His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia took part in the opening ceremony of the XIV Russian Hockey Tournament on Red Square in Moscow on February 14, 2024.
The traditional Russian hockey festival, organized by the Russian Bandy Federation and the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, takes place on the ice of the GUM Rink on Red Square from February 14 to 16.
His Holiness addressed the audience with a welcoming speech:

"Dear Boris Ivanovich, Igor Evgenievich! Dear participants of the Russian hockey tournament on Red Square!
When I was your age, and when it came to hockey, a picture of the game that is now called Russian bandy always appeared in my mind. It was the main winter sports game: Thousands and thousands of people visited large stadiums to enjoy this wonderful sporting spectacle. Then, under various influences, other hockey became more famous and popular, but it is remarkable that among a large number of athletes and fans, respect and love for historically Russian bandy remain.
That's why I welcome the holding of Russian hockey tournaments on Red Square — because it is a reminder to sports fans of the wonderful game, which is our national sport and, of course, requires universal support from you and me. I think the tournament on Red Square is a wonderful way to show a large number of people the beauty that distinguishes this sport.
I greet the leaders, coaches and our young athletes, and wish God's help and success in your wonderful sports work. And most importantly, I wish everyone who depends on it to continue to popularize Russian hockey — bandy."

The young hockey players were presented with icons of the Savior with the Patriarchal blessing.
Then the games of the mini-tournament in Russian hockey were held with the participation of children's teams of the Chechen Republic, Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
Hockey tournaments among boys and girls born in 2012-2013 from 6 federal districts of Russia will be held on February 15-16.
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Russian Russian Hockey Festival on February 14, friendly matches were held on the ice of the GUM Rink on Red Square in the morning with the participation of a team of clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Islamic Russian hockey team, the team of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society and the team of Orthodox Christians and Muslims of Uzbekistan, as well as hockey tournament games were held "on valenki" among children's teams.
The tournaments for the prizes of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia are an annual competition, the final of which has traditionally been held on Red Square since 2012. The tournament was organized within the framework of the agreement on cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Bandy Federation, concluded in December 2009.
The first tournament for the prizes of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia took place in February 2011 in Pervouralsk. A year later, on February 25, 2012, young athletes from 47 regions of the country came to the main skating rink of Russia on Red Square.