Overview

• During a divine liturgy in Rostov-on-Don, Patriarch Kirill consecrated St. George the Victorious Church, the main Orthodox military church of the Southern Military District.
• Aleksandr Sanchik, commander of the Southern Military District, received the Order of Dmitry Donskoy, 3rd degree, presented personally by the patriarch.
• Hero of Russia Gen. Aleksandr Dvornikov was awarded the Order of Daniil of Moscow, 2nd degree, in the same ceremony.
• Attendees included DNR head Denis Pushilin, Rostov region governor Yury Slyusar, presidential envoy Vladimir Ustinov, and Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin.
• Additional church and civic honorees included Bishop Simon (Morozov), rector Valeriy Voloshchuk, and Rostov-on-Don mayor Aleksandr Skryabin, and the parish’s 3.5-hectare complex and social programs were noted alongside its 2021 designation as the district’s main military church.