For the first time in history, one of the most precious relics of Christendom, associated with the life of Christ, came to Russia for the veneration of the faithful.
The Holy Gifts of the Magi arrived in Moscow on Christmas Eve, according to the Julian Calendar, from Thessaloniki. Since the fifteenth century the Holy Gifts of the Magi have never left the territory of Greece. Throughout this period they have been kept at the Sacred Monastery of Saint Paul at Mount Athos.
Approximately 5,000 people attended the Christmas Vigil at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, presided over by Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and All Russia, and all venerated the Holy Gifts.
The relics will be open to the public in Moscow at Christ the Savior Cathedral from January 7 until January 13, and will then be displayed in the Resurrection Novodevichy Monastery of St. Petersburg.
They will later be moved to Minsk, being on display from January 18 until January 24. On January 25-30, the relics will be exhibited at the St. Sophia Cathedral of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, Ukraine. On June 30th the Holy Gifts will return to Mount Athos.
Below is a video of Russians venerating the Holy Gifts of the Magi:
To prepare the Russian people for the coming of the Gifts of the Magi, the following masterful documentary was made:
Below are photos of the arrival and veneration of the Holy Gifts of the Magi:
