Christmas holiday Holy Mother of God, which is celebrated annually by believers on September 21, is of particular importance, because on this day the Mother of Jesus Christ was born. …
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is the most important church holiday, which in Orthodoxy is one of the twelve. The holiday was established by the Church in the 4th century.
An elderly woman lived in the Galilean city of Nazareth married couple- Joachim and Anna. They were very pious and righteous, but for many years they could not have children. Once, on a big feast, Joachim brought gifts to the Lord God in the Temple in Jerusalem. But the priest did not want to accept the gifts, because he was childless, and children were considered a blessing from God.
Upon learning of this, Anna burst into tears. Seeing a nest in the garden in which little chicks squeaked, she thought: "Even birds have children, and we have no such comfort in old age." Then an angel appeared to her and said: "You will conceive and give birth to a Daughter, blessed, above all. Through Her, God's blessing will be received by all earthly peoples. Through Her, Salvation will be given to all people. Her name will be Mary." With the same message, the angel appeared to Joachim.
Nine months later Anna had a daughter. The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary motivated her father to bring many gifts to God. He received the blessing of the high priest, the priests, and all the people for being worthy of God's blessing. In the church, it is customary to call Joachim and Anna Godfathers, because Jesus Christ was born from their Most Holy Daughter of the Virgin Mary.
Since then, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin on September 21 has always been celebrated by believers with great trepidation.
Consider what you can not do on the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Do not engage in heavy physical labor: leave for another day work around the house, in the garden and garden;
- Do not sweep crumbs onto the floor from the table. If there was bread left after a meal, it was given to pets.
- It is also impossible to quarrel with loved ones and conflict with others (if the situation is close to critical, try to resolve any controversial issues peacefully);
- On the day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, you should have pure thoughts. Do not raise your voice to loved ones - this is a sin. Also, one should not wish evil to another or think badly of someone.
- Fasting is observed on this day: it is not allowed to eat meat and alcohol.
Remember, this holiday should begin with a trip to the temples or church for prayer. After that, be sure to congratulate your loved ones and go to visit relatives.
Congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May the purity and light of this holiday fill your soul with grace, and may your faith be sincere and strong. And then real miracles will certainly happen in your life.
Merry Christmas Holy Mother of God our
I wish to smile more often on a holiday,
To be full of health and always perky,
Orthodox holiday, can be cool.
If your heart hurts, turn to God,
From holy prayer you do not close,
Mother of God will help, just ask
And love the Lord with heart and soul.
Merry Christmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary! I wish that prayers to God be heard, that a miracle happens every day, that the Lord extends a helping hand in a moment of hardship, and an angel stands behind your shoulder in moments of joy.
Holy Mother of God Christmas -
Reason for joy and rejoicing!
May a bright celebration come to you
Accept wishes now!
May from the Virgin Mary in your destiny
Happiness will surely come!
May this day be the best of days
And change everything overnight!
The Blessed Mother of God was born on this September day. She gave life to the Lord, thus blessing all mankind. We wish peace, light, kindness and pure thoughts to every Christian!
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Aspos day. Small Pure. Osporinki. Nativity of the Virgin. Among the people - the Lesser Most Pure (Big Most Pure - Assumption, August 28). Other names: Pasikov, Lukov day, Aspos day, Aspozha, Oseniny, Ospozhinki. Lukov and Pasikov come from the words "bow" and "apiary". This is the time for collecting onions and working in the apiary. The second meeting of autumn. Autumn solstice. Every summer is over. If the weather is good on this day, then autumn will be good.
In the agricultural calendar, this day was called "autumn" or "osporinki" and was celebrated as a harvest festival, which was sometimes celebrated for a whole week. The people greeted autumn with games and songs. Early in the morning, women went out to the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds to meet Mother Osenina with oatmeal bread. The older woman stood with bread, and the young people around her sang songs and prayed: “Our Lady of the Cleansing, deliver from mats, take away the pains from the soul, illuminate my life!” After that, they broke the bread into pieces according to the number of those gathered and fed livestock with it.
