On May 23, in the Monastery of Yuso of San Millán de la Cogolla, the chest containing the remains of the Saint, who gives name to the convent, was opened, to the town people and the whole valley of san Millán, The event took place in the private oratory where the relics of the monk Millán and those of his Master St. Felices de Bilibio, are preserved and in it the 10 religious who form the community of the Augustinian Recollects were present.
We are talking about something exceptional; in fact, within the span of 10 centuries only other four openings of the precious chest are documented. The reason was to collect three fragments of of the Saint’s bones, which , as a sign of ecumenical brotherhood, two of them are given to the Russian Orthodox Church. The diocesan Bishop, Juan José Omella was the one who gave the authority. The operation was conducted by the Chancellor-Secretary of Diocese of Rioja, Luis María Centeno Pérez, who has used for this purpose the keys kept by the Bishop. Corresponding minutes were taken of all the activities and signed by all those present.
A first relic was a gift from Monsignor Omella, Bishop of Calahorra and la Calzada, Logroño to Monsignor Nestor, Bishop of Corsun and Exarch for Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church. He has had opportunity to deliver it on the 29th of May, during the visit the two Hierarchs made to the Monastery of San Millán.
Another relic was requested by Andrey Kordochkin, parish priest of the Orthodox parish of Santa Maria Magdalena, which, a few days earlier, on Sunday, May 19, had been opened in the city of Madrid. In his request Kordochkin stated that “one of the most important tasks for me is to direct the attention of the members of the Orthodox community towards the first millennium of Christianity in Spain, which is common for Catholics and Orthodox ‘. And he highlighted the eremitical profile of the Spanish Saint, so appealing for them: “the figure of San Millán” – he added – “is very important for us, because he represents the profound tradition of the anchorite life, venerated in Orthodox Church as well as in the Catholic Church”. At the same time, as “a kind gesture of closer mutual relationship”, he presented to the Monastery of Yuso, an icon of the Saint painted by one of the best iconographers of Russia.
Pilgrimage to the Cave of the Saint
The parish priest of Santa María Magdalena may collect the small box of hardwood containing the fragment of bone of San Millán on June 15. For this day they have planned a pilgrimage to sanctuary of La Rioja, and will celebrate there the Eucharist in the oratory where the sacred remains are kept. Besides admiring the two monasteries of Suso and Yuso, another activity they have planned is to climb the so-called the Cave of the Saint: a place situated in the inner part of the mountain, where, according to tradition, San Millán lived as a hermit for 40 years.