The action was organized by the church guardian, deputy chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society Igor Ashurbeili, it has become possible after Patriarch Kirill’s historical meeting with Pope Francis of Rome in Havana, director of the Holy Land pilgrimage center Yelena Shcherbakova told Interfax-Religion on Monday.
The shrine will be given to the church built in the 18th century on Vasily Bazhenov’s project in frames of the celebrations dedicated to its restoration.
Relics of St. John the Baptist were among 24 shrines, which the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity conveyed to the Russian Church and Ashurbeili in April. The ark with particles was conveyed to St. Elizabeth Church in Moscow’s Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo District in May.