What does an Orthodox holiday mean? Great Orthodox holidays: a list with dates, explanations and traditions

Christian Monasteries The first Christian monasteries appeared in the first centuries of our era in Cappadocia, on the territory of present-day Turkey. Christians hid in them from people, fled away from a hypocritical society, which adopted Christian attributes, but, like in a pagan

Christianity, like any religion, honors saints or celebrates events in the life of the church on certain days of the calendar. Christian holidays are rooted in ancient ritual traditions associated with specific stages, types of economic activities, annual astronomical or calendar cycle. Conventionally, they are divided into all Christians (recognized by the Orthodox, Catholic, most Protestant churches) and confessional (marked only by individual confessions). The most important of them relate to the Twelve Feasts - the twelve most important holidays after Easter, which the church celebrates with solemn divine services.

Nativity. This is one of the main Christian holidays associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. In Catholicism, it is celebrated on December 25, in Orthodoxy (refers to the twelve holidays) on January 7. Approving in different countries, this holiday absorbed the rites and customs of other religions, folk holidays, acquiring new features that corresponded to Christian dogmas.

The very tradition of Christmas reaches its sources in primitive cult actions. The church assigns the main role in its dogmatic sense to the teaching of the birth of Jesus Christ, who appeared to atone for the sins of people, to show mankind the way to salvation. Indeed, in Ancient Egypt, for example, on January 6, they celebrated the birthday of the god of water, vegetation, the owner of the afterlife, Osiris. In ancient Greece, the birth of Dionysus was celebrated on the same day. In Iran, on December 25, the birth of the god of the sun, purity and truth - Mithra was celebrated.

In Kievan Rus, the feast of the Nativity of Christ came along with Christianity in the 10th century. and merged with the ancient Slavic winter holiday - Christmastide (lasted for 12 days - from December 25 (January 7) to January 6 (19)). The Orthodox Church tried in every possible way to replace them with the holiday of the Nativity of Christ, but the holidays and customs existing among the Eastern Slavs were so deeply rooted that it was forced to combine church holidays with folk ones. So, the church combined carols with the gospel story of the star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of Christ. "Pagan" carols turned into a walk of Christos with a star to their homes. Children were widely involved in glorifying Christ. The believers thanked them with gifts.

Since 1990. Christmas Day is an official holiday on the territory of Ukraine.

Baptism of the Lord (Vodokhrischa, Baptism of Water, Epiphany). It is one of the main holidays in Christianity. In Orthodoxy, it belongs to the twelve feasts. Catholics celebrate January 6th, Orthodox Christians celebrate January 19th. It was introduced in memory of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. It is also called the Epiphany, because, according to the Gospel, during the baptism on Jesus, God the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove.

In Christianity, it was introduced in the 2nd half of the II century, and was first celebrated together with the Nativity of Christ. In the IV Art. this day began to be celebrated separately. The Church regards it as a "holiday of enlightenment" of the nations, since, according to the teaching, it was with baptism that Jesus began to enlighten them with the light of the gospel truth.

This holiday has always been celebrated very solemnly. His main rite is the consecration of water in the church and in the ice hole. A procession was going to the ice hole, solemn prayers were heard. The consecration of water in temples is still taking place today.

Sprinkling with water existed in many pre-Christian religions. Spiritual phenomena of nature, people spiritualized and water as an important source of life. Christianity at the early stages of its development did not know the rite of baptism; it borrowed it somewhat later from the ancient cults, which assigned an important role to the rite of "cleansing" a person from any "filth" or "evil" with the help of water. According to ancient beliefs, water cleansed people from " evil spirits"," demons. "Therefore, the ancient peoples had a custom to sprinkle water on newborns.

Candlemas. It is celebrated as one of the twelve feasts on February 15, on the occasion of the meeting (meeting) of the righteous Simeon with the baby Jesus, whom his parents brought to the Jerusalem temple on the fortieth day after his birth to be presented to God. It was then that Simeon predicted to Jesus his messenger mission of the Savior of people. This is stated in the Gospel of. Luke. Introducing the holiday, the church was concerned not only with the dissemination of the ideas of Christianity, but also with the "truth to the facts" of the biography of Christ, emphasizing the duty of believers to bring babies to the temple within 40 days after birth. In addition, the church tried to protect Christians from ancient cults, since the Romans served "cleansing", repentance, and fasting in February, believing that before the spring field work began, it was necessary to "cleanse from sins" and "evil spirits" by sacrifices to spirits and gods. The main cleansing rite fell on February 15, when people with torches in their hands expelled the evil spirits of winter cold and disease.

