On the eve of the memorial day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, at the Holy Baptism of Basil (1015), the Day of the Baptism of Russia, on July 27, 2026, a procession took place in Smolensk from the Assumption Cathedral to the monument to Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of Russia, on the Vladimirovskaya embankment of the Dnieper. The prayer procession was led by Metropolitan Isidore of Smolensk and Dorogobuzhsky.
Before the start of the procession, Vladyka Isidore celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Assumption Cathedral in the concelebration of the clergy of the Smolensk Diocese.
A prayer service was held near the monument to Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.
Metropolitan Isidore greeted the participants of the procession:
"Dear clergy of the Smolensk Diocese! Dear Peter Yurievich, Dear Valery Nikolaevich! Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, on the eve of the anniversary of the Baptism of Holy Russia and the memorial day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, we gathered on the Vladimirskaya Embankment in Smolensk to begin the solemn days of celebration in honor of the founder of Holy Russia, in honor of the heavenly patron of our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
...May the Lord, through the prayers of the founder of our Holy Russia, Grand Duke Vladimir, strengthen each of us in our service to the Fatherland! We will sincerely offer our prayers for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, a zealot of Orthodoxy in our Holy Russia, and for the President of our Fatherland. Thanks to our leaders, you and I live in a great country called the Russian Federation. May the Lord strengthen their strength, and you and I will continue our ministry here in our native Smolensk region!"
The head of the Smolensk Metropolia, clergy and laity, expressed gratitude to the Governor of the Smolensk Region, V.N. Anokhin, for supporting the Russian Orthodox Church, caring for people and serving the region, and also thanked the Rosgvardiya Administration for the Smolensk Region for serving the Fatherland.
On the same day, at the Assumption Cathedral, Metropolitan Isidore performed the sacrament of Baptism for eight people: military personnel, a veteran of a special military operation, and the children of the dead and missing members of his military. The bishop became godfather to Alexy, Barbara, Dionysius, Evdokia, John, Cyril, Melania and Julia.
At the end of the service, the bishop presented the faithful with certificates of Holy Baptism and a fold with icons of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God "Odigitria", the Martyr Mercury of Smolensk and St. Abraham of Smolensk.