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MOSCOW, Jun 7, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Thousands of believers gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow Wednesday to pray over a relic -- the right hand of St. John the Baptist.
The Russian information agency Novosti reported the relic arrived from Montenegro and will stay until June 16 when it will begin a journey to other churches in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
The hand was kept in St. Petersburg from 1799 to 1917.
"Today... we are greeting the right hand of the holy prophet and have an opportunity to pray this shrine and receive a blessing from the right hand of the one who saw Our Lord and Savior approaching the River Jordan and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God'," by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said during a night service.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
