STREET NAMED FOR GREEK SAINT IN RUSSIAN FAR EAST

 

The city of Khabarovsk has a new street named in honor of a saint who connects Greece, Mt. Athos, and Russia.

 

The Church of the Blessed Heaven Icon of the Mother of God was recently built in the far eastern city, across from the Khabarovsk airport, and the street on which it stands is now officially known as St. Maxim the Greek Street, reports the Khabarovsk Diocese.

 

Church rector Fr. George Ibragimov explained that the street was named according to an ancient tradition according to which streets were often named after the patron saints of churches located on those streets.

 

For example, in Moscow, Yakimanka Street is home to the Church of Sts. Joachim and Anna. And as Fr. George explains, though the church is named for an icon of the Mother of God, one of the side altars is named for St. Maxim the Greek, a great 16th-century thinker, writer, publicist, translator, and philologist.

 

Fr. George explained the choice of St. Maxim for the street:

 

In the city of Khabarovsk, where there are a lot of universities and technical schools, where there is the Khabarovsk Theological Seminary, where international relations and scientific ties are developing, it’s no coincidence that the question arose about naming a street in honor of this saint. We’re sure that a street named after St. Maxim the Greek is a worthy contribution to the perpetuation of the memory of a man who contributed to the development of Russian literature, translation, and the development of international relations.

 

St. Maxim, a monk of Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos, went to Russia to translate religious texts in 1518 by request of Grand Prince Vasily III. In addition to translating a number of texts, St. Maxim also fought against injustices in Russian society, which angered the Moscow authorities and led to him being exiled to St. Joseph of Volokolamsk Monastery outside Moscow and then to Otroch Monastery in Tver for 20 years. He was later transferred to the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, where he reposed and where his relics remain to this day.

 

St. Maxim the Greek Street is the second in Khabarovsk to be named for a saint. There is already a St. Innocent (Veniaminov) Street, located near the Transfiguration Cathedral.