With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, on September 7, 2026, the ark containing the relics of the Blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy was brought to Rostov-on-Don. The ark with the shrine was delivered by Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, head of the Synodal Committee for Cooperation with the Cossacks.
After the solemn meeting, a prayer service was performed in front of the ark with the relics of the holy prince. The divine service was performed by Metropolitan Mercury of Rostov and Novocherkassk, Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, Bishop Artemiy of Taganrog, Archpriest John Osyak, Secretary of the Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk for Rostov-on-Don, Archpriest Valery Voloshchuk, head of the Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of the Rostov Diocese, heads of diocesan departments, deans of the Rostov diocese, as well as clergy from other dioceses.
Representatives of the military clergy, military personnel and parishioners of the church prayed during the service.
At the end of the prayer service, Metropolitan Mercury greeted Metropolitan Kirill and asked him to convey his filial gratitude to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for the fact that the stay of the ark with relics within the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church begins precisely from the Don land, with which both the icon of the Mother of God of the Don and the very name of Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich — Donskoy are inextricably linked..
In his reply, Metropolitan Kirill noted the providential significance of the event. He stressed that the holy prince prayed especially diligently on the eve of the decisive battle on the Kulikov field in front of the venerated icon of the Mother of God on the Don, the exact revered list of which was brought to the military temple before the meeting of the ark with the relics. "In our fateful time for the country," said Bishop Kirill, "the spiritual connection between the heroic deeds of the defenders of the Fatherland during the time of Prince Dimitri Donskoy and the modern ministry of the Russian army is especially important."
"A fragment of the relics was taken from the right hand of the Grand Duke, desna, with which he held a sword, protecting Moscow and other Russian lands. With this sword, he won freedom from the Tatar-Mongol yoke on Kulikovo Field. May the Grand Duke strengthen our whole land, the whole people, and especially our fighters," stressed the chairman of the Synodal department.
The shrine stayed within Rostov-on-Don for one day. On September 8, the ark with the relics of the blessed Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy departed for the territory of Donbass and the line of combat contact in order to provide comprehensive spiritual support and nourishment to military personnel performing tasks in the area of a special military operation.