A candle lit before the Throne of Godtranslated

Two stories about the righteous Alexy Bortsurmansky. August 17 is the day of his memory, the day of the discovery of his holy relics.

On the outskirts of Ulyanovsk, in the village of Prigorodny, a quiet and at the same time great work is being done - a church is being built in honor of Christ’s beloved disciple, the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian. Not all the work has been completed yet, but prayer is already being heard, people are gathering, and a parish family is already being born.

While the church is just being built, services are often held in the open air. And there is a special evangelical beauty in this: before walls and domes, a living Church is born - where people stand together before God, where the priest prays with his flock, where everyone comes not as an outside spectator, but as a participant in a common cause.

The rector of this young community is priest Alexy Palevka. Not long ago in the history of the church under construction, an event occurred that both the priest and the parishioners perceived as a blessing, a quiet but deep sign of spiritual continuity.

Father Alexy says:

— On May 4, 2026, Metropolitan Longin of Simbirsk and Novospassky was supposed to perform the ceremony of founding our church under construction. This is a special day for any church: the day when...