From September 2 to 8, Irkutsk will host the 5th Orthodox Rus exhibition forum, dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of Saint Prince Vladimir. Visitors will see over 150 church and secular organizations from different countries, icons, church items, books, music, crafts, and a shrine for veneration, the icon of the Mother of God Inexhaustible Chalice. The organizers also prepared meetings with priests, presentations of Orthodox projects, and programs related to the life of the Irkutsk diocese. Over four years, more than 150 thousand people have visited the exhibition, and this year it promises to be one of the most notable events of September.

From September 2 to 8, the V exhibition-forum “Orthodox Rus” will take place, organized by the exhibition association “RESTEC,” the Irkutsk Metropolis, and the Government of the Irkutsk Region. In 2015, the event is dedicated to the 1,000th anniversary of the repose of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the baptizer of Rus. This was reported by the acting Minister of Culture and Archives of the Irkutsk Region, Vitaly Baryshnikov.
As noted by Sergei Kulik, head of the representative office of the exhibition association “RESTEC” in Irkutsk, the exposition will bring together more than 150 secular and church organizations from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Greece, Georgia, and Montenegro. Monasteries, churches, publishing houses, workshops, as well as secular organizations whose activities are connected with the Russian Orthodox Church will present their stands. In particular, representatives of the Monastery of St. Venerable Sergius of Radonezh in the village of Mikulichi (Montenegro), the Shavnabad Monastery of St. George the Victorious (Georgia), and eight Orthodox monasteries of Greece are expected to come to Irkutsk. The largest exposition has been prepared by the St. Elisabeth Convent from Belarus. Exhibitors will offer visitors church utensils, printed publications, icons, vestments and secular clothing, ceramics, lecture and film recordings, spiritual and classical music, souvenirs and monastic handicrafts, as well as honey, medicinal herbs, and traditional Russian sweets. For the veneration of the faithful, the icon of the Mother of God “The Inexhaustible Chalice” will be brought to the exhibition from the Vladychny Serpukhov Monastery.
According to the secretary of the Irkutsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest Stefan Bazhkov, the program “Ask a Priest” will traditionally take place and has received a positive response from visitors. The activities of the information and consultation center “Path to the Home”; the church bell-ringers’ school “Blagovestnik”; the Center for the Orthodox Family, and the spiritual care rehabilitation center for drug addicts will be presented; a presentation of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Sofrony, Bishop of Irkutsk, has been prepared.
According to the coordinators, over four years the exhibition has been visited by more than 150,000 people, including 56,000 in 2014.