FATHER NIKOLAI POPOV
THIS IS FATHER NIKOLAI POPOV, A FRIEND OF MY FATHER. A FAMOUS RUSSIAN PRIEST FROM MOSCOW, WHO HAD STARTED A CHURCH IN CLARENCE ROAD LONGSIGHT IN THE 1950's. MY FATHER MET HIM THROUGH HIS WORK AT THE TOWN HALL I BELIEVE IN THE 1960's. WE WENT TO THEIR CHURCH SERVICES FROM TIME TO TIME, AND I HAD RUSSIAN LESSONS FROM OLGA HIS WIFE. I SPENT MANY A SUNDAY IN THEIR PRIVATE APARTMENT ABOVE THE CHURCH WITH MY FRIEND IRENA. THEIR KITCHEN WHERE WE ATE BORSHT , THEIR LIVING ROOM, AND EVEN PLAYED IN THEIR BEDROOM. MY FATHER LEARNED RUSSIAN SO HE COULD SPEAK TO THE 'CONGREGATION' AND UNDERSTAND THEM BETTER. BUT SOME YEARS LATER OLGA DIED SUDDENLY. I THINK SHE MISSED HER FAMILY IN RUSSIA AND HER COUNTRY. FATHER NIKOLAI DIED THREE YEARS LATER. MY FATHER WAS VERY SAD, BECAUSE IT WAS THE END OF AN ERA. THE CHURCH LATER FELL INTO DISREPAIR. BUT AT SOME POINT IT WAS RESTORED WITH THE HELP OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF MOSCOW.