Moscow, August 11, 2021
Photo: kloop.kg The young Russian boy who was repeatedly beaten for his Orthodox faith and nationality by his Muslim peers at a summer camp in Kyrgyzstan earlier this summer has arrived in Moscow with his family at the personal invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
Camp authorities were aware that there were fights, but chose not to inform any of the parents of the children involved. When the boy returned home, his parents noticed clear signs that he had been abused.
The story was major news in both Russian and Kyrgyz media, and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia wrote a letter to the boy and his family to commend him for his strength of faith and to invite him to Moscow. The family arrived on Monday.
According to Vladimir Legoida, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations of the Church with Society and the Media, the family has a packed schedule with both pilgrimage and tourism stops.
They will visit Christ the Savior Cathedral, Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, and other holy Orthodox sites, go on excursions on Red Square and in various Moscow parks, and will also enjoy trips to the circus, the zoo, the Island of Dreams amusement park, the toy museum in Sergiev Posad, and more.
The trip is sponsored by Rossotrudnichestvo (Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation).
Meanwhile, it is reported that all parties in the conflict have reconciled and the parents have withdrawn their statement from law enforcement. The coach confessed her guilt and apologized and was removed from her position.
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