The procession with the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk along the border territories of Belarus begins on June 14

June 14, Minsk /BELTA/. A religious procession along the border territories of Belarus with the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk will begin on June 14. This was reported to BELTA by the press center of the State Border Committee of Belarus. The event is timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War, and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Council of Belarusian Saints. The religious procession will begin in Polotsk with a ceremony of presenting the Polotsk border detachment guards with a banner depicting Archangel Michael, the heavenly patron of the border service, and will proceed along the border territories. Representatives of military units of the Polotsk garrison, the leadership of Polotsk and Novopolotsk, as well as clergy of the Polotsk diocese will take part in the event. On the route of the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk, prayer services will be held, in which servicemen of the border detachments will participate along with Orthodox believers. On July 3, the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk will return to the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral in the Spaso-Yefrosinievsky Monastery in Polotsk. The golden cross of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk is considered not only the greatest Christian relic but also an unsurpassed example of ancient Russian enamel art. The cross was made in 1161 by the master jeweler Lazar Bohsha. For its creation, holy relics - particles of the relics of Greek saints - were brought from Byzantium. Gold and silver, pearls and precious stones were found in monastic and princely chests. In 1941, at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Cross disappeared without a trace. All further efforts to find it were unsuccessful. Only in 1992, during the celebration of the millennium of the Polotsk diocese and the Orthodox Church in Belarus, it was decided to restore the shrine. The technique of cloisonné enamel, which seemed lost forever, was restored by the Brest jeweler-enameler, member of the Union of Artists of Belarus Nikolai Kuzmich. -0-