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What does it mean to celebrate the Nativity of Christ? Giving (liturgics)

On the very day of the holiday - in the evening of St. The Pentecostal service on weekdays (except for Saturday and Sunday evenings, since on these days the service begins with Vespers, and then Lesser Compline and Matins) should begin with Lesser Compline, at which, after reading “The Most Honest,” the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with all bows. Small release: “Christ the true God...”.

On the 9th song of the canon, instead of “The Most Honest”, festive chants should be sung.

THE MEETING OF THE LORD

History of the holiday.

The Feast of the Presentation has been known in the East since the 4th century, and in the West since the 5th century under Pope Gelasius (494).

In 543, under Emperor Justinian, according to a revelation to one saint of God, it was established to celebrate the holiday with special solemnity, with a procession and candles in memory of the deliverance of the inhabitants of Constantinople and its environs from a pestilence and earthquake in Antioch. In memory of this event, in some monasteries a religious procession is held before the liturgy and there is a litiya with the singing of the stichera of the holiday and the canon.

The celebration of the Presentation is assigned to February 2 for the reason that February 2 is the fortieth day from the Nativity of Christ (December 25).

Features of worship.

The Feast of the Presentation, due to its features of worship, is ranked among the twelve, but not the Lord's, but the Theotokos feasts. Therefore, if it happens on Week (Sunday), then the Sunday service is not canceled, but is sung together with the holiday service, as on the feasts of the Mother of God (see Typikon, February 2). The Feast of the Presentation is sometimes called the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the Western Church it is called the “purification” of the Blessed Virgin.

In its structure, the service of the holiday is the same as on all the feasts of the Mother of God, but with the difference that, like the service of the Lord's feast, during the liturgy at the small entrance the entrance verse is pronounced and after it the troparion and kontakion of the holiday are sung. At the end of the all-night vigil and liturgy there is a special vacation of the holiday (see Service Book). (This vacation is canceled and replaced by Sunday if the holiday happens on Sunday).

At the all-night vigil, three proverbs are read: the first (Ex. 12.51; 13.1-3; 10-16; Lev. 12th chapter) - about the election of the Jewish firstborn to serve God and about the ancient law of purification; the second (Isa., ch. 6) - about spiritual cleansing from sins through the touch of a burning coal to the lips of the prophet; the third (Is. 10: 1-21) is about the prophet Isaiah’s vision of Egypt, where “the Lord will come, and Egypt will shake at His presence, and the Lord will be known to the Egyptians,” which, soon after the Meeting of the Lord, actually happened when He and Mary , His mother, and Joseph withdrew from Herod into Egypt.

At the blessing of the loaves, at “God is the Lord” and at the end of Matins, the troparion of the holiday (chapter 1):

“Rejoice, Blessed Virgin Mary, for from You has arisen the Sun of Truth, Christ our God, who enlightens those in darkness: rejoice and you, the righteous elder, are received into the arms of the Liberator of our souls, who gives us resurrection.” On Polyeleos the celebration of the holiday:

“We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Most Pure Mother, Who, according to the law, has now been brought into the temple of the Lord.”

Prokeimenon: “I will remember Your name...”, Gospel of Luke, ch. 8. On “Glory”: “Through the prayers of the Mother of God...”, “And now”: the same, “Have mercy on me, O God”...

Canon of the holiday "I dry up the deepening earth", the creation of St. Kosma Maiumsky. Irmos twice, troparia - on 12. Katavasia - holiday. The chorus to the festive canon is sung: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.” According to the 3rd canto - sedalen, according to the 6th canon - canon and ikos.

Kontakion: “Having sanctified the womb of the Maiden by Thy Nativity and blessed the hand of Simeon, as it was fitting, Thou hast foreshadowed, and now Thou hast saved us, O Christ God: but thou hast died in the battle of life, O One who loves mankind.” For the 9th song, we don’t sing “The Most Honest,” but we sing the choruses of the holiday (there are 14 of them in total). (After the first two choruses the irmos is sung:

“In the law of the canopy and the scriptures...”; after each next four, the troparion of the song is read). At the end of the catavasia, the first chorus and irmos are sung, which are the Zadostoynik in the liturgy (before giving). Chorus: “Virgin Mother of God, cover the hope of Christians, protect and save those who trust in You.”

Irmos: “In the law of the canopy and the scriptures (in the shadow and letter of the law - A.I.) we see the image, the faithful: every male sex is false, opening, holy (dedicated - A.I.) to God.

