The head of the sports and patriotic department of the Yekaterinburg diocese took part in the opening of the sambo competition in honor of Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Japantranslated

The head of the sports and patriotic department of the Yekaterinburg diocese, Priest Anthony Klyukin, took part in the grand opening of the All-Russian sambo competition in honor of St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan. The sports festival was held on November 7, 2026 at the Sambo and Martial Arts Palace in the city of Verkhnyaya Pyshma.

In his welcoming speech, Father Anthony recalled the history of the emergence of sambo, talking about the founder of this sport - Vasily Sergeevich Oshchepkov - and about his meeting with St. Nicholas of Japan.

Vasily Sergeevich was born in 1892 on Sakhalin into a family of exiled settlers. Subsequently, finding himself an orphan, he providentially ended up studying at a theological seminary in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Vasily was noticed by Saint Nicholas, whose favorite brainchild was the seminary, among the disciplines of which judo was taught. Judo became the founder of a new sport - sambo, created by Vasily Sergeevich already in his homeland.

After the completion of the first stage of the competition, a ceremonial awards ceremony took place, in which Priest Anthony Klyukin took part. The winners were awarded certificates, commemorative cups and medals.

Let's note...