2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
January is rightly called one of the richest months for holidays. In addition to the beloved New Year and Christmas, on the 8th of this month they celebrate an important church holiday - the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Why is this day so important from a religious point of view?
The Church celebrates the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos not by chance on the day after the Nativity of Christ.
Servants of the Lord turn with laudatory prayers to the Mother of Jesus, who was chosen by the Lord to give birth to the Son of God. The Bible speaks of the virgin birth and painless childbirth of Mary. For the reason that she is the very chosen virgin, in church customs it is customary to honor the mother of Jesus immediately after His Birthday.
Why is the holiday called the Cathedral?
The Mother of God is honored all year round. There are many church rituals dedicated to her birth, her receiving the good news from an angel, and so on. The feast of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos is so named because it is aimed at the generalMary's ministry. We are talking about a conciliar service, where prayers are proclaimed for the Mother of God, as well as those close to her and Jesus Christ: King David, Saints Joseph and Jacob.
Joseph the Betrothed and Saint James
For the line of David, the birth of the Messiah was the greatest event, despite the fact that the action took place in an unsightly cave in Bethlehem. Mary had no relatives, and at the time of the birth of Jesus, only Joseph the Betrothed was nearby, who was already at a respectable age and was called to guard the virginity of the Virgin. Tradition says that the Jewish high priest blessed him for his betrothal to Mary. Joseph took care of the Mother of God and her Baby for many years, and it was to him in a dream that an angel appeared with a warning that he had to flee to Egypt. Without a moment's hesitation, he got up and led Maria and the child behind him. Even advanced age did not prevent Joseph from taking responsibility for two such important lives, and in order to provide for his charges, he began working as a carpenter in Egypt, earning a living.
By the flesh, David was the ancestor of the Lord, since according to tradition it was necessary that the Savior be born of the lineage of David. No less important person close to the Lord is Jacob. He was the son of Joseph the Betrothed from his first marriage, so he is considered the brother of the Lord. Being pious and devoted to God, after the resurrection of Christ from the dead, he was named the rector of the Jerusalem Church.
Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin: the history of the holiday
Virgin Mary has been revered by people since the early days of the Christian Church. Feast of the Cathedral of the Blessed One
Theotokos as such began to be celebrated as early as the 4th century AD, when Epiphanius of Cyprus, Augustine the Blessed and Ambrose of Milan performed the rite of Divine Liturgy in honor of the Birth of Christ and combined it with it for His Mother. This church event acquired official status only in 681, when a council was first held in honor of the Virgin Mary, James and his father Joseph the Betrothed.
The date of January 8 was not chosen by chance. Among all the saints, the Mother of God is awarded the highest honor. Therefore, as a tribute to the Blessed Virgin, church ministers honor her the day after the most important religious holiday - the birth of the Savior.
Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin: features of the holiday
Over time, some church events tend to become popular. So, on January 8, it is customary to celebrate a religious holiday - the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, but Russia has its own customs. The people on this day were nicknamed "Women's porridge." It is supposed to honor women in labor and midwives. In the villages on January 8, according to old customs, it was customary to bake pies and treat them to women in labor. In peasant families with children, on this day it was the duty of the parents to prepare goodies, take vodka and go with a bow to visit the midwife who took delivery.
According to old Russian customs, on the day of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, women felt their special unity with the Mother of God, so they left her bread as a gift. As a rule, women baked bakery products and brought them to church: part of the treats theyleft at the altar, and part was consecrated and carried home.
It is believed that these customs came from paganism, which flourished in Russia for a long time. It is known that before the dedication of Russian lands to Christianity, people revered many gods. Among them was the patroness of all women - Makosh, whose cult underwent metamorphosis and mingled with the celebration of the Cathedral of the Virgin. It was impossible to eradicate the traces of paganism for a long time, especially with regard to the worship of goddesses who help women.
There are cases when, in parallel with the appearance of Christian churches, many peasant women in the villages continued to present gifts to the goddesses of women in childbirth every autumn. These ossified traditions aroused the wrath of the church fathers, but, nevertheless, even the fear of punishment did not prevent women from performing their rituals. There is an opinion that in many respects the celebration of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos was a disguise for pagan rites that took place during the service and after it. People threw feasts on this day, danced round dances and continued to visit women in labor and midwives.
Even in the 18th century, the persecution of pagans continued, who carefully concealed their rituals from the churches. The priests called most of the traditions of this day the devil's work, plunging into confusion all the peasants. Even such a non-trivial custom as cooking porridge on this day, they attributed to the machinations of evil spirits. An interesting fact is that the clergy also denied the consecration of bread at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos. In 1590, the Metropolitan of Kyiv condemned people, calling their actions heretical.