Thus we magnify the first-born Word of the Father without beginning, the Son of the first-born Matter without artifice.”

At the liturgy- entrance verse: “The Lord has spoken His salvation; He has revealed His truth before the tongues.” Prokeimenon: "My soul magnifies..." Apostle to Hebrews, count. 316. Gospel of Luke, count. 7. Involved: “I will accept the cup of salvation...”.

1) The service of the Presentation, in addition to coinciding with Sunday, may also have its own characteristics, depending on the coincidence with the days of the preparatory weeks of Lent. This occurs for the reason that the beginning of the Lenten Triodion (Week of the Publican and Pharisee), depending on the day of celebration of Easter, occurs between January 11 and February 15, and the feast of the Presentation (February 2) is sometimes celebrated already during the singing of the Lenten Triodion . In this case, the festive service is combined on these Sundays with the Lenten Triodion. “Open to repentance...” in this case is not sung on all Sundays, but instead of Repentance...” one should sing: “Through the prayers of the Mother of God...”, “And now” - the same and “Have mercy on me, O God.. ." And Psalm 136, "On the rivers of Babylon...", should be sung in the Week of the Prodigal, the Week of Meat, and the Week of Cheese.

On all weekdays the service of the holiday is sung according to the Menaion and only on Cheese Saturday is combined with the hymns of the Triodion; on Wednesday and Friday, at the end of Vespers, Matins and at the hours of the clock there are 3 great bows with the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, at the 6th hour and at Vespers - proverb. Note: If the feast of the Presentation occurs on the raw week, then the stichera of the Triodion are sung at Little Vespers; and if the small vespers is not performed, then at the great vespers of the holiday a self-voiced stichera of the Triodion of verse stichera on “Glory” is sung and at matins on praises - also on “Glory”.

If the Feast of the Presentation occurs on Meat Saturday, then the service of the dead is moved to the previous Saturday or to Thursday of Meat Week.

If Candlemas falls on Cheese Week (Sunday), i.e. on the eve of Great Lent, there is no after-feast or giving.

If the holiday happens on Monday of the first week of Lent (it does not happen later), then the holiday service is transferred to Cheese Fat Week (Sunday).

II) The Feast of the Presentation, as a rule, has one day of pre-feast and seven days of post-feast, and a total celebration of 9 days, unless the number of days is reduced due to Lent, close to which it may occur. Then the Presentation is celebrated for as many days as remain before the start of fasting.

III) The forefeast usually takes place on February 1, but if it happens on Meat-Fast Saturday, then its service is transferred to Meat-Fast Friday.

IV) The post-feast usually lasts 7 days, the celebration is on February 9, but sometimes the day of celebration is shifted closer to the holiday. As a rule, the donation does not take place on Saturday and Week (Sunday) for meat and cheese, on Wednesday and Friday for raw meat, in this case it is postponed to another day; therefore, if the holiday occurs during the week of the Weeks of the Prodigal Son, Meat and Cheese Weeks, the after-feast (with the day of giving) is less than 7 days.

On Cheese Fat Sunday, it is supposed to celebrate the giving only if the feast of the Presentation occurs on Cheese Fat Week close to Cheese Fat Sunday, namely, on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Note. If the Feast of the Presentation occurs:

a) on the Week of the Prodigal Son, Monday or Tuesday of the Meat Week, then the giving takes place on Friday of the same Meat Week;

b) on Meat Week or on Monday of Cheese Week, then the giving is celebrated on Cheese Thursday;

c) on Tuesday or Wednesday of cheese week - giving on cheese Saturday;

d) on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of Cheese Week, then the giving is celebrated on Cheese Week;

d) on Cheese Week, it is celebrated on one day and has no after-feast.

The second day of the holiday - February 3 - the Church dedicates to the memory of the participants in the event - the righteous saints Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess (sex service).

DORMSION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

History of the holiday

The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God has been established by the Church since ancient times. He is mentioned in the writings of Blessed Jerome, Augustine and Gregory, Bishop of Tours. In the 4th century it was already celebrated everywhere in Byzantium. At the request of the Byzantine Emperor Mauritius, who defeated the Persians on August 15, the day of the Dormition of the Mother of God (c. 595) became a church-wide holiday.

