From May 7 to 10, 2024, the delegation of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage took part in an excursion program to the holy places of the St. Petersburg Metropolis and the sights of St. Petersburg and the region for foreign students of the Moscow Theological Academy.
The events were attended by 15 students of 1-3 courses from Egypt, Lebanon, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, North Macedonia, Norway, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Kenya and Benin.
The trip for the Foundation's fellows was organized with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and with the financial support of the Foundation.
As part of the trip, on May 7, students together with a delegation of the Foundation worshiped the relics of St. Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg and visited the place of the first resting place and the finding of the holy relics of St. Mary Gatchinskaya at the Smolensk Cemetery of St. Petersburg, visited the largest museum in Russia - the State Hermitage Museum, as well as one of the main attractions of St. Petersburg - the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Blood (Saved on Blood) and the Cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia, better known as St. Isaac's Cathedral.
On May 8, the participants of the excursion visited the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo and walked through Catherine Park, and upon returning to St. Petersburg they worshiped the relics of St. John of Kronstadt in St. John's Stavropol Convent on Karpovka.
In addition, on the same day, a tour of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy was held for foreign students. After its completion, the participants attended an evening service at the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they worshiped the relics of the holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. The day ended with a visit to the Cathedral in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Kazan Cathedral), where students of the Moscow Theological Academy worshiped the miraculous Kazan icon.
On May 9, the participants of the excursion group went to the city of Kronstadt, where they visited the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral and visited the memorial apartment of St. John of Kronstadt, after which the students laid flowers at the memorial "City of Military Glory". From Kronstadt, the tour participants moved to Peterhof, where they took a walk through the Lower Park of the Grand Peterhof Palace.
At the end of the excursion program on May 10, students worshiped the relics of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky in the Kazan Church in Vyritsa and the relics of St. Mary of Gatchina and St. John the Baptist in the Pavlovsk Cathedral in Gatchina. At the end of the program, the guests were given a tour of Gatchina, the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg and the Cathedral of the First Apostles Peter and Paul.
The participants of the cultural program were satisfied with the excursion and expressed special gratitude to the representatives of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage and the organizers of the trip for the opportunity to get acquainted with the historical and spiritual heritage of St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Area.