This prayer procession is a pre-revolutionary tradition, which was revived in the early 2000s and draws to Kazan believers from not only the entire Tatarstan, but also the entire Russia and other countries on the Day of Kazan Icon of the Our Lady.
The procession, which was some four kilometers long, comprised several thousands of people.
The cross procession, which started from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin, where the patriarch served a liturgy, ended at the place where the Kazan Icon, the former Monastery of Our Lady of Kazan, was obtained. Patriarch Kirill sanctified the foundation of the rebuilt Kazan Cathedral there.
“Surprising relations have been established here among Christians and Muslims. Today Tatarstan sets an example of such good relations. That is probably why those who are trying to destroy Russia are trying to destroy religious peace and accord in Tatarstan in the first place,” the patriarch said in his address to believers in the Annunciation Cathedral before the cross procession.
The patriarch said religious peace cannot be destroyed because “Kazan is a city where Our Lady appeared, She is praying for the people who live here. She covers all those who are here with her veil and protects us from all internal strife.”
