Holy Virgin Cathedral — Attraction in San Francisco

I was trepid, yet extremely curious, to visit a Russian Orthodox cathedral; I'd never visited one before. The reason I wanted to see it is because I'm trying my hand at writing historical fiction set in Russia thus needed to know what the inside of the Cathedral was like. That very afternoon, the congregation was having a festival, open to the public, on the grounds. We unfortunately missed the festivities, but still able to go inside the Cathedral. I was and still am in awe!! I would have loved to take photographs, but wasn't sure if such was allowed; I certainly didn't want to break any rule, to be crass and rude. One must be respectful entering into such a place. Icons were everywhere; candles were being lit... I let my eyes wander throughout. At one point, they rested on an icon of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra and their son, Tsarevich Alexei; this was what I was hoping to see. I'd have loved to have been in the nearby bookstore, but was too early since it opens after Vespers, I believe. I felt humble within the Cathedral, respectful...as...

Very ornate and elaborately decorate Russian orthodox church. The interior is also as impressive as the exterior with very colorful wall paintings covering the entire interior from floor to ceiling. Although this is not a touristy place and not much around it, this church alone is well worth a visit. When we visit in Aug 2021, the interior of the central onion dome was under renovation, but even with all the scaffolding, it's still impressive. We'd love to see it when the renovation...

Me and my husband attended on the celebration of Orthodox Easter...it was implemented in orthodox traditions of gathering to light up Easter eggs and Easter cake by abbe on Sunday around 1 pm with Easter repast for everyone afterwards. Better to be on time, otherwise light up by abbe will be not possible, that can be very disappointing. Also should be careful, otherwise someone can steal Easter eggs, that unfortunately happened with us. It was very unexpected especially on this...