For the first time in its history since being kept at Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos, the holy belt of the Theotokos has never been outside of Greece until its current visit to Russia. This is despite the many requests from the United States, Romania, and many other countries.
For more than 24 hours thousands of faithful stood in line to venerate the holy belt at the Holy Monastery of Novodevichy in St. Petersburg. The line was five kilometers in length and until today 400,000 people have venerated the holy belt.
