Basso Jerome Hines of New York’s Metropolitan Opera was strolling around Red Square in Moscow last summer when he had an inspiration. He said he felt God telling him to bring his opera based on the life of Christ to the famed Bolshoi Theatre.

What began with a prayer meeting here in 1984 has grown to an organization of more than 500 musicians and dancers, including Metropolitan Opera singers Jerome Hines and Myra Merritt, who perform as a sign of their commitment to the Christian faith.