St. Luke's relic visits Russia

Photos from: patriarchia.ru

From Interfax:

09 June 2007, 11:38
St. Luke's relic visits Russia

Karea (Greece), June 9, Interfax - St. Luke the Apostle's relic has been given to the Moscow Patriarchate so that the Orthodox believers of Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia could venerate the shrine.

The ceremony of giving of the shrine took place on Saturday morning at the Russian St. Panteleimon's monastery on Mount Athos, an Interfax correspondent gives a running report.

The relic was carried in a procession from the church to the boat. The boat will bring the Russian delegation to Ouranopolis and further on to Moscow.

The shrine will arrive in Moscow near 4 p.m. local time and will be placed in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and thousands of believers are expected to solemnly meet it.

The shrine will stay at the Church of Christ the Savior till June 17. Then it will be taken to St. Petersburg, Kiev, Zaporozhye, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Barnaul, Volgograd, Elista and finally to Minsk.

The event has been organized by St. Andrew the-First-Called Foundation with a blessing from Alexy II.

The delegation includes Council of Federation vice-speaker Alexander Torshin, St. Andrew Foundation president and senator Sergey Scheblygin, and Archpriest Nikolay Sokolov, rector of St. Nicholas's-at-Tolmachi.

St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist was born in the Syrian Antioch. According to tradition, the Lord sent him out as one of his closest disciple to preach the heavenly kingdom as early as during His life on earth. He was a doctor from an enlightened Greek milieu. He is also the author of one of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts.

According to tradition, St. Luke painted the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, which is believed to have saved Russia on several occasions. At present this icon is found at St. Nicholas's-at-Tolmachi in Moscow, the church of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

In 84 A.D., the apostle suffered martyrdom. In the absence of a cross he was hanged on an olive tree. He was buried in Theba, where his remains stayed till the second half of the 4th century. Later his relics were transferred to Constantinople. At present the shrine is kept in one of the monasteries on Holy Mount Athos.