Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk displayed in Holy Assumption Cathedral in Vitebsk

The restored cross of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the greatest spiritual Orthodox relic of Belarus, arrived at the Holy Assumption Cathedral in Vitebsk. Believers can venerate the relic to maintain spiritual strength in the middle of Lent. The cross was made by the master jeweler Lazar Bogsha by the order of Euphrosyne of Polotsk for the Church of the Holy Savior in Polotsk in 1161. During the Great Patriotic War, the relic disappeared and has not been found to this day. In 1997, Brest jewelry artist Nikolai Kuzmich made a copy of it. To recreate the cross, the jeweler had to master the unique technique of ancient Byzantine cloisonne enamel. It was completely lost, and the artist comprehended it independently with the help of archives and photographs. Metropolitan Philaret consecrated a copy of the cross and it was solemnly transferred to the Polotsk Spaso-Euphrosyne Monastery.