Relatives came to the newlyweds - to see how they live, to teach the mind-reason. According to custom, the young had to show all their household, and then treat their relatives. Guests, as usual, had to praise and teach the mind. The owner took the guests to the yard, showed them rye in the barns, summer and winter harness in the sheds, and treated them to beer from a cask in the garden. And the newlyweds gave a round loaf or pie to both the matchmaker and relatives.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary- the first in a series of twelve fixed holidays in the annual liturgical circle; celebrated on 8 (21) September. The holiday was established in the IV century. It is dedicated to the "beginning of our salvation", the birth of the Virgin Mary.
Nativity of the Virgin. Apas day. Osenins. The second meeting of autumn. Every summer is over. Bees are harvested, onions are harvested.
Winter must be strict, if the bird has gone flying away together.
If the wool of the hares turns white, winter will come soon.
An abundance of fir cones - for the harvest of spring, peas and cucumbers next year.
The flowers of the marigolds shrunk tightly, the word withered - before the rain.
Tales of the Russian people collected by I.P. Sakharov.
Aspos day
On Aspos Day, our people meet autumn with games and songs. Early in the morning, women go to the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds to meet Mother Osenina with oatmeal bread. An older woman stands with bread, and the young people around her sing songs. After this, they break the bread into pieces according to the number of people and feed livestock with it.
In the Tula province, all relatives and friends converged on the newlyweds. The caller invited such guests: to visit the young, to look at their life and life and teach them the mind - the mind. After a hearty dinner, the young hostess showed her entire household in the house. Guests, as usual, had to praise and teach the mind. The owner took the guests to the yard, showed them rye in the barns, summer and winter harness in the sheds, and treated them to beer from a cask in the garden.
On September 21, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the first twelfth feast of the church year, which begins on September 1 (old style).
The Church celebrates this day as a day of universal joy and the beginning of the fulfillment of the God-promised salvation of the human race from the curse and death that weighed upon it.
On this bright day, he says at the turn of the Old and New Testaments, in the small Galilean city of Nazareth, the Blessed Virgin Mary was born, who gave the world a Savior.
Her parents were righteous Joachim, from the family of the prophet and king David, and Anna from the family of the high priest Aaron. As the Bible says, they were childless, and on one of the holidays, Joachim brought his sacrifice to the Jerusalem temple as a gift to God, but the high priest did not accept it, calling Joachim unworthy, because of his childlessness.
Saint Joachim, in deep grief, went into the desert and there with tears he prayed to the Lord for the gift of a child. Saint Anna, having learned what had happened in the Jerusalem temple, wept bitterly, but did not murmur against the Lord, but prayed, calling on her family the mercy of God. And the Lord fulfilled their petition when the holy spouses reached an advanced age and prepared themselves by a virtuous life for a high title - to be the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the future Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the past, this holiday was called by the people the Lady or the Most Pure Second (small) to distinguish it from the day of the Assumption. These names are based on well-known names that are usually given by our Church to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Often, even September 8 (according to the old style) is known under the name of Aspozhka, Spasov or Aspasov Day. The same names are used for the entire week from 1/14 to 8/21 September.
Holy Virgin Mary was born at a time when people reached such limits of moral decline, in which their rebellion seemed impossible. The best minds of that era realized and often openly said that God must descend into the world in order to correct the faith and prevent the destruction of the human race.
God wanted to take human nature for the salvation of people, and the Most Pure Virgin Mary, the only one worthy to contain in Himself and embody the Source of purity and holiness, He chooses His Mother.
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated by the Church as a day of universal joy.
On this bright day, at the turn of the Old and New Testaments, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was born, ordained from time immemorial by Divine Providence to serve the mystery of the incarnation of God the Word - to appear as the Mother of the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Believers all over the earth worthily honor with songs and praises the One Who dispelled the darkness of gracelessness in the world and brought deliverance from eternal death and the gift of deification to mankind.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was born in the small Galilean city of Nazareth. Her parents were the righteous Joachim from the family of the prophet and king David and Anna from the family of the high priest Aaron. Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan (his other daughter, Sophia, was the mother of Elizabeth, who became the mother of John the Baptist).
Joachim and Anna were righteous before the Lord, kept His commandments, and were known to everyone not so much for their nobility of origin, but for their humility and mercy. They lived comfortably, Joachim owned numerous herds. They spent only one third of their income on themselves, the other was donated to the temple, and the third was distributed to the poor.
