Valery Voloshchuk, senior priest of the Army Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection, took part in the organizing committee of the Cossack festival “Shermitsii 2020”. Before the start of the organizing committee, the senior priest, together with representatives of the cossacks and public associations, made a prayer service for the beginning of a good cause. Archpriest Georgy Smorkalov, confessor of the All-Great Don Army, also took part in the discussion of organizational issues. During the discussion, it was decided to start the festival with the divine Liturgy in the Army Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection.

Shermitsii is an international ethnic festival of cossack ritual culture. The tradition of St. George’s Shermitsii is associated with the ancient spring competitions of the Don cossacks, which had a ritual character. In May cossacks gathered from all the villages in the vicinity of Cherkassk, on a high place set up camp, solved yurt disputes, issues of military raids, and in the afternoon organized games and fun of equestrian nature, battue hunting, horse races, exemplary exercises with arms, and in the evening they were fighting on their fists.

In 2020, Shermitsii will be held on may 16-17 in the Monastery tract Kaplitsa, and will be dedicated to the 450th anniversary of the service of the Don Army.