St. Petersburg, July 12, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia presided over a religious service marking the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Hundreds of worshippers gathered at the cathedral and in the square in front of it for the service, an Interfax correspondent reported. The event was also broadcast live on TV screens installed across St. Petersburg.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia arrived from Madrid to attend the religious service.
After the service, Patriarch Kirill said that it was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty, Peter and Paul Day, as well as 1025 years of Christianity in Russia. “Today we are celebrating the 400 years of the House of Romanov. It is with gratitude that we recall what they did for the benefit of the people. We know how Russia turned into a great state, a world power, how its economy, industry and culture developed,” he said.
“Today we prayed for the prosperity of Rus. We prayed for the growth of material wellbeing, which is so much needed today, to be accompanied by the growth of spiritual wellbeing. It is the beginning that is able to ensure the nation’s step-by-step development without any frightening rifts, fractures and catastrophes,” the patriarch said.
Source: Interfax-Religion