For a long time, supporters of Orthodoxy did not recognize the Meeting. Later they gave it the meaning of a holiday of purification. This is how it appeared in Russia, having established itself, basically, as a church holiday. In the popular consciousness, the Meeting marked the end of winter and the beginning of spring economic concerns, as evidenced by the popular belief: "On Meeting, winter meets summer."

Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. This twelve feast is celebrated on the last Sunday before Easter. Everyday its name is Palm Sunday, before the day of Holy Week, timed to "mention the sufferings of Christ."

According to the calendar, it is directly adjacent to Easter and does not have a fixed date. It was introduced in the IV Art. as important stage preparation for Easter. It is based on the biblical legend about the entry of Jesus Christ with the apostles into Jerusalem, accompanied by the creation of miracles. The people joyfully greeted the Son of God with palm branches.

In Russia, the ritual meaning of palm branches was transferred to pussy willow branches, which bloom at this time, and, according to popular belief, protect from evil spirits. The celebration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem is intended to induce believers to open their hearts to the teaching of Christ about the resurrection and eternal salvation, as did the inhabitants of Ancient Jerusalem.

Ascension of the Lord. It is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter. And the very moment of the ascension to heaven of the resurrected Christ after the execution completes his earthly biography. In everyday life, it is very common and remained purely churchly. By its content, it engenders in believers the idea of \u200b\u200bthe transience of earthly life and directs them to Christian asceticism for the sake of achieving the "eternal".

Christian theology claims that the ascension of Christ opens the way for the righteous to heaven, in the resurrection after death. This idea existed long before the rise of Christianity. Beliefs in the ascension of people, heroes and gods to heaven were common among the Phoenicians, Jews and other peoples.

Trinity (Pentecost). The holiday established in honor of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Christ on the fiftieth day after his resurrection, as a result of which they began to speak in different languages \u200b\u200bthat they did not know before. It is called to focus the attention of believers on the voice of the church, which carries the "Word of God", to draw them to the preaching of Christianity by other "languages", that is, to other nations. Celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. In Orthodoxy, it belongs to the twelve feasts.

The concept of the divine trinity existed long before Christianity. In the process of the formation of the Christian religion, it became necessary to link it with the legends of the Old Testament. Therefore, in the New Testament books, Christ is presented as the son of the Hebrew god Yahweh, as the hypostasis of one God, which is evidenced by the step of Christianity from polytheism to monotheism. Accordingly, Christianity has borrowed many Jewish holidays, including the Feast of Pentecost. Among the ancient Jews, it arose with their transition to agriculture and was associated with the completion of the harvest, which lasted "seven weeks", that is, seven weeks, accompanied by the offering of bread from the new harvest to local field spirits and deities. Christianity has given him a new foundation.

In the majority of Eastern Slavs, the Trinity holiday merged with the local holiday seven (another name is "trinity"), borrowing its everyday meaning. The ancient Slavs associated the seven with the completion of spring work, trying to appease the spirits of vegetation during the period of flowering and harvest. An important element of the Orthodox holiday of the Trinity is the commemoration of the spirits of deceased relatives (memorial Saturday). In Ukraine since 1990. Trinity is an official holiday.

Spas. This is one of three holidays dedicated to the Savior Jesus Christ. It is based on the gospel story of the transfiguration of Christ, who at the end of his earthly life led his disciples (Peter, James, John) to the mountain and during prayer completely changed: his face shone, his clothes became white, shiny, and a voice from heaven confirmed his divine origin. Christian doctrine claims that Jesus wanted to reinforce faith in his disciples and prove to them that he is truly the Son of God.

It is with this event that the holiday of the Transfiguration ("apple" savior) is associated, which is celebrated on August 19. On this day, they not only glorify Jesus Christ, but also bless apples and other fruits (according to folk customsince then they can be consumed).

