Borisoglebsky, Yaroslavl Province, Russia, July 21, 2023
St. Irinarkh Procession. Photo: monasterium.ru
A number of annual cross processions in Russia and Greece were held in the past few days in commemoration of major saints and miraculous events.
St. Irinarkh Procession
On Wednesday, July 19, the annual St. Irinarkh Procession began at the Sts. Boris and Gleb Monastery in the Pereslavl Diocese. The day began with Liturgy and prayers before the relics of St. Irinarkh the Recluse (†1616), reports the Russian Church’s Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism.
The procession lasts five days. It will end on Sunday, July 23, with a Liturgy near the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the village of Kondakovo, where the saint was born, and a moleben at the well of St. Irinarkh.
The tradition of the St. Irinarkh Procession dates to the 17th century, and the tradition of a week-long procession dates to 1873. The tradition was broken when the godless Soviets closed the monastery in 1924, but was revived in 1997, after the monastery was returned to the Church. About 3,000 people participate every year.
See our photo galleries from the procession in 2019 and 2022.
Prophet Elijah Procession
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
And in the Pylaia-Chortiatis municipality of Thessaloniki, thousands of Orthodox Christians participated in the annual procession in honor of the great Prophet Elijah, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
The procession was accompanied by the local philharmonic band, while the icon was carried by the Association of Historical Military Vehicles, passing through the main streets and blessing the neighborhoods of Pylaia.
The celebration began with Vespers at the Church of the Prophet Elijah in Pylaia.
Kazan Icon Procession
Photo: tatmitropolia.ru
This morning, the annual procession with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on the feast of the appearance of the icon in 1579 was held in the Russian city of Kazan.
According to tradition, a venerated copy of the Kazan Icon was carried in prayerful procession from the Holy Annunciation Cathedral in the Kazan Kremlin to the Kazan Mother of God Monastery, at the site of where the revered icon originally appeared, reports the Tatarstan Metropolis.
Photo: tatmitropolia.ru
The procession began with a moleben celebrated by Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, and Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and All Belarus. A number of hierarchs were also present.
The bishops were joined in the procession by local and visiting clerics and pilgrims from across Russia.
Upon reaching the monastery, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Kazan Cathedral, where the icon permanently resides.
Find more information about the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God at “The Complicated History of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.”
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