On June 8, 2026, a solemn meeting of the All-Russian Velikoretsky Procession took place at the Dormition Trifonov Monastery of the Vyatka Diocese in the city of Kirov. The Velikoretsky icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was returned to its permanent place of residence.
The pilgrims of the procession crossed from the village of Murygino to the city of Kirov. On the morning of June 8, the route passed through the village of Girsovo, where the shrine was met by the parish of the temple in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. At noon, the procession reached the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All the Sorrowful" on Fileyka.
Then the Velikoretsky procession arrived at the Uspensky Trifonov Monastery. The shrine and the pilgrims were greeted by Metropolitan Mark of Vyatka and Sloboda.
A solemn prayer service with the reading of the Akathist was held on Cathedral Square near the Assumption Cathedral in front of the Velikoretsky Icon of St. Nicholas.
At the end of the service, Metropolitan Mark addressed the pilgrims with an archpastoral address.
The parish of the Assumption Cathedral organized a meal for the pilgrims.
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The Velikoretsky Procession is one of the longest religious processions in Russia. The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was found in 1383. Peasant Agalakov from the village of Krutitsy discovered the image on the banks of the Velikaya River, hence its name — Velikoretsky. Around 1400, the image was sent to the city of Khlynov, then named Vyatka, then Kirov.
In 1935, during the destruction of the cathedral, the miraculous icon was lost. The Velikoretsky procession was banned in the 1930s and officially restored in 1989. Now, instead of the lost icon, believers carry one of its lists.
In 2000, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia awarded the course the status of an All-Russian course.
The procession takes place annually from 3 to 8 June. The main celebrations take place on June 5 and 6 on the Velikaya River and in the temples of the Velikoretsky compound of the Trifonov Monastery (Velikoretskoye village).
The procession begins on June 3 from the Assumption Cathedral in Kirov, passes through the village of Makarye, the villages of Bobino, Zagarye, Monastyrskoye, Gorokhovo. The final destination is the village of Velikoretskoye, where prayer services are held in churches and on the banks of the Velikaya River. The pilgrims return through the village of Medyany and the village of Murygino and arrive in Kirov on June 8. Thousands of pilgrims from different cities and villages of Russia walk the 180-kilometer path. More than 50,000 people gather for divine services in Velikoretsky.
In 2017, the Velikoretsky procession was led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.