The spouses were childless, since Saint Anna was barren. Childlessness was considered by the Jewish people as God's punishment for sins, therefore the holy and righteous Joachim and Anna endured unjust reproach from their compatriots. Having reached old age, Saints Joachim and Anna vowed to consecrate to God for service in the temple a child whom the Lord would send them.
On one of the holidays, the elder Joachim brought his sacrifice to the Jerusalem temple as a gift to God, but the high priest did not accept it, calling Joachim unworthy, in view of his childlessness. Saint Joachim, in deep grief, went into the desert, where he spent 40 days in fasting and prayer.
Saint Anna, having learned what had happened in the Jerusalem temple, wept bitterly, but did not murmur against the Lord, but prayed, calling on her family the mercy of God. In such an anxious state of mind, one day Anna went out into the garden and in prayerful thoughts, raising her eyes to the sky, saw among the branches of a laurel tree a nest of barely fledged birds. The sight of these young chicks struck her heart, grieving for childlessness, even more.
“Woe to me,” she said, “I am lonely, rejected from the temple of the Lord my God and before all the humiliated daughter of Israel! Who am I like? neither with the birds of the air, nor with the beasts of the earth: both bring forth their fruit to Thee, O Lord; only I alone remain barren! Nor with the waters: they, in their swift streams, give birth to Thy glory living creatures; only I alone am dead and lifeless Not with the earth: and that, vegetating, glorifies you with its fruits, Heavenly Father; only I alone am childless, like a waterless steppe, without life and plants! Oh, woe to me! woe to me! ".
“Lord,” she continued, “You, who gave Sarah a son in old age and opened Anna’s womb for the birth of Your prophet Samuel, look at me and hear my prayer! Resolve my heart disease and open the bonds of my infertility. and may Thy mercy be blessed and glorified in him!"
As soon as Anna uttered these words, an angel of God appeared before her. “Your prayer has been heard,” the heavenly messenger told her, “your sighs have penetrated the clouds and your tears have sunk before the Lord. You will conceive and give birth to a blessed daughter, above all the daughters of the earth. !
Hearing these words, Anna bowed to the Angel and said: “As the Lord my God lives! If I have a child, then I will give it to the Lord for service, let it serve Him day and night, praising holy name Him for the rest of his life."
An angel of God, after the gospel to Anna, appeared to St. Joachim in the wilderness and said to him: "God graciously accepted your prayers; your wife Anna will give birth to a daughter, about whom everyone will rejoice. Here is the sign of the faithfulness of my words: go to Jerusalem and there, at the Golden Gate, you will find your wife, who the same ".
Reverent joy seized the heart of the holy elder: he immediately and with rich sacrifices went to Jerusalem and there, indeed, at the place indicated by the Angel, he met his wife. Seeing her husband, Anna hurried to him with an exclamation: “I know, I know, the Lord God generously blessed me: because I was, as it were, a widow - and now I am not a widow, I was childless - and now I will have a child.”
Here they told each other all the details of the appearances of the Angel, brought a sacrifice to the Lord in the temple and, judging by the course of further events, remained in Jerusalem for some time to await the fulfillment of the promise they had received.
Soon the holy Fathers of God saw over themselves the fulfillment of this wonderful promise: on the ninth day of December, the Orthodox Church celebrates the conception of the Blessed Virgin by Anna and sings: “Anna now begins to grow the divine rod (the Mother of God), the vegetative mysterious flower - Christ, the Builder of all.” "The barren, fertile beyond expectation, the Virgin, who has to give birth to God in the flesh, shines with joy and rejoices, crying out loudly: rejoice with me, all the tribes of Israel: I carry in my womb and get rid of reproach in childlessness; so pleases the Creator, who heard my prayer and healed heart disease by dispensation what I want."
"People will see and marvel - that I have become matter: here I give birth, because He who resolved the union of my infertility was so pleased."
It is impossible not to revere this miraculous conception and not to see in it the extraordinary and great goals of Divine Providence. God apparently wanted to prepare for faith in the future, even more wonderful - the conception and birth of His only begotten Son: "a sacrament - as the Holy Church sings - a sacrament foreshadows."
"The Virgin Mother was born from a barren woman," says St. John of Damascus, "because by miracles she had to prepare the way for the only news under the sun, the most important of miracles, and gradually ascends from less to more."
