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Published by
Zenit.org,
July 21, 2005
Icon, Once
Kept by John Paul II, Returns to Kazan |
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Image of the Mother of God Taken to Its Original
Diocese
KAZAN, Russia, JULY 21, 2005 (Zenit.org).-
The icon of the Mother of God which Pope John
Paul II sent to Moscow's Patriarch Alexy II less
than a year ago, was turned over to the Orthodox
diocese of Kazan.
Alexy II turned over the icon today, the feast
of the icon's apparition in the 16th century.
John Paul II had kept the icon, personally, in
his apartment at the Vatican.
Tradition said that the small icon appeared
miraculously in the city of Kazan, capital of
Tatarstan, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) east
of Moscow. The icon became famous for its
miracles.
Alexy II took the icon to the banks of the Volga
River, in a ceremony followed by a procession,
in which the image was returned to the Diocese
of Kazan after a 101-year absence.
The Virgin of Kazan is the most famous and most
venerated image among Russian Orthodox,
representing reconciliation among the various
religious confessions.
During his homily Patriarch Alexy II said that
Muslim-Christian dialogue is one of the most
important initiatives of the Russian Orthodox
Church, reported Vatican Radio.
Muslim attendees
The Orthodox patriarch celebrated the solemn
ceremony for the feast of the Icon of the Mother
of God in the restored Cathedral of the
Annunciation in Kazan.
It was the first religious ceremony in this
church for more than eight decades, as during
the Soviet period the cathedral served as the
headquarters of a university, noted AsiaNews.
A Catholic parish priest from Kazan attended the
ceremony, as did President Mintimer Shaimiyev of
Tatarstan, and representatives of the Muslim
community. Almost half of this Russian republic
is Muslim.
Thousands of people followed the ceremony on
giant television screens installed in the
streets.
After the ceremony in the cathedral, the icon
was taken in procession to the monastery of the
Mother of God where the image was found in the
16th century. The monastery was turned into a
tobacco factory during the Soviet period.
Until the restoration of the monastery is
complete, the icon will be kept in the Zilantov
convent for women, noted the Italian newspaper
Avvenire.
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