Penza, 21 April 2015. PenzaNews. Thousands of Penza citizens have visited the cemeteries of the city on Tuesday, April 21, also known as the Rejoicing Day (Radonitsa), the day when Orthodox Christians are commemorating the departed.

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Starting this year, this special day is considered to be a holiday in the Penza region.

A traffic jam occurred by the Novo-Zapadnoye cemetery, with car owners greatly in need of parking space nearby. A traffic police officer was placed on guard by the cemetery to help manage traffic: however, small accidents still took place.

The Penza residents visiting cemeteries took advantage of plastic flowers sold nearby.

Among the personalities who visited the Novo-Zapadnoye cemetery on Radonitsa were the head of the city Victor Kuvaytsev and the mayor Yuri Krivov: they checked the status of improvement works and repairs of the WWII veterans before the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.

The officials also took part in the communion service in the chapel of the Saint Sergius of Radonezh headed by Archbishop Serafim of Penza and Nizhny Lomov.

All Orthodox believers should visit the graves of their deceased relatives and dear people, he said.

“Today is the joint day of Easter for all, those who live here on Earth and those who departed,” he noted.

The Archbishop also said he is glad to see the Penza region to adopt a regional law that made this day a holiday.