ST. PETERSBURG, January 7. / TASS /: Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God to the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg on Tuesday at the Christmas services.
For more than half an hour, the President, along with other worshipers, took part in a nightly Divine Liturgy, after which he briefly talked with the Archpriest of the cathedral, Nikolai Bryndin, and presented him with an icon as a gift.
In response, the President received an icon of the Kazan Mother of Godv from Bryndin.
Before leaving the Cathedral, President Putin wished those in attendance at the liturgy well. "I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, be healthy and happy. Happy holiday and thank you very much," he said. In the Transfiguration Cathedral, Putin already celebrated Christmas in 2019, as well as in 2012, as Prime Minister. Then the president told reporters that he was baptized at this cathedral as an infant.
The Transfiguration Cathedral of the whole guard in St. Petersburg was built by the architect Vasily Stasov in 1828 on Preobrazhenskaya Square. The cathedral was never closed for prayer; however, the majority of the places of worship were seriously damaged in 1920s.
