Patriarch Kirill will take the icon of Saint Euphrosyne and a particle of her relics from Polotsk

September 27, Polotsk / Diana Kurilo – BELTA/. The abbess of the Polotsk Holy Euphrosyne Convent, Mother Evdokia, presented Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with an icon of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk with particles of her relics and a rosary, a BELTA correspondent reports. With undisguised emotion and words of gratitude for visiting the convent, Mother Evdokia presented the Patriarch with the gift after the Divine Liturgy in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, which was held by His Eminence Kirill in the Holy Cross Exaltation Church of the convent. In turn, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed his gratitude to Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, archbishops, nuns, and parishioners for the joint prayer. "It is probably so easy to pray near the tomb of Saint Euphrosyne because her heart was filled with love, peace, and tranquility, and even her remains exude this grace," Kirill said. The Patriarch wished everyone who was with him at the joint prayer to compare their lives with the life of Saint Euphrosyne. He presented the convent with an icon of the Kazan Mother of God. All parishioners who attended the Divine Liturgy were also presented with icons of the Vladimir Mother of God with the Patriarch's blessing as a gift from the Patriarch. "So that everyone can take this icon home, and we will establish a spiritual bridge," the primate of the ROC concluded. While in Polotsk, His Holiness inspected the Holy Transfiguration Church and will visit the Saint Sophia Cathedral, a spiritual and cultural heritage of the ancient Belarusian city. In the afternoon, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will arrive in the Vitebsk Diocese. He is expected to visit the memorial cross at the site of the deaths of 100,000 victims of Nazism in the Vitebsk concentration camp, where he will lay flowers. Then, with the participation of the head of the ROC, a prayer service will be held in the Holy Protection Cathedral. In the evening, Kirill will lay a wreath at the monument on Victory Square in Vitebsk and perform a litany there for the fallen during the Great Patriotic War. The visit program will conclude on September 28 with His Holiness's meeting with youth at the Vitebsk Summer Amphitheater. After that, the Patriarch will depart for Moscow. -0-