For the mobilization of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church displayed on Sunday the relics of the medieval prince Dmitri Donskoi, according to EFE.
Canonized in 1988, Donskoi (1350-1389) is considered the first medieval prince who confronted the Mongols, whom he defeated in the Battle of Kulikovo, in 1380. After the Mongols conquered Moscow, in 1382, he was forced to pay tribute again.
Today, the reliquary with the relics was brought to the main cathedral of the Russian army, located in the Patriot Park on the outskirts of Moscow. The reliquary will also be taken to the Ukrainian areas occupied by Russian troops, a proposal supported by both the Church and the Kremlin.
“I would like the discovery of Dmitri Donskoi’s relics to be a herald of an imminent victory,” declared Russian journalist Evgheni Poddubni, candidate of the governing party, United Russia, in the parliamentary elections of September 20, quoted by Agerpres.
Patriarch Kirill led a procession through the streets of Moscow on Sunday, after celebrating the Liturgy at the country’s main Orthodox church, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Thousands of believers took part in the event.
The relics were recovered in July, during the restoration works at the Cathedral of Archangel Michael in Moscow, located in the Kremlin.
It was known that the body of the Grand Duke of Donskoy was there, but its discovery in July, in a crypt near the southern wall, surprised historians, who believed it was in another part of the building, wrote Reuters at that time.
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