With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of All Russia, the XVIII International Congress of the Commonwealth of Orthodox Youth will be held from July 14 to August 1, 2026.
The International Congress of the Commonwealth of Orthodox Youth was first held in July 2008 in the Kursk-Root Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Male Desert in the Kursk region with the blessing of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, Metropolitan Sergius of Ternopil and Kremenets, Metropolitan Herman of Kursk and Rila, Archbishop Theodosius of Polotsk and Glubokoe and It became the first step for establishing ties, spiritual communication and multilateral cooperation between Orthodox youth from different countries of the world. 
Over the years of its existence, the congress has contributed to the restoration of the spiritual, cultural and ethnic unity of the younger generation of the Russian people. A special feature of the congress, from the point of view of involving young people in international communication, is that the development of dialogue between the participants takes place through a combination of pilgrimage and thematic events.
In 2026, the congress participants will visit Kursk, Khotkovo, Sergiev Posad, Moscow, Kalyazin, Yaroslavl, Tula and other Russian cities. The event will be timed to coincide with the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, the 600th anniversary of the repose of St. Nikon, Abbot of Radonezh, disciple of St. Sergius, and the 525th anniversary of the finding of the relics of the Blessed Princes Vasily and Konstantin Yaroslavsky.