An important feature of the Savior, like many other holidays, is the combination of Christian pathos with calendar rituals and customs of cleansing from evil spirits. For example, during the celebration of "honey" spas ("makoveya"), which takes place on August 14, fresh honey is consecrated in the church. Established in 1164 in honor of the victory of the Byzantines over the Muslims. We especially honor this day in Russian Orthodoxy, since it is believed that it was on August 14 that the great Kiev prince Vladimir was baptized. The third - "bread" saved is celebrated on August 29, coinciding with the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter sowing. Christianity associates it with the celebration of the image of Christ not made by hands, imprinted on a towel and transferred to Abgar, the king of Edessa.

In many parishes there is also a feast for the Savior (temple).

Exaltation of the Holy Cross. One of the twentieth holidays dedicated to the cult of the Cross as a symbol of the Christian faith. The church connects several events with the cross. According to legend, the Roman emperor Constantine, before one of his largest battles, had a vision: in the sky, a shining cross with the inscription "By this conquer!" That same night, Jesus Christ himself appeared to the emperor in a dream and advised him to take the banner with the image of the cross into battle. Constantine did so, in addition, ordered his legionnaires to draw the sign of the cross on their shields. In the battle, Constantine won a victory and since then believed in the miraculous power of the cross, although historical facts testify that in commemoration of victory, Constantine ordered the minting of coins depicting pagan gods, who, he believed, helped him in the battle with his enemies.

The church established this holiday in memory of the receipt by the mother of the Roman emperor Helen in the IV century. the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. To be seen by the people, the cross was raised (erected) on Mount Golgotha, where Christ was executed, and on the place where the cross was found, a temple was built, consecration of which took place on September 13, 335.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is solemnly celebrated on September 27. It is accompanied by lavish rituals. During the service, a cross decorated with flowers is brought out and installed in the middle of the temple. The ceremony is accompanied by ringing and church chants.

Believers revere the cross as a symbol of Christianity as a symbol of redemption, suffering and salvation, believing that every person, like Christ, must overcome his own "way of the cross".

Theotokos holidays. They cover the feast in honor of the Virgin Mary - the mother of Jesus Christ (Mother of God). These are the Nativity of the Virgin, the Introduction to the Church of the Virgin, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast of the Dormition, the Intercession (the first four are referred to the twelve) and many holidays in honor of the "miraculous" icons of the Virgin.

In the celebration of Mary the Mother of God, there are traces of veneration by the ancient peoples of the goddess of the earth, who gave birth to a savior, a son of God - the god of vegetation. The creation of the image of the Christian Mother of God was influenced by the ideas of the ancient Egyptians about the goddess Izidu. Christianity depicts the Mother of God as "the queen of heaven", a winged celestial dweller, "enveloped in the sun." She has a wreath of twelve stars on her head. The ancient Egyptian goddess Izida was also depicted as the queen of heaven, believing that she gave birth to a divine son, the savior Horus. The Christian Mother of God has similarities with the goddess of the Syrians and the Phoenicians Astarte.

The ancient peoples worshiped these goddesses, considering them to be the deities of the fertility of the earth and livestock, the intercessors of agriculture.

From pre-Christian religions, she borrowed the church and the idea of \u200b\u200bthe immaculate conception. According to the myths of the peoples of the Ancient East, Mitra, Buddha, Zarathushtra were born from immaculate mothers. It was these myths that served to create the Christian legend of the "Immaculate Conception" of the Virgin Mary.

Nativity of the Virgin (Malaya Prechistaya). The church connects it with the ancient agricultural autumn holidays, timed to coincide with the end of the harvest. On this day, it is emphasized that the Mother of God is a great righteous woman, helper and intercessor of people, the patroness of agriculture, who by the "birth of Christ" took the first step towards their "eternal salvation." Celebrated on September 21st.

Introduction to the Temple of the Virgin. It is connected with the tradition of three-year-old Mary to be raised in the Jerusalem Temple. Establishing this holiday, the church pursued primarily the goal of convincing parents of the need to bring a child to church at an early age. Celebrated on December 4th.

Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. It is celebrated on the occasion of Mary receiving news from the archangel Gabriel that she will give birth to a child from the Holy Spirit. In Russia, the church associated this holiday with the beginning of spring field work ("consecration" of seeds, etc.) and signs of the future harvest. Celebrated on April 7th.

