The Worship Cross

A 3.7-meter-high granite cross rises above an 18-ton Ice Age boulder brought from the neighboring Gavrilov-Yamsky district. The author of the cross is Nikolai Mukhin, a State Prize laureate and an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. According to him, the cross was created in the traditions of early Byzantium, with their inherent symbolism and plasticity. The face of the Savior faces the expanse of the lake, the coastal temples and monasteries. This cross reminds us that Rostov, the oldest capital of northeastern Russia, was one of the first ancient Russian cities, after Kiev, to convert to Christianity; the lake was the place of baptism of pagans.