaunasian, tells us about his Russian lineage, introduces the Kaunas Orthodox Church Community together with his role in it, and discusses the long history of different cultures and religions getting along in his hometown. – – –\u201cIn Lithuania I am a seventh-generation Kaunasian. 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