Patriarch Kirill lays down foundation of cathedral on site where miracle-working icon was obtained in Kazan

Natalya Mihailova | 21 July 2016
Kazan, July 21, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia completed the sanctification of the laying down of the foundation of a cathedral on the place where the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan was obtained on Thursday, the Day of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan.

The patriarch said ruins always produce a heavy impression, “what we see here is a result of barbarity and craziness.” He said he wishes Russia to never again deny its faith and have “such strength to never again stumble and to be capable of setting an example to others.”

Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin, for his part, said Tatarstan is now supporting good initiatives of all traditional religious communities and said he is confident that “the Kazan cathedral, which is inseparably connected to the history of our great Fatherland, will be rebuilt by all people.”

Mikhail Babich, presidential envoy in the Volga Federal District, said that “the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan has inspired and helped our fellow countrymen for 400 years now.”

Rustam Minnikhanov, the head of Tatarstan, called the laying down of the foundation for the cathedral a historical event and cited the Bible, saying that there is a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones. “Today we are gathering the stones of our spirituality by rebuilding this world-renowned cathedral,” he said.

The ceremony, which was attended also by Talgat Tadzhuddin, supreme mufti of the Central Spiritual Muslim Board of Russia, Tatarstan’s Mufti Kamil Samigullin, and over 1,000 believers, took place on the site of the former Monastery of Our Lady of Kazan. The cross procession led by the patriarch, which had begun at the Kazan Kremlin, came to that place.

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.