PEVEK (Chukotka), September 6. /TASS/. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has arrived in Russia’s northernmost city of Pevek. The visit of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Chukotka autonomous region began on Tuesday with this Arctic port city located on the shores of the Chaun Bay in the East Siberian Sea.

During his visit to Chukotka the patriarch will lay the foundation stones of two new churches in permafrost - in Pevek and near the Ugolny airport servicing Anadyr, the administrative center of the Chukotka autonomous region, and meet with local reindeer breeders.

"Pevek is Russia’s northernmost city, the easternmost port in the Arctic Ocean on Russia’s territory. It’s quite obvious that this is the way our economy and our national life will develop, that the north and the east will become increasingly important. We know even now what extensive plans are linked to the development of the Northern Sea Route," Patriarch Kirill said.

He thanked Chukotka Governor, Roman Kopin, and Bishop of Anadyr and Chukotka Mathew for the fact that a lot has happened in the region in recent months, including in the development of spiritual life.

"One can see positive signs of spiritual renewal, hence, a new stage in the development of this wonderful, beautiful region," the patriarch said.

When asked about the main purpose of his visit to Pevek, he said that he came there "in the first place, to meet with the people who live there and pray with the faithful." According to the patriarch, "the 1990s and the early 2000s were difficult for Pevek, but those who survived and preserved the city have good prospects." "And, most importantly, I came here to lay the foundation stone of a cathedral in honor of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church," he noted.