Procession for Kazan Icon: Then and Now

Orthodox believers processed through central Kazan on 21 July 2026, mirroring the similar procession of 100 years earlier.

Jul 28, 2026

Believers cite the date of the icon«s discovery as 8 July 1579 (Old Style).
Source:
Press service of the Kazan Diocese, Press service of the Kazan City Hall

In Kazan on the morning of 21 July, a religious procession with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place, reported the press service of the Kazan Diocese.

Orthodox believers believe that the finding of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God occurred on 8 July 1579 (Old Style) in Kazan, after a severe fire. The Mother of God appeared three times to a ten-year-old girl named Matrona and indicated a spot in the ashes. Together with her mother, she unearthed the icon at a depth of about one meter — the shrine shone with newness, without any traces of fire. Immediately, miracles of healing the blind occurred. On that site, Tsar Ivan the Terrible founded the Bogoroditsky Monastery (Monastery of the Mother of God), where Matrona took monastic vows. The icon became one of the main shrines of Russia.

The procession marking the feast of the finding of the precious icon began at 7:30. The faithful set out from the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kazan Kremlin and walked to the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross on Bolshaya Krasnaya Street.

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was brought into the restored church dedicated to the Tula Icon of St. Nicholas. This is the very church that first received the shrine after its discovery in 1579.

Today, the restored church will be consecrated by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus«. The first part of the ceremony has already begun. The church, with a capacity of about 300 people, was completely filled with parishioners — many believers had to pray in the square near the entrance. A broadcast was organized for them on a pre-installed screen.

The Kazan City Hall showed how, over a century ago, a religious procession in honor of the finding of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place in the capital of Tatarstan.

Additionally, today at 18:00 in Yelmay Park, a concert in honor of the feast concert in honor of the feast. Performing there will be Vika Tsyganova with the group Pokrov and the Russian song ensemble of Eleonora Kalashnikova.