St. Seraphim relics to be delivered to the international space station

A particle of St. Seraphim's relics will be conveyed to the crew of the International Space Station, reports Interfax.

The ceremony will take place in St. Seraphim Diveyevo Monastery on September 16 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the press service of the local diocese reported on Tuesday.

The members of the crewed spacecraft Soyuz MS-02, which consists of Sergey Ryzhikov, Andrey Borisenko, and Shane Kimbrough (NASA), will deliver the particle to the ISS. After the flight, the particle will be conveyed to the Transfiguration Cathedral in Zvezdny Gorodok in the Moscow Region.

As was reported, Ryzhikov is going to take icons, the Gospels, and stones from Mt.Tabor with him. The call for the crew is "Tabor" after the holy mountain in Israel where, according to the Gospels, Christ was transfigured before the disciples forty days before the Crucifixion.

It is planned that the Soyuz MS-02 spaceship will be launched on September 23. The planned duration of the flight is 155 days.

Recall that in 2008-2009, into space the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh were delivered, in 2009-2010 – a piece of the Holy Cross, in 2010 – the relics of saints Theodore the Tyron and St. Theodore, in 2011-2012 – the relics of Saints Philip and Peter, in 2013 – the relics of St. George.