In the summer of 2026, an event took place in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, which Patriarch Kirill called a special sign for the whole country. During emergency restoration work — the floor of the cathedral sank, the tombstone was threatened — experts dismantled the brickwork at the southern wall and found three white-stone sarcophagus. One of them belonged to the holy Prince Dmitry Donskoy. The remains were preserved almost completely: anthropologists established the height of the prince — 175-177 centimeters, the age at the time of death — 35-45 years. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky called the incident a “smile of God.”
On August 18, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performed a prayer service at the sarcophagus. After that, with his blessing, several fragments of relics were removed and placed in the arks for the worship of believers throughout the country.
Moscow: Procession of the Cross and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior
On September 6, one of the arks took part in the Moscow procession dedicated to the memory of all Christian ascetics. The procession took place from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to the Novodevichy Monastery — at the head were three shrines: the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, the Ark with the relics of Dmitry Donskoy and the icon of All Saints of Moscow.
From September 7, this ark was placed in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where it will be available until September 20. As explained by Archbishop Savva of Zelenograd, Deputy Manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, to touch the shrine directly with such a confluence of people will not work — the worship takes place during the procession.
Small Ark: the road to the south and to the SVO zone
The second ark, the small one, went on a trip to Russia and the zone of special military operation. It contains particles of relics from the right hand of the prince — the same one with which Dmitry Donskoy held the sword in battle. Metropolitan Kirill noted: The Lord sends another intercessor, who will stand next to the soldiers «with the heavenly fire sword.»
The route is built so that the shrine first of all came to where support is most needed — in the frontline and border regions.
On September 7, the Ark received the Church of St. George the Victorious in Rostov-on-Don, the main temple of the Southern Military District. The shrine was met by a company of guards of honor, a long queue lined up to the ark. Nearby unfolded a banner with the image of Sergius of Radonezh, blessing the prince before the Battle of Kulikovo.
On September 8, the Day of the Liberation of Donbass, the ark was delivered to the Saur-Mohyla in the DPR — a memorial dedicated to the feat of Soviet soldiers in 1943. At the memorial were laid flowers and commemorative events. The memory of the heroes of different eras is intertwined here: the defenders of Donbass of the Great Patriotic War and those who are fighting today.
From 9 to 18 September, the ark is in the zone of combat contact. According to the Ministry of Defense on September 17, the shrine was delivered to the units of the Center group of troops. The Ark visited several field temples, one of which bears the name of Prince Dmitry Donskoy himself, as well as a temple at the command post. Military priests led by the clerk of the Main Church of the Armed Forces of Russia, Archpriest Alexander Soldatenkov, held a prayer service, each soldier was presented with a consecrated icon with the face of a saint. Several servicemen, who had not been baptized before, decided to convert to Orthodoxy after meeting with the shrine.
Further route
After the war zone, the ark will pass through the Crimea: September 19 – Simferopol, September 20-21 – Sevastopol. Then — the border regions: September 23-25 — Belgorod region, September 26-27 — Voronezh, September 28-29 — Kursk, September 30 — October 1 — Bryansk. The route will end on October 2-3 at the Kulikovo Field — in the museum, which stores the memory of the main battle of the prince.
Why is it important?
September 2026 is the anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo. The appearance of the shrine on the eve of this date gives the event a special meaning. As Vladimir Medinsky recalled, it was under the banners of Dmitry Donskoy for the first time in a century and a half that the scattered Russian princes united against a common enemy. Before the Kulikovo field there were Vladimirs, Novgorodians, Muscovites — and then there were Russians.
Patriarch Kirill urges believers to address the prince with prayers for the well-being of their native land: for protection from the enemy, fortress to the army, wisdom to the authorities — and to the peoples of historical Rus — for lasting peace, harmony and victory over the spirit of hostility and hatred.
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