In Polotsk, a religious procession on June 5, the day of remembrance of Saint Euphrosyne, the heavenly patroness of the Belarusian land and enlightener, will bring together about 5,000 believers, the press service of the Polotsk District Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent.
Participants of the religious procession will walk from St. Sophia Cathedral, churches of Polotsk and Polotsk District to the Spaso-Euphrosyne Convent. Believers will stop at the monuments to Euphrosyne of Polotsk and Nicholas the Wonderworker, where prayers will be held with the laying of flowers. On this day, spiritual and educational events will take place in cultural and educational institutions, and a concert will be held in St. Sophia Cathedral.
The day of remembrance of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk is equally revered by both Orthodox and Catholic Christians. Festive events in Polotsk annually attract thousands of believers and pilgrims not only from Belarus but also from other countries. Euphrosyne was the first woman in Belarus to be canonised. She was engaged in extensive educational activities: she copied books and built churches. Churches and parishes are named after the saint not only in Belarus but also in South River (USA), Vilnius, London, and Toronto. One of the main national shrines of Belarus, the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, made to her order in 1161 and lost at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, has not yet been found.