First Pure. The church celebrates it as a day of remembrance of the Mother of God. The ecclesiastical interpretation of this holiday in many ways resembles the old-time legends about the death of Cybele, the goddess of fertility. In Russia, the feast of the Dormition merged with the ancient Slavic pagan holiday of harvesting and offering bread and fruits as a sacrifice to spirits. Celebrated on 28 August.

Protection of the Virgin. This holiday is associated with the vision of the Mother of God, which allegedly appeared in 910 in the Blachernae Church of the Virgin in Constantinople. During the night service, the holy fool Andrew was accepted as a saint, and his disciple Epiphanius allegedly saw how the Mother of God, surrounded by angels and saints, appeared over them, prayed for the salvation of the world from troubles and suffering, a white veil spread over everyone.

The holiday came to Russia along with Orthodoxy, the church used it to supplant the autumn pagan holidays that were arranged at the end of field work. It is celebrated on October 14th.

In Ukraine, the holiday of the Intercession is very respected, it has absorbed the traditional veneration of women, mothers, the feminine principle in general, personified in the image of the earth-mother. The attitude of the Ukrainian Cossacks to this holiday was special.

Easter (Easter). This is one of the most significant Christian religious holidays. It was established by the first Christians in memory of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Historically, the holiday comes from the custom of some ancient peoples of the Middle East (Babylonians, Egyptians, Jews), who were engaged in cattle breeding, to sacrifice lambs and calves from their first offspring during the spring holiday. They believed that with this they appease evil spirits, and they will no longer destroy livestock and send diseases to her. With the transition to agriculture, bread, cakes, fruits and the like, baked from the grain of the new harvest, were offered as an expiatory sacrifice to the spirits. These agricultural holidays merged with the Skotarsky Easter and adopted its name. they were united by the hope for the miraculous good power of the deities who die and are resurrected.

Christianity borrowed this tradition, embodying it in the doctrine of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. But the main idea - the self-sacrifice of God for the sake of people - has survived. The religious essence of the ceremony has remained the same as it was thousands of years ago: by making a sacrifice to cleanse people of evil, disease, misfortune and tragedy.

The idea of \u200b\u200bsalvation, at least after death, became widespread, especially among the common people. The image of Christ, who voluntarily accepted a martyr's death, as if calls to endure earthly suffering. Establishing and developing, Christian doctrine developed the ceremony of celebrating Easter, and from the II century. this holiday has become one of the main ones.

The week before Easter is called Great, or Passion, since its days are associated with the Passion of the Lord. Especially important days start from Thursday, which is called "clean". It is associated with the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles.

The material embodiment of the resurrection is Easter eggs (in Ukraine - dyes, Easter eggs) a symbol of life, spring, sun, in Christianity a symbol of the atonement of a person's sin.

In Kievan Rus, the celebration of Easter was introduced in the 10th century. Here it merged with the local Slavic spring holidays. The ancient Slavs in the spring, before the start of agricultural work, organized a holiday of the sun that "resurrects". In those days, they made sacrifices to the spirits and deities of vegetation, sought to satisfy the spirits of deceased ancestors. Christian Easter absorbed many of the ancient Slavic religious rites, including public family meals, in which bread, cheese, eggs, smoked meat and the like were prepared.

Since in early Christianity the celebration of the resurrection of Christ coincided with the Jewish Easter, at the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) it was decided to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon, which came either on the vernal equinox (March 21), or after him. But it was obligatory to celebrate Passover on a different day than that of the Jews. By lunar calendar the spring full moon falls on the same number, after the solar one on different dates and even at different days weeks. Therefore, Easter has no fixed calendar. It is celebrated within 35 days.

For a more accurate determination of the date of the celebration of Easter for each year, corresponding calculations were made, which are called Easter. In Orthodoxy, they have remained unchanged to this day. In Catholicism, the formula for these calculations has undergone some changes, so not always both churches celebrate Easter on the same day.

Church holidays are important dates for Christians, for which it is customary to prepare prayerfully, observe fasting, and then come to the solemn liturgy with communion in the church. Some Orthodox holidays, such as the Assumption, seem strange to people far from church life. Why do Christians celebrate death? We will try to tell you about the essence of church holidays in this article.

