St. Petersburg, July 8, 2024
Photo: foma.ru
On July 5, 2024, a significant event took place in St. Petersburg—the foundation of a church with a dual dedication: to the equal-to-the-apostles St. Nina of Georgia and to the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, reports Foma News
The rite of consecration for the church’s cornerstone, located at the corner of Bucharest Street and Kozlovsky Lane, was led by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, according to the website of the St. Petersburg Metropolis.
Metropolitan Barsanuphius addressed the attendees with a welcoming speech and presented the future church with an icon of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Among other officials, the Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, participated in the ceremony of laying the church’s foundation.
Alexander Beglov noted that St. Nina was especially revered by the citizens of Leningrad. They prayed to her, and the city was believed to be preserved through her intercessions. This is why on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Leningrad blockade of World War II, a church is being built in her honor.
“In the history of our city, this saint is a liberator. It was on her feast day, January 27, 1944, that the enemy [the Nazi forces] fled from the walls of Leningrad. Our President has said that the memory of the blockade is sacred. No other city has gone through such cruel and painful trials as Leningrad,” said Alexander Beglov.
The governor particularly emphasized that the location for the church’s construction was chosen intentionally. Nearby, at the Novo-Volkovskoye Cemetery, are the mass graves of residents and defenders of the city.
During the war, the Novo-Volkovskoye Cemetery, where soldiers and citizens were buried.
On April 5, 2021, a commemorative cross was erected at the intersection of Kozlovsky Lane and Bucharest Street. Nearby, a wooden chapel in honor of the Good Thief was built, which Metropolitan Barsanuphius consecrated on April 29, 2022, with a minor rite.
In the new church dedicated to St. Nina, there will be a continuous commemoration of those who died during the blockade. The architects of the church are Valentin Kogan and Boris Bogdanovich.
Memorial plaques will later be installed around the new church, depicting the main events of the blockade in verse and prose. It is also planned to place capsules with soil from key locations associated with the blockade and defense of Leningrad in the foundation or walls of the church.
