Faithful in Chernivtsi Oblast hold procession for the Baptism of Rus’ Day

Cross processionists are heading to the St. Vladimir Monastery of the UOC in Kolinkivtsi. Photo: UOJ

On July 26, 2025, thousands of Ukrainian Orthodox Church faithful set out from Chernivtsi on a religious procession marking the Day of the Baptism of Rus’. According to a UOJ correspondent, the Orthodox faithful of Bukovyna are headed to the men’s monastery dedicated to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir the Great in the village of Kolinkivtsi.

Along the way, the pilgrims stopped in the village of Ridkivtsi at the Alley of Glory honoring fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and Heroes of Ukraine, where they prayed for the repose of their souls. A litia (memorial service) was performed by Archpriest Mykhailo Rudeichuk, rector of the parish of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Ridkivtsi.

The faithful will walk about 25 kilometers to honor Saint Vladimir, the Baptizer of Rus’, on the patronal feast day of the monastery.

The foundation of the monastery dedicated to the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was laid on August 21, 1997, by His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr, then-Primate of the UOC; Metropolitan Vladimir, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova and Archbishop (now Primate of the UOC) of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna, Onufriy. The chief benefactor of the monastery was Metropolitan Vladimir of Chișinău and All Moldova, a native of Kolinkivtsi. At the time of its founding, the monastery operated out of a former forestry office building from 1908, which had been converted into a monastic residence with a house chapel. Until 2001, the Brotherhood of the Bancheny Monastery conducted daily services at the new monastery. Later, the monastery established its own independent monastic life. In 2004, the Vladimir Church – whose foundation was laid in 1997 – was consecrated.

As the UOJ previously reported, in early July, 5,000 faithful participated in a religious procession from Chernivtsi to Kreshchatyk.

Read also