St. Petersburg, July 28, 2017
Photo: RIA-Novosti About 500,000 pilgrims traveled to St. Petersburg over a period of 15 days to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas, Vice-Governor Alexander Govorunov of St. Petersburg said in a press conference on Thursday, reports RIA-Novosti. 1,807,600 pilgrims venerated the holy hierarch in Moscow from May 21 to July 12, thus nearly 2.5 million venerated St. Nicholas in Russia overall.
Of the 500,000, about 75,000 went through the line especially for the disabled and pregnant and veterans of World War II and the Leningrad blockade, according to Govorunov. About 200 buses with pilgrims visited from 44 cities of Russia and 15 foreign points.
The relics were brought from Moscow to St. Petersburg on July 13 and displayed for veneration at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra until yesterday. A solemn farewell to the relics was celebrated today by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.
The day began with the patriarchal Divine Liturgy, and a moleben before the relics of the great wonderworking saint. A procession with the relics began around 2:00 PM from the Holy Trinity Cathedral to the church on Alexander Nevsky square. The relics were later taken to Pulkovo airport, from where they will return to the Catholic cathedral in Bari, Italy.
The bringing of the relics of St. Nicholas to Russia in the year of the centenary of the 1917 revolution is deeply symbolic, Pat. Kirill stated today. “The relics of St. Nicholas were brought to Russia by Divine providence,” in the centenary of the year when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, the patriarch stated. “And no one specially prepared these events for the anniversary,” he added.
The primate of the Russian Orthodox Church noted that nearly 2.5 million venerated the relics of St. Nicholas overall during their stay in Russia, but that not only the quantity is important but “that modern people in a modern country not only came to venerate St. Nicholas, but stood for 6 or 8 or 12 hours in line, in the wind and rain, and there was not one word of grumbling.”
Noting that the Church also celebrates the Baptism of Rus’ and the Baptizer of Rus’ St. Vladimir today, Pat. Kirill noted that the Church prays for the entirety of its flock, and especially for the termination of the internecine warfare, hatred, and anger going on in the life of the Ukrainian people.
