The Heavenly Hosts and Chief Commander Archangel Michael are glorified today. Two of the Diveyevo churches and a church in Znamensky skete celebrate their patronal feasts. According to the monastery’s typikon, today’s services are celebrated with special solemnity and preceded by a prayer service with the blessing of the water and paraklesis.

On the eve of the feast, Small Vespers with the Akathist and the Vigil service were served at the side altars of the Kazan and Transfiguration Cathedrals and at the Znamensky skete’s bell-tower church dedicated to the Archangels.

At the end of the services today, we reverently looked up to the pure and fiery images of the heavenly host painted on the holy icons thankfully and prayerfully singing a hymn to them: “We praise you, Holy Archangel of the Lord Michael, holy Archangels and angels, and the heavenly host, many-eyed Cherubims and six-winged Seraphims, who sing glory to God.”