The sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery’ Znamensky skete prayed for the end of the flu pandemic.

Presbyter Alexander (Veremey) served a prayer service with the akathist before the icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign” (or “Znameniye”). The holy image is a copy of the miracle-working icon made by the sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery at the end of the 19^th century when a procession with the cross delivered it from the monastery to the village of Khripunovo, the current location of the Znamensky skete.

Since then, every year the day of the procession on June 20/ July 3 was marked as a day of intense prayer. For three days, the Vigil and Divine Liturgy services were held with the singing of the akathists to the Most Holy Mother of God and the icon traveled in the processions around the villages of Khripunovo, Vileyki, and Mikheevka with the prayer services served in the villages. The faithful flocked to the icon during the times of grief and great need.

In the 1920s, the so-called Spanish flu epidemic raged in Khripunovo. Many villagers died and sometimes the whole family would perish. In this grievous situation, the locals sought the protection of the Queen of Heaven. The procession carrying the icon “Of the Sign” walked to the spring, served a water-blessing prayer service, and then proceeded around the village sprinkling the holy water around the area, inside the homes, and sick villagers, all the while raising the prayers of fervent supplication. Soon, the sick felt better and recovered, whereas the epidemic stopped altogether.