The Russian Orthodox Church has dispatched a reliquary containing part of the remains of Dmitry Donskoy, a 14th-century prince, to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as part of its support for military operations. Church officials stated that the relic was intended to “spiritually strengthen” soldiers and contribute to military success. The fragment, consisting of part of Donskoy’s right hand, was first brought to the Savur-Mohyla war memorial in the Donetsk region, where senior Orthodox clergy conducted a prayer service alongside Russian military representatives.
The Metropolitan Vladimir of Donetsk and Mariupol, appointed by Russian authorities, indicated that the relic’s presence would assist soldiers and civilians in mobilizing their resolve to achieve victory. Donskoy is venerated in Russian tradition for his military accomplishments, particularly his victory over the Mongolian Golden Horde in 1380.
The reliquary’s deployment represents an escalation in the institutional church’s alignment with the Russian military campaign. Since the onset of the full-scale military operation, church leadership has become substantially integrated into the war effort, with priests assigned to military units and occupied territories. Church institutions across Russia have been instructed to recite prayers requesting divine assistance for military victory.
Donskoy’s remains were formally uncovered during restoration work at the Cathedral of the Archangel within the Kremlin earlier this year, with the Russian president attending the ceremony. Critics have raised concerns about whether the church’s decision to open the centuries-old tomb adheres to established religious protocols, particularly given that the prince had been canonized decades earlier without prior exhumation. Some observers have attributed the timing of the reliquary’s deployment to wartime considerations rather than standard religious practice.
Earlier this year, relics associated with Alexander Nevsky, another medieval military figure honored by the Russian Orthodox Church, were similarly transported to combat areas.
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