Three thousand people took part in the Elizabethan procession


MOSCOW, September 18 - RIA Novosti. The Elisabeth cross procession, which took place for the 11th time at the Ilyinskoye-Usovo estate, gathered 3,000 pilgrims, RIA Novosti was told by the press service of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society (ESPO) Foundation for Promoting the Revival of the Traditions of Mercy and Charity (ESPO), which organized a prayer procession.


This year, the procession was timed to coincide with the 600th anniversary of the finding of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the heavenly patron of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the 30th anniversary of the glorification as new martyrs of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and the cross sister Barbara and the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Holy Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.


The movement of the procession began at about 12:30 from the church of Elijah the Prophet in the village of Ilyinskoye. The pilgrims crossed the Moskva River on rafts and on a pontoon bridge, while reading the Akathist to the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. After the procession, he read the Gospel at the school founded by Empress Maria Alexandrovna in Usovo. The procession ended with a prayer to the venerable martyrs Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna and the cross sister Varvara at the Church of the Savior in the village of Usovo.