The calendar of non-rolling church holidays is known:

Moving church holidays, in turn, are constantly celebrated on different days. We have compiled a table for the nearest dates:

What is a church holiday?

Rejoice always in the Lord; and again I say: rejoice ( Phil. 4: 4-7.)

What is an Orthodox holiday? Secular people often ask this question as they embark on the path of church life. Many worldly holidays are accompanied by noisy feasts, dances and songs. How are church holidays different from them?

The Lord called us not for suffering, but for salvation and eternal life, which, in itself, is already a reason for joy. Therefore, even when we cry, repenting of our sins, it is a great joy. After all, we have One who is ready to accept our repentance. Orthodox holidays are concluded in the quiet joy of union with God. These important dates are designed to remind us of the Gospel events, they are associated with ancient Christian traditions and allow us to temporarily escape from the bustle of the world in order to devote one more day of the year to fellowship with God. During a church holiday, a liturgy is served in the church, and we praise the story of our Salvation by Jesus Christ, recalling certain events of the Holy Scriptures or the lives of Orthodox saints.

Church holidays are divided into transferable and non-transferable. The date of non-moving holidays never changes and is celebrated on the same day every year. Moving Orthodox holidays do not have a fixed date and depend on the date of the celebration of Easter. It is because of the date of the celebration of Easter that the Church calendar usually moves. The date of the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ is calculated according to the solar-lunar calendar. It is usually celebrated the next Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox (March 21). The fathers of the First Ecumenical Council established such an order as early as 325.

There are twelve of the most important church holidays. They are called "twelve" or sometimes "twelve". Easter is not included in this list, as the most important Orthodox holiday, standing separately, outside of any categories.

• Nativity
• Epiphany
• Candlemas
• Annunciation
• Palm Sunday
• Ascension
• Trinity
• Transformation
• Dormition of the Most Holy
• Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord
• Nativity of the Virgin
• Introduction to the temple of Our Lady

• Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos
• Circumcision of the Lord and the memory of St. Basil the Great
• The Nativity of John the Baptist
• Commemoration of the First Apostles Peter and Paul
• Beheading of John the Baptist
• The memory of saint. Nikolay
• The transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to the Italian city of Bari.

With the advent of new saints, the list of Orthodox holidays is also replenished.

Holidays in the Orthodox calendar

Twelve feasts of the Mother of God

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin

Not far from Jerusalem is the city of Nazareth. It was in this city that the righteous and already middle-aged spouses Joachim and Anna lived. For a long time the Lord did not give them children. During their lives, this was considered a shame, because children were considered a blessing of God. Once, the High Priest did not even accept the sacrifice from Joachim, accusing him that he was obviously guilty of something before God, since the Lord does not give him children. Joachim prayed to the Lord to give them a child with his wife. Anna considered herself guilty of the childlessness of her marriage. She also turned to God with a request to give them offspring with Joachim and promised to bring the child as a gift to God, to serve Him. Then the Angel of Heaven appeared before her and said: “Your prayer has been heard. You will give birth to a blessed daughter. All earthly generations will be blessed for her sake. Through her salvation will be given to the whole world and she will be called Mary ”.

In those days, only the birth of a male baby was considered a blessing from God. Even in the Holy Scriptures, people are numbered only in masculine units. But the girl that Anna will give birth to will be the Most Holy Theotokos, the mother of Christ.

Joachim, meanwhile, was hurrying to the Golden Gate of Jerusalem after fasting for forty days in the mountains. He had to see his wife Anna, because in the mountains an angel appeared to him. Hugging him at the gate, Anna said, "I know now that the Lord has blessed me."

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the first twelveth Orthodox holiday in church yearwhich starts on September 14 in a new style. The Mother of God served the cause of Salvation by giving birth to the Son of Man, from whom a new era and a new chronology began. With the Savior, the Lord revealed to us that the main law in our life should be the law of love, the ability to sacrifice in the name of love. The earthly path of the Mother of God was filled with sorrow, she stood at the Cross of the Lord and, together with the Savior, experienced the torment of the cross.

But the world rejoiced at her birth, on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God our intercessor was born before the Gods, through whose prayers great miracles are performed.