But initially the holiday was celebrated not at the same time: in some places - in the month of January, in others - in August. So, in the West, in the Roman Church (in the 7th century). On January 18, the “death of the Virgin Mary” was celebrated, and on August 14, the “assumption into heaven.” The general celebration of the Dormition on August 15 in most Eastern and Western Churches was established in the 8th-9th centuries.

The main purpose of establishing the holiday was to glorify the Mother of God and Her Dormition. Towards this main goal in the IV-V centuries. another is added - denunciation of the errors of heretics who encroached on the dignity of the Mother of God, in particular, the errors of the Collyridians, heretics of the 4th century who denied the Human nature of the Blessed Virgin (as a result of which they denied Her bodily death).

In the 5th century, stichera for this holiday were written by Anatoly, Patriarch of Constantinople, and in the 8th century, two canons were written by Cosmas of Maium and John of Damascus.

Features of worship.

The Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the twelve feasts. For its most worthy celebration, believers prepare for a two-week fast, which is called the Assumption Fast, or the Fast of the Most Holy Theotokos, and lasts from August 1 to 15. This fast ranks first in severity after Lent (eating fish is prohibited, but boiled food without oil is allowed, except Saturdays and Sundays). It was established in imitation of the Mother of God, who spent her entire life, and especially before Her Dormition, in fasting and prayer. The fast before the Dormition in August was already in the 5th century. In 1166, at the Council of Constantinople, it was decided to fast for two weeks before the Feast of the Assumption (and only on the Feast of the Transfiguration to allow the laity to eat fish).

In the Assumption Fast, as in the fasts of Peter and Nativity, on days not marked by any holiday sign, according to the rules (Typikon, last August 3 and 4), it is necessary to sing “Alleluia” instead of “God, Lord”, read the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with bows and perform the hours instead of the liturgy. "Alleluia" and great bows are canceled on the days of the forefeast, afterfeast, and on the very feast of the Transfiguration (from August 5 to 13). During Lent, such Lenten worship is possible only 2 times: August 3 and 4 (see Typikon).

At the all-night vigil Three paremias are read - the same as at the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (about the mysterious staircase seen by Patriarch Jacob; the vision of the prophet Ezekiel of the closed eastern door of the temple; about the house and meal of Wisdom).

At the blessing of the loaves, at "God is the Lord" and at the end of Matins - the troparion of the holiday (three times).

“At Christmas you preserved your virginity, at your Dormition you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos, you presented yourself to the Belly, the Mother of the Being of the Belly, and through Your prayers you delivered our souls from death.”

Removal of the Shroud performed at the all-night vigil. According to one practice, the shroud is carried out through the royal doors to “God is the Lord” during the singing of the troparion of the holiday, the kathisma and the small litany are omitted. The choir immediately sings “Praise the name of the Lord...”. According to another practice, the shroud is taken out after reading the kathismas and the small litany, while singing “Praise the name of the Lord.” The abbot walks with the Gospel under the shroud. Then the magnification is sung and incense is performed throughout the temple, the rest is according to custom. Magnification:

“We magnify You, Most Immaculate Mother of Christ our God, and glorify Your Dormition all-gloriously.” Prokeimenon, ch. 4, “I will remember Your name...”. Gospel of Luke, count. 4, “Glory: Through the Prayers of the Mother of God...”, “And now” - the same, “Have mercy on me, O God...” and the stichera: “When the repose of Thy Most Pure Body...”

There are two canons: the first is “Adorned with Divine Glory,” ch. 1, Cosmas of Maium (VIII century) and the second - “I will open my mouth”, ch. 4, John of Damascus (VIII century). According to the 6th canto - kontakion, ch. 2:

“In prayers, the never-sleeping Mother of God and in intercessions, the immutable hope of the coffin and mortification cannot be restrained, just as the Mother of the Life, repose to the Life, dwelling in the ever-virgin womb.”

On the 9th song, instead of “The Most Honest...” the chorus and irmos of the 1st canon are sung (which also serve as the Zadostoynik at the liturgy). Chorus: “The angels, having seen the Dormition of the Most Pure One, were amazed at how the Virgin ascended from earth to heaven.” Irmos: “The rules of nature are overcome in You, O pure Virgin: the birth acts (birth remains a virgin), and the life pre-engages death (and death becomes engaged to life); after the birth of the Virgin, and after death, She is alive, saving, O Theotokos, Thy inheritance forever.” At the liturgy. Everything is the same as at the Nativity of the Mother of God: the prokeimenon, the Apostle, the Gospel and the sacrament. Zadostoynik “The rules of nature are conquered...” is sung with a refrain until it is given away.

The Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary has one day of pre-celebration (August 14) and 8 days of post-feast. The holiday is celebrated on August 23.

What is “giving away” to a holiday?

By giving is called the last day of the after-feast of the twelve and great holidays that last many days (the great non-twelfth feasts have no after-feast or giving). In Orthodox liturgics, it is accompanied by no less celebrations than the day of the holiday itself. What sacred meaning does this church action carry, another name for which is apodosis- translated from Greek as " return"?

The tradition of celebrating the most famous and important events of Christian life for several days came into New Testament worship from the Old Testament - in the Pentateuch of Moses the Lord says to Israel: "...for seven days you shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord; on the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly, and you shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord: this is the giving of the holiday; do not do any work."(Lev. 23:36). The same commandment to the people of God is repeated in the Book of Numbers: “On the eighth day you shall have a feast; you shall not do any work; and you shall offer burnt offerings...”(Num. 29:35-39).

Giving is nothing more than the return of the believing heart to rethink the holiday after a certain time. In early Christian times, this was practiced strictly on the 8th day. The custom of devoting the 8th day of the post-feast to a “gone” great event has been preserved in the liturgics of non-Orthodox churches for many centuries - the 8-day period starting on the day of the holiday itself and ending with the dedication is today called in them octave.

It is difficult to say whether the celebration of giving was common in local non-Jewish Christian communities from the earliest apostolic times. But history brings to us the correct information that already under Emperor Constantine I, 8-day celebrations took place in honor of the consecration of the basilica churches of the cities of Jerusalem and Tire. Later, this tradition spread to the twelve annual holidays, and in the 4th century, Easter and Pentecost began to be celebrated everywhere, and in the East, Epiphany and, later, the Nativity of Christ. Around the 17th century, a tradition appeared to celebrate the days of memory of the saints of God - in particular, the holy chief apostles Peter and Paul, St. Lawrence, the Roman martyr-archdeacon, and the holy martyr Agnes.

During the service dedicated to the celebration of the holiday, according to liturgical tradition, all the chants and prayers of this day are sung and read. At the celebration of the twelve feasts, Matins is performed with great doxology, and during the liturgy the Apostle and the Gospel of the day are read. Fomino Sunday, or Antipascha Week, is endowed with special significance as a time of feasting. During this week and the very day of the celebration, the story of the assurance of Thomas the unbeliever is remembered, it is customary to read the kontakion, and the prokeimenon of Antipascha and the holy Apostle is also communion.

In the Orthodox Church there are holidays, the observance of which, due to various historical reasons, is not celebrated. These today include, for example, the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Nativity and Beheading of the venerable head of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, the Circumcision of the Lord and the day of remembrance of the holy chief apostles Peter and Paul. The traditions of Christian worship, as we see, are changing (and this is natural, since the Church is a living divine-human organism, it cannot exist without changes), but the essence remains the same.

Speaking about the celebration of a church holiday, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) writes that the Lord sometimes gives Grace associated with a particular event, precisely on this last day of the post-feast. Why? Probably for the same reason that Christ, who first hid from the eyes of Luke and Cleopas who recognized him, then appears again to his disciples. A person cannot fully realize the value of something that does not move away from him at least for a while. To internalize a sacred concept with both mind and soul, you need to be imbued with it for several days, and then let go during surrender, eagerly awaiting its return. Saturday, that is, the celebration of the Old and New Testaments can hardly be tightly tied to any calendar day - it is, rather, a special state.

That is why the day of the week, calendar dates, and even years are called Saturdays in the Old Testament Scriptures. The observance of the feast is also “the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” By keeping within himself the feeling of after-feast for 8 days, a Christian learns to feel a part of God’s Grace constantly - and this is the surest step towards achieving what the Holy Scripture says: "The Kingdom of God is within you"(Luke 17:21).

On the day of the celebration of the holiday, as well as on the holiday itself, it is necessary, if possible, to avoid any work and do works of mercy for the glory of God. And this is also a great time to look critically at your own faith, to find those weak spots in it that need God’s Help and Healing. Everyone can and, perhaps, should ask themselves: will I go to this celebration of giving as to the service itself on the “red” day of the church calendar? Do I realize in what purity and holiness I should keep my thoughts in honor of the day when the Lord’s special Grace appeared? In honor of the holiday, can I bring the prescribed sacrifice to God, which in New Testament times is expressed not in the blood of bulls and goats, but in the very “broken spirit” described by the holy king and prophet David?

