TASS Will Host a Press Conference for the 80th Anniversary of the Appearance of Christ the Savior

On 31 August at 10:00, the TASS press center will host a press conference marking the 80th anniversary of the Appearance of Christ the Savior in Elista and the premiere of a Spas TV documentary.

Head of the Republic of Kalmykia Batu Khasikov, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media Vladimir Legoyda, Spas TV General Director and General Producer Boris Korchevnikov, Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia, and film director Roman Gangan will discuss the history of the event, the anniversary program, spiritual and cultural heritage, interfaith harmony, and the making of the film.

The anniversary commemorates the event witnessed on 11 September 1946 in Elista’s Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the spring of 1947, eyewitness Semyon Bondarenko brought to the church an icon painted according to his account.

The icon is due to be blessed during the anniversary celebrations on 10 September 2026. The events are included in the calendar for Russia’s Year of the Unity of Peoples.

The press conference will be streamed on the TASS announcements page and in the TASS press center’s VK community.