On the occasion of the holiday, a large number of pilgrims from all over the country came to Kazan. About twenty metropolitans, archbishops and bishops from different parts of the country, from Stavropol to Chita, were invited to the celebrations.
According to tradition, the prayer procession began at the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin. From here, the revered copy of the Kazan Icon was carried through the historic city centre to the Kazan Mother of God Monastery. On the way, the procession was caught in a downpour. But the rain did not frighten at all, but, on the contrary, made the participants of the procession happy: in Tatarstan, as well as in the entire Volga region, the heat has been 30 degrees for the third week already.
At the end of the religious procession, the Divine Liturgy took place in the Kazan Cathedral, erected on the spot where the icon was found. The temple, designed for about 2,000 people, could not accommodate all the believers. Therefore, some people prayed on the street at the entrance.
The service was presided over by the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, and Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan.
After the service, all Kazan residents and guests of the city enjoyed a concert in honor of the holiday on the Kremlin embankment.
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The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was found in 1579 after a terrible fire started by the girl Matrona in the ashes of her house. The Mother of God showed her the place in a dream. Priest Ermolai, who was present at the discovery of the image, later became Patriarch of Moscow and Ermogen of All Russia. The first icon revealed was stolen in 1904. It was never found. Now the Kazan Cathedral houses an ancient miraculous copy of the icon, called the Vatican copy. This image ended up abroad after the 1917 revolution. After a long journey, the icon settled in the Vatican. It was located in the personal chambers of Pope John Paul II. In 2004, the pontiff decided to donate it to the Russian Orthodox Church.