"If - as St. Andes remarksray of Crete - it is a great thing that a barren woman gives birth: is it not more surprising that the Virgin gives birth? matter, and then in the Mother changed the laws of nature, making the Virgin Matter and preserving the seal of virginity.
And if Joachim and Anna, even before receiving the glad tidings, excelled everyone in purity and holiness: then did they not more burn with holy zeal and devotion to God when they were deemed worthy to receive a grace-filled revelation about the removal of reproach from them?
And at the same time, did not their holy qualities attract God's favor to them to a greater extent and did they not bring down on them grace-filled gifts, preparing them for a miraculous event?
If the prophet Jeremiah and the Forerunner of the Lord John were sanctified by God before birth and were filled with the Holy Spirit while still in their mother's womb, then an even greater sanctification, no doubt, was acquired by the womb of the righteous Anna.
Here, not one simple birth was being prepared, but at the same time the revelation of the mystery of the wise counsel of God, hidden from time immemorial and impenetrable even to the Angels themselves.
Here the miraculous ark of God was built, a living settlement of the Most High was being prepared. From here the only and most holy Virgin was supposed to come out, who, according to the prophet's prediction (Is. 7, 1.4), was foreordained to become the Mother of God the Word.
"The most glorious sacrament - sings the Holy Church - unknown to the Angels, great for people and hidden from the ages! Here the chaste Anna carries in her womb the Mother of God Mary, who is being prepared for the village for the Tsar of all ages and for the renewal of our family."
After the days of gestation, the gospel of the Angel was fulfilled - and St. Anna, on the 8th day of September, gave birth to a daughter. The delight of the parents, freed from the "reproach of childlessness", was inexpressible.
A clear miracle of God's mercy, first of all, turned their eyes, full of tears of gratitude, to the sky - and Joachim reverently appealed to Almighty God: "You, who poured out water from the rock for disobedient people, bestow fruit from barren loins to the obedient, for our joy." Anna, in silent delight, ascending her soul to heaven, humbly thought: “He who closes and opens the abyss, raises water on the clouds and gives rain! You, Lord, have given me to grow the most pure fruit from a barren root.” - And St. The Church, sharing the delight of the righteous Fathers of God, calls out together with them to the whole world: "This is the day of the Lord! Rejoice, people!"
The Blessed Virgin, despite the then unimportance of the once famous house of David, inherited high glory in her birth: her family, coming from Abraham and David and continuing for many centuries, contained the names Old Testament patriarchs, high priests, rulers, leaders and kings of the Jews. The valor of illustrious ancestors, at the very birth of the blessed baby, already adorned his name. But all these advantages, so much appreciated by the world, soon faded in the radiant light of that unearthly glory that the Almighty had prepared for the newborn Virgin.
The Lord fulfilled their petition when the holy spouses reached an advanced age and prepared themselves by a virtuous life for a high title - to be the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the future Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Archangel Gabriel brought joyful news to Joachim and Anna: their prayers were heard by God, and the Blessed Daughter Mary would be born to them, through Whom salvation would be granted to the whole world.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, with her purity and virtue, surpassed not only all people, but also the angels, she appeared as a living temple of God, and, as the Church sings in festive hymns, "the Heavenly Door, introducing Christ into the Universe for the salvation of our souls.
Only 3 years old the Blessed Virgin was introduced into the temple. Many relatives and friends of Joachim and Anna gathered in Nazareth for the celebration of the dedication. They all went to Jerusalem, which is three days' journey from Nazareth.
After entering the city and seven days of purification by fasting and prayer, the righteous Joachim and Anna, with all those accompanying them, approached the temple, leading their three-year-old daughter. The priests led by the High Priest Zechariah came out of the temple to meet them.
The porch leading to the temple consisted of 15 high steps, according to the number of power psalms that the priests and Levites sang on each step at the entrance to the temple. Joachim and Anna put their daughter on the first step, and, to everyone's amazement, the three-year-old Mary, without outside help, climbed to the very top, where she was received by the high priest Zacharias.
According to the word of tradition, he did not stop where the worshipers usually stood, but led her into the Holy of Holies, like the Old Testament kivot of God. The life of the Virgin Mary at the temple was distinguished by special purity and holiness.
She got up at dawn and, according to legend, prayed three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. The rest of the time She was engaged in reading books of the Holy Scriptures and needlework. In the hymns of the Church, the appearance of angels to the Blessed Virgin with heavenly food is testified.
