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Traffic jams subsided in Russia after a relic, said to belong to the Virgin Mary, was returned to its home in the Greek monastic complex of Mount Athos.
The relic, a belt of the Virigin, is believed to help women’s fertility and cure illnesses and modest estimates calculate nearly three million people visited the relic during its 40 day stay in Russia.
The relic attracted a million people in Moscow alone, and people queued for up to 26 hours creating a line of up-to 5kms in length, in the hope of touching the silver chest holding the relic and receiving a miracle.
During its time in Russia, the relic visited 10 cities.
“Such a forceful movement of people towards the holy cannot be explained with any human arguments,” the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said.
“So many people were cured! I constantly hear about the wonderful miracles that occurred in our land at this time.”
Clerics said earlier they hoped the relic would help more Russian women become mothers as the Church is actively promoting motherhood to help the government curtail a steep population decline.
Some reports last week alleged that religious authorities considered loading the relic into a helicopter for an airborne blessing of the entire capital city, although the flight never took place.
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