2024-04-16 14:31:42
In the south and west of Russia – in the Urals and Siberia, as well as in Kazakhstan, the water of rivers that overflowed their banks covered cities and towns, and thousands of residents were forced to evacuate.
Priests in the Kurgan region boarded a small AN-2 plane, carrying with them an icon of the Mother of God, to hold, in their own words, an “air procession”, praying that the waters of the mighty Tobol River would not rise.
This flight of theirs took place while waiting for the floods in the region to reach their peak, which is expected to happen in the second half of April.
As the plane flew over the river that flooded the entire meadows, the priests read prayers.
The eparchy of the Kurgan Orthodox Church reported that the clergy took part in an observation flight organized by emergency services.
“During the flight, the clergy recited a prayer to the Mother of God and prayed that the natural disaster would be overcome,” according to her statement published on Thursday evening.
The head of the local Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Danilas, said that the faithful asked him to fly around the flood zone while saying prayers.
“There is a tradition in the lands of Russia to pray for people by organizing processions on foot or on horseback,” he was quoted as saying in a church statement.
According to Sventiks, icons have been saving Russia in difficult times for a long time and now they will help it overcome the biggest floods that have occurred in several decades.
He instructed the churches near the Tobolo River to pray for the water to recede.
As water levels rose, Russia evacuated thousands of people, but reported that more homes were flooded.
Kazakhstan reported evacuating more than 96,000 residents.
2024-04-16 14:31:42