On August 20, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where the relics of the holy Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy had previously been found. The Head of State inspected the burial and took part in a prayer service.
Access to the relics was gained in July this year during restoration work carried out in connection with the sagging of floor slabs and the threat of destruction of tombstones over the graves of the grand dukes. The archaeologists received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. After dismantling the brickwork of the crypt, three white-stone sarcophagi were discovered, which, as it was established, belong to the graves of the Holy Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy, Grand Duke Ivan Ivanovich Krasny and Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Zhilka of Uglich.
The remains of the holy warrior Prince Dmitry Donskoy in the sarcophagus were completely preserved, with the exception of the left calcaneus. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has given his blessing to place three fragments of the relics in three arks for the worship of the faithful.
Upon completion of the emergency restoration work, the sarcophagus will be closed and the crypt restored to its original condition.
During his visit to the cathedral, Vladimir Putin was accompanied by Igor Shchegolev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District; Alexey Eremin, Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District; Andrey Batalov, Deputy Director General of the Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve; and Nikolai Makarov, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences..
According to the materials kremlin.ru