PUTIN
MARKED
CHRISTMAS IN ST. PETERSBURG FOR THIRD TIME IN A ROW
Russian
President
Vladimir Putin celebrated the birth of Christ in the night
leading to 7 January
in St. Petersburg, for the third time in a row, Fontanka
reports.
This
year Putin
arrived for the service in Transfiguration of the Savior
cathedral where, he affirms,
he was baptized. Attending the service with him was the governor
of St.
Petersburg, Alexander Beglov. The divine liturgy was served by
the rector of
the cathedral, Nikolai Bryndin.
Last
year Putin
marked Christmas in the same cathedral and in 2018 he visited
the church of
Saints Simeon and Anna in St. Petersburg.
The
Transfiguration
of the Savior cathedral was originally built in 1754 according
to the design of
architect Mikhail Zemtsov. The church was completely destroyed
by fire in 1825,
but the sacred items were successfully retrieved. By 1829 it was
restored by
architect Vasily Stasov. It was never closed for divine worship,
although in
the 1920s and 1930s it belonged to Renovationists. (tr. by PDS,
posted 7
January 2020)
PRESIDENT
OF BELARUS,
WHO CALLS HIMSELF AN ATHEIST, VISITED ELIZABETH CONVENT IN MINSK
FOR CHRISTMAS
AND CAST DOUBT ON ETERNAL LIFE
Belarusian
President
Alexander Lukashenko arrived on 7 January for the holiday of the
Birth of
Christ at the church in honor of the "Sovereignty" icon of the
Mother
of God on the territory of the St. Elizabeth nunnery of the
RPTsMP in Minsk,
BELTA reports.
In the
church, the
head of state greeted pupils of the convent's Sunday school, who
presented him
a bouquet of flowers. In turn, the president gave them Christmas
gifts—books
about Orthodox holidays and sweets. Then Alexander Lukashenko
lit a Christmas
candle.
"A
bright, good
holiday that inspires in our hearts faith, hope, love, and
goodness. It seems
to me that this church, this cloister in which we find
ourselves, also is the
embodiment of these good and shining words," Lukashenko said
from the
church's pulpit.
Alexander
Lukashenko
noted that 2019 was a difficult year for Belarus. "But on the
whole we all
say that it was not a bad year. It was a difficult period of our
life. And, as
I always say, what most causes in us caution (but not danger) is
the economy.
Therefore this is the life of our people," the head of state
said.
"You see
what is
happening in the world, what is being done in the international
arena. This is
a difficult period. Everybody is warning of a recession in the
world economy
and stagnation. But nobody is predicting growth," a nun and
parishioner
warned Alexander Lukashenko.
The
president
reminded that there were difficult times in the life of the
country. "We
found ourselves in both a blockade and isolation, and sanctions
were introduced
against us. We are not Russia and the other mighty states; not
the European
Union. And it was difficult for us. But simply thanks to our
unity we
persevered. This unity is the key to all our successes. And in
this unity, a
very great role was played by our church—all confessions (our
large church),
not just Orthodox believers and not just Catholics. I have all
Christians in
mind—all confessions of our country," Alexander Lukashenko said.
Continuing
his speech
from the pulpit, the president of Belarus stated doubt about the
eternal life
of a person: "Unfortunately, we do not know this but we will
believe it.
But as to this life, earthly life, we are well informed.
Therefore let's live
this life here worthily."
Previously
Alexander
Lukashenko has often called himself an atheist, sometimes adding
"Orthodox." (tr. by PDS, posted 7 January 2020)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.