And in general, do I know how important this final cycle of the Church’s remembrance of God’s holiday is? Only understanding all this will help determine how real or, conversely, formal one’s own faith is. You should understand this not in order to reproach and humiliate yourself endlessly, but so that, having understood and accepted the state of your soul that exists, you tirelessly move towards the better. Towards a worthy sacrifice of earthly life and reunion with the Savior.

Of course, these are no longer apostolic times, and not every working person can afford to go to the service and take communion at the end of the after-feast, as required. But giving, like the memory of the holiday, should be kept in the heart. This is first of all...

Dates for some holidays in the Orthodox Church

Holiday	Days after-celebrations	Giving
Nativity of the Virgin Mary 8 (21 ) September		12 (25 ) September
Exaltation of the Holy Cross 14 (27 ) September
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple
Christmas
Epiphany (Epiphany) 6 (19 ) January		14 (27 ) January
Presentation of the Lord 2 (15 ) February
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Easter		Wednesday, 6th week of Easter
Midnight of Pentecost Wednesday, 4th week of Easter		Wednesday, 5th week of Easter
Ascension of the Lord Thursday, 6th week of Easter, 40th day		Friday, 7th week of Easter
Trinity Day Sunday, 7th week of Easter		Saturday, 1st week after Pentecost
Transfiguration 6 (19 ) August		13 (26 ) August
Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary 15 (28 ) August

The following holidays do not have any dedication (as well as pre-celebrations and post-celebrations):

- Nativity of John the Baptist
- Beheading of John the Baptist
- Circumcision of the Lord
- Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul.

WORD ON THE FEAST OF THE DORMSION OF THE HOLY VIRGIN

ARCHBISHOP OF TASHKENT AND CENTRAL ASIAN
VLADIMIR

Our Lady is just like an indestructible wall
between God's wrath and people. She takes away
most of the thunders of Heavenly Justice,
ready to punish ungrateful sinners.
Only behind such a wall are we often safe,
while we think that our safety
is a consequence of the ordinary order of things.
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! The day when the Mother of God, the Most Pure Dove, flew away from the sinful earth to her native Heaven, this day became an all-joyful holiday of the Church of Christ. It is clear why the Heavenly World of the purest spirits celebrated the appearance of its Queen. But why did earthly people rejoice, seemingly left orphaned by Her, among the troubles and temptations of this world? That is why the holy apostles rejoiced, and with them all Christians, because they had found in the Heavenly Kingdom such a Helper and Protectress, Who has no equal even among the mighty archangels.

The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the second most important holiday of the Orthodox Church after the Resurrection of Christ. It is not for nothing that this day is called the Mother of God Easter. This was the second victory over death and hell, won no longer by the Heavenly Guest - the God-Man, but by the earthly Virgin - the purest and most perfect of all people, and yet one of us, earth-born, the Most Bright Daughter of humanity. The Dormition of the Immaculate Virgin was the eve of Her Resurrection in a transfigured earthly body, which was accomplished by the favor of Her Divine Son.

For ten days now the Holy Church has been singing the Assumption hymns of the Mother of God, “Adorned with Divine Glory,” delighting the hearts of the faithful with the Theotokos Easter. Truly, never has the death of a righteous man been shrouded in such greatness and accompanied by so many miracles and signs of the power of the Lord. “The wondrous Mother of God, from Her first fruits to Her end, is wondrous: and in Her conception she is wondrous, and in Her life she is wondrous, and in Her repose she is wondrous, all is one wondrous miracle,” exclaims St. Demetrius of Rostov.

Christ the Redeemer, having ascended into the Father's Kingdom, for the time being left His Most Pure Mother on earth - as the spiritual Mother of the apostolic community, the young Christian Church. “Behold your Mother” (John 19:27) - these words were addressed by the Savior to his beloved disciple at the hour of the Cross of the Cross, thereby hastening to adopt the entire Christian race beloved by Him as sons of His Most Pure Mother. And just as the Most Pure Virgin once nourished and cherished the Infant Christ, so after the Ascension of the Divine Son She consoled and instructed His faithful followers who remained on earth. When the apostles traveled to distant lands, preaching the Teachings of Christ, their souls were warmed by the memory of meetings with the Mother of the Divine Teacher and the hope of new grace-filled meetings with Her, the consciousness that the Blessed Virgin lives in this world and tirelessly prays for them. Yes, the Mother’s heart of the early Christian community beat in the modest dwelling of the Apostle John the Theologian, where the Mother of God spent her life.