Introduction to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos

The introduction to the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the main church holidays dedicated to the earthly life of the Virgin. In addition to the Introduction, the Nativity of the Virgin and the Dormition of the Virgin are also celebrated. These holidays are based on Holy Tradition. The feast of the Annunciation is based on the Gospel events, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to announce the conception of Christ.

In addition to these main holidays, other Orthodox holidays are also celebrated - the holidays of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God, the Intercession (this day is especially loved by the people) and many other days reflecting our love for the Most Holy Theotokos. The introduction of the Virgin Mary into the temple is a special date that has no analogues among other church holidays. Sacred Tradition tells that as soon as the Virgin Mary was three years old, her parents - Joachim and Anna took her to the temple in order, according to the vow made to the Lord, to educate her in Divine grace. This vow was fulfilled in gratitude for the gifted child. It did not mean that the child took a vow of monasticism or a special ascetic life, but his upbringing was no longer his parents, but the ministers of the temple. This is a sign of the highest trust in God.

In Jerusalem at that time there was one temple, in the altar of which the Ark of the Covenant was once kept. In the same church there was a special spiritual school where youths and young women dedicated to God were brought up. The Virgin Mary was met by the high priest Zechariah. He played an important role in the Old Testament Church and was an indisputable moral authority for believers. Without outside help The Virgin Mary ascended all fifteen steps leading to the sanctuary, barely crossing the threshold of the temple. Those who saw this perceived the ascent as a miracle. Despite the baby's body, the Mother of God was already perfect in soul. She entered the temple joyful and triumphant, as if she were home.

The high priest Zechariah led the girl to the holy of holies of the temple, where he himself could enter only once a year. He immediately saw that in front of him was not an ordinary child. While in the temple, the Virgin Mary admired everyone with the fullness of her virtue, while being humble and meek. This was another step on the way to the appearance of the Savior in the world, which is why believers honor this significant date and single it out among many Orthodox holidays.

Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (March 25 / April 7)

The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos is the twelveth Orthodox holiday.

It was called differently by the first Christians: the Conception of Christ, the Annunciation of Christ, the Beginning of Redemption, the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary, but in the 7th century in the East and West it was called the same - the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.

This day showed joy to the whole world and became the beginning of our Salvation, a blessing for all people. On this day, God united with humanity and in the person of the Virgin Mary all the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Son of Man were fulfilled. In the whole world then there was no holier and more worthy of the Virgin Mary. She had been living in the temple for twelve years when the high priest said that when she came of age, she should leave the temple, get married, and move to her husband's house. The Virgin Mary humbly replied that she had made a vow to devote her life to the Lord and did not want to break her vow of chastity. The high priest cannot force the Virgin to break the vow made to God, so he gathered the clergy of the temple to pray and ask God to show His will. An angel appeared to the high priest Zarahriy with the instruction to take the unmarried men from the house of David and ask them to bring their rods, to whom the Lord will show a sign, he will become a husband for the Virgin Mary.

When the High Priest gathered the rods, he began to pray that the Lord would reveal his will. The wands were left in the temple overnight, and the next day Joseph's wand blossomed. Joseph was a relative of the Virgin Mary, led a righteous life, he was already over 80 years old, he lived as a widow and had grown children. The Virgin Mary moved from the temple to Nazareth, but remained to live in solitude and silence, preserving her virginity. The Blessed Virgin continued to live for God, to do household chores. While God sent the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin Mary knew the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and about the Blessed Virgin, who would become His mother. She prayed to minister to this woman, but that woman was herself.

“Rejoice, gracious, the Lord is with you; Blessed are You in wives, ”- these words the Virgin Mary heard from the archangel who appeared to her. These words threw her into confusion, and she was silent. But the archangel Gabriel consoled her with the words that the Lord would give the Son the throne of David. The Virgin Mary did not know her husband, but the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and she conceived when the light of the Spirit of God overshadowed her. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God has come true. Chosen from all kinds, the Virgin Mary contained within herself the treasure of grace and gave man the opportunity to hope for salvation.

