On the 17th Week of Pentecost, after the Exaltation, on October 1, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the resort town of Anapa in the Krasnodar Territory.

On this day, the Cathedral of Saints of the Kuban Metropolia was celebrated for the first time. This celebration was established by the decision of the Holy Synod of May 16 this year and will be celebrated on the first Sunday after September 28.

The Cathedral of Saints included 13 New Martyrs, reverends and prelates, whose life and feat are inextricably linked with the Kuban land: monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery — St. Nikon the Great, who founded the monastery in Tmutarakan (Taman Peninsula), and St. Nicholas, Bishop of Tmutarakan; ascetic of the XIX century, St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea; 10 priests who suffered for their faith during the period of persecution of the Church in the XX century: Priest Alexander Fleginsky (1918), Priest Mikhail Lisitsyn (1918), Priest Grigory Nikolsky (1918), Priest John Prigorovsky (1918), Priest Andrey Kovalev (1921), Priest Grigory Konokotin (1921), Priest Grigory Troitsky (1921), Archpriest John Yakovlev (1921), Priest Mikhail Lectorsky (1921), Priest Dimitri Legeido (1938).

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed the rite of the great consecration of the church in honor of the Holy Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles and led the Divine Liturgy service in the newly consecrated church.

Before the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, who arrived in Anapa, was met at the entrance to the temple by the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory V.I. Kondratiev, Bishop of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik Feognost, head of the municipal formation of the resort city of Anapa V.A. Shvets.

Volunteers of the living room "Mercy" in honor of the Holy Martyr Elisaveta Feodorovna of Novorossiysk presented His Holiness with a loaf. Also at the entrance to the temple were lined up: an honorary Cossack guard, students of Cossack classes of the Anapa district and students of the Cossack cadet corps named after Righteous John of Kronstadt Stanitsa Zaporizhia.

At the end of the Liturgy, the glorification of the Cathedral of Saints of the Kuban Metropolis was performed, His Holiness read a prayer.

Bishop Theognost of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik greeted the Primate of the Russian Church and presented His Holiness with an ancient image of the Savior.

As a gift to the temple, His Holiness gave the icon of the Blessed Matron of Moscow.

At the end of the Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia consecrated the foundation stone of the Orthodox comprehensive school under construction at the Church of the Holy Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles in Anapa.

Then His Holiness planted a red oak tree on the territory of the temple. The building of the church of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir is part of the Orthodox educational complex, which also includes the so-called family Epiphany Park, which has no analogues in Russia. According to the organizers, the "family" trees planted in this park will bear the names of the spouses and in the future the family trees will become the center of attraction for the next generations of their families. This pro-family initiative of the resort city of Anapa is a response to the call of the President of Russia to pay special attention to improving the demographic situation and strengthening family values in the country.

According to the materials of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia