“Belt of the Theotokos” pilgrimage trail to 8 chapels to be built near hometown of St. John of Kronstadt

Sura, Russia, July 24, 2018

Photo: arh-eparhia.ru Photo: arh-eparhia.ru
    

The sites of seven future chapels were consecrated during a procession on Thursday in the vicinity of the Arkhangelsk Province village of Sura, where the great wonderworker St. John of Kronstadt was born.

Each of the chapels, in addition to one that has already been built, will be consecrated in honor of a different miraculous icon of the Mother of God: Vladimir, Tikhvin, Feodorovskaya, Reigning, Znamenny, Smolensk, Iveron, and Kazan, reports the site of Arkhangelsk Diocese.

Together, the chapels and the pilgrimage route between them will be known as the “Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos,” referring to the holy relic treasured at Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos. The holy Belt, or Cincture, of the Theotokos was taken to Russia in 2011 to be venerated by millions of Orthodox faithful.

The 8-mile procession, which gathered faithful from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Saratov, and other cities, was led by Archpriest Nikolai Belyaev, the senior priest at St. Petersburg’s St. John of Rila Monastery, where the relics of St. John of Kronstadt repose.

The procession began in Sura and passed through the villages of Priluk, Gorushka, Sluda, Markovo, Kholm, Pakhurovo, and Zasurye before returning to Sura. The participating clergy served molebens in each village and blessed the foundation sites for all the future chapels.

Photo: arh-eparhia.ru Photo: arh-eparhia.ru
    

The procession along the “Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos” was held for the first time last summer, when crosses were placed at all the future chapel sites. The first and main chapel, dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Zasurye, was already built in September of last year, with the first service being held there on November 4, on the feast of the Kazan Icon.

All of the chapels will be under the authority of the women’s St. John’s Monastery in Sura.

The local faithful are hopeful that the chapels and pilgrimage route will help to revive Church life in the area.

Photo: arh-eparhia.ru Photo: arh-eparhia.ru
    

Follow us on Facebook!

7/24/2018

See also
Cathedral where St. John of Kronstadt served for half a century to be restored Cathedral where St. John of Kronstadt served for half a century to be restored Cathedral where St. John of Kronstadt served for half a century to be restored Cathedral where St. John of Kronstadt served for half a century to be restored
Plans are underway to restore the Cathedral of St. Andrew in the Russian city of Kronstadt, where the great wonderworker St. John of Kronstadt served for 50 years. A Unique Phenomenon: On Righteous John of Kronstadt A Unique Phenomenon: On Righteous John of Kronstadt
Met. Philaret (Voznesensky) A Unique Phenomenon: On Righteous John of Kronstadt A Unique Phenomenon: On Righteous John of Kronstadt
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)
How did he, having begun his life as pastors of the Church usually do, become such a spiritual giant, a colossus of the spiritual life, the likes of which have been few not only in Rus’, but in the entire universal Church in general? “To Sura? I'll walk there!” “To Sura? I'll walk there!”
Peter Davydov “To Sura? I'll walk there!” “To Sura? I'll walk there!”
A talk with the Abbess of the St. John of Kronstadt Monastery in Sura
Peter Davydov
They asked me if I would go to Sura, in Archangelsk Province, in the Far North. I replied, “I won’t just go there—I’ll walk there!” And I’ll admit that throughout the whole time I’ve been here, never once—not one hour, not one minute—have I regretted that I ended up here.

Subscribe
to our mailing list

* indicates required
×