Pilgrimage to Venice

The Pilgrimage To Orthodox Italy Concludes

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, the pilgrims who went on a tour of Italy returned home. Most of the group are from San Francisco, CA, and most were young. They were joined by other pilgrims from the East Coast, Canada and England.

The pilgrims arrived in Venice on Tuesday, June 16, and immediately departed for Padua, where the ancient Basilica of Martyr Justinia contains the relics of Apostle Luke the Evangelist. The pilgrims sang the megalinarion before the relics and prayed for their loved ones. The ancient church, built by Byzantine architects, houses the relics of St Justinia and of many unnamed martyrs of the 14th century.

On Wednesday, June 17, the guide, Priest Alexei of the local parish of the Moscow Patriarchate, met us. He told us about the history of Venice, noting that it was Venetians who led the 4th Crusade, which, instead of liberating the Holy Land from Muslims, stormed and looted Constantinople. As a result, many Orthodox holy things ended up in Venice. The batiushka led the pilgrims to several churches where the relics of saints are kept. It is worth noting that the veneration of the saints and especially of their relics has fallen drastically among Catholics. For this reason, Catholic clergymen greet Orthodox pilgrims with great enthusiasm, bringing out our common holy relics for veneration. That is what happened at the Church of St John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria.