On the Triumph of Orthodoxy day, processions with the cross took place in dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Mass processions with the cross took place in various dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after festive celebrations held on March 21, 2021, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. Participants in the processions lifted up prayers for peace in Ukraine, cessation of the spread of the coronavirus infection, prosperity of the state and the Ukrainian people, the ‘Orthodox Life portal informs.

One of the largest mass processions with the cross took place in Kharkov. Marching with the cross, gonfalons and venerated icons, the clergy and faithful, led by Metropolitan Onufry of Kharkov and Bogodukhov, walked fr om the Cathedral of the Annunciation to the Monastery of the Protecting Veil. On the monastery square, a thanksgiving was celebrated.

The procession with the cross, in which about 5000 people participated, took place in Cherkassy. In the prayerful march, the first to be held in the city on that date was led by Archbishop Feodosy of Cherkassy and Kanev and Bishop Ioann of Zolotonosha. Participating in it were the clergy and parishioners of diocesan churches and mothers superior and nuns of convents. The procession started from the Cathedral of St. Michael. The priests at the head of the procession carried a reliquary with parts of the holy relics, an icon of Our Lady of Cherkassy, icons of the holy martyrs Macarius, Daniel of Mliev, new martyrs and confessors of Cherkassy and other shrines. The faithful lifted up prayers at the Chapel of New Martyrs and Confessors of Cherkassy, at the Cross dedicated to the victims of the starvation and political repressions at the Church of the Saviour and the Monument to St. Luke of Crimea. The procession concluded with a hierarchal prayer by the cathedral.

Several thousand faithful were united on a procession with the cross in Zaporozhe. The main shrines carried bythe procession were two miracle-working icons of the Mother of God - of Our Lady of Peski, which was brought from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church diocese of Izyum, and of Our Lady of Samara in Zaporozhe. The procession was led by Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhe and Melitopol. The faithful walked from the church of Ss Peter and Fevronia of Murom to the Cathedral of the Protecting Veil. They carried not only shrines but also posters in defence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and their faith.

The mass procession with the cross in Kremenchug was led by Metropolitan Nikolay of Kremenchug and Lubny. The faithful walked from the church of the Holy Trinity to the Victory Square wh ere they celebrated a thanksgiving.

The solemn procession in Sumy was led by Metropolitan Yevlogy of Sumy and Akhtyrka. With church hymns and prayers the faithful walked from the Cathedral of the Holy Transfiguration to the wayside cross at the Independence Square. After the thanksgiving, the metropolitan sprinkled the participants with holy water.

The procession with the cross in Berdyansk was led by Archbishop Efrem of Berdyansk and Primorye. Hundreds of the faithful walked from the St. Nicholas church to the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ. With prayers they carried the icons of Mother of God venerated in the diocese of Berdyansk, as well as icons with parts of the relics of saints.

Many icons and reliquaries were carried in the streets of Kamenskoye by participants in the procession with the cross led by Metropolitan Vladimir of Kamenskoyer and Tsarichanka. The marchers lifted up prayers for the Motherland, their city and authorities and read the Gospel. After the procession, all the participants had an opportunity to venerate numerous shrines.

The procession with the cross in the diocese of Mogilev-Podolskiy was held in the Mogilev-Podolskiy district of the Vinnitsa Region. The people walked from the church of St. Parascheva of Serbia to the sideway cross in the Ronnitsa village. It was led by Metropolitan Agapit of Mogilev-Podolskiy and Shargorod. After the procession, the metropolitan congratulated the clergy and laity on the feast and sprinkled them with holy water.

Processions with the cross were held on the Triumph of Orthodoxy Sunday in dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with a blessing of His Beatitude Onufry, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine. On the festive day, many communities held processions with the cross around their churches. Due to a deterioration of the sanitary-epidemiological situation in most of the diocesan centers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, prayer processions were put off till after Easter. In particular in Kiev, the lockdown made it necessary to put off the procession with the cross from the 1^st of March to a later date.

DECR Communication Service