September 6, 2026, on the feast of the Cathedral of Moscow Saints, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led the Moscow-wide procession from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to the Novodevichy Monastery. Together with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, bishops, clergy, monastics, representatives of public organizations and numerous believers participated in the procession.
The procession began after the Divine Liturgy, which His Holiness the Patriarch celebrated in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Along the historical route, they carried the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, an ark with a particle of the relics of the Blessed Prince Dimitri Donskoy and an icon of Moscow saints.
The procession was accompanied by prayer singing to the Most Holy Theotokos and Moscow saints. The hymns were performed by the consolidated youth choir under the direction of Anna Golik, which brought together members of the Patriarchal Volunteers movement, the choirs of the Sretensky Theological Academy and the Sretensky Monastery, as well as the Singing Conscience youth choir at the church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Recovery of the Dead" in Perov.
At the intersection of Frunzenskaya Embankment and Khamovnicheskiy Val, His Holiness the Patriarch, the bishops and the clergy performed a prayer service to the Mother of God and the Blessed Prince Dimitry Donskoy. Then the Primate addressed the participants of the procession.
The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God occupied a special place in the Primatial word. His Holiness noted that the stay of the illustrious icon in Moscow was dear to him and personally.: Smolensk was associated with 25 years of his archpastoral ministry. Recalling the difficult years of his church life, he spoke about the opening and restoration of churches and about the believers who invariably came to the shrine.
The Primate called for prayer for the Motherland, relatives and friends, emphasizing the importance of transferring faith to the younger generation.
"God grant that the new generation of youth will preserve the Orthodox faith, love for Russia, and their Fatherland, so that they can do things no less important than previous generations," said His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.
After the prayer service, the procession continued to the Novodevichy Monastery. A prayer service to the Moscow saints was performed at the walls of the monastery. Congratulating the audience on the holiday, the Primate recalled the spiritual heritage of the saints, whose lives and ministry are connected with Moscow and the history of the country.
His Holiness also addressed the issue of the revival of church life after decades of persecution. He noted the special importance of common prayer at the monastery, which was closed to worship during the Soviet era, and called on the faithful to work for the good of the Fatherland and the Church.
Historical background
The tradition of the procession to the Novodevichy Monastery is connected with the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. In 1525, by order of Grand Duke Vasily III, the image of the Mother of God "Hodegetria of Smolensk" was solemnly transferred from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin to the monastery founded a year earlier. The Grand Duke and Metropolitan Daniel led the procession. An annual religious procession was established in memory of this event.
The tradition of the Smolensky Course persisted for almost four centuries — until 1917. The name of Prechistenka Street is also connected with the route of the procession: in 1658, she received it in honor of the icon of the Virgin Mary, to which believers were heading from the Kremlin.
In 2025, the tradition of the Moscow-wide procession to the walls of the Novodevichy Monastery was revived.