A great Russian Saint - Prince Alexander Nevsky, is famous both for his military victories and his shrewd policies that left Russia on the rise despite the difficult times. He is also considered to be a Patron Saint of St. Petersburg.

"Even atheists know who Alexander Nevsky is. This year, though, the march was rather special, since it had not been held for two years due pandemic restrictions. We decided to resume large cross processions, though Alexander Nevsky is not a person who should be remembered only on his Feast days. He should always be remembered",  the deputy abbot of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra bishop Nazarius told the journalists last Friday.

 This year the cross procession moved from the Kazan Cathedral along the Nevsky prospect – the central avenue in St Petersburg, all the way to the  Alexander Nevsky Square, where the Lavra is located.  

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated first in the Kazan Cathedral, led by Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, and then in the Lavra.  

On September 12, 1724, the founder of the northern capital Emperor Peter the Great transferred the relics of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky to the monastery, he  established. Before that, the Saints’ relics had rested in a city of Vladimir. In 1743 empress Elizaveta Petrovna, the daughter of Peter the Great, started the tradition of holding a Cross procession and city festivities on the day when the Saint’s relics had been transferred to St. Petersbuurg. The tradition of the September 12 Cross procession in the Nevsky Prospect was interrupted during the Soviet regime, and renewed in 2013.