Forty-seven residents of Lepel took part in the capital celebrations dedicated to the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. The Lepel bus was the last to join the convoy of 25 buses from the Vitebsk Diocese.
Orthodox Relic
Forty-seven residents of Lepel took part in the capital celebrations dedicated to the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. The Lepel bus was the last to join the convoy of 25 buses from the Vitebsk Diocese. In Minsk, the pilgrims joined the general procession, which included representatives from 11 Belarusian dioceses. Following a religious procession from the St. Mary Magdalene Church in Minsk to Zamchishche, everyone gathered near the improvised stage for the Divine Liturgy. After the liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill solemnly laid a capsule with a commemorative charter in honour of the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' into the foundation of the oldest church in Minsk.
Thirty pilgrims from Lepel were able to venerate the cross of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, which was brought to the All Saints Memorial Church in Minsk. According to tradition, the saint suffered martyrdom on this cross. The relic arrived in Belarus accompanied by a delegation from the Church of Greece (Greece), including Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras and clergy from the Metropolis of Patras.
Under the Protection of the Mother of God
On the day of veneration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, believers walked in a traditional religious procession around Lepel. Fifty people set off from the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. The procession was led by Priest Ioann Vabishchevich. Molebens were served in the churches, and requiem litanies were held in the cemeteries. Thirty people completed the entire twenty-kilometre route. The procession concluded at the Church of the Nativity of Christ. This was the third time residents of Lepel gathered to pray for the intercession of the Mother of God in the open air.