Every year, on the evening of September 19, the wonderworking Panagia Voulkaniotissa Icon is carried in procession from the Voulkanos Monastery down to the city of Messini, Greece.
The procession is held in honor of a miracle of the Mother of God in 1755, when a procession with the icon saved the city from a deadly plague.
Traditionally, thousands of pilgrims join the 12.5-mile prayer march, and this year was no different.
Following the All-Night Vigil at the monastery, the procession began in the early hours of the morning, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Theoklitos of Stagon and Meteora together with His Eminence Metropolitan Meletios of Carthage of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The procession arrived in the city early this morning where its formal reception was presided over by Met. Theoklitos, Met. Meletios, and the local hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messini. The icon was carried through the main city streets, which were paved with flowers.
The procession ended at the Life-Giving Spring metochion of the monastery for an 8-day stay.
