On Sunday, October 18, after the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC, over 200 attendees – scout leaders, scouts, parents, relatives, friends, and other guests gathered at the parish hall of St. George Antiochian Church to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SGPA Chapter "Putivl."

The Organization of Russian Young Pathfinders (ORUR), known and registered in the United States as St. George Pathfinders of America (SGPA), is the successor organization to the first patrol of Russian scouts organized in Pavlovsk Park, (outside St. Petersburg, Russia) on April 30, 1909 by Colonel Oleg I. Pantukhoff at the behest of Emperor Nicholas II. SGPA’s mission is to offer an extracurricular program for boys and girls of Russian origin in an ethnic and religious setting, complementing the family and school by utilizing an enriched scouting methodology, conceived and developed by Sir Baden-Powell and Colonel Pantuhoff. Since the days when scouting was forbidden in the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution, one of SGPA’s goals has been to preserve scouting abroad and return it to Russia as soon as she was free of communism.

Russian scouting celebrated its centennial six years ago, and this year the Washington-based "Putivl" Chapter celebrates its 50th anniversary. Putivl' considers its official birthday to be March 1, 1965, when Scoutmaster Lydia Gerich held the first scout meeting in her home. With the arrival of Scoutmaster Michael Danilevsky to the Washington area in January 1970, the program gained more structure and the group grew into a formal coed Troop (№ 4), named after Admiral Nakhimov, naval hero of the Crimean War. The following year, 1971, the troop was able to conduct its first independent two-week summer camp. Prior to this, Washingtonians participated in a much larger scout camp run by the "Tsarskoye Selo" chapter in Upstate NY.

The Washington SGPA Chapter "Putivl'" became very active in the parish life of St. John the Baptist Cathedral. Its members help with cleaning the church for Easter, organize the preparation of pussy willows and palm branches for Palm Sunday, and provide an honor guard at the Holy Shroud. During Christmastide, they go caroling to nursing homes and visit shut-ins. Scouts are also active in the choir and sisterhood, serve in the altar, participate in church decoration, and help out at the annual bazaar. On Lazarus Saturday, many members go to confession and receive the Holy Mysteries as one big family. During their annual two week summer camp, the scouts build a field chapel with their own hands using lashings and the materials they find in the forest. This is where their father-confessor, Archpriest Victor Potapov, and other clergy come to celebrate the divine services "under a big tent of blue sky." In the last few years, the scouts have also been very active in the parish ethnic dance troop "Matryoshki", where they immerse themselves in Russian traditions and culture through yet another dimension.

Scout meetings are held roughly every other Saturday, and include games, patrol competitions, scouting skills such as knot-tying, orienteering, first aid and Morse code, as well as lessons in Russian history, culture, and religion. Scouts also go on hikes, campouts, ski trips, whitewater canoeing, spelunking, bike-hikes, and other exciting outings. Every summer, "Putivl" conducts a two-week wilderness camp following a Russian historic theme for the older children and fairytale theme for the younger. Periodically, stationary camps for the older children are replaced with adventure hiking camps. The chapter offers comprehensive leadership training courses for several age groups, some held locally in Washington, DC, others in "Tsarskoye Selo." Love and respect for nature are root values in SGPA. Meetings and activities are conducted utilizing scout game methodology. Hiking adventures in both summer and winter reinforce knowledge gained indoors. Scouting is a big, multi-generational family. There is a saying – "Once a scout, always a scout!" Friendships that arise through scouting remain for a lifetime.

Year after year, the ranks of Russian scouts in the Washington area has continued to grow. By 1977 twelve years later, the troop had grown into a chapter of over 50 members, consisting of two troops, one for the boys and the other for the girls. The chapter also had a pack of "wolf cubs" (cub scouts) and "squirrel kits" (brownies). M. Danilevsky had by then been elected Chief Scoutmaster of SGPA, but continued to lead the Washington chapter. He chose "Putivl'" as the name of the new chapter, from the late 12th century Russian ballad, "The Tale of Igor’s Campaign." Consequently, the names of the troops became "Prince Igor" for the boys and "Princess Yaroslavna" for the girls, as the couple ruled Putivl at that time. The name for the pack became "Knyazhichi", from the word "knyaz’," or prince.

Chapter leadership helped run the St. John parish Russian School and Nativity Yolkas, organized formal balls, led participation in local American, Ukrainian, and Czech scout troop activities. Parents wholeheartedly supported chapter activities by forming an active Parents & Friends Organization ("ODR").

By 1989, central SGPA leadership decided that it was time to fulfill the covenant of the organization to return scouting to Russia. Consequently, in June of that year, a "Tsarskoe Selo" delegation led by Scoutmaster Alexey Zacharin re-lit the first official bonfire and conducted a scout program in Pavlovsk Park, the cradle of the Russian scouting movement.

Subsequently, in August 1990, "Putivl" sent a delegation of nine scouts and their leaders (including N. Scott, N. Zelensky, M. Paulson, A. Obe, and the Potapov family), led by Scoutmaster Marina Levitsky (now Zacharin), to the village of Gorelets near Kostroma, Russia, to help organize and run the first scout summer camp since the Organization’s activities were outlawed by the Bolshevik regime in 1922. This became possible through the efforts of Fr. George Edelstein and the support of Archpriest Andrej Voronin of Holy Trinity Church in Gorelets. Thus SGPA returned scouting to Russia with the participation of newly formed native Russian troops.

Since then, the participation of Washingtonians in trips to Russia has grown. In 1991, several of the older scouts (the Zarechnak children and D. Ekzarhkov) provided substantial assistance to the St. Petersburg chapter summer camp. In 1994, a "Putivl" delegation, led by Scout-Instructor Nikita Zelensky, attended the 85th ORUR jamboree in Anapa on the Black Sea coast. In 1999, two of the chapter’s Vityazi, A. and A. Zarechnak, joined the Russian ORUR contingent in climbing Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia and in Europe (and one of the world’s tallest "Seven Summits"). The 100th anniversary of Russian scouting in 2009 found the "Putivl" delegation led by Scout-Instructor Anna Tschursin at the jamboree in Pavlovsk Park.

In 2007 and 2012, Scoutmaster A. Zacharin organized SGPA’s third and fourth pilgrimages to the Holy Land, in which "Putivl" delegates participated. Besides visiting such holy sites as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho, Mount Sinai, and the Jordan River, the group organized stopovers in Madrid and Constantinople.

In the summer of 2014, "Putivl" embarked on a high adventure canoeing/hiking trip to Maine, following the St. Croix River and led by scout instructor A. Tschursin. Over 50 scouts and leaders participated in the two-week trip, canoeing both calm and rough waters, hiking challenging mountain terrain, and further bonding into a close-knit family of brothers and sisters. This past summer 2015, "Putivl" helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of Russian girl scouting by sending a delegation of 28 people, led by Instructor Masha Joyce to the "Tsarskoye Selo" camp. It was an unforgettably wonderful jamboree, attended by ORUR representatives from Germany, Australia, Russia, Northern and Southern California, New York, and Washington. The Washingtonians won the greatest number of prizes in the patrol competitions.

For the last ten years, "Putivl" members called "zaichiki" (bunnies) have been able to start at a very young age – from 3-7 years old. In the past, a zaichik was a camp leader’s toddler who tagged along with his parent. By 2004, several young leaders who had small children of their own were looking for a better way to include their toddlers in the program. That year, a new age group with its own specific program was added to the existing multigenerational family. The zaichiki group continued to meet throughout the year, attracting new members and hosting fundraisers. The program has three primary goals: introducing families to scouting through SPGA, learning to live in nature, and supporting Russian language and culture. A zaichik moving up to the next level of scouting is not afraid of being left in camp by his parents for a two-week period, and knows how to follow a camp program, learning how to make friends and help each other.Zaichiki parents appreciate leadership’s dedication, so they get involved on many levels, some becoming scouts themselves. The zaichikiprogram has become vital to the growth and prosperity of "Putivl," not only because it adds individual scouts, but because it adds families to the common goal of fostering the next generation.

"Putivl’s" 50th anniversary on October 18th began with a solemn formation in the courtyard of St. George parish hall. Brought out in procession with SGPA’s banners were icons of the Savior, the Great-Martyr George (patron saint of scouting), and the Holy New-Martyr Tsarevich Alexis (the first Russian scout), and a thanksgiving moleben was conducted. After prayers, jubilee orders were read and prizes and certificates of appreciation awarded.

After formation, everyone moved to the church hall, where they had a chance to peruse an exhibit of "Putivl’s" history and take part in a specially prepared program and banquet during which greetings were read from various organizations, including the Congress of Russian Americans. The letter from His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, was especially warmly greeted. It read in part:

Today we honor those who for many years have remained loyal to the cause of scouting. May God grant you, dear counselors and instructors, health, enthusiasm, and His aid in raising up the next generation.

It is important to note that, today, SGPA is one of the a few unique institutions of child rearing that features the cooperation of older and younger generations, the transfer of historical experience, knowledge, and ability, and, most importantly, the Orthodox Faith.

Dear scouts! Remain faithful to God, dedicated to your homeland, parents, and instructors, hardworking and persistent; strive to perform good deeds, and never give in. In every day of your life, follow the example set by SGPA’s Heavenly intercessor – the Holy Great-Martyr & Trophy-Bearer George – and the Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai & San Francisco. Finally, preserve in your hearts a love for your historical homeland – Russia.

After the banquet, the youth continued to enjoy themselves in celebrating the history of their scout chapter, while "Putivl" veterans happily watched and shared memories of their personal involvement in this holy undertaking of raising young people.

Fifty successful years of working with youth is no small accomplishment for an organization run entirely by volunteers with no external sources of funding. Over these 50 years, nearly 300 youngsters have passed through the chapter’s ranks; nearly all of the Russian youth who grew up during this period at St. John the Baptist Cathedral.

For more information, see www.orur.org, www.orurz.org, or follow the chapter on Facebook: St. George Pathfinders – Druzhina Putivil.

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