Leningrad Province, December 23, 2021
Photo: lentv24.ru
As the Russian Church continues to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of the Right-Believing Prince St. Alexander Nevsky, a new memorial complex was opened in honor of his prayer to God offered before victory over the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240.
The “Prayer Before the Battle” memorial and new park are located at the very spot where St. Alexander and his men prayed, in today’s Tosnensky District of the Leningrad Province, reports Interfax-Religion.
Photo: online47.ru
The bronze memorial depicts St. Alexander before a stone pedestal with the face of Christ from the Icon Not-Made-by-Hands.
“Here, at this place… he prayed and entreated God and the Most Holy Theotokos to give him the strength to defeat the Swedes, because he understood that he was going out to a great risk with a small battalion. Therefore, we called the monument ‘Prayer Before the Battle,’” explained Leningrad Province Governor Alexander Drozdenko.
Photo: lentv24.ru
The park itself is made in the form of an Orthodox cross, and includes dogwood and birch trees, pedestrian paths, benches, and a pedestrian bridge across the stream.
The memorial was made on the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society, which launched an international creative competition last year to find the best design for the monument.
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