Elista Icon and Cross Carried in the All-Moscow Procession

On 6 September 2026, the feast of the Synaxis of the Saints of Moscow, the All-Moscow religious procession took place in the Russian capital. Following the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ led the procession to Novodevichy Convent.

The sacred objects carried during the procession included the icon of the Appearance of Christ the Saviour in Elista and the preserved wooden cross of Semyon Timofeyevich Bondarenko, one of the witnesses to the 1946 event. Priest Ioann Popov and Semyon Bondarenko’s great-granddaughter Darya Bondarenko took part in the procession.

The Elista icon was carried by Boris Korchevnikov, Director General of the Spas television channel. Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia had previously entrusted the icon to him as a symbol of the spiritual bond between Moscow and Elista.

The participation of the Elista sacred objects in the Moscow procession was one of the events leading up to the 80th-anniversary celebrations of the Appearance of Christ the Saviour. The anniversary programme will take place in Elista from 8 to 10 September.

Sources: the press release provided for publication; official report by the Russian Orthodox Church; National Television of Kalmykia report.