When Mary was about 9 years old, She lost Her elderly parents: first Joachim died, and soon Anna.
Virgin purity, respected in Christianity, was not considered a virtue by the Jews. All the virgins brought up in the temple had to, upon reaching the age, enter into marriage. When Mary was 14 years old, the high priest told her that, according to custom, she had to leave the temple and get married. The Blessed Virgin replied that She was consecrated to God from birth and desires to keep her virginity all her life.
Mary made a vow of eternal virginity. When Mary reaches the age of majority, they find her elderly husband, Joseph the Betrothed, who respects her vow. In his house, Mary worked on the purple yarn for the temple curtain, during the spinning the Annunciation took place.
On the meaning of the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The basis of the veneration of Mary in the Church has always been obedience to her God, the free trust placed by her in a humanly unheard-of call. The Orthodox Church in general has always emphasized this connection between Mary and humanity and, so to speak, admired Her as the best, purest, most sublime fruit of human history, the human search for God, and in Him - the last meaning, the last content of humanity itself.
If in the West, in Western Christianity, the image of Mary as the Virgin, whose virginity was not violated by motherhood, has always been at the center of the veneration of Mary, then for the Orthodox East such a core of his love for Mary, contemplation of Her and - I repeat again - joyful admiration of Her from the very the beginning was and remains her motherhood, her blood connection with Jesus Christ.
The Orthodox East first of all rejoices in the fact that in the coming of the Son of God to earth, in the saving manifestation of God, who became man, in order to reunite him, man, with His Divine calling, that humanity itself took part in this coming.
If the most joyful and deepest in Christian faith- this is the “co-naturalness” of Christ to us, the fact that He is truly a Man, and not a ghost, not a mysterious phenomenon, that He is one of us, forever connected with us by his humanity, then the loving veneration of the One Who is Him becomes understandable. it is humanity, our flesh and blood, gave.
The one by which He, the Christ, could call Himself the way He always called Himself: "Son of Man." The Son of God, the Son of Man... God descending to man in order to make man Divine, or, as the teachers of the Church say, to deify, to make a partaker of the Divine.
It is here, precisely in this amazing revelation about the true nature, about the true vocation of man, that the source of gratitude, love relationship to Mary as our connection with Christ, and in Him with God.
And nowhere is this revealed with greater clarity than in the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. This event is not mentioned in Holy Scripture. And what special can be said about the birth of a child, a birth like any other birth. And if the Church began to remember and celebrate this event on a special holiday, it is not because it was something exceptional, wonderful, out of the ordinary, no, but precisely because its very routine reveals a new and radiant meaning in everything. what we call “ordinary” gives new depth to those details human life, which we talk about so often that they are “nothing remarkable”.
But let's look at the icon of this holiday, let's look at it with our spiritual gaze. Here on the bed is a woman who has just given birth to a daughter. Church tradition claims that her name was Anna. Next to her is her father, whose name, according to the same legend, is Joachim. Next to the bed, women perform the first bath of the Newborn.
The most ordinary, nothing remarkable event. But is it? Doesn’t the Church want to tell us with this icon, first of all, that the birth into the world, into the life of a new human being, is the miracle of all miracles, a miracle that breaks the ordinary, for here is a beginning that no longer has and will never have an end.
The beginning of a unique, inimitable human life, the emergence of a new personality, in the appearance of which the world is created anew, and now it is given, given to this new person as his life, as his path, as his creativity.
So, the first thing we celebrate in this holiday is the coming into the world of man himself, the coming, about which the Gospel says that when it happens, we no longer “remember the sorrow because of the joy that a man was born into the world.”
Second: we now know Whose birth, Whose coming we are celebrating. We know the uniqueness, beauty, grace of this Child, His fate, His significance for us and for the whole world. And thirdly, we celebrate all that and all those who, as it were, prepared Mary, filled Her with this grace and beauty.
Nowadays, they talk a lot about heredity, giving it some kind of slave, deterministic meaning. The Church also believes in heredity, but spiritual. How much faith, how much kindness, how many generations of people who lived higher and heavenly, it was necessary for this amazing and fragrant flower to grow on the tree of mankind - the Blessed Virgin and the All-Holy Mother! And therefore it is also a holiday of humanity itself, faith in it, joy about it.
