Over 50,000 believers to come to see Patriarch Kirill in Vitebsk

VITEBSK, 24 September (BelTA) – According to preliminary information, over 50,000 believers will take part in the events attended by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Vitebsk, BelTA learnt from Secretary of the Vitebsk Eparchy Father Vladimir (Rezanovich). The believers will come not only from the Vitebsk oblast, but also from the Minsk, Grodno and Brest oblasts. Religious and secular authorities did their best to give an opportunity to as many people as possible to see and hear the Patriarch. The Patriarch will take part in the prayer service at the Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed. The service will be broadcast at the adjoining streets; his meeting with the youth at the Vitebsk Summer Amphitheatre can be seen on a photodiode screen at Freedom Square. Father Vladimir noted that everyone is getting ready for the visit of the Patriarch: from believers to the local authorities. “The visit of Patriarch Kirill will remind people of important Christian values that should guide every person, it is a great event in the life of every Orthodox believer,” Father Vladimir said. In Minsk the Patriarch will visit a temple-monument in honor of all Saints and Innocently Killed in our Fatherland. Then he is scheduled to meet with representatives of scientific and artistic communities, clergy and general public in the Palace of the Republic. The Patriarch will lay a wreath at the Victory Monument in Victory Square. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will hold a service at the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Polotsk using the reconstructed cross of St Euphrosyne of Polotsk. In Vitebsk the Patriarch will lay a wreath to the Memorial Cross on the site of the former concentration camp. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church will attend a ceremony of opening of Victory Square. On 28 September Patriarch Kirill will meet with students and the youth in the Summer Amphitheatre.

БЕЛТА