The Belt of the Mother of God arrives in Moscow

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Milena Faustova
18/11/2011

One of the most-revered Christian shrines, the Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God, is arriving in Moscow on Saturday as part of a month-long tour across fourteen Russian cities. The Belt, which was transported from the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, has incited great interest among both Orthodox Christians and nonreligious people. Milena Faustova reports…

Approximately, two million Russians have managed to pray before the Belt of the Mother of God.

Mr. Vladimir Yakunin, the head of the Council of Trustees of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, which organized the transportation of the Belt from Athos to Russia, said that the foundation decided to extend the tour for nearly a week. This miracle-working shrine is said to cure diseases and help women to conceive.

“We did no expect to see such a great number of people willing to pray before the shrine. We saw a lot of pilgrims in Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Ussuriysk, Tyumen and other cities. And those were not only orthodox Christians but people of different beliefs. For example, in Saint Petersburg we saw a Muslim woman, who was taken from a hospice to see the shrine. This proves that more and more people are striving for spiritual revival, and they believe in better. Monks who accompanied the shrine from Athos were astonished at such a huge number of believers arriving to pray before the Belt”, Mr. Yakunin said.

According to one of the legends, the Mother of God wore a belt woven from camel wool, and, after her death and Assumption, it came into the hands of the Apostle St Thomas. In the first centuries of the Christian era, it was held in Jerusalem. By the end of the 4th century, the relic was taken to Constantinople (now Istanbul). The Belt had been repeatedly cut into parts throughout history. But only three pieces have remained since then. One of them is being kept in Georgia, the two others are in Italy`s Prato and, of course, on Mount Athos, the place believed by Orthodox Christians to be under protection of the God`s Mother. The Belt has never been taken from Athos before, with an exception only made for Russia this year. Meanwhile, this is not the only relic brought by the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation to Russia. Orthodox Christians in Russia have already been offered the chance to see relics of Andrew the First Called, Apostle Luke, John the Baptist, Grand Duchess Yelizaveta Fyodorovna and Nun Barbara.

“We appreciate the confidence showed to use by the clergy on Mount Athos. When we brought the relics of Grand Duchess Yelizaveta Fyodorovna and Nun Barbara I was asked only my personal guarantee that nothing bad will happen to the relics. I gave my promise, which made a great impression. I`ve visited Athos for five times and could see how their attitude to Russia has improved in the past seven years. They respect Russians and hope that the Russian Orthodox Church will maintain ties with monks on Athos and preserve historic traditions”, Mr. Yakunin said.

The Belt of the Mother of God will stay at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until November 27th.

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