In St. Petersburg on the eve of the start of the IV (I winter) On February 7, 2026, Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, met with the spiritual mentors of the regional national teams who arrived at the games.
The bishop warmly welcomed the participants of the meeting and spoke about the specifics of the upcoming competitions, held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and about the role and place of a spiritual mentor in the pastoral care of young athletes.
"Spiritual mentors play a key role in the training of young athletes. The age of 12-14 is a special time when childhood is not over yet, and adolescence is already beginning. It is extremely important at this moment to strengthen in young hearts not only the will to win, but also the desire for spiritual development," said Bishop Mitrofan. —The task of mentors is to help them learn to turn to God both in the joy of victories and in moments of trials."
Metropolitan Mitrofan presented to the audience an ark specially made for the Winter Games with a fragment of the relics of the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, which is an exact replica of the prince's helmet, as well as the main prize of the games — the Patriarchal Cup, and the icon of the Mother of God "Fedorovskaya", before which the holy prince prayed before the decisive battles. The shrines will be displayed for worship in the church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in Moscow. Kudrovo, where a Divine Liturgy will be held on February 8 with the participation of young athletes, coaches, heads of regional delegations and representatives of the sports community.
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IV (I winter) The International Sports Games of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky will be held in the Leningrad Region from February 7 to 13, 2026. The organizers are the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports and the Government of the Leningrad Region with the support of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation.
The Games are included in the Unified Calendar of interregional, national and international physical culture and sports events of the Ministry of Sports of Russia. About 600 people from 25 regions of Russia will take part in the competition. These are young athletes aged 12-14 years, their coaches and spiritual mentors representing traditional faiths of the Russian Federation.
The main program includes bandy, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, biathlon, as well as meeting the standards of the WFSK TRP. Additionally, curling competitions will be held.