Alas, we know better and understand the heredity of evil. Indeed, there is so much evil around us that this faith in man, in his freedom, in the possibility of good and bright heredity has almost disappeared in us and has been replaced by skepticism and distrust ...
However, it is this evil skepticism, this despondent mistrust that calls us to push the Church away from us on the day when she celebrates - and with what joy and faith - the birth of a little Girl, in Whom, as it were, concentrated goodness, moral beauty, perfection, which constitute the true human nature. By her, this born girl, and in her the world meets Christ coming to him. He is our gift - to Him, our meeting with God. And now we are on the way to the Bethlehem cave, to the joyful mystery of the Mother of God.
Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos - This is the feast of the beginning of the beginning! The people piously believe, quietly praying that the Lord on this day would send everyone And patience, and goodness, and joy, And great secret love...
Among the mountains, in a deep basin, keeping the legends of ancient years, still flaunts to this day holy city Nazareth. In labors, unceasing prayer, a pious man, Joachim with his wife Anna, lived out his quiet life here. For a long time gray hairs have been shaved off in their hair, the fire in their eyes has long gone out, wrinkles cut through their foreheads.
Weakening strength; but, alas, there is no support for the honest elders, and, perhaps, the childless will soon have to leave the world, and their generation will not see the days of the coming of Christ, when redemption is accomplished, the bright dream of the prophets. And the hearts of the elders constantly ached with secret anguish, and bitter tears sometimes shed the yearning Anna. But then other days came for the poor elders - finally the Creator took pity on them - they had a daughter - Mary.
The miraculous birth of a baby seemed like a sweet dream to the elders, as if a vision of paradise had dawned on their peaceful home. It seemed that angels hovered in the midst of this peaceful silence and secretly evoked holy, joyful dreams in the heart.
Their life was like a path without a goal, empty, dull and dark: - in this child's cradle it suddenly changed. Grief and sorrows are forgotten, the sorrows of former days are forgotten; now their days were running fast in succession, the dawn was clearer.
The power of prayer to our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Vigilantly praying at the Throne of the Lord, the Mother of God, Intercessor for our salvation.
If the fervent prayer of the righteous can do much (James 5:16), then the more powerful is the prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos. Even during Her earthly life, She found grace from the Lord and turned to Him with intercession for those who asked for Her help and intercession.
The Most Holy Theotokos was honored with special grace and closeness to the Throne of God after Her glorious Assumption. She moved to Heaven not only in order to abide in the radiance and majesty of the Divine Glory of Her beloved Son, but also in order to intercede for us with Her prayers before Him. "Rejoice! I am with you all the days," She said, appearing to the holy apostles.
The Blessed Virgin, living on earth, herself experienced the same hardships, need, troubles and misfortunes that we also experience. She experienced the sorrow of suffering on the cross and the death of her beloved Son.
She knows our infirmities, needs and sorrows. Each of our sins causes Her suffering, and at the same time, each of our troubles finds Her sympathy. What mother does not care for her children and is not heartbroken by their misfortunes? What mother leaves them without her help and attention? The Mother of God is always ready to give us timely help.
The Mother of God shines like the sun and warms us with the rays of Her love and enlivens our souls with the grace given to Her by God. By Her Spirit She always abides on earth. When Blessed Andrew the Fool-for-Christ, like the Apostle Paul, was caught up by the spirit into the heavenly abodes and saw the Lord there, he began to grieve, not seeing the Most Pure Theotokos. But the Angel told him that She had gone into the world to help people.
We are all burdened with sorrows, life's adversities, illnesses and misfortunes, for we all sin. The Word of God says that there is no person who has lived on earth and has not sinned (see: 2 Chronicles 6, 36). But God is the highest Love (1 John 4:8), and out of love for His Mother and for us, He accepts Her prayers.
We believe in Her constant intercession and intercession for us sinners before the Merciful and Humanitarian God and in the power of Her prayers. Let us resort to Her as to a quiet and kind refuge and diligently call on Her all-holy and all-singing name. And she won't leave us unexpected joy salvation.
The believer prays - the Mother of God smiles.
On this day, it was customary for the people to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for everything that disturbed the soul.
It was believed that not a single prayer uttered on this day would be left without attention. But it should be noted that no matter what day you turn to the Mother of God, she will always help if a person needs her help. The Mother of God will rejoice if believers simply offer prayers of thanksgiving to her.
Prayer before the icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
Before the icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, they pray for the salvation of lost souls and their guidance on the right path.
Oh, Holy Mother of God! Look with mercy on the prayers of us, Thy sinful and humble servants, and implore God, Thy Son, to send down to us and all who flow to You, health of the soul and body and everything, even for eternal and temporal life, may we forgive any voluntary sin and involuntary; may he deliver us from all sorrows and illnesses, and misfortunes and all evil circumstances. To her, our Tsarina Preblagaya, Our hope is indestructible and Intercessor invincible! Do not turn Your face away from us, for the multitude of our transgressions; but stretch out to us the hand of Thy motherly mercy, and work with us a sign for good. Show us Your rich help and prosper in every good deed; turn us away from every sinful undertaking and the evil mind, let us take out the glory of Your Most Honorable Name and worship Your honest image; and we magnify God the Father, and His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with all the saints, forever and ever. Amen."
An unusual text of a prayer called Virgin Mary rejoice.
It is literally blasphemous not to know this Orthodox prayer.
This text, addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos, welcomes and glorifies her.
At the same time, its original meaning does not change and the grateful component is not withdrawn.
Virgin Mary, rejoice helps to strengthen Orthodox faith and praise the Virgin Mary.
Virgin Mary, rejoice...
Mother of God Virgin Mary, I greet you sacredly. Women rely on you, men also pray to you. In the sorrow of mankind you gave birth to Christ and blessed him for our salvation. Thank you for your great holiness and intercession before the Lord God
Virgin Mary, we love you. Virgin Mary, we believe in you. Amen."
As a rule, on this holiday - the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (September 21) - women who, due to some illness, cannot have children, pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for their healing and for the imminent conception of children.
But besides this, on this day you can also apply with any prayer request for help and protection.
First Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos:
To be continued in the next post.
What is your favorite holiday of the year? Many, without hesitation, will answer: “Birthday!” - and they will be right. A rare event in scope, strength and joy can be compared with this day. So it is with believers: the dates of the births of saints, or, as they are commonly called, "Christmas", are especially revered and eagerly awaited. One of such great holidays for the Orthodox is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated annually on September 21st. Why is this date so significant for believers?The origins of the holiday
This event is the first holiday from which a new church year. so iconic for Orthodox date It is also customary to call the day of universal joy. And this is no coincidence: believers celebrate the day when the Virgin Mary was born, who later became the Mother of Jesus.
The holiday has a solid history: the church established it in the 6th century. According to legend, the righteous couple of Joachim and Anna lived in the city of Nazareth. Despite prosperity and wealth, the couple enjoyed great respect and love of those around them, because the main principles of their life were love for God and mercy for people. The only thing that darkened the life of a pious family was that the Jews consider it a sign of punishment from above. Despite their age, the husband and wife did not stop asking the Almighty to send them a child.
Once Joachim, bringing another gift to God, heard a reproach in the back - they say, it is not worthwhile for the barren before others to bring a gift to the Almighty. Being in great grief, the pious Joachim went to the desert to devote his time to prayer and strict post. His wife Anna, having learned about this, was not slow to devote all her time to fervent prayers for the desired child, promising to give him to God for service. Their prayers were heard: an angel appeared to the suffering spouses in turn and said that their groans were heard. After the allotted time, the couple had a daughter, who was named Mary at the behest of the Angel. This day went down in history Christian Church like the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This holiday is especially revered by the Russian people, because it was on September 21 that Dmitry Donskoy and his army won the Battle of Kulikovo. On this day, those women who have not yet experienced the joy of motherhood, and all those who find themselves in a difficult life situation, can ask for the most cherished. Moreover, it is customary to think that it is necessary to turn to the Mother of God not with requests and prayers, but to exalt her, then everything that disturbs the soul will not be left without attention. Any divine service on the Nativity of the Virgin includes the obligatory praise of the Virgin Mary, who was destined for the role of the Mother of Christ, and the mention of her believing parents, the forefathers of the Savior of the World.
Folk signs and traditions
The days preceding the autumn equinox (September 22-23) have long and rightly been considered the time when autumn comes into its full rights and the cold begins. In Rus', these days coincided with the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin - therefore, on the eve or immediately after it, people were engaged in harvesting vegetables, as well as all fruits from trees. Beekeepers these days removed all the hives from the apiary in order to protect the bees from the deadly cold for them, which come into their own with might and main. On the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos itself, it was customary to visit each other and treat themselves to richly laid tables.
Among the people, you can also hear other names for this Orthodox event: the Second Most Pure (the First Most Pure was called the Assumption of the Virgin, which falls on August 28), Osenins, Pasekin's Day, Ospozhinki (from the word "harvest"), etc. Church holidays for the peasants they were a kind of “marks” of time, they were guided by them, it was not in vain that this and other similar sayings appeared: “The Most Pure One came - it’s clean on the tree, and she comes - it’s bare on the tree” (The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated Orthodox Church October 14).
The peasants also paid attention to the weather these days. So, centuries-old observations have noticed: the weather is sunny outside without a hint of clouds - wait for a clear and warm autumn, which will pass without heavy rains. And vice versa: if the horizon is covered with clouds and it is preparing to rain, it's time to get warm clothes and waterproof.
The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is the day when you can pay tribute to the Patroness, who never for a moment forgets about our needs and, more than other saints, can intercede for human concerns and anxieties to God. Queen of Heaven, she is ready to give hers to anyone who needs it. Our task is simple: to be grateful to the Mother of Christ for her aspirations and mentally express words of gratitude and love from the bottom of our hearts. The effort is minimal, and the backlash, which is often nothing short of a miracle, can be astonishing.
The birth of the Virgin Mary is a holiday full of bright energy. It is fraught with many mysterious and important signs that are not always noticeable to believing Christians.
September 21 is celebrated Christian holiday, which is of great importance - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This day is annually celebrated in the church with special services and hymns, since the event is directly related to the salvation of mankind from sin and Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is very important to read prayers on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin at least at home on this day.
Birth of the Virgin Mary: a story from the Apocrypha
The Gospel includes very little information about the Virgin Mary, and literally nothing is said about her childhood. But there are apocryphal descriptions of these events, which became the basis of the holiday. It speaks of two righteous people: Joachim and Saint Anna. The couple was already in old age and, unfortunately, had no children. Joachim was once denied acceptance of his sacrifice to God precisely because there were no children in the family.
Saint Anna prayed a lot, wishing to become a mother. Then an angel appeared to her, who announced that she would be able to conceive and all her offspring would be glorified. There is also a story about how after that the happy Anna met her husband at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem and told him about what had happened, hugging him. After these events, Anna really became pregnant. Exactly nine months after these events, the Virgin Mary was born.
The meaning of the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary
For believing Christians, in addition to the fact that the future Mother of God was born, her origin is also important. It combines two important ancestral lines: on the father - royal, since his family originates from the tribe of King David, and on her mother she continued the line of the high priests of Israel. For this reason, Jesus Christ is understood as the Heavenly King and Heavenly High Priest. It is also believed that from birth the Virgin Mary was delivered from original sin. This can be seen as a connection to the fact that her son, Jesus Christ, became our Savior, delivering all people from sin.
Folk customs and traditions on September 21
The birth of the Virgin Mary has long been celebrated in a special way among the people. It was a very common custom to put out the old fire in the furnace and kindle a new one. From that day on, traditional gatherings with fire were held. It has always been believed that fire has a special power that can rid your home of accumulated energy dirt. Try this day to get rid of negative energy with the help of candles: today these rituals will be especially effective.
Of course, women were especially honored and many rituals were just for them. With ritual songs they met autumn, and this was done, of course, also in order to call higher power to help before winter: now a lot depended on the reserves that the peasants had.
The day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is also directly related to family ties. Ancient traditions bequeathed on this day to come to visit the newlyweds, with whom the parents shared their experience of living together. It was also customary to collect feasts. It is always useful to support such a pleasant tradition, not even in honor of the holiday, but so that family ties are strong and contact between parents and children is always established. Therefore, try to visit your parents on this day, or even better, invite at least close relatives to visit.
To strengthen family ties and to keep your loved ones healthy, try to go to church and light a candle. Refer to icon Mother of God with prayers for the family and soon you will feel their power. All the best and don't forget to press the buttons and
19.09.2016 04:07
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