The beginning of the processions of the cross goes back to the Old Testament history. Their types were made by kings David and Solomon. In ancient Israel, when any important matter was conceived, for the completion of which the prayer of the entire people was needed, folk processions were organized with the carrying of the Ark of the Lord.

In the New Testament history, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself was the installer of the processions of the cross. The Lord's Entry Into Jerusalem - A Patternprocession of the cross, given by the Lord himself, who solemnly entered the city for the suffering of the cross, accompanied by the people and with universal exclamations: "Hosanna to the Son of David."

In ancient times, solemn processions with a cross at the head were part of Christian divine services. Constantine the Great (III-IV centuries) went to war only accompanied by priests, and before battles he performed a procession of the cross. The Emperor Justinian (V-VI centuries), knowing the miraculous power of the processions of the cross, legally determined the time and order of the processions, noting especially its necessity before the construction of churches and monasteries, and also forbade the procession of the cross without bishops and priests.

In the future, every outstanding event of the Church was marked by processions of the cross: the foundation and consecration of churches, the transfer of relics and church relics, the meeting by the people and the clergy of archpastors and kings, solemn and state festivals - were always accompanied by common prayers with processions of the cross. Processions of the cross were held not only in days of joy, but also in days of sorrow. So, during the three-month earthquake that befell Constantinople, a propitious procession took place under the leadership of Emperor Theodosius the Younger and Patriarch Proclus.

In Russia, they have always loved processions of the cross, appreciated their cleansing and prayer power. The popular belief in haste to help the heavenly intercessors honored during the procession was boundless.

And the history of Holy Russia literally from the first days of its birth is associated with the procession of the cross: the first baptisms of the Kievites were preceded by a solemn procession to the place of baptism - the Dnieper River.Through an invisible spiritual thread, the processions of the cross have tied all centuries of Russian history: the procession solemnly transferred the relics of the first Russian saints - the passion-bearers Boris and Gleb.

More than once Moscow, the heart of Russia, was saved from the invasion of foreigners and gentiles by repentance codes of the cross. For example, Moscow was worn with the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in 1395 during the invasion of Tamerlane and in 1480 during the invasion of Akhmat.

During the Great Patriotic War besieged Leningrad was carried in a procession of the cross with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.By the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, a many-month procession took place across the country.

Religious processions are ordinary, local and extraordinary.Processions around the church on Easter Matins and every day on Easter week after liturgy are common; on the feast of the Epiphany for the consecration of water in the reservoir.Local passages in honor of locally revered saints and great events of church importance. These processions include the procession of the cross to Irgen, where the relics of the locally revered saints - the Irgen warrior-martyrs - are buried.

Extraordinary religious processions are held with the permission of the diocesan authorities in especially important cases of church life. An emergency procession may also be allowed during famine, droughts, diseases, wars. In 2007, an extraordinary religious procession was held in Chita in defense of the Orthodox faith and Russia, directed against the Catholic expansion in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ahead of the procession, a lantern is carried - a symbol of Divine light, tearing apart the darkness of sinfulness.

Behind the lantern are the altarpiece of the Mother of God and the altar cross. Further, in two rows, there are standard bearers and canon bearers with candles in large church candlesticks, deacons with candles and censers, and behind them are priests, in pairs. Priests carry holy icons, altar crosses. The last pair of priests carry one Gospel, and the one on the right carries the cross. The archpastor follows the priests, accompanied by subdeacons with the symbols of episcopal power - the dikiri and triciri. The choir and the laity follow.

Religious processions consecrate all the elements of nature (earth, air, water, fire). This comes from icons, incense, altar cross overshadowing all cardinal points, sprinkling with water, burning candles ...

Yulia Biktimirova

The procession of the cross is a solemn procession with a cross, banners and icons, accompanied by prayers for the mercy of God.

Religious processions are performed in honor of church holidays; when transferring the relics of saints, religious shrines; during the period of natural disasters, epidemics and wars, as a way to ask God for protection and salvation from the troubles that have befallen.

