More than 50,000 believers are expected at events with the participation of Patriarch Kirill in Vitebsk

24 September, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Over 50,000 believers, according to preliminary information, will take part in events with the participation of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill in Vitebsk, the secretary of the Vitebsk diocese, Father Vladimir (Rezanovich), told a BELTA correspondent. It is expected that these will be not only residents of the Vitebsk region, but also Orthodox Christians from the Minsk, Grodno, and Brest regions. Church and secular authorities have taken care to ensure that as many believers as possible can see and hear Patriarch Kirill. A prayer service with his participation from the Holy Protection Cathedral will be broadcast to the streets adjacent to the church. And his meeting with youth in the Vitebsk Summer Amphitheater can be watched on a LED screen installed on Freedom Square. As Father Vladimir noted, everyone is preparing for the visit of Patriarch Kirill: from ordinary believers to regional leaders. "His Holiness's visit will remind us of the high Christian values by which a person is called to live, this is a huge event in the life of every Orthodox Christian," the clergyman is confident. During his stay in Belarus from September 25 to 28, Patriarch Kirill will have the opportunity for spiritual communion with the Belarusian flock, joint prayers for the church and the people, and meetings with the public and youth of Belarus. It is planned that in Minsk His Holiness will visit the Church-Monument in honor of All Saints and the Innocently Slain in Our Fatherland and the House of Mercy, and lay a wreath at the Obelisk on Victory Square in Minsk. In addition, a gala evening with the participation of Patriarch Kirill will take place in the Belarusian capital at the Palace of the Republic.

A significant part of the visit to Polotsk will be the divine service on the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross of the Lord. During the service, Patriarch Kirill will perform the rite of exaltation using the recreated Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk.

In Vitebsk, he will lay a wreath at the memorial to the victims of Nazism, take part in the opening ceremony of Victory Square, and visit the recreated and under-construction churches of Vitebsk. The visit program will conclude with a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and students, youth, and the creative intelligentsia in the Summer Amphitheater.-0-