A prayer service before the start of the school year will take place on August 30 at the Trinity Cathedraltranslated

On August 30, Sunday, a prayer service will be held in the upper church of the Cathedral in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity before the start of the school year. The service will take place at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Starts at 11:00.

A prayer service at the beginning of the school year is a special rite in which those praying ask for God’s help and blessing in comprehending and understanding good and soul-helping teaching. On this day they pray not only for students, but also for their teachers. Before the start of the school year, teachers, students and their parents gather for general prayer and, according to tradition, turn to the saints.

Among the saints whose prayers are asked for success in their studies are the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and the Righteous John of Kronstadt, for whom their studies themselves were not easy. But by the grace of God they were able not only to overcome difficulties, but also to become spiritually educated people, each for their own era. Prayers also turn to the martyr Tatiana, the holy youths Ananias, Azarias and Misail, the unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, who are revered as the heavenly patrons of pupils and students.

They turn to the Most Holy Theotokos with a prayer for success in their studies in front of Her miraculous icon “Addition of Mind.”