Having been a witness of Her earthly greatness, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite testifies to the happiness that communion with the Most Pure One was for the faithful: “For me it is certain - I speak as before God - that apart from the Most High God, nothing can exist so full of Divine power and wondrous grace. It is impossible for the human mind to comprehend this, but with my own eyes I saw the Most Holy Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, graceful and surpassing in holiness all heavenly angels. No honor and glory of people glorified by God can compare with the bliss that I, unworthy, experienced.”

Two decades - from the Ascension of Christ to the Dormition of the Mother of God - were for the incomparable soul of the Most Pure Virgin the years of the last earthly trials, thanks to which Her virtues were manifested in all their radiance. The Mother of God endured the test of earthly glory. Even then, at the dawn of Christianity, the prophetic song sung by the Bride of God at the Annunciation began to come true: “From now on all generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48). The disciples and followers of Jesus admired and worshiped the One who gave birth to Him, but She remained meek and humble and forbade giving Her praise in speeches and writings. The Most Holy Virgin passed the test of worldly malice: the deicide-Pharisees fiercely hated the Mother of the Savior and sought to kill Her, and She, trusting in the Lord, walked among them without fear or anger, “like a sheep among wolves,” “like a lily among thorns.” But the most difficult thing for the Most Holy Virgin was the test of Her patience - the long separation of the most loving Mother from the incomparable Divine Son.

The God-chosen Virgin overcame this bitterness of separation with unceasing prayer and intimate conversation with the Almighty. So strong was Her prayer that together with Her, as if animated, the olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mother of God’s favorite place of solitude, bowed to the Creator. Loving Mother of all people, She prayed for those near and far, known and unknown, good and evil, for help to the faithful and forgiveness for the fallen. The fervent, tireless petitions of the spiritual Mother of humanity embraced the whole world - countries and peoples, the present and the future: She prayed both for us living now and for our descendants.

But what did the Mother of God then ask for Herself from the Lord and Her Son? What reward did the Greatest of the human race want for all her sorrows, labors and exploits? The Blessed Virgin wanted one thing for herself - death. The Immaculate Servant of God tirelessly cried out to the One who was born of Her: “Oh, sweet Son and My God! Have mercy on Me, Your Mother, who still grieves, not seeing Your face, in the sad vale of this world. Bring My soul out of the prison of the body, for the soul strives Mine to You, My God and My Son!”

The Most Pure Virgin prayed so fervently for what people call death, which seems to you and me a scarecrow and a bogeyman. And for the Most Holy Theotokos, parting with earthly life meant an all-joyful meeting with the Divine Son, the happiness of contemplating His Heavenly Glory. The most humble of mortals, the Mother of God asked the Lord to bring Her soul out of the prison of the body for this purpose - this is “the way of all flesh,” and the Ever-Virgin did not hope for anything more for Herself. The meek Most Pure servant of the Lord did not dare to guess about the radiant glory with which the Almighty would crown Her earthly life, she did not know about the Royal greatness that was prepared for Her in the Heavenly Fatherland. The wonderful celebration of the Dormition of the Mother of God includes the memory of three solemn events. The first is the Dormition of the body of the Most Pure One and the ascension of Her soul to the Heavenly Kingdom. The second triumph was the burial of the body of the God-chosen Virgin, accompanied by many wondrous signs of Her glory. And finally, the crown and pinnacle of the celebrations is the Resurrection of the Most Holy Theotokos that followed on the third day by the favor of Her Divine Son: Her first appearance to the world in the glory of the Queen of Heaven.

