The procession of the cross is a crowded procession of priests and believing people, which goes from temple to temple, goes around the church or goes to a reservoir to bless the waters. During the procession, there is always a cross, banners (banners with the face of Jesus Christ), the Gospel, icons.
The mention of the first processions of the cross is found in the Old Testament. Among them - the journey of the sons of Israel from Egypt to the promised land, the procession around the ark of God, the circumambulation around the Jericho walls, the transfer of the ark of God by David and Solomon.
Religious processions are regular (or calendar) and extraordinary. Regular processions take place on certain days. They are held several times a year in honor of shrines and great church events, for example, the Velikoretsky religious procession, which takes place annually in early June, etc.
Calendar processions also take place on the day of the Baptism of the Lord, on Easter, on the feast of the second Savior for the consecration of water. During the procession of the cross, a bell ringing sounds, which is called the evangelism. The clergy must be dressed in liturgical robes.
Emergency processions gather in disaster situations, for example, during war, famine, epidemics, natural disasters. Such processions of the cross are accompanied by intense prayers for salvation.
The procession can last as long as a few minutes, or for several days or even weeks or months. In this case, people stock up on food to have a bite to eat during stops, and also take with them bed mats, waterproof raincoats, reliable shoes and necessary medicines that may be needed on the way.
Processions can take place both on land and in the air. The priests take all the necessary attributes on board the plane and, while reading a prayer, sprinkle the city with holy water during the flight. In addition, there are maritime processions, when priests perform prayers or memorial services on board a ship or other vessel.
To take part in the procession of the cross means to accept spiritual cleansing and remind other people of the power of the Orthodox faith, since this procession symbolizes the bearing of one's cross and following the word of the Savior.
