Metropolitan Isidore of Smolensk and Dorogobuzhsky and Archbishop Dimitri of Vitebsk and Orsha consecrated a stele on the M-1 Brest-Moscow highway on the border with the Republic of Belarus on July 26, 2024.
The stele depicts St. Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk, and Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia.
After the consecration of the stele, Vasily Anokhin, Governor of the Smolensk region, and Vyacheslav Petushenko, Chairman of the board of the state-owned Avtodor company, which erected the stele, addressed with words of greeting.
Vasily Anokhin stressed the importance of consecrating a kiosk with the image of holy women, revered both in Belarus and in Russia, noting that our peoples are united by the community of Christian faith.
Metropolitan Isidore of Smolensk and Dorogobuzhsky in his speech greeted Archbishop Dimitri of Vitebsk and Orsha and all those gathered, noting that the link between Russia and Belarus is the exploits of Grand Duchess Olga, grandmother of Prince Vladimir, Baptist of Russia and St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the first abbess of Holy Russia, as well as many other generations of great saints of God. Vladyka Isidore stressed that for many people who will pass through here, these great women of Holy Russia will always be a reminder of how you can love God, your neighbors, and the Fatherland, what kind of person you need to be.
In turn, Archbishop Dimitri of Vitebsk and Orsha addressed the audience, who emphasized the role and importance of the spiritual unification of peoples, as well as the historical mission of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk.