Every year on September 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates a big holiday - Christmas. Holy Mother of God. It was erected in honor of the miraculous birth of the Virgin Mary from elderly parents - pious Anna and Joachim. The holiday was first mentioned in the 5th century.

ABOUT Mother of God there is little information in the New Testament. The story of Her life was brought to us by legend, according to which the parents of the Virgin Mary came from the family of David. The Church calls them holy Fathers of God, because in the flesh they are the ancestors of Jesus.

Miraculously, the Divine Providence for the salvation of humanity manifested itself on Anna and Joachim: after 50 years of married life, childless Anna conceived and gave birth to the Virgin Mary. Even before the girl was born, the Angel gave her the name Maria. She became the only one Holy Virgin, Which was predicted to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14).

History of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

According to legend, the place where the Mother of God was born is in Jerusalem. However, in the Russian Orthodox Church, a version put forward by St. Dmitry of Rostov became widespread: that the Virgin Mary was born in Nazareth, where her parents lived.

Nazareth was a small town, unremarkable in any way. The Jews even spoke somewhat contemptuously about him: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” In this city lived the pious couple Anna and Joachim, who were chosen by the Lord to become the ancestors of the Savior of people. Anna came from a priestly family, and Joachim came from the family of King David. Anna's niece righteous Elizabeth, became the cousin of the Virgin Mary and the mother of John the Baptist.

Joachim was a wealthy man and kept a large number of livestock. Despite their wealth, all their lives the righteous couple believed in God and were merciful to people. For this they were loved and respected by their neighbors. The only thing that darkened the existence of the spouses was childlessness, which the Jews considered God’s punishment. They constantly asked the Lord to give them a baby. But the older they got, the weaker the hope was.

One day Joachim, bringing a gift to God, heard a cruel reproach addressed to him from another Jew: “Why do you want to bring your gifts to the Lord before others? After all, you, being barren, are not worthy of this?” Hearing this, Joachim was very upset. Out of great grief, he went into the desert to pray and fast.

Having learned about this, Anna felt herself to be the culprit of their misfortune, and began to pray even more fervently that the Lord would hear her and send them a child. During one of her prayers, Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and said: “Your request was heard by God. Soon you will conceive and give birth to a blessed Daughter who will be above all earthly daughters. Name her Mary." Hearing the good news, Anna promised to give the child to serve the Lord.

Archangel Gabriel also appeared to Joachim. He also told the saint great news and ordered him to go to Jerusalem, where he would meet his wife at the Golden Gate. Joachim hurried to Jerusalem, taking with him gifts for God and the priests.

At the Golden Gate, Joachim met Anna. They told each other about the miraculous appearance of the Angel of the Lord. They spent some more time in Jerusalem, and then returned home to Nazareth. Nine months later, Anna gave birth to a daughter, who was named Maria.

When the girl was one year old, her father organized a feast, to which he called the elders, priests and all his friends. During the celebration, he showed his Daughter to everyone present and asked the clergy to bless Her.

According to church traditions, the Virgin Mary was born at a time when religion was in decline and various prejudices gained great popularity. Every year the moral strength of people was depleted. Believers understood that only some extraordinary event, God’s intervention in earthly affairs, could save spirituality. Decided to take on a human form God's Son to come to earth and save humanity from its sins. Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus because She led a very pious life. She devoted herself entirely to serving the Lord. From childhood, the Virgin Mary studied diligently, studying the Holy Scriptures, so she was ideally suited to fulfill this important mission.

The Nativity of the Virgin Mary is celebrated as the day on which God's providence began to be realized regarding the salvation of the human race from the devil's plans. The holiday is also associated with the day of women in labor. Women who dreamed of experiencing the joy of motherhood invited guests to dinner and ordered a service in the church.

Icon "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

The icon “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” helps everyone who turns to it with their requests. It protects from everything bad, wards off trouble, helps to heal human soul and guides you on the right path. Also, childless people pray at the holy image, dreaming that the Lord would give them a child.

At the end of September, Ukrainians celebrate a big Orthodox holiday– Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2019. This day is considered one of the most important and revered in the Christian world. After all, it is known that since ancient times people have respected the Mother of God as God’s righteous, intercessor, and patroness of children and mothers. Read about the main traditions, history and prohibitions of the holiday in our material.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2019: when is it celebrated?

History of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Ancient biblical legend says that Joachim and Anna from Jerusalem could not have children for a long time. Then Joachim went to Christian Church to pray to higher powers for the gift of offspring. However, even there the clergy refused him, since he “did not create offspring for Israel.”

In despair, Joachim went into the desert and prayed to the Lord for a child for many days. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven and said: “The Lord has heeded your prayer, you will conceive and give birth, and your offspring will be talked about all over the world.”

And so it happened: the couple had a daughter who united heaven and earth, people and God. The family was grateful for the gift from heaven. Therefore, in return, Joachim and Anna promised the Lord to give the child to serve God, which they did when Mary was three years old.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: how to celebrate

The Holy Mother of God is a symbol of the pure feminine and maternal principle. Her child was born as a result of immaculate conception Therefore, the Virgin Mary is usually called “the purest of all mothers.”

The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady is dedicated primarily to women. Every girl on this day should read a prayer dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is believed that the Mother of God fulfills the deepest desires of those who truly believe in her. Therefore, you should ask the saint for health for yourself and your loved ones, unity in the family and protection from adversity.

But those who are just striving for motherhood, marriage or are simply looking for their love should go to church for a solemn liturgy dedicated to the miracle of the birth of the Intercessor.

At the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary there is also a special tradition for children. There is a belief that the Virgin Mary will protect children born on this day from troubles and adversity throughout their lives. The Mother of God also helps mothers in raising children, as well as during childbirth. Therefore, women in labor pray to the saint for a quick, painless, and most importantly healthy birth.

According to legend, if it rains outside on September 21, it means that the Virgin Mary is mourning the sins of people.

It is believed that girls need to wash themselves with morning dew before sunrise. Then their youth and beauty will remain for many years.

Previously, people collected herbs during the period between the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary and prepared a special tincture from them. We believe that the elixir has healing properties and can cure the most terrible diseases.

Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary: meaning

The icon dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary depicts the happiness with which the Virgin Mary came into our world. Before depicting a saint, you need to ask only for the most sincere desires that are most important for a person in this moment. The clergy believe that the Heavenly Queen brings joy in the name of every believer.

Before the image of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, women need to ask for health and happiness for their children. And if God does not give offspring, in this case a sincere prayer to the Mother of God will help. It must be remembered that icons or saints do not “specialize” in any specific areas. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2019: what not to do

On the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, there are a number of strict prohibitions that absolutely cannot be violated.

On this day you cannot do hard work, for example, sewing, cleaning, washing, ironing, making repairs and the like. It is better to postpone all matters to another day.

Remember that on this day it is strictly forbidden to swear. Otherwise, all the negative energy will turn against you with triple force. All conflicts and disagreements must be resolved peacefully, without raising your voice.

And if on this day someone asks you for help, be it physical or material, you cannot refuse.

On September 21, you cannot throw away leftover food from the table. They should be given to feed birds and animals.

On this holy holiday, you cannot pass by beggars and beggars without giving them food or alms. This prohibition especially applies to women, otherwise they may become infertile.

Prayer for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

My most kind Circus, my hope, the Mother of God, the friend of the orphaned and strange mothers, those grieving at birth, the offended patroness! See my misfortune, see my sorrow, help me because I am weak, feed me because I am strange. My grievance is weighty, resolve it like a will: for not other imams are representatives, nor good comforters, except You, O Mother of God, for you preserve me and cover me forever and ever, Amen.

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Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - in Orthodox Church, the event is very important. We celebrated this holiday for a week. They prepared various dishes, cleaned the house, awaiting the arrival of dear guests. The work on the land plots was completed, so we could afford to have a good rest.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

IN Holy Scripture there is no mention of the birth and life of the Virgin Mary. We will find out about her life path from the words of believers, which were passed down from generation to generation. It is from sacred records that we discover the secrets of the birth of a woman who went through a lot of torment, devotedly served God and gave all of herself for the birth and upbringing of the son of God and the savior of all mankind.

The parents of the Virgin Mary were deeply religious, humble and merciful people. His father, Joachim, was of royal origin, and his mother, Anna, was raised in the family of a clergyman and deeply respected all religious traditions, customs and rituals. Parents strictly adhered to the basic God's Commandments and often brought gifts to church.

Despite this, for a long time, they could not have children, which at that time was considered a huge sin, bearing their heavy cross in life until a respectable age, never tired of asking God for mercy on their sinful souls.

The father, once again, having come to the temple of God and made a sacrifice, was expelled by the clergyman as a childless man. He felt peace and a sincere desire to turn to God with a sincere prayer for a desired, long-awaited child.

Having retired, he tirelessly cried out to the Creator of the World, his prayers were so pure and intimate that they were immediately heard, and as a reward for his devoted service, he became chosen from all people living on Earth to give birth to a daughter who would save the whole world.

Joachim and Anna made a promise to fulfill the will of the Creator and raise the child in all the strictness of religious rites, knowing about her mission and purpose on Earth - to become the Mother of the Savior of mankind.

The Orthodox Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary marked the beginning of a new period in the life of all people on Earth.

Icon "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

The life path of the Mother of God was not easy, she experienced a lot of grief, suffering and torment, seeing her only, beloved son, in whom she had invested all her knowledge, soul and heart, die crucified on Christ. Not many people can stand this.

Having passed all life's trials with dignity, she did not regret for a minute that she had dedicated her entire life to God. She treated all people with love and always prayed for the remission of their sins and the granting of God's mercy and forgiveness. With her righteousness, life aspirations and wisdom, as well as her unshakable desire to devote herself entirely to serving God, this woman became the protector of all people living on Earth.

One of the basic truths of life for all humanity is the birth of healthy, happy children who continue the family line. But not every young family is given the opportunity to have children, so many turn to the icon of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary with prayer, asking for the birth of a new life. After all, conception itself is a miracle that happened to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

The main thing is not to lose hope and believe in the miracles of the Lord. It is on this Great holiday that young girls pray for the creation new family and the opportunity to have healthy children, mothers - for the health of their children, for the healing of relatives and friends from illness and disease.

The Icon of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary depicts the moment of the birth of the future mother of Jesus Christ. All those who pray in front of this icon for the salvation of a sinful soul and repentance for violating the Commandments of God are granted forgiveness.

In Orthodoxy, in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the following icons were created:

• The Glinsk Icon of the Birth of the Mother of God is known for its miraculous properties, having healed many lost souls. She helps women recover from gynecological diseases and infertility;
• Isaac's Icon of the Birth of the Mother of God was noticed by people between the branches of a weeping willow, on the bank of the river. Residents of a nearby village moved it to the temple, and over time, in the place where they found it, they built new temple, which still exists today. She was a protector of infants and young children;
• Lucian's Icon of the Birth of the Mother of God - named after the monk Lucian, who was the first to see it and built it on this site new church and created a monastery. It is famous for its miraculous, healing qualities and protects against infantile ailments.

We provide the text of the prayer:

“Hey, our Blessed Queen, our indestructible Hope and invincible Intercessor! Do not turn Your face away from us for our many sins; but extend to us the hand of Thy Motherly mercy, and do a sign for good with us. Show us Thy rich help and prosper in every good deed; Turn us away from every sinful undertaking and evil plan.”

Service to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

September 21 The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great Orthodox holiday for all believers. They prepare for it very carefully, adhering to all church rituals and canons.

The service in the church begins before sunrise, all the women light candles and write requests, placing them near the icon. During the service, they sincerely pray and ask for health for children and loved ones, harmony in family relationships, well-being in the family, healing from many ailments and giving the opportunity to give birth to a healthy child.

It was taken for granted that on this day to help vulnerable segments of the population by distributing food (bread and pastries baked in advance, different types self-grown cereals, vegetables and fruits).

There are many signs that are passed down from generation to generation:

• Before this holiday, on almost all plots of land they tried to harvest all the crops grown, thus ending the agricultural season;
• Our ancestors noted that if a woman manages to swim before the first rays of the sun, then her beauty will not leave her until old age;
• On the day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary , girls were preparing for weddings, reading prayers for a happy future family life, about the birth of healthy firstborns and glorified the Most Holy Theotokos;
• The newlyweds met relatives: the young wife tried to show her best culinary dishes, and her husband showed animals raised throughout the year.

The Lord is always with you!

Troparion of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, tone 4

Kontakion of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, tone 4

Greatness Nativity of the Virgin Mary

We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, and honor Your holy parents, and glorify Your birth all-gloriously.

“Your prayer has been heard!.. You will have a daughter!” Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Natalia Sukhinina

A girl was born into the family... A common phrase about an everyday event. But how petty, how inexpressive these words seem if we relate them to an event two thousand years ago, when a long-awaited daughter, begged for in tearful prayers, was born into the righteous family of Joachim and Anna. Now we say - the Most Holy Theotokos, Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God... And then - seemingly an ordinary child, pure, reverent - looked trustingly into the world given by her parents, and the elderly parents rejoiced looking at Her, and thanked the Lord for what they had sent to old age comfort. A girl was born into the family... But Her birthday is now celebrated as Christmas.

- Do you know Christmas? - We still wouldn’t know Christ's Nativity! - But there is another Christmas, in mid-September, in the days of the last summer warmth and the first timid news of the approaching cold...

There are no Christmas frosts, but there is Christmas. There are no Christmas trees hung with garlands, but there is Christmas. And Christmas cards with generous wishes do not fly like carrier pigeons across Mother Russia, but there is Christmas. Quiet on the ground, light and calm. And we quietly sing the Christmas troparion: “ Your Christmas“O Virgin Mary, bring joy to the entire Universe.” A girl was born into the family, with her birth - at Christmas - who already taught us silence of the soul and modesty of thoughts.

There are frequent complaints about the lack of positive examples for our children. There are no teachers, no individuals ready to lead, teach goodness and strengthen fragile children's souls. And Joachim and Anna?! An encyclopedia of family life, in which every action is science. Humble. Be in love. Hope. Believe. They were despised for being childless, but they did not complain. They were called righteous, and they considered themselves “more sinners than anyone in the world.” The years turned silver on their heads, but they did not lose hope. A humble heart is a gift to the Lord, and He hastens to the humble with a gift: “Anna! Your prayer has been heard!.. You will have a daughter,” the Angel announced the good news. Great joy. And then - hasty gratitude to the Lord: a promise to dedicate a daughter to Him! What an amazing, what a humble and meek mother’s heart. The Virgin Mary inherited it from her mother, and never once, even when by human standards it was impossible to endure and humble herself, did she betray her generous parental inheritance. And why do we so rarely pray to the righteous parents of the Most Holy Theotokos? Why don’t we seek out their rich experience of family life? Why don’t we cry in front of their holy icon, don’t ask for admonition and help? Indeed, in their righteousness they are for us the very golden examples that we so thirst for and for which we search with fire every day. modern textbooks on pedagogy and lectures on family and marriage.

The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos illuminated the sinful earthly world with a ray of grace. The world became silent in anticipation of Salvation. Time will pass, and the little legs of the Virgin Mary will easily and deftly overcome high steps Jerusalem Temple. In the meantime, while the happy parents bent over their dear child. For fifty years they had been begging for a child. And we... We quickly get tired of prayer, we need it right away, we need it now, we need it quickly. If it doesn’t come quickly, then it’s useless, no matter how much you can bruise your forehead on the church flooring, how many candles you can keep warm, how much silver you waste. Anxious, in a hurry, of little faith, impatient, touchy - what gifts from the Lord are we waiting for, what bounties are we hoping for?

The Mother of our God is celebrating Her Christmas today. With this holiday, the Most Pure One awakens our hardened souls from hibernation and lack of faith. Today is Christmas... Today is a bright day of the bright glory of the Mother of Light. We will honor Her with songs, we will honor Her with the Christmas troparion, we will honor Her with our unworthy prayer. If only the heart did not absorb the breath of the first, still cautious autumn weather.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not a long-ago event, but a miracle of eternity

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

A few days ago, by the grace of God, you and I entered a new church year, and now we are celebrating the first great holiday annual liturgical circle - .

In order to understand the meaning of this holiday, and with it other church holidays, we need to first of all remember that church life is a mystery, incomprehensible to those outside the Church.

It is no coincidence that the most important thing in the life of the Holy Church is its focus, through which we become partakers of the grace of God, we call SACRAMENTS.

We ourselves, with our created minds, could not comprehend this church mystery. But the Lord, in His mercy, gradually reveals it to those who live in the Sacraments, who fall to this source of grace and drink its living water.

There are many secrets in the life of the church, but one of them is constantly revealed to believers. We enter into communion with her not only when we receive gifts of grace through the Sacraments, but every time we are in church and participate in divine services.

However, for many of us believers, this mystery continues to remain hidden. In order to truly come into contact with it, we need to be not simple listeners and spectators of what is happening in the temple, but enter into the experience of those who were the creators of worship and captured it in the prayers and chants they composed, starting from the times of the apostles, through the martyrs and saints and ending with the ascetics of our time.

The creators of the service, in full agreement with all the fathers and teachers of the Church, tell us that man was created for Eternal life, that the true element in which only his soul can live is eternity.

When we bury our dead and pray for the repose of their souls, we ask that the Lord would create for them an eternal memory. But this prayer can also apply to us who are still living on earth, because we also need the Lord to have us in His Eternal Memory: after all, the goal of our life is communion with eternity. Therefore, the best and most valuable wish of the Church is the wish of eternal memory.

And we constantly forget about this. Burdened with the worries of everyday life and overshadowed by the temporary circumstances of our lives, we forget about what we were created for, we forget about eternity, in which only that which was created by the Lord lives - VIRTUE.

Everything else is swept away and thrown into the fire - into outer darkness. It only seems to us that it exists, but in fact, as one holy father says: “In the beginning there was no evil, because even now it does not exist in the saints and for them it does not exist at all” (1).

Truly, there is only life in God and that which follows the path of acquiring the Kingdom of God in us.

The Holy Fathers tell us that man is created in the image and likeness of God, that he is the crown of nature and the king of all visible creature and at the same time a secret man God's grace. They teach that with his body a person is connected with all earthly creation, because the Lord created this body, the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), and with his soul he is connected with the Heavenly angelic world. Man stands on the verge of two worlds - earthly and heavenly. “In his creation,” says Gregory the Theologian, “the artistic word creates Living being, in which the invisible and visible nature are brought into unity; He creates, taking a body from already created matter and putting life from Himself, placing on earth another Angel, a worshiper made up of different natures, a spectator of the visible creature, the secret of the contemplative creature” (2).

But created in the image of God and placed by the Lord on the verge of two worlds, man did not fulfill his destiny: he sinned, falling away from God, and through him the whole visible world, of which he is the crown, began to depart from the Lord. Then the Son of God appeared on earth, Who by His death abolished death and by His Resurrection opened the way to Eternal life for us. He gave us eternal memory, and not only to us who believe in Him, but also to all visible creation.

Therefore, the task of man is to, while cleansing his soul from sin, also raise and spiritualize the substance from which his body is created, making it a worthy abode immortal soul. The Holy Fathers say that on the day of the last resurrection not only our souls will appear before the Lord, but along with them our resurrected bodies. And in this earthly life, in his ascent to God, a person can only follow the path that is shown to him by the Lord, who placed him on the brink of two worlds. Only in communication with these two worlds and together with them can a person here on earth serve God. The Holy Church constantly reminds us of this in its services.

Recently we celebrated the New Year's service. On this day we brought praise to the Lord not only from ourselves, but also from the whole world, visible and invisible, with which we are united in body and soul.

This is clearly stated in the canon of this day: All Your works, O Lord, the heavens, the earth, the light and the sea, the waters and all springs, the sun, the moon and darkness, the stars, fire, men and animals, and the angels praise You. (3)

Anyone who believes that these words correspond to reality and that in worship we truly unite with both worlds understands what a great mystery lies in Orthodox worship.

This secret consists not only in the fact that here the boundary between man and all creation - heavenly and earthly, is destroyed, the boundary that we so clearly feel while living in this temporary world, but also in the fact that through worship we overcome the very boundaries time of current nature and enter the world of eternity. Therefore, in worship there is nothing temporary, but everything lives in eternity.

Usually, we see the meaning of celebrating one or another event from the life of Jesus Christ or the Mother of God in going to church, listening to the Gospel and chants there that tell about events that happened a long time ago, and remembering these events. This is how we can treat today’s holiday; church tradition tells us that about 2000 years ago the Blessed Virgin was born in the Galilean city of Nazareth from elderly parents - the righteous Joachim and Anna. It tells that with Her birth, the Virgin Mary resolved the bonds of their infertility and brought them great joy. The chants of today tell us about this, and, apparently, the whole meaning of the holiday comes down to remembering these events.

But if we turn to the text of the chants themselves and try to understand the meaning of what their creators say, we will be convinced that such an attitude towards the holiday is characteristic only of external people who do not understand the mysteries of church life. In reality, the holiday chants say something completely different. In the stichera of today's Vespers we heard: Today the barren gate is opened and the virgin Divine door is coming... Today worldwide joy proclamation, today having blown the wind, the herald of salvation, the barrenness of our nature is resolved, and finally: Today barren Anna gives birth to the Virgin Mary(4). What does this mean? today? (today barrenness is resolved, today Anna gives birth to the Virgin Mary). Are these just techniques of figurative, poetic speech, or do these words contain some other meaning?

If we reason from the point of view of the wisdom of this age, then the assertion of the real meaning of these words is madness. After all, all this happened a long time ago. But for those who are spiritually wise (see: Rom. 8:5), everything that happened for us as humans and for our salvation not only happened in time, but also remains in eternity.

So when we hear today that now the Pure Virgin comes from Anna(5), - the gates of eternity are opening to us.

Today's service tells us that the birth Holy Virgin was a joy not only for Her parents and relatives who lived in Nazareth, but it became a worldwide joy that it resolved the infertility not only of the righteous saints Joachim and Anna, but in him infertility of our nature is resolved and fruit is born that gives life to the world (6).

The divine service reveals to us that the Nativity of the Mother of God was significant not only for those who lived in Nazareth in those days, but was accomplished for the sake of us as people and for our salvation, that with the birth of Her life a bridge is born today(7), leading us into eternity.

Glorifying the Lord, we end each doxology with the words: . With these words, the Holy Church tells us that the divine service that we perform now will be performed forever and ever, because even now it is being performed in eternity and introduces us to Eternal life.

This is the great mystery of worship, which the Holy Church reveals to us.

Take away from the service its innermost meaning contained in the words now and ever and unto ages of ages, and the source of Eternal Life flowing in it will be closed for us, you will forever remain cut off from what was and has gone into the irrevocable past, for none of the people can be present at the birth of their mother or their father. But we know that the best of our ascetics, those who were creators liturgical chants and canons, drank from this source of Eternal Life. They learned from experience that worship reveals to us the knowledge of eternity.

And for us sinners, the most important thing (and this must always be remembered) is to touch this source of knowledge, which is revealed to us through the mystery of worship.

And for this, while you are still here on earth, with faith, reverence and fear of God, perceive everything that you see and hear in the temple - everything that is performed, sung, read during the service.

And when we again now enter the annual circle of worship, let us remember WHO we are and WHAT we are CALLED TO.

And as we enter into it, the great mystery of eternity will be revealed to us more and more.

The Holy Church believes that we are not alone in performing divine services, that the Angelic Forces and the entire Heavenly Church pray and praise the Lord with us. Now the Heavenly Forces serve with us invisibly,- we chant during Great Lent at the Presanctified Liturgies.

And not only on these great days, but on all days church year, at each Liturgy, before the small entrance, the priest prays: Create at our entrance the holy angels to be, serving us and praising Your goodness. It is from here, from this co-presence and co-service with us who have already reached eternity and are living eternal life in the Lord of angels and saints, the desire for eternity is born in us.

Therefore, during Divine Liturgy priest after offering thanksgiving service to the Lord about all the saints and much about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary remembers the living and the dead and prays that the Lord will remember them in His Kingdom, that is, introduce them to His Eternal Memory, which is the Kingdom of God.

From this it should be clear to us that the worship performed here on earth is nothing more than the consistent revelation in time of the secrets of eternity. And for each of us believers, it is the path that leads us to eternal life.

Therefore, church holidays are not a random collection of memorable days, but shining points of eternity in our temporary world, the passage through which is subject to an unchanging spiritual order. These points replace each other in a certain sequence, they are connected to each other, like steps of a single ladder of spiritual ascent, so that, standing on one of them, we already see the light illuminating us from another step. And today – the reading of the canon is accompanied by the singing of the Vozdvizhensk Catavasia Moses drew the cross. It would seem that she has nothing to do with today, But actually it is not. It tells us about the inextricable spiritual connection of successive church holidays.

This is the light of the Exaltation, which illuminates us from afar, so that today we begin to enter into it.

The mystery of worship is the greatest of the mysteries of the Church. We ourselves cannot immediately comprehend it. But we know that it was revealed to the great and greatest of God’s saints. Therefore, by entering into their experience through those prayers and chants in which they captured it, asking for their help and prayers for us sinners, we can gradually begin to touch this great mystery.

And as through this the elements of eternity are born and grow in us, we will relate to our temporary life differently than now. We will understand then that it is only the path leading us from the earthly to the heavenly, from the temporary to the eternal.

And then, leaving this life, we, perhaps, will be worthy of the Eternal Kingdom prepared by the Lord for those who, already here on earth, have begun to enter into His Eternal Memory, which is the greatest achievement for a person moving from below to above.

(1) Saint Athanasius the Great. Word on the Gentiles 2 // Creations. Part 1. P. 127.
(2) Saint Gregory the Theologian. Word 38. On Epiphany or the Nativity of the Savior // Creations. Part III. pp. 9-200.
(3) Service on September 1st. Canon of indicta. Song 9.
(4) Service of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: on the Lord, I cried stichera 4,5,6.
(5) Ibid. Canon 2. Canto 4, 2nd troparion.
(6) Ibid. Ikos.
(7) Ibid. Canon 1. Canto 1, 3 troparion.

The Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a day of universal joy. On this day, solemn services are held in churches and all believers glorify the wonderful day when the Lord gave people hope for the coming of the Savior into the world.

In the Orthodox Church, with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the annual circle of 12 great - twelfth holidays dedicated to the Savior begins.

Story

According to church tradition, the Virgin Mary was born in the Galilean city of Nazareth. Her parents were the righteous Joachim from the family of King David and Anna from the family of the high priest Aaron. They led a righteous life and dreamed of children, but, by the special providence of God, Saint Anna was barren for a long time, and this greatly upset them.

The spouses had to endure contempt and ridicule, since at that time childlessness was considered a shame. Over the course of 50 years of their marriage, they fervently prayed to God to grant them offspring, humbly trusting in his will.

On one of the holidays, when the Israelites brought gifts to God to the Jerusalem Temple, the high priest, believing that the childless Joachim did not have God’s blessing, refused to accept them from him.

This made the old man very sad. Without returning home, Saint Joachim went into the desert and spent forty days there in strict fasting and prayer, begging the Lord for mercy. His righteous wife, having learned about her husband’s act, also began, through fasting and prayer, to mournfully ask God to give her a child, promising to bring the born child as a gift to God.

And the prayer of the holy spouses was heard - an angel appeared to both of them and announced that a daughter would be born to them, who would be blessed by the entire human race.

And indeed they had a daughter, who was named Maria. They protected her in every possible way and raised her in love for the Lord. She responded to her parents in full reciprocity, bestowing them with her grace.

When the baby reached the age of three, Anna and Joachim took her to the temple of God in order to fulfill the promise they had once given to the Lord to dedicate the child given to them to serve the Creator.

The Holy Church rightly calls Joachim and Anna Fathers of God, because Jesus Christ was born from their daughter the Virgin Mary.

Holiday

The first mentions of the celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary are found in the East in the 5th century - in the words of Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople (439-446), and in the West - in the sacramentary (breviary) of Pope Gelasius (492-496).

At the same time, Palestinian legend tells that the temple in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built in Jerusalem by Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great.
The official approval of the holiday in Byzantium, according to the most common version, occurred during the reign of the Emperor Mauritius - at the turn of the 6th and 7th centuries.

Despite these early mentions, the holiday began to be widely celebrated in the West only in the 12th-13th centuries. Only at the Council of Lyon in 1245 did Pope Innocent IV make the octave of the holiday mandatory for all Western Church, and Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378) established a vigil with fasting and a special liturgy for the holiday.

Traditions and rituals

Church traditions and customs of celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary are closely intertwined with folk ones.

In Rus', the Nativity of the Mother of God was called Asposov day, on which they met “Mother Autumn,” that is, autumn. It was the end of summer field work and the beginning of autumn preparations. The farmers thanked the Mother of God for the harvest and asked for her help for the coming year.

Onion week began on this day - housewives harvested this vegetable from the beds. In addition, by the Nativity of the Mother of God they tried to collect the entire harvest, and the beekeepers began to prepare the bees for wintering - cleaning the hives.

According to tradition, people visited each other on the holiday. There is no fasting on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, that is, believers can eat any food, so on this day they tried to set the table richer. It was believed that the more dishes were on the table, the richer the next harvest would be.

On the same day, it was considered obligatory to visit the newlyweds who had recently celebrated their wedding. It was believed that on this day parents were supposed to teach the young, instruct them in the right way, teach them to avoid mistakes.

The young people, in turn, had to talk about their lives. The young wife personally prepared the pie, which she treated to the guests. The husband had to show the guests the farm. If the economy was strong, the house was clean, life was organized, gifts were presented to the young family.

© photo: Sputnik / Vladimir Vdovin

Reproduction of the icon "The Mother of God"

We also didn’t forget to try the pie prepared by the young wife. If the pie was successful, the wife was given a beautiful scarf. If the pie was raw or burnt, the husband was given a whip with which he had to teach his wife, but he had to eat the pie alone.

Signs

There was a lot associated with this day folk signs. At Christmas, the Mother of God determined what kind of autumn it would be and what kind of winter it would be. If the weather is sunny on this day, then the autumn will be warm and clear, without heavy rains. If the sky is cloudy, then the autumn cold will come with rain.

If it rains in the morning on this day, it can last another 40 days, and winter will be early and very cold. If there is dew on the grass on the morning of September 21, exactly a month later there will be frost on the ground. If the sun quickly dries the dew, the winter will have little snow, and if the dew dries before lunch, you can expect a lot of snow in the winter.

People said that if birds fly into the sky on the Mother of God, then autumn is still far away, and if they huddle close to the ground and look for food, then the winter will be cold and hungry.

In the morning we looked at the stars. If the stars are large and bright, then you should soon expect cold mornings; if the stars, on the contrary, are dim, the warmth will last for a long time.

If it is windy on this day, the winter will have little snow, with severe winds. If it is warm in the morning, and it becomes colder in the afternoon, frosts will strike very early, and in winter there will be very severe frosts. The most severe frosts in winter fell on Epiphany.

IN old times Women tried to go to the river early in the morning and meet this day by the water. It was believed that if a woman washed her face with water before sunrise on this day, she would be beautiful until old age. And if a girl washed her face before sunrise, she would be matched this year.

To ensure that everything was safe in the house, women went to church in the morning and lit candles for the Blessed Virgin Mary, which were wrapped in paper flowers. At the bottom of the candle they put paper on which requests to the Blessed Virgin were written. They looked at which side the paper would burn, because it was this request that would be fulfilled. If the paper burned completely, it means that all requests were heard.

On this day, special bread was baked, on which the letters “P” and “B” were squeezed out, which meant “Nativity of the Virgin Mary.” Such bread was always distributed to everyone in the household so that they could join in the great holiday.

These loaves of bread were placed under icons and kept until the Nativity of Jesus Christ. If someone in the house fell ill, they took a piece of such bread, pounded it and added it to the water that the sick person was given to drink. Sometimes the bread was simply given to eat, and the patient had to wash it down with holy water. Water was also blessed at the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.

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