On 14 October 2015, the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, patronal celebrations took place at the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Samarkand.
In 2015 the church marks its 110th anniversary.
In 1904–1905 a church dedicated to the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God was built in Samarkand. The church was designed by the Samarkand regional architect Ivan Petrovich Lebedev. A tradition is still preserved at the Protection Cathedral that the main donors for the construction of this church were a childless noble couple, Ekaterina and Alexander. Unable to have children of their own, they decided in this way to care for the children who would study at the church school. At the time it was the first and only non-military church in the city — all the other churches belonged to the military department. In all these years the Protection Church has never been closed. The first rector of the church, in 1905, was the 35-year-old Priest Viktor Motalev, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.
The festive service was led by the rector of the church, the dean of the Samarkand Deanery, Archpriest Roman Zagrebelny.
Concelebrating with him were:
The rector of Saint Alexius Cathedral, Priest Igor Babakov
The rector of the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in Kattakurgan, Priest Timofey Sirodzhev.
At the end of the service a procession of the cross was held around the church.
After the procession of the cross, Fr. Roman addressed the clergy and parishioners with greetings on the patronal feast.
A festive meal was then held at the church.
On the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos we ask the Queen of Heaven for protection and help: "Remember us in Thy prayers, O Lady Virgin Theotokos, that we perish not through the multitude of our sins; protect us from every evil and from grievous calamities; for in Thee do we hope, and, honoring the feast of Thy Protection, we magnify Thee."
