20,000-strong Paschal procession in Ekaterinburg

The Orthodox faithful of Ekaterinburg gathered in a cross procession on the feast of holy Pascha, carrying the joy of the risen Lord throughout the city. The prayerful procession, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursky, His Grace Bishop Methody of Kamensk and Kamyshlov, and His Grace Bishop Evgeny of Nizhny Tagil and Nevyansk, began at Holy Trinity Cathedral and ended at the construction site of the future St. Catherine’s Cathedral, reports the site of the Ekaterinburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

His Grace Bishop Alexei of Serov and Krasnoturinsk and His Grace Bishop Leonid of Alapaevsk and Irbit joined during the course of the procession. Despite the sudden snowfall, a large number of citizens from the Ural capital took part in the procession, with 15,000 setting out from Holy Trinity Cathedral who were joined by parishioners of the churches throughout the city along the way. Others went immediately to the construction site of the future cathedral.

In all, more than 20,000 Orthodox faithful participated. For the third year in a row, the procession was led by the Palestinian scouts who arrived in the Urals from Jerusalem.

Relics of St. Catherine, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Simeon of Verkhotursky, St. Matrona of Moscow and others, as well as a cross with a particle of the True Cross and the altar cross from the Church on the Blood were all carried in the procession.

At the end of the prayer walk, Paschal Vespers was served on the site of the “revival of the heart of Ekaterinburg—the St. Catherine Cathedral.” The festal service ended with the rite of consecration of the construction site of the future cathedral. The goal is to finish the cathedral by 2023—the 300th anniversary of Ekaterinburg. The original St. Catherine’s Church was built in the same year as the founding of the city but was destroyed in 1930.

The Holy Fire from Jerusalem was distributed to all participants following the consecration.

Source: http://orthochristian.com