Over 40,000 Orthodox Christians Join Procession in Moscow
The procession commemorates the 1525 transfer of the Smolensk Icon of the Holy Mother of God, a practice established by Grand Duke Vasily III and continued for nearly four centuries until the Revolution.
MOSCOW — On September 7, 2025, around 40,000 Orthodox Christians joined a procession in Moscow to mark the Council of Moscow Saints, a Russian Orthodox Church feast honoring the city’s saints. The event reinstated a tradition that ceased after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The procession, led by Pat. Kirill, started at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and ended at the Novodevichy Convent, covering 6km. Participants included clergy, monastics, and lay believers from Russia, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, Serbia, and Italy. They carried banners depicting saints and chanted traditional hymns, with some singing “Christ is risen” and choirs responding, “Truly He is risen.”
Before the march, Pat. Kirill led a service at the cathedral. He later described Moscow as a city that values its Orthodox heritage while remaining open to other faiths.
The procession commemorates the 1525 transfer of the Smolensk Icon of the Holy Mother of God, a practice established by Grand Duke Vasily III and continued for nearly four centuries until the Revolution.
