Traditional procession sets out from Kamianets-Podilskyi for Pochaiv Lavra

Beginning of the cross procession from Kamianets to Pochaiv Lavra. Photo: UOJ

On August 19, 2026, after the festive Divine Liturgy for the Transfiguration of the Lord, the traditional cross procession set out from Kamianets-Podilskyi for Pochaiv Lavra, a UOJ correspondent reports.

The pilgrims are expected to arrive at the monastery on August 27, on the eve of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Over eight days, the participants will cover about 250 kilometers.

The pilgrimage tradition dates back almost 200 years and is linked to a miracle that took place at Pochaiv Lavra in 1832, shortly after the monastery returned from the Unia to Orthodoxy. A blind girl named Anna Akimchukova, together with her 70-year-old grandmother, walked about 200 versts from Kamianets-Podilskyi to Pochaiv. After praying before the miraculous Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God and washing with water from the holy spring, the girl regained her sight. The miracle made such a profound impression on her grandmother that she converted from the Unia to Orthodoxy.

In the years before the war, the procession drew as many as 25,000–30,000 participants.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Vinnytsia Eparchy had canceled the procession to Pochaiv Lavra from the Brailiv Monastery.

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