After the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District I.A. Komarov and the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region G.S. Nikitin, which took place on August 1, 2026 in the Patriarchal Chambers of the Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveevsky Convent, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church visited one of the most famous shrines of Diveevo — The groove of the Blessed Virgin.
His Holiness was accompanied by Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas and Abbess of Diveevo Monastery Abbess Sergiya (Konkova).
At the Annunciation Cathedral, which is located inside the Groove, His Holiness briefly communicated with the participants of the VI Interregional Forum of Orthodox Youth "My Joy".
"Everything will be fine in your personal and family life if you live according to the commandments of God, which are the most important law of human life. All other laws are secondary. They must also be observed, but first of all we must remember about God's law. God bless you, my dear ones!" His Holiness exhorted the young people. 
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also blessed the nuns of the Holy Trinity Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery. 
 "I know women's monasteries well and I remember how in the most difficult times, in the fifties, when everything was closed, the Orthodox faith was kept there, and how the nuns prayed hard. I hope that the current generation of female monasticism continues these wonderful traditions of confession and prayer, which were strong in previous generations. God bless you, my dear ones!" said the Primate. 
The Holy Groove, excavated according to the commandment of the Most Holy Theotokos, repeats the path She followed, taking the Diveevsky Monastery into Her inheritance. The beginning of the Groove was laid by St. Seraphim of Sarov in 1829.
After visiting Kanavka, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill left Diveyevo.

Photo by Oleg Varov