Approximately 20,000 people have formed a human chain to Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, where the belt of the Mother of God from the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos has been brought to, a local official said on Friday.
Currently, the belt belongs to the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It is believed that the belt has a unique power to help childless women to have children. The relic was brought to Russia on October 20 and has already been shown in St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Norilsk, Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Krasnoyarsk and Tyumen.
Some of the believers came to the cathedral already at 3 a.m. to be the first to see the relic. The length of the queue is already several kilometers and it continues to grow.
“This is a great honor for the city, that such a relic has been brought here,” hieromonk Elpidius from the Vatopedi monastery said.
Believers will be able to see the relic 24 hours a day, while pregnant women and women with children will be able to get into the cathedral without waiting in the queue.