Presentation of the Lord (2/15 February)

The feast day of the Presentation of the Lord is based on an amazing miraculous event that happened in Jerusalem in the 1st century AD. According to tradition, on the fortieth day after birth, all Jews had to bring their first sons to the temple for dedication to God. In gratitude, it was customary to bring sacrifices to God - a ram, an ox, doves. What the family could afford was important.

This law was established to commemorate the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. Then the Lord saved the Israelite firstborn from death.

The parents brought Jesus Christ to the Jerusalem temple, as required by the law, as soon as He was forty days old, to present before God. Joseph and Mary could not afford to make a costly sacrifice, as they did not live well. They sacrificed only two chicks of pigeons. At this time, a pious elder, Simeon the God-Receiver, lived in Jerusalem. By the inspiration of the Spirit of God and the prophetess Anna, he came to the temple, as the Holy Spirit promised Righteous Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. He was already 360 years old. According to the Tradition of the Church, he was one of those who translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Ancient Greek. He knew Scripture well and waited with faith for Christ the Savior. Although, at first he doubted the possibility of fulfilling the prophecy that the Savior would be born into the world from an earthly woman. He even wanted to blot out these prophecies in the Scriptures, but the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and held him back, confirming the truth of these words - "Believe what is written!".

Seeing the baby Jesus at the door of the temple, he exclaimed in great joy: “This is God who is present with the Father, this is the Eternal Light and Savior, the Lord!”. As promised by the Lord, the Divine Child appeared to him with the Most Pure Virgin and righteous Joseph. Simeon's heart trembled, he praised the Lord in prayer. The elder beheld the One who was promised by the Lord to people, the fullness of times has come. He could leave this world, for the prophecy was fulfilled.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15/28 August)

This holiday seems paradoxical to those who are not familiar with Orthodox church holidays. Why do we celebrate death? But we know the words “Whether we live, we live for the Lord; Whether we die, we die to the Lord. " Even the Apostle Paul said: "For me life is Christ and death is gain."

The last thing we know about the earthly path of the Virgin Mary from the Gospel is the words that the Lord speaks to the Mother from the cross. Words about His beloved disciple, John the Theologian: “ Wife! behold, your son“. These words, of course, concerned all of humanity.

The beloved disciple of Christ took the Virgin Mary to him. The Holy Scriptures do not convey to us information about the Dormition of the Theotokos, but the Church Tradition preserves for us information about the life of the Theotokos after the Resurrection of Christ.

So, the Mother of God lived in the house of John the Theologian. She often retired to pray to her Divine Son. On one of these days, the Archangel Gabriel again appeared to her to announce that in three days the Most Holy Virgin will go to the Lord. The Theotokos accepted these words with great joy in anticipation of meeting with God. The only thing she asked for was to give her the opportunity to say goodbye to the apostles, disciples of Christ, who brought the message of Salvation into the world. Miraculously, the apostles, who were far from Jerusalem, were transferred there to say goodbye to their Heavenly Mother. The Mother of God comforted the apostles in their grief and said goodbye to each of them.

But the Dormition of the Virgin was not an ordinary parting of the soul with the body. At the hour of her death, Heaven opened up and those present beheld Christ with the Angels and the deceased righteous. The Blessed Virgin was as if immersed in sleep, therefore her repose is called the Assumption, that is, sleep. And after this dream, glory and awakening in the Kingdom of Heaven were expected. The soul of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by angelic singing, ascended to Heaven.

During the burial of the body of the Virgin Mary, one Jewish priest was filled with anger towards the Mother of Jesus Christ and decided to overturn the body of the Virgin Mary to the ground. But he had only to touch the bed Blessed Virginas the Angel of the Lord appeared with a sword and cut off his hands. The priest prayed to the apostles for help. The Apostle Peter answered that the Lord, through prayers to His Mother, can grant him healing. Priest Athos put his hands to the place of cutting off, offering prayers to the Mother of God. His prayer was answered, and he followed the bed of the Virgin Mary, glorifying the Lord and the Mother of God.

The Apostle Thomas did not have time to see the burial of the Mother of God and was very grieved, wishing to say goodbye to her. When on the third day the apostles opened the tomb for him, the body of the Mother of God was not in it, but she appeared to them herself in Heavenly Glory, surrounded by many angels with the words: "Rejoice, for I am with you all the days."

Orthodox worship and holidays