St. Petersburg, October 5, 2023
St. Alexander of Svir Monastery in Staraya Sloboda, Leningrad Province. Photo: pravmir.ru
A new tourist route focused on saints and holy sites of the Russian Arctic has been developed.
The all-season route, which will connect St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Province, and the Republic of Karelia, was organized by the administration of St. Petersburg together with the Committee for Arctic Affairs and representatives of the Russian Geographical Society, reports the St. Petersburg administration.
The Patron Saints of the Arctic route will begin with a visit to the St. Petersburg representation of Valaam Monastery, followed by the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral and the St. Nicholas-Theophany Cathedral.
In the Leningrad Province, a stop is planned at the Holy Trinity-St. Alexander of Svir Monastery. St. Alexander was accounted worthy of a vision of the Holy Trinity, and today his relics are completely incorrupt, as though he reposed only yesterday.
A larger program is planned for Karelia, including visits to Petrozavodsk, Sortavala, and the villages of Rautalakhti and Tolvuya, where pilgrims can see the Northern Thebaid complex on the shore of Lake Ladoga, replicas of northern churches, and learn about the life of St. Zosima, one of the founders of Solovki Monastery.
The final point in the route, depending on the time of year and weather conditions, will be a visit to the Kizhi Museum Reserve, the site of the famous 22-domed wooden church, or the Holy Transfiguration-Valaam Monastery.
The Patron Saints of the Arctic route also emphasizes stories about missionaries related to St. Petersburg and the northern territories.
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