In the footsteps of Father Constantine: a water procession from Sharkovshchina to Disna by boattranslated

In honor of the 15th anniversary of the canonization of Hieromartyr Konstantin Zhdanov, presbyter of Sharkovshchinsky, with the blessing of Bishop Ignatius of Polotsk and Glubokoe, a water procession along the waters of the Disna River took place on August 11-12.

The waterway was not chosen by the crusaders by chance. He connected the two main places of service and feat of the Saint - Sharkovshchina and Disna. In Sharkovshchina, Father Konstantin Zhdanov served in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he built, devoting all his pastoral strength to the parish and the people. In the vicinity of Disna, he was innocently killed and buried in a mass grave.

We often use the metaphorical expression “river of memory.” It denotes the flow of memories, historical memory, which connects the past, present and future. It preserves the memory of events, people and their exploits. They remembered not only the feat of the Hieromartyr Constantine, but also those people who lived on this land, built houses and raised children, preserved the Christian faith, and prayed earnestly in churches and in the fields. For many of us, these are our ancestors, this is our childhood, this is our land...

Villages are emptying, little children’s voices are heard, the banks of our river Disyonka are overgrown. People rush to the city. Humanly...