Moscow, May 24, 2018
Photo: RIA-Novosti Muscovites have again lined up, waiting for hours to venerate the relics of one of their most beloved saints. This is not a rare sight in the Russian capital, where saintly remains are often brought from throughout Russia and abroad for the faithful to venerate and find spiritual consolation.
1,807,600 pilgrims venerated the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Moscow from May 21 to July 12 last year, and another 500,000 came out over the next two weeks in St. Petersburg.
This time the faithful came out to offer their love and prayers before the relics of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol, brought to Moscow from Simferopol, Crimea. St. Luke is one of the most beloved saints in Russia today, and also enjoys wide veneration abroad in Greece and elsewhere. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was ceremoniously gifted with relics of St. Luke in October 2016.
About 157,000 lined up to venerate St. Luke over the course of 11 days, RIA-Novosti reports. In 2016, 50,000 came out to Donskoy Monastery to venerate his relics over the course of two days.
“St. Luke is one of the most revered saints who lived in the 20th century. Inasmuch as he helped many people as a doctor and surgeon during his lifetime, the faithful turn to him with requests for help with various illnesses and infirmities. There are numerous witnesses to help from the saint,” a representative of the St. Andrew Foundation, which helped bring the relics to Moscow, told RIA-Novosti.
The saint’s relics were delivered to Moscow from Simferopol on May 11 with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. In addition to the St. Andrew Foundation, the event was organized by Moscow’s Donskoy Monastery, and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino in Moscow, with the support of the Moscow Department for National Policy and Interregional Relations. The relics remained until May 22.
St. Luke of Simferopol (1877-1961), Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky in the world, a famous Russian and Soviet surgeon, took monastic vows in the 1920s and became a bishop. Despite conflicts with Soviet power, numerous exiles and arrests, in 1946 he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree for his services in medicine, and in the same year he was appointed archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea.
The saint, who had a serious eye disease, constantly received patients at home, consulted in a military hospital, lectured at the medical institute, served in various churches, and was engaged in the restoration of churches in Crimea. He reposed on June 11, 1961 and was canonized in 2000.
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