Who elsechanted in Russia on January 8?
According to the old custom, the day of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos fell on December 26th. In addition to the prayerful chanting of the Virgin Mary, the Slavs paid tribute to the memory of the prophet David, who was able to defeat the giant Goliath with his own hands. The peasants revered this saint and turned to him with prayers for help. It was believed that those who believe and pray to David will be delivered from rage and anger. This belief was formed as a result of historical data that the prophet was Saul's armor-bearer and often had to tame the obstinate husband with song and joke. From here, in Russia, a belief was born that, setting off on a journey, a wanderer should ask for protection from David. This was to provide him with an easy road and get rid of all sorts of misfortunes, including robbers and wild animals.
Entering the Holy Mother of God into the Temple
Representatives of the Christian
religions know firsthand that the calendar is streaked in red on the days of the most significant church events. The Virgin Mary is one of the most important characters in the history of the birth of the Savior. Therefore, many laudatory ceremonies are dedicated to her, including the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos held on January 8. The history of the holiday goes to the very heart of the history of the New Testament. However, the list of important events does not end here, and there are many other religiously important events.
The Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos is a holiday that came from ancient Giving. It refers to twelvethe most important religious events of the year and is celebrated on the fourth day of December.
On this day, according to Giving, people should remember the parents of the Virgin: Anna and Joachim, who lived a long life until old age, but God never rewarded them with children. Until the last, believing in God's justice, they trusted in the Lord in their prayers, promising that if he gives them a long-awaited child, they will dedicate it to him. Their requests were heard by the Almighty, and he sent them a baby - the beautiful Mary.
When the girl was three years old, Anna and her husband went to Jerusalem to take their daughter to the temple, as promised to the Lord. In view of the special importance of the vow, Mary's parents lit candles and arranged an accompanying procession for the girl. Young maidens followed in front of her, and relatives surrounded Mary and her parents.
When the procession approached the gates of the temple, they were met by priests led by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. There were 15 steps at the entrance to God's abode. The parents left the girl on the first of them, after which they watched with surprise as their daughter independently rose to the very top.
Zachariah received a message from above that he must lead Mary into the most holy place of the temple, where it was supposed to enter only once a year. From that moment on, it can be considered that a difficult and decisive period in History began - the mother of the Savior began her journey. The Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos is a feast event when a young virgin began to serve the Lord in accordance with the promise of her parents.
Stay of Mary in the temple
The chronicler who wrote down the history of the events about the life of the Virgin in God's house was Joseph Flavius. He said that the girl lived in a room with other virgins and was under the care of pious virgins. The main occupations that the girl indulged in were prayer, needlework and reading prayers. Maria was a diligent student and showed her best since childhood.
According to the rules
then world, a girl, upon reaching the age of fifteen, had to leave the walls of the temple and get a husband. However, in this matter, Mary for the first time showed disobedience: she took a vow to remain a virgin until the end of her days and devote herself to the service of God. Zechariah, being wise, offered a way out of the situation. He advised the girl's elderly relative Joseph to marry her in order to provide her with a decent life. This meant that Mary would continue to remain blameless and be able to fulfill her vow.
The history of the celebration of the entry into the temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The first mention of this event appeared at the beginning of our era, or rather, the era of Christianity. In the period from 250 to 300 AD. at the insistence of Empress Elena, the first temple was built, dedicated to the memory of the entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple. The celebration of this event was finally established in church circles by the 4th century.
The celebration was insipid and superficial, and only by the beginning of the tenth century GeorgeNikodimsky, together with Joseph the Songwriter, wrote canons for prayer rites.
Features of the celebration of the Entry into the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Need to say
that any church event is a rite. Of course, unlike pagan sacrifices, Christians adhere to humane methods, mainly resorting to prayer chants, sermons, anointing and imitation of some symbolic historical events.
Regardless of whether there is a service in the temple or any holiday, for example, the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, the prayer of the Virgin is an essential attribute of the event. Important factors in the conduct of worship are the clothes of priests. So, on the day of the celebration of the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God, the servants of the Lord dress in robes of blue or light blue. On this day, an evening service, an all-night vigil, and a liturgy are held.
Features of the feast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Church imply reading only the prescribed texts: the prayer to the Theotokos, the troparion and kontakion of the same name, as well as a number of specific liturgical hymns.
Crucifixion in honor of the holiday
According to religious concepts, there are 12 most significant events of the year. Some of them are sung not only during mass prayer chants, but also have their own paraphernalia, such as the crucifix “Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos.”
Cross withimages of this subject are very popular. They are made from various materials. On one side of the cross, you can see the Creator sitting on the throne prepared for him, and on the other side, you can watch the festive procession while climbing the steps of the temple of Mary.
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