July 21, 2021
On July 18, a procession of the Cross took place in the Nizhny Novgorod region, from the village of Bolshoye Murashkino to the homeland of Protopriest Avvakum, the village of Grigorovo. Two hundred pilgrims travelled 12 kilometres with prayer on their lips, commemorating the feat of the hieromartyr, who left his descendants an example of strong faith and infinite patience.
The date of the procession depends on the feast of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Guests in Bolshoye Murashkino are expected on the first Sunday after the apostolic fast. This year the procession coincided with the memory of venerable Sergiy of Radonezh, but for the sake of such a holiday, they did not change the tradition: the procession took place in due time, on the first Sunday after the day of commemoration of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
The festive day begins with Midnight Office, Hours and Liturgy in the Church of the Hieromartyr Avvakum in Bolshoye Murashkino. This year the service was headed by His Grace Vikentiy, Bishop of Yaroslavl and Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir. The liturgy was concelebrated by the Bishop, Priest Nikola Yegorov, the rector of the church, Protopriest Vasiliy Kadochnikov (Yegoryevsk), Priest Aleksey Antyushin (village Bezvodnoe), Priest Sergiy Makhnyov (Kozmodemyansk), Priest Roman Koryakin (village Chernukha), Priest Gennady Smirnov (Lyskovo), Priest Vasiliy Trifan (Yoshkar-Ola), Protodeacon Andrey Morzhakov (Yegoryevsk), Deacon Dimitriy Konovaev (Kostroma).
The guests are mainly young people – the choirs sound harmoniously and loudly. There are three choirs in this service: a male right, a female left, and a sonorous children’s choir. The children are entrusted to sing psalms at the liturgy, “Our Father” and “The Body of Christ” during communion. As for the number of participants, the children’s choir is not much less than the adult one, and it seems to grow bigger soon – there are a lot of babies in the church. The line for communion continues almost to the vestibule.
Bows for exit and a short break before the procession of the Cross. An icon of the Hieromartyr Avvakum is carried out into the churchyard, decorated with flowers. Priests will carry her in front of the procession. The bell ringing heralds the beginning of the procession. The singers are lining up behind the icon. Everyone else follows them. The procession of the Cross begins to move through the streets, mothers with babies in carriages and in their arms attend it to the border of the village. Bishop Vikentiy leads the procession. Pilgrims leave the village, walk a little along the highway and then turn into a field. Having blessed the pilgrims for their further journey, Vladyka Vikentiy sets off for Grigorovo by transport, together with some priests, kids and those unable to go all the way to Grigorovo for health reasons.
Those who want to walk the path from start to the end need a lot of patience and resilience. This procession always takes place in mid-July, during the hottest time. It is very difficult physically. Nizhny Novgorod fields and rare copses leave nowhere to hide from the midday heat. It will be possible to reinforce your strength with lunch only after the end of the journey. The most persistent try not even to drink, enduring until the blessing of the water in Grigorovo. Strength and spirit are reinforced by singing:
If not the Lord was among us, not one of us would manage to overcome the attacks of the enemy, for those who win ascend from here.
During the journey, the choir manages to sing all the antiphons completely. Then a prayer service to the Savior and the prophet Elijah begins. There is only one halt on the way. Experienced pilgrims know that after the halt Grigorovo is already close. The priests begin the prayer service to the Hieromartyr and Confessor Avvakum. Together with it, the arduous path will also end.
At the outskirts of Grigorovo, Vladyka Vikentiy awaits the participants of the procession. He again stands at the head of it and leads the procession to the chapel, recently erected near the famous monument to Protopriest Avvakum. Near the chapel, water is consecrated, and then the bows of exit are made at the end of the prayer.
The priests go to the chapel to sing the exaltation to hieromartyr Avvakum. After a general photo is taken at the monument, tired but inspired people get into cars and return to Murashkino. Here the workers will have a dinner prepared by caring hostesses. At the meal, Father Nikola thanks everyone who responded to the call to work spiritually and physically and came. There are traditionally many Nizhny Novgorod residents among the guests. However, the geography of participation in the procession is extensive: young families came from the Moscow region and the capital itself, from the Kostroma region and other regions.
The holiday continues by the concert of spiritual chants in the meadow near the temple. After it the guests go to Lake Guzhovo to share their impressions over a cup of tea, sing spiritual poems by the fire and meet the dawn. Such a simple thing as live human communication becomes more and more valuable in the contemporary world every year.
