On September 1, 2026, on the feast of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, celebrations dedicated to the Day of the Orthodox Cossacks were held in Moscow. The meeting was attended by the executive secretary of the Synodal Committee for Cooperation with the Cossacks, rector of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra in Zayatsky, Priest Timofey Chaikin.
The festive day began with the Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas Church, which was led by Father Timothy. He was assisted by members of the Synodal Committee and Moscow clergy who provide spiritual care for the Cossacks.
Ataman of the All-Russian Cossack Society Vitaly Kuznetsov, representatives of Cossack associations, rector of the First Cossack University Arseny Mironov, teachers, mentors and students-Cossacks, as well as parishioners of the temple prayed at the service.
It has become a good tradition for students of the First Cossack University to start the new academic year with a common prayer. Before the beginning of the Liturgy, the students were presented with spiritual literature, including editions with the text and explanations of the Divine Liturgy. During the service, special petitions were made for the teachers and students.
Addressing the faithful with a sermon, Priest Timofey Chaikin recalled that in 2010, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia blessed the celebration of Orthodox Cossacks Day on the feast of the Don Icon of the Mother of God.
"It is wonderful that on the first day of the school year we pray to the Queen of Heaven, asking for Her mercy and intercession. Today we all appeal to Her: "Mother of God, preserve our country, strengthen our people in Orthodoxy, and keep them in the faith of Christ," said the priest.
After the Liturgy, demonstrations and a communal meal prepared in the field kitchen took place in the courtyard of the temple.
Then Father Timofey took part in a solemn assembly at the First Cossack University dedicated to the beginning of the academic year, the Day of the Orthodox Cossacks and the feast of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. The priest said a prayer and wished the teachers and students success, reminding them that education is inseparable from upbringing, spiritual development and responsibility to the Fatherland.
Representatives of state authorities, the education system and Cossack societies greeted the participants of the celebration. The speakers called on the students to be worthy of their ancestors, to study the history of the Russian Cossacks, to preserve their traditions and to perceive service to the Motherland as a moral duty.
During the event, the students who contributed to the development of the student Cossack movement were awarded the awards of the All-Russian Cossack Society. A cooperation agreement was also signed between the Central Cossack Army Military Cossack Society and the First Cossack University.
Concluding the ceremony, the rector of the University, Arseny Mironov, congratulated the first-year students and noted the wide geography of the new enrollment: young people from Moscow, the Rostov Region, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Siberia, the Urals, the Komi Republic and Udmurtia came to study.