Russian Church Deploys Saint’s Relic to Front

The Russian Orthodox Church sent a fragment of the right hand of medieval Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy to the front lines in Donetsk, Ukraine. The unusual gesture is intended to boost the morale of Russian troops in the fifth year of the war.

Donskoy, who led a famous victory over the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, is a symbol of military strength in Russia and was canonized in 1988. President Vladimir Putin described the discovery of his remains in the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin as an extraordinary historical find.

The relic, housed in an ornate casket behind tempered glass, is being escorted by high-ranking Kremlin and Church officials, who are presenting it to troops along the 1,000-kilometer front.

According to representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, the saint’s hand, which once held a sword, is said to stand invisibly alongside Russian soldiers.

The mobilization of the religious symbol comes amid stagnation on the front lines and ahead of parliamentary elections in Russia. Independent experts and critics, however, say the Church is violating religious protocols and turning the relic into a tool of a state PR campaign intended to please the Kremlin and bolster support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

(Reuters, max)