Vitebsk, Belarus, July 5, 2021
Photo: sobor.by
Throughout the month of July, Orthodox faithful of Belarus will join in the 4th All-Belarusian cross procession making its way throughout the country.
The procession began in the city of Vitebsk yesterday and will end on the feast of St. Vladimir the Great on July 28 in Turov, passing through different cities, towns, and villages every day, reports Sobor.by.
This year’s procession, “God is not in power, but in truth!” is dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Alexander Nevsky, which is being celebrated throughout Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia this year.
A procession was held within the city of Vitebsk on Thursday, from the Church of the Annunciation to Holy Dormition Cathedral with relics of St. Alexander that were delivered the day before, reports the Belarusian Orthodox Church.
Photo: church.by
Celebrations dedicated to St. Alexander were then held in Vitebsk yesterday before the All-Belarusian procession began. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and 13 other hierarchs, including His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov of the Russian Church and His Eminence Metropolitan Augustine of Belaya Tserkov and Boguslav of the Ukrainian Church.
In his address, Met. Tikhon notd that Vitebsk is where St. Alexander “found his wife, the mother of his children, the continuation of the Rurikovich family, the mother of Prince Daniel, who later largely determined the life of the capital of Rus’—Moscow.”
In turn, the Belarusian primate, Met. Veniamin, emphasized that St. Alexander Nevsky is a model of both courage and fortitude and patience, meekness and prudence.
The celebration ended with the rite for the founding of a new church at the site of the future St. Sophia Cathedral in Vitebsk, which will have a chapel dedicated to St. Alexander.
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