Russian Orthodox priests drove around the western Bryansk region with a religious icon in an attempt to protect it from a potential Ukrainian incursion, the local diocese said.
“Today’s prayer was for the salvation of our fatherland and our native Bryansk region from enemy invasion,” the diocese of Bryansk said in a social media post published late Tuesday.
The “automobile procession,” carrying a revered 12th-century religious icon from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, was approved by Metropolitan Alexander of Bryansk and Sevsk. Photos shared by the diocese showed priests traveling in a minivan with the icon.
The diocese claimed that the “miracle-working” icon helped residents of Bryansk ward off Napoleon's troops in 1812, leading to annual processions held every Aug. 30.
The Bryansk region has been on heightened alert since a surprise Ukrainian incursion into the neighboring Kursk region that began in early August.
Religious leaders, including Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, have been vocal supporters of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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