St. Petersburg, September 13, 2023
patriarchia.ru
The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg recently transferred the 18th-century silver sarcophagus that once held the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky back to the Church for a period of 49 years.
And yesterday, on the feast of the Transfer of the Relics of the Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky (from Vladimir to St. Petersburg), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia placed his relics back into this sarcophagus, which is now back in its historical location in the Annunciation Church of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Pat. Kirill first celebrated the Divine Liturgy there, in the second-floor church dedicated to St. Alexander himself, concelebrated by a number of brother hierarchs, reports the St. Petersburg Metropolia.
The service was broadcast by the channel St. Petersburg:
His Grace Bishop Barnabas of Vyborg and other hierarchs also celebrated the Liturgy for the feast in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The service was broadcast on the cathedral’s YouTube channel:
The video also shows the procession along Nevsky Avenue, with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and a copy of the wonderworking Godenovo Cross, that was held after the Liturgy. The procession was attended by about 55,000 people.
Photo: tvspb.ru
At noon, Pat. Kirill served a moleben to St. Alexander, the patron saint of the city, at the monument to the Grand Prince, joined by the participants of the procession.
Then, Pat. Kirill and the clergy went to the Annunciation Church, where he placed the relics of St. Alexander into the newly returned silver sarcophagus.
The video below shows the placing of the relics beginning around the 40:00 mark:
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