There were also processions of the cross dedicated to certain saints, either shrines, or associated with holy places. In the case when the shrine has long been widely known and the course itself has many years from its foundation, it gathers thousands of pilgrims.

In our country, processions of the cross were borrowed from the Greeks and were carried out according to the customs of the Church of Constantinople. The church history of Russia began with a procession of the cross to the Dnieper for the baptism of the Kievites. The annals reflect the later processions of the cross at the behest of the great dukes of Russia Yaroslav I, Izyaslav I, Vladimir Monomakh. In addition to the constant and general church (on Easter, Epiphany) in Russia there were many initiated processions of the cross, caused by various circumstances of its historical life. They were performed with special solemnity and special grandeur with the indispensable participation of patriarchs and kings.

In the 12th century, a tradition arose to perform processions of the cross during the transfer of the relics of the saints. So, during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh, on May 2, 1115, a procession took place when the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb were moved from the old church to the new stone church in Vyshegorodsky. The solemn event was attended by governors, boyars, clergy and common people. With the singing of psalms and burning candles, they accompanied the relics of the saints.

In 1352, in Pskov, the Orthodox made a procession of the cross, bringing God to help to get rid of the pestilence. Archbishop Vasily of Novgorod put on the sacred vestments and, accompanied by the clergy and all residents able to stand on their feet, walked around the city with a cross and holy relics while loudly singing and praying.

Under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, an annual procession of the cross from the center of St. Petersburg to Porokhovye was established to commemorate the drought of 1730. Forests were burning near St. Petersburg, and there was a threat of fire in the city itself. Then there was a procession of the cross with a prayer service from the city center to the Ilyinsky Church. According to legend, the rains soon began to save the capital. The tradition of this procession lasted for about forty years.

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a bright flourishing of religious processions. Processions of the cross for the transfer of the relics of the saints became extraordinary events in the life of the people. For example, the religious procession of the higher clergy with the participation of the Emperor Nicholas II and members of the imperial family on the occasion of the acquisition of the relics of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov in 1903. The procession with the relics of St. Joasaph, Bishop of Belgorod in 1911 was of similar importance.

In the reference book "Orthodox Russian Monasteries" for 1910, it is indicated that in 171 monasteries there were 505 annual processions of the cross. About 19 of them were multi-week and even multi-month rounds of the surrounding villages and cities of Russia with miraculous icons.

After the October Revolution, religious processions were banned in the country. However, pilgrims made pilgrimages to places where miraculous icons appeared, to memorable places. Currently, the traditions of religious processions are being revived.

For a long time, only a pedestrian procession with the participation of clergy and believers was recognized as a procession of the cross. However, thanks to technical progress, with the blessing of the clergy, non-canonical processions of the cross began to take place. During the Great Patriotic War, on December 2, 1941, an airplane flew around Moscow with a miraculous copy of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on board (according to other sources, it was an icon of the Kazan Mother of God). After that, the capital escaped the enemy's advance.

During the procession of the cross, the land on which we live is sanctified, it is sanctified, as it were, by the feet of the Savior Himself, the Mother of God and the saints of God walking along her in their faces. Then air, fire, water are sanctified, without which we cannot do in our earthly life. They are consecrated by sprinkling with holy water and overshadowing on all four sides with a throne cross in places where the procession stops.

Metropolitan Filaret drew up rules of conduct during the procession from the Golutvin monastery to Kolomna in memory of the end of cholera, but they are of a general nature.

“When you enter the procession of the cross, think that you are walking under the leadership of the saints, whose icons walk in it, approaching the Lord Himself, and perhaps the generation of our weakness. The earthly shrine signifies and invokes the heavenly shrine; the presence of the cross of the Lord and holy icons and sprinkling with blessed water cleanses the air and earth from our sinful impurities, removes the dark forces and brings the light ones closer.

Use this help for your faith and prayer and do not make it useless for you by your negligence. Hearing church singing in the procession, connect your prayer with it; and if you do not hear from a distance, call upon the Lord, the Mother of God and His saints in the manner of prayer known to you. Do not enter into conversations with accompanying persons; and answer the beginning of the conversation with a silent bow or a short only necessary word. The clergy should be an example of order and reverence, and the worldly should not be crowded between the clergy and upset the order. It doesn't matter if you lag behind in body: do not lag behind the holy in spirit. "

In early July, the largest Orthodox religious procession began, not only for Ukraine, but for the entire Russian Orthodox Church. All-Ukrainian Religious Procession, which will take place in the dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In the east of the country, it began from the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra. In the west - from the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra - it will begin on July 9. On July 27, on the eve of the celebration of the day of the Baptism of Kievan Rus and the memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, these religious processions will meet in Kiev on Vladimirskaya Gorka and together will be held in the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

The purpose of the All-Ukrainian Religious Procession, held with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, Onufriy, is a prayer for peace, for unity and mutual understanding in Ukraine: the procession is intended to unite Orthodox Christians in all regions.

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Ten results of the All-Ukrainian Religious Procession 2016- Vyacheslav Pikhovshek

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Procession of the Cross is an Orthodox ceremony carried out in the form of a reverent procession of believers with icons, crosses, banners and other Christian relics, organized with the aim of glorifying God, asking for His mercy and grace-filled support.

"Religious procession to Flora and Lavra". Artist Alexander Makovsky. 1921 year

A religious procession can be performed either along a closed route, for example, around a field, village, city, temple, or in a special way, where the starting and ending points of travel are different.

The procession is deeply symbolic. The solemn bell ringing expresses the triumph of the Cross of Christ, majestically worn, surrounded by a host of the faithful, who follow him like soldiers following their sign. The procession is led by the saints, whose icons are carried in front. Religious processions consecrate all the elements of nature (earth, air, water, fire). This comes from icons, incense, altar cross overshadowing all cardinal points, sprinkling with water, burning candles ...

The practice of performing the processions of the Cross has an ancient origin. Religious processions appeared in the 4th century in Byzantium. Saint John Chrysostom organized night processions against the Arians through the streets of Constantinople. For this, silver crosses were made on shafts, which were solemnly worn around the city along with holy icons. People walked with lighted candles.

Later, in the struggle against the heresy of Nestorius, special processions of the cross were arranged by St. Cyril of Alexandria, seeing the hesitation of the emperor. Later in Constantinople, in order to get rid of mass diseases, the Life-giving Tree of the Honest Cross was taken out of the temples and carried along the streets of the city.

Emergency circumstances, for example, natural or natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, droughts, crop failures), epidemics, and the threat of an enemy seizing territory could serve as an immediate reason for organizing propitiatory processions. Such processions were accompanied by common prayers, containing petitions to God to protect the earth and its inhabitants from troubles. In the event of a siege of the city, the route could run along the city walls or along the walls.

At the time of the spread of heresies, special religious processions were performed, motivated by the desire to protect the Orthodox faith from desecration, and the believers themselves from mistakes and delusions.

Over time, the practice of performing solemn processions of the Cross took root in the Church. Such passages were carried out on some holidays, during the consecration of temples, the transfer of the relics of saints, miraculous icons.

One of the most ancient, Old Testament prototypes of the Processions of the Cross is the seven-day tour of the walls of Jericho by the Israelites (Joshua 6: 1-4), the solemn transfer of the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Abeddar to the city of David (2 Samuel 6:12).

Banners are an integral sign of any religious procession. During the journey of the children of Israel to the Promised Land, all 12 tribes made their journey after their signs, or banners, and every banner was carried in front of the tabernacle, and all their tribes followed it. Just as in Israel there were banners in every tribe, so we also have their banners in every church parish. As all the tribes of Israel traveled in the wake of their banners, so in our country every parish follows in the wake of their banners during the procession.

Instead of the trumpet blast of that time, now we have church evangelism, which is why all the air around and all the people are sanctified, and all the demonic power is driven away.

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Religious processions in Russia

We offer you a little bit about some of the famous processions of the cross in the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In reality, of course, there are more of them, processions of the cross are held annually in almost every diocese.

The St. George Religious Procession in the places of military glory and heroic defense of Leningrad takes place in St. Petersburg annually. The tradition began in 2005, in the year of the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. War veterans, representatives of search teams, the youth organization "Vityazi", scouts, cadets of military universities, parishioners of St. Petersburg churches are going to commemorate the fallen defenders of Leningrad at the sites of battles and burials.

Organizer: Rector of the St. Petersburg Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" on Shpalernaya Archpriest Vyacheslav Kharinov.

Route: From Nevsky Piglet (St. Petersburg) through the Sinyavinsky Heights to the Assumption Church in the village of Lezie-Sologubovka, next to which is the Peace Park.

One of the largest annual religious processions in Russia. Passes with the revered Velikoretskaya miraculous icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The procession has been known since the beginning of the 15th century. Initially, it was performed along the Vyatka and Velikaya rivers on boats and rafts on the first Sunday after the feast of the transfer of the holy relics of St. Nicholas to Bar-grad (May 22). Since 1668, with the blessing of Bishop Alexander of Vyatka, a new date for the celebration has been set - June 24/6. Later, in 1778, a new route was developed - an overland route, which is still in effect. For 5 days of travel, pilgrims cover 150 km.

Organizer: Vyatka diocese.

Route: Starts on June 3 from the St. Seraphim Cathedral in Kirov, passes through the village of Makarya, the villages of Bobino, Zagarye, Monastyrskoye, Gorokhovo. The final destination is the village of Velikoretskoye, where prayers are held in churches and on the banks of the Velikaya River. The pilgrims return back through the village of Mediany and the village of Murygino and on June 8 they arrive in Kirov.

The move takes place in memory of the murdered royal family annually in July. Participants of the course go from the Temple-on-the-Blood to the monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers on Ganina Yama. They walk along the roads along which the bodies of the murdered Romanovs were transported in 1918. In 2015, the procession gathered about 60 thousand pilgrims.

Organizer: Yekaterinburg Diocese.

Route: Church on the Blood - the center of Yekaterinburg - VIZ - Tagansky Ryad - Sorting - the village of Shuvakish - to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers on Ganina Yama.

The procession takes place with the "Kaluga" icon of the Mother of God, as part of the celebration of the anniversary of the repose of Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles and the day of remembrance of Blessed Lawrence.

Organizer: Kaluga Missionary Department of the Kaluga Diocese.

Route: From the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Kaluga through more than 30 settlements of Kaluga, Kozelskaya, and Pesochenskaya dioceses with a return to Kaluga

Religious procession with the Tabyn icon of the Mother of God

Since 1992, the Bashkortostan Metropolitanate has been hosting the annual Tabynsk religious procession in Bashkiria - a procession with the Tabynsk image of the Mother of God.

Organizer: Ufa and Salavat Diocese

Route: passes through the districts of the Salavat and Ufa dioceses of the Bashkortostan metropolis to the place of the apparition on the river. Usolke at Salty Keys p. The resort of the Gafuri region, where a miraculous image was acquired more than 450 years ago.

Dates and duration: Several processions of the cross can begin from different settlements on different days, while the end of the passages that merge into one procession is timed to coincide with the ninth Friday after Easter - the day of the celebration of the Tabyn Icon of the Mother of God.

Trinity Godfather passes around Ufa: pilgrims walk more than 120 km and pray for the health and salvation of all residents of the city of Ufa.

Organizer: Ufa Diocese

Route: It starts from the Sergievsky Cathedral of Ufa and runs along the outskirts of Ufa.

Dates and duration: Starts annually on the day of the Holy Trinity and lasts 5 days.

Religious procession with the icon of the Mother of God "Sign" Kursk-Root

The Kursk Icon of the Sign of the Mother of God is one of the oldest icons of the Russian Church, acquired in the 13th century, during the Tatar invasion. On the days of the march, the icon is transferred from Kursk to the Root Hermitage and back by a solemn procession of the cross, which stretched all the way from the Znamensky Monastery in Kursk to the Root Hermitage - 27 versts.

Organizer: Kursk Diocese.

Route: Znamensky Monastery - Kursk Root Christmas-Mother of God Hermitage.

Dates and duration: annually Friday 9th Easter.

Religious procession with the icon of the Mother of God "Deliverer from Troubles" in Tashlu

The religious procession with the Tashlinsky icon of the Mother of God, organized by the Cossacks of the Krasnoglinskaya village of the Samara Regional Cossack Society, began in 2014 and passed through the Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza and Ulyanovsk regions. The Tashlinskaya icon of the Mother of God "Deliverer from troubles" - a miraculous icon revered in the Volga region, the main shrine of the Samara diocese - was found on October 21, 1917 near the village of Tashla, Samara province.

Organizer: Diocese of Samara.

Route: Samara - Tashla village, about 71 km.

Dates and duration: beginning on the first day of St. Peter's Lent, duration 3 days.

Religious procession in memory of all the new martyrs and confessors of Russia

The procession has been held annually since 2000. It is dedicated to the memory of all the new martyrs and confessors of Russia, including the martyrs Vavilov Dol: the inhabitants of the cave monastery, which was once located in the picturesque forest area of the Volga region, killed during the Soviet era. The total length of the procession is 500 kilometers.

Organizer: Saratov Diocese.

Route: Saratov - Vavilov Dol

The Volga Religious Procession began its history in 1999. Then, on the eve of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, on June 20, from the source of the Volga, a religious procession began along the waters of three great Slavic rivers: the Volga, the Dnieper, and the Western Dvina. In 2000, the pre-revolutionary tradition of consecrating the source of the Volga River and the beginning of the Volga religious procession were combined into one holiday from that time. In 2016, the XVIII Volga Religious Procession will be held as part of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the presence of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos.

Organizer: Tver diocese.

Route: Holguin Monastery in Volgoverkhovye - Ascension Cathedral of the city of Kalyazin.

Every year in July from the Borisoglebsk monastery there is a procession with the cross to the source of the Monk Irinarch. It is dedicated to the revered saint of the monastery - St. Irinarkh Zatvornik and symbolically connects the village of Kondakovo - his homeland and the Borisoglebsk monastery - his place of stay and rest. The procession has traditionally been held for over 300 years. During the years of Soviet power, it was not carried out. Resumed on the old route in 1997. The procession ends on Sunday. Length: no more than 60-65 km. Participants: over 2000.

Organizer: Yaroslavl and Rostov Diocese.

Route: Borisoglebsky Monastery - Trinity-na-Boru - Selishche - Shipino - Kishkino - Komarovo - Pavlovo - Ilyinskoe - Red October - Yazykovo - Aleshkino - Kuchery - Ivanovskoe - Titovo - Zvyagino - Emelyaninovo - Georgievskoe - Nikulskoe - Davy - Zubarevo Novoselka - Kondakovo - well of St. Irinarch

Dates and Duration: Held annually in the 3rd - 4th week of July. The dates are approved by Vladyka Kirill of Yaroslavl and Rostov approximately one month before it starts.

Elder Jonah of Odessa

Unfortunately, many of today's Christians, and even some of the priests, do not know the blessed power of the Orthodox Religious Procession, do not understand its meaning and significance, both for each individual person and for the world in general. Moreover, the word "peace" can be read here both "for peace - against war", and in the understanding of "the whole world", as the whole land, country, city, area in which it is held.

It has long been noticed - and our pious ancestors used this - that after the procession with a prayer service, there were good harvests, unfavorable weather conditions stopped: the Lord brought rain after a drought, or, conversely, the sun came out and the continuous rains stopped, threatening flooding. Moreover, miraculous healings took place, both of the participants, and
those for whom they prayed, epidemics, outbreaks of plague stopped. During military invasions, our ancestors also resorted to the help of the Procession of the Cross - with a conciliar, repentant prayer, they asked for forgiveness of sins and intercession from God's Heavenly Forces.

Where the procession took place, the area is consecrated. If we had an open spiritual vision, we could see how the space is literally cut by the Procession of the Cross, everything sinful and evil disappears, and the whole area is literally filled with God's Grace.

Modern elders say that “ while the processions are going on, the Lord will not allow war". And recently reposed in God Elder Jonah of Odessa (2014), shortly before his death, said that “ Ukraine will be saved by religious processions "... Here is a topic for you to think about - whether the processions of the Cross are necessary, how to relate to them, whether to participate in them - at least a little, as they say, everyone can do, - or can participate - to greet him (after all, the Savior Himself, the Mother of God, the Saints on icons, banners, and invisibly coming), feed, place, if necessary, for the night, etc. And if local, one-day Religious processions have such power and grace-filled meaning, then what is the use of multi-day ones, such as "Kamenets-Podolsky - Pochaev", "Bravilovo - Pochaev", "Toplovo - Feodossiya", etc.? After all, here a Christian already enters into a kind of feat - he endures bad weather, everyday inconveniences, his imperfections, which will necessarily manifest themselves, learns to see his neighbor, and not only himself, learns humility, prayer, and trust in God's help.

Vladyka of Kamyanets-Podilsky and Gorodotsky Theodore in 2007, before the start of the Pochaev religious procession, he uttered the following words: “ Procession of the cross is a spiritual feat, a feat that presupposes faith, and therefore reveals to the believer the possibilities and the world that opens up through this feat. " And he also said, admonishing the crusaders: “The joint prayer that you will perform during the pilgrimage trip is, perhaps, the most important thing that will be performed during your six-day journey to the Pochaev Lavra. A pilgrimage journey is not tourism, it is an inner spiritual feat, invisible to others, but understandable to those who commit it. In this invisible spiritual feat, prayer is and remains the main thing. "

Vladyka Pochaevsky Vladimir said: “You look at the Religious Procession, and you understand that our Vera is alive. With this blessed, hard work, they glorify God, and it must be said that they were always covered and covered with Her veil by the Queen of Heaven... The path to the Kingdom of Heaven is thorny, we are weak, we fall, we rise, we fall again, we rise again ... The procession depicts the path of a Christian to the Kingdom of Heaven, with their personal labor, good deeds, people trample their path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Prayers on the way serve to strengthen ours; prayer is talking with God. The Lord says what you ask in prayer, you will receive. Therefore, they express their desires, requests, and the Lord hears them. I must say that prayer in the procession has special power... Previously, with the Procession of the Cross, they went out into the fields, asked for harvest, rain, and the Lord gave them through congregational prayer. They did not have time to return home with icons and banners, when it was already raining.

So during this procession, one can observe that some ask for what they receive - the sick are healed, the weak are reinforced, those who have some weakness, they leave them, they say goodbye to them. We see great miracles happening. "

Indeed, the main thing in the procession is prayer. Prayer asks for help, there is no way without it, we are very weak in ourselves. And the crusaders also know that during the Procession of the Cross, Heaven is literally open, God hears their prayers - healings are performed, wonderful help comes in the fight against passions, in some everyday needs, and help to the family for whom they pray.

Therefore, if there is prayer, there will be patience, and grace-filled help, and an uplifted, joyful state of mind. Yes, this is a kind of feat, and the carrying of your cross after the Cross of Christ, and the Lord allows you to endure corns, heat and cold. But by giving the cross, the Lord also gives the strength to bear it. With His help, everything is arranged and overcome, and only a feeling of satisfaction and happiness remains, and one desire is to repeat everything again.

In order to understand what the procession is, they need to go through. And the one who passes at least once with the procession will strive to pass more, and more ...

And this applies not only to multi-day, but also to one-day processions of the Cross - and prayer, and patience, and grace, and help, and healing.

