Multi-day cross processions underway in Bulgaria and Romania

Cross processions, when the faithful gather in prayer, bearing icons and banners, are an especially beloved form of worship among Orthodox Christians, and the summer months are especially conducive to the extended cross processions that are especially beloved in Eastern Europe.

Hundreds of thousands gathered in processions in Kiev and throughout Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia to celebrate the Baptism of Rus’ on July 28. While the procession in Kiev is perhaps the most well-known, other processions are also underway in Bulgaria and Romania, among other places.

A 6-day procession in honor of St. John of Rila began in Sofia on August 1, and will arrive at the St. John of Rila Monastery tomorrow for the new calendar feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, reports the press service of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

More than 200 people have joined in this year’s 10th annual procession that retraces the transport of St. John’s relics in the 15th century. The procession was organized by the Sofia Theological Faculty and the Metropolis of Sofia. Vespers and an Akathist to St. John are being served every night during the procession.

And in the Lower Danube Archdiocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church, an annual 14-day procession with the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God from the holy monastery in the village of Adam also began on August 1.

Throughout the two weeks of the holy Dormition Fast, the icon will be taken to 120 parishes throughout the Archdiocese, reports the Basilica News Agency.

The monastery is an historical monument and one of the most important buildings in all of southern Moldova. Historical documents attest to its establishment in the middle of the 17th century. The monastery was closed in 1960 and reopened in 1991 by His Eminence Archbishop Casian of the Lower Danube.

Abp. Casian will serve the feast on the eve of the feast of the Dormition, the patronal feast of the monastery.

Source: Orthochristian.com