U.S. Couple Donates Relics of St. Arsenios to UOC Monastery
A sacred relic of St. Arsenios the Great was donated by a California couple to Ukraine’s Holy Dormition-Sviatogorsk Lavra, where it was solemnly received and venerated in a ceremony led by Met. Arseny.
SVIATOGORSK — On September 15, 2025, a sacred relic of St. Arsenios the Great, a revered 4th-5th century desert father, was donated to the Holy Dormition-Sviatogorsk Lavra in Ukraine’s Donetsk Province. The donation came from Ilya and Elena Poluektov, a couple from near San Francisco, California. Ilya, son of Archpriest Alexei Poluektov, who served 37 years at the Kazan Church, acquired the relic in Italy in 2020, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
The Poluektovs, familiar with the Lavra through online services, had long planned a visit but were deterred by Ukraine’s ongoing situation, reports Orthodox Christianity. Instead, Elena Gruschina, originally from Kramatorsk and now living in the U.S., transported the relic during a visit home. The relic was solemnly received at the Lavra’s Holy Dormition Cathedral at 12:30 PM, with Met. Arseny, the monastery’s abbot and a namesake of St. Arsenios, leading the ceremony. Monks, nuns, and refugees gathered to venerate the relic, placed centrally in the cathedral.
Met. Arseny noted the Lavra’s historical ties to St. Arsenios, including a 19th-century skete and the monastery’s first post-revival abbot, St. Arseny (Mitrofanov). A moleben with an akathist was served, and attendees were blessed with holy water and oil from St. Arsenios’ lampada.
Last month, the UOJ reported on the ongoing prosecution of Met. Arseny under false charges of espionage.
