Stumbling into serenity: The secret garden of Saint-Serge

The other day I walked the streets of the edgy, regenerated Villette area of Paris, and here, on one of its busy streets, I stumbled upon what seemed like a portal opening into another time.

Entering through an unassuming gate, and going down a narrow,  semi-private alley, I was transported from the frenetic present into a hidden,  quiet garden that turned out to be the garden of the  Saint-Serge de Radonège Russian Orthodox Church. 

 

Photo: SortirAParis

Before me unfolded a scene that could have been plucked from a 19th-century Russian novel:

Long-bearded orthodox priests wearing flowing black robes and cylindrical kamilávka hats, moved unhurriedly among the flowerbeds, and a group of elderly parishioners sat in the garden, on rickety chairs, chatting in a melodic blend of Russian and  French.

The abrupt transition from bustling street to  tranquil sanctuary was so jarring that I half-expected to find my smartphone transformed into an antique pocket watch! 

 

It could as well! I kept my mobile in my pocket, as I  in some way felt it irreverent to pick it up  and do the snapshots I otherwise take wherever I walk.

A babushka approached me with an offering of what appeared to be homemade kvass. As I accepted the drink  (which I found far more palatable than the trendy kombucha peddled in nearby health food stores), I began to ponder my often quite obsessive pursuit of all that's new.
 
I could easily have walked past the gate, while my eyes were focused on my mobile screen, and I thought of all the pockets of profound meaning I  might be blindly passing by.

By entering this old garden, where time seemed to be measured not in Instagrammable moments but in the unchanging rhythms of liturgical calendars, I found out that  having a sip of kvass can actually do more for your peace of mind than any number of mindfulness apps, I could have used this morning!