A national shrine has arrived at the Vitebsk Holy Dormition Cathedral – the cross of St. Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk, writes BELTA.
The shrine, which arrived in the regional center, is a full-size copy of the lost original, made by Lazar Bogsha in 1161. The modern cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk was made in 1997 by Brest jeweler-enamel maker Nikolai Kuzmich. The relic is kept in the Spaso-Euphrosinievsky Convent in Polotsk, where pilgrims come to venerate both the cross and the incorruptible relics of the intercessor of the Belarusian land.
“The cross as a whole represents the source of God’s grace, and the cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk is the gate that leads to life. This is an instrument of our salvation, primarily spiritual. By venerating the cross, we venerate ourselves as if to the Lord himself, we partake of His grace. It’s the most important. What will change in your life if you venerate this shrine? Your soul will awaken, come to life,” said the clergyman of the Holy Assumption Cathedral, Priest Artemy Zolotukhin.
The cross will remain in Vitebsk until April 14. In the Holy Assumption Cathedral, before the departure of the shrine, akathists will be read after the morning and evening services – at 12.00 and 15.00.
