On the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, a procession took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

      Text by Daria Petrova. Photo by Dmitry Smirnov. On August 2, on the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, with the blessing of Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, a cross procession took place in Nizhny Novgorod. The participants walked along Ilyinskaya Street from the church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord to the church in honor of the holy prophet of God Elijah. The procession was held with the aim of reviving the pre-revolutionary tradition of a city-wide cross procession that the faithful of Nizhny Novgorod performed on Ilyin Day. Before the start of the procession, its participants prayed in the Ascension Church during the Divine Liturgy, which was led by the rector of this parish, the head of the culture department of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, Archpriest Mikhail Storonkin, with the concelebration of the clergy of the diocese. After the service, the procession began. It was attended by Archpriest Mikhail Storonkin, the cleric of the church in the name of the Most Merciful Savior, Archpriest Andrey Kirillov, the rector of the church in honor of the holy righteous Sergius of Radonezh, Priest Pavel Moloshtan, and other clergy of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, members of the Nizhny Novgorod Holy-Georgian Society of Banner Bearers, as well as veterans of the Airborne Forces, who carried the icon of the holy prophet Elijah. In total, more than 350 people participated in the procession. The icon of the holy prophet of God Elijah was donated to the Ascension Church by one of the benefactors of the church. The image, painted in the mid-19th century, is placed in a metal embossed cover. At the Elijah Church, the crossbearers were met by the vicar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, Bishop Innokenty of Sormovo, the rector of this church, Archpriest Vladimir Tsybyshev, and numerous parishioners who prayed during the Divine Liturgy on the feast day. After the moleben before the icon of the holy prophet Elijah, Bishop Innokenty addressed those gathered: "Today at the liturgy we heard the gospel lines about how the Lord secluded Himself in a deserted place for prayer. The holy prophet Elijah also prayed alone many times. Prayer allows us to be one-on-one with God. It is of great importance in the life of every person. But great is that prayer which people raise together. When people unite for prayer, the Lord always helps them. And I believe that everything we asked for today, God will bless. I would like to wish everyone that each has the strength of prayer like that of the prophet Elijah, and the strength of faith like his, because the strength of faith is of great importance before the Lord, as is our trust in Him. We need to learn to trust the Lord. The Holy Scripture says: 'My son, give me your heart' (Proverbs 23:26). And what more precious can a person entrust to God? Only the heart. Entrust your heart to Him, and let the Lord govern your life. I wish everyone God's help." Archpriest Mikhail Storonkin, in turn, said: "I want to thank everyone for participating in the cross procession. Today we walked the same path as our pious ancestors: for decades this city-wide cross procession was held in Nizhny Novgorod on Ilyinskaya Street, and it was very crowded. Today, on this Sunday, we have laid the foundation for the revival of this tradition. I especially want to greet the veterans of the airborne troops today, thank them for participating in the cross procession and for their care for the Divine service, and congratulate them on the holiday - the Day of the Airborne Forces." The head of the diocesan culture department invited everyone to participate in the cross procession on Ilyin Day in 2027. Then the believers venerated the icon of the holy prophet. All of them were sprinkled with holy water. In 2028, it will be 25 years since the revival of parish life in the Ascension Church began. For the festive date, several ancient icons will be brought to this church for permanent residence. When quoting, a link (hyperlink) to the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis website is mandatory.

      More news about the event:

      Bishop Gideon led the services in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Vyksa. On August 2, in the ninth week after Pentecost, on the day of the memory of the holy prophet of God Elijah, Bishop Gideon of Vyksa and Pavlovsk led the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Vyksa.

      On the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, a cross procession took place in Nizhny Novgorod. Text by Daria Petrova. Photo by Dmitry Smirnov. On August 2, on the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, with the blessing of Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, a cross procession took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

      News from neighboring regions on the topic:

      On the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah and the celebration of the Day of the Airborne Forces, a priest participated in a solemn event. On August 2, on the day of the memory of the holy prophet of God Elijah, which also coincides with the Day of the Airborne Forces of Russia, the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Priest Alexey Frolov, attended the solemn event.

      The day of the memory of the prophet Elijah was celebrated in the village of Tsingaly, Khanty-Mansiysk district. On August 2, 2026, on the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, the rector of the Church of the Ascension, Priest Alexey Talankin, made a missionary trip to the village of Tsingaly.

      Metropolitan Ignatius held a service in the Lopukhovo Church of the prophet Elijah. Metropolitan Ignatius of Saratov and Volsk visited the Atkarsky district and held a service in the Holy Elijah Church of the village of Lopukhovka on the feast day.

      On the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, Bishop Philaret led the service in the Cathedral of Chistopol. The service was symbolic for the archpastor: it was held for the first time in a new place of service.

      A cross procession took place in the Bugulmin district. Parishioners honored the memory of the prophet of God Elijah.

      In the Dondukovo stanitsa, celebrations dedicated to the feast day of the Holy Elijah Church took place. Today, on the day of the memory of the Holy prophet Elijah, celebrations dedicated to the feast day of the Holy Elijah Church took place in the Dondukovo stanitsa.

      Bishop Alexey of Galich and Makaryev held the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Chukhloma. On August 2, in the ninth week after Pentecost and the day of the memory of the prophet of God Elijah, Bishop Alexey of Galich and Makaryev held the Divine Liturgy in the Dormition Church of Chukhloma.

      In the chapel of the prophet Elijah in Novoaltaysk, the Divine Liturgy was held. On August 2, 2026, on the day of the memory of the holy prophet of God Elijah, with the blessing of Metropolitan Sergey of Barnaul and Altai, the Divine Liturgy was held in the Ilyin Chapel of Novoaltaysk.

      Archbishop Roman held the Liturgy on the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah in the cathedral. On August 2, 2026, in the ninth week after Pentecost, on the day of the memory of the holy prophet of God Elijah, Archbishop Roman of Yakutsk and Lena held a late Divine Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yakutsk.

      Archbishop Theodore held the Liturgy on the feast of the prophet Elijah. On August 2, in the ninth week after Pentecost, the Prophet Elijah, Archbishop Theodore of Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka held the Divine Liturgy and moleben with the concelebration of Hieromonk Ioann (Zayats).

      In Khabarovsk, a cross procession took place on the day of the memory of the holy prophet Elijah, the patron of the airborne troops. On August 2, 2026, on the day of the memory of the prophet of God Elijah, the patron of the Airborne Forces, a cross procession was held from the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Theotokos in Khabarovsk to the memorial "Black Tulip."

      In the Blagoveshchensk Cathedral, a liturgy and cross procession took place the day before. The liturgy and cross procession took place the day before in the Blagoveshchensk Cathedral in honor of the Albazin icon of the Mother of God "The Word became flesh" and the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Amur in 1900.

      On the eve of the day of the memory of the prophet Elijah, Bishop Sergey led the all-night vigil in the Ilyin Church of the city of Zarinsk. In