A religious procession through the air passed over the forests of the Altai Territory

On August 15, Metropolitan Sergius of Barnaul and Altai, accompanied by Protodeacon Vladimir Chernykh, flew over the Altai forests with the icons of the Mother of God 'Life-Giving Spring' and 'Korobeinikovskaya-Kazan'. The purpose of such a religious procession through the air is to preserve the forests of the unique Russian region 'from the flaming fire.' During the flight, special prayers, canon and akathist were read on board the aircraft. From a bird's eye view, Vladyka Sergiy sprinkled holy water on the Altai forests.
The initiator of the religious procession by air was the regional ministry of natural resources and ecology. “There was a request, and we could not help but respond. It is a normal phenomenon when, in such disastrous situations, developing against the will of man, clergymen are called for help. By the way, this was not reported, but during this air procession, a fire was identified and reported to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, ”the Bankfax news agency was told in the information department of the Barnaul diocese.
The official website of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Altai Territory notes that this year, from the beginning of April to the present day, 326 fires have occurred in the region - the area of forest fire was 717.7 hectares, which is twice as much as in the same period last year. Lightning discharges are named as the main causes of fires, as well as actions of individuals, businesses and organizations.