Andrei Zolotov, Jr. in RIA Novosti observes:
[T]he most popular Orthodox website, Orthodoxy in the World, led on Friday with a piece on a pilgrimage to the village of Eschau in Alsace, France, where the relics of these early Christian saints are kept in a Roman Catholic church. Pilgrimages to Rome and other early Christian holy sites in Europe – be it the Crown of Thorns in Paris or the Shroud of Turin – have in recent years become increasingly popular among Russian Orthodox Christians for the first time in history on such a large scale. On the other hand, several months ago, a group of 240 young Christians from Europe – mainly Catholic, but also Protestant – came to several Moscow parishes for an unprecedented pilgrimage to experience the Orthodox Holy Week and Easter.
There is a paradox here. Or something mystical, if you will.
Or just a wonderful sign of modern travel and newfound freedoms.