The Velikoretsky Procession of the Cross

Another world

Procession of the Cross. Pilgrims. 36,000 people.
Six days on the road. 150 kilometres (93 miles). The pilgrim path leads across country, through forest, fields and marshes.
A vow to walk to the place where the icon was found.
Concerns about the body need not distract.
Reaching the goal is paramount!

This amazing pilgrimage began in 1668 after the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas was found in 1383. It continued even after the 1918 Revolution. Even though the icon itself disappeared during the 1930s, pilgrims continued to come, bearing St. Nicholas icons, though they were harrassed, arrested and some even martyred. When persecution increased after World War II, the pilgrimage still continued into the 1950s with over 6000 pilgrims. Krushchev's renewed religious persecution was particularly directed against Velikoretsky. The procession was banned and the church destroyed. Despite police presence and arrests, small groups of 3-5 people still came. This continued until 1989 when a shorter procession was allowed. The tradition survived decades of prohibition and persecuion and the pilgrimage was fully reinstated in 1990. The great popularity of the Velikoretsky icon and the many miracles attributed to it were important to the development of the prominent place St. Nicholas holds in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Velikoretsky religious procession is held from June 3 to June 8 every year.