On the Day of the Baptism of Rus, July 28, 2026, in the Resurrection Cathedral of Khanty-Mansiysk, Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut baptized six babies. Two girls and four boys accepted the sacrament.
Before the beginning of the sacrament of baptism, the ruling bishop congratulated the parents and godparents. Addressing the audience at the church, the diocesan governor said:
"Dear fathers, brothers and sisters, parents of newborn babies! Today is a special day, the Day of the Baptism of our Rus by Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles! Today, on this day, we baptize our children so that they may find the faith of Christ, the faith that the great Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir brought to us. I cordially congratulate all of you. God grant that the true confirmation that we are Orthodox Russia strengthens it today through the baptism of its children and grandchildren, continuing the tradition that was established many years ago. That's why today is a special day for all of us. As I promised to baptize every third and subsequent child in the family, today we begin this tradition. Congratulations to all, let's pray for this!"
The baptized received gifts — baptismal kits from the Department of Social Development of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, and the Gospel for children from the Khanty-Mansiysk Diocese.
The head of the Khanty-Mansiysk Metropolia took the initiative to baptize the third and subsequent children in families of Orthodox Yugorsk residents in June 2026 at the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between the Department of Social Development of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra and the Khanty-Mansiysk Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"By performing the sacrament of Baptism, the Church today supports childbearing in general and honors large families in particular," said Metropolitan Pavel. - And I made the decision to baptize every third and subsequent child personally. Today, this good tradition has its first beginning here in Khanty-Mansiysk. We are currently preparing for the Baptism of babies in all our cities, in Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, and Nefteyugansk. We will baptize and bear witness to this. Russia has always been Orthodox, it has always had many children, and that's why it was strong. When we don't have enough people in our country today, the Church says that as many children as the Lord sends, we must give birth and baptize. These will be a strong family and, of course, a strong state."
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