For example, we can talk about the miracle of healing that happened after participating in the four-day religious procession, which was held in Dnepropetrovsk before the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos in 2015. The last, fourth day - worsening weather conditions, underfoot where there is snow, where there is ice, it is slippery, cold, windy, and there is more than twenty kilometers ahead - from Pobeda, across the South Bridge, through Pridneprovsk, Ksenyevka to Odinovka. And, on this very day, grandmother Eva came from a nearby village to participate in our repentance process. As it turned out later, with sick, swollen legs, and with a chronically ill lower back, since, at one time, she worked as a milkmaid for a long time ... And now they call from her with gratitude - the legs stopped hurting, the swelling disappeared, and the most amazing thing - stopped hurting How many years the tormenting back, the pain from the lower back has gone! He says, - I walk and I myself am surprised, - nothing hurts, God's grace healed in a miraculous way! And she also confessed that for the next three days, before the Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, she, and those close to her around her, heard a fragrance that clearly emanated from her.

I would also like to add from myself that even if it were not for this healing, the patience and willpower of this old grandmother, when she was offered to leave the route earlier, so that it would not be through force, because how difficult it is, and even the boots are slippery, she did not agree, kept repeating, I will reach the end, - all the participants in this move will remember. But the Lord did not leave her without His attention! You know how he once said St. Amfilochiy Pochaevsky (+1970) when he was asked why some people are blessed, while others are not. - It all depends on patience, the more a person suffers, the more grace he receives! So in our case, the Lord confirmed the truth of the words of His saint, showed us that He is close, close, and always ready, according to our faith, to come to our aid.

L. Ochai

01.01.2017

On July 27, a religious procession will take place from Vladimirskaya Gorka to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Some perceive this as a demonstration of the strength, the might of the Church. Opponents of the Church - as a political demonstration. And what is the procession really?

In the Church throughout its history, forms of service to God were not limited to verbal prayer. Since the beginning of the divine service, along with such a prayer, there has been "prayer with the hands" (for example, the sign of the cross) and "prayer with feet" - participation in prayer processions. Such processions were never perceived as a demonstration of power or a political action, it was always a divine service, for which one had not only to pray to God with the mind, but also to back up one's prayer with physical labor - sometimes a very long procession.

We find an example of such a prayer procession in the early Church. The 4th century pilgrim Sylvia Aquitanka describes a large procession of the cross that took place in Jerusalem on the night from Thursday to Friday of Holy Week. She says that during the night people were very tired, as they passed almost the entire city, and "every one of them walked - old and young, rich and poor." The Bishop of Jerusalem encouraged the tired people, urging them to "have hope in the Lord, who will reward a great reward for this work."

It should be noted that similar processions were held regularly, not only in Jerusalem, but throughout the Roman Empire. For example, at the same time in Rome, the Great Litany appears - a large procession of the cross through all Rome, during which the procession with prayer passed from one church to another, trying to visit the burial places of the martyrs. This litany lasted all day and ended at St. Peter's Basilica.

Similar processions were performed in Constantinople, and the Emperor Justinian legalized that these processions should be performed with prayer and with the obligatory participation of the priesthood, "for will there be a procession with the cross in which there are no priests bringing solemn prayers?"

Religious processions took place in the Byzantine Empire during the invasion of enemies, drought or disease. The feast of the Extermination of the Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, known to us, originates from the procession of the cross, which took place in August in Constantinople with prayers that epidemics, which very often happened at this time, would bypass the city.

The tradition of performing religious processions was also inherited by the Slavic peoples. There is evidence of prayer processions in Bulgaria and Moravia. With the adoption of Christianity, processions of the cross began to be held in Russia. The first Russian religious procession is considered to be the procession to the Dnieper for the baptism of the Kievites. “Vladimir came out with the priests of Tsaritsyn and Korsun on the Dnieper, and there were no number of people,” the Tale of Bygone Years describes this procession.

It is in remembrance of this procession with the cross and the subsequent Baptism of Rus that the annual procession takes place from the supposed place of Baptism to the heart of Kiev - the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

It is important to understand that the procession was never a demonstration of anything. The procession with slogans, flags and posters is the legacy of the quasi-religious communist ideology. For Orthodox Christians, a procession with the cross is a divine service, which is performed according to the rite strictly defined by the church charter. Of course, prayer should be the main occupation of the service. What it should be about on the day of the Baptism of Russia, I think everyone understands: that our heart should preserve the gifts that we received in our baptism. After all, this is what we are all called to.

Alexander Adomenas