On the first of October, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God.  It is especially and solemnly celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church.  This is due to the fact that the pious Russian people regard the events associated with the feast as the beginning of their salvation, in that the pagans who inhabited what is now Russia and Ukraine were humbled by God in the miracle of the appearance of the Theotokos in the church in Constantinople, showing Her intercession before Her Son and Lord, so that the Christians would be saved and the heathen defeated, when the pagans were set to conquer the capital city of the Byzantine Empire.
 
One of the most precious relics housed in the monastery cathedral is a piece of the cincture, or the girdle of the Mother of God, which is contained in the icon of the Protection, which is brought out and placed in the middle of the church for the veneration by the faithful. 

On this day, it is traditional to commemorate all of the past and present choir directors of the monastery as well as the present day singers in the choir.  May the Lord through the prayers of His Most Blessed Mother inspire them to lead us in prayer.