The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is the mystery of the Lord's Providence - the sacrament of the final destruction of the gates of death. According to the words of St. Anthony the Great: “Just as the body, when it has fully developed in the womb, needs to be born, so the soul, when it reaches the limit set by God, needs to leave the body.” Yes, even the souls of holy and righteous people, before their entry into the Father’s Kingdom, need to take the burning medicine of death, as the last cleansing, for the dust of life inevitably settled on them too. The history of mankind has known only two cases of complete sinlessness. The incarnate Son of God Jesus Christ appeared as the only Sinless One, and the Immaculate Mother of the Lord acquired the same indescribable purity through the humble feat of Her life. But why did the All-loving God allow the most holy of all saints, the God-chosen Virgin, who had not known even a shadow of sin, who did not need any purification, to also pass through the dark gates of death? Why was the Most Holy Theotokos not immediately ascended to Heaven in the flesh, as in ancient times - the righteous Enoch and Elijah, and later - Her adopted son, the holy Apostle John the Theologian? The Most Pure Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ also appeared as His most perfect Follower. Thus, together with the Savior, His Mother ascended the Calvary Redemptive Cross - at the sight of the Son’s suffering, “a weapon passed through Her soul” (Luke 2:35). The unbearable pain of the Mother's heart of the Mother of God could not have become more terrible from material nails and spears, from physical torture: it was the cruelest spiritual crucifixion. And just as the Most Holy Virgin could not help but follow the three-day stay of Her Divine Son in the tomb. “If Her incomprehensible Fruit, for the sake of which Heaven exists, voluntarily underwent burial, then will the celibate One who gave birth to Him reject burial?”

The first people, Adam and Eve, disobeyed their Creator, betrayed their Heavenly Father - and thus sowed the disastrous seeds of sin throughout all of humanity. The redeemer of the ancestral crime was the New Adam - the God-man Jesus Christ, unshakable in loyalty and obedience to God the Father even amid the suffering of the Cross and mortal darkness. And in the same way, the New Eve, the Most Pure Mother of God, sacredly preserved fidelity and obedience to the Almighty both among the sorrows of earthly life and at Her death. The fall of ancient Eve, who bowed to the whispers of the insidious serpent - the devil, was redeemed by the purest of the daughters of the human race. The Most Holy Virgin, alien to all temptations, erased the head of the serpent with Her heel, courageously enduring the pain of the devil's bite - the execution of Her Divine Son. This is how the Redemptive Sacrifice of Christ was accomplished, the inhuman weight of which was borne by the Divine Son and the Most Pure Mother for the salvation of the human race, for the sake of our salvation.

The all-loving Savior adorned the death of the Most Holy Mother with His wondrous miracles, turning for Her the dark event of death into a bright, joyful holiday. “The Lord crushed the gates of hell, and even changed the very name of death, for it is now called not death, but tranquility,” exclaims St. John Chrysostom. And for whom could peace in the Kingdom of God be more desirable and sweeter than for His Mother, who yearned for the Divine Son? The Lord foretold to the God-chosen Virgin the time of Her blessed Dormition. Fifteen days before this most desirable event for Her, She again saw the archangel-broadcaster Gabriel, this time bringing the news of her imminent death and the Heavenly glory awaiting Her: “Your Son and our God calls You, His Mother, into the Heavenly Kingdom, so that You may reign with Him forever and ever." And three days before the Assumption of the Ever-Virgin, the archangel again appeared to Her to present a material sign of God’s favor - a luminous branch of the tree of paradise, intended to be carried in front of the funeral bed of the Mother of God.

The last earthly desire of the Blessed Virgin was to say goodbye to Her spiritual children, the disciples of Christ, before death. This seemed impossible: after all, the apostles at that time preached the Gospel in distant countries and were scattered throughout the entire earth. But what is impossible for God Almighty? In order to please His Mother, the Savior commanded the angels to snatch the apostles from their places of service and bring them to the threshold of the Mother of God’s home. A glorious and wonderful phenomenon! “They flew together like clouds and eagles to serve the Mother of God,” says St. John of Damascus. All of Christ's evangelists, except for Saint Thomas (who was absent at the special discretion of the Lord Provider), gathered to accompany their spiritual Mother on her last earthly journey. The apostles were both perplexed and rejoiced at their unexpected meeting with the Blessed Virgin, but their faces darkened when they learned the reason for the miracle that had happened to them. Reporting about Her imminent Assumption, the Mother of God beamed with the happiness of the imminent meeting with the Divine Son, but it was difficult to share bright feelings with Her for those who thought that She was leaving them orphans on earth. And the Most Blessed Virgin consoled Her spiritual children, saying: “You should not cry, but rejoice, for after death I will be closer to the Throne of God, I will more easily pray to God and My Son for you, I will rather ask Him for mercy for you.” And the Apostles, who continued to grieve that they were deprived of seeing Her in this world, were reassured by the Most Merciful Mother of God with a humble promise: “Rejoice with Me, for I am going to My Son and God. But Me, if the Lord wills, you will see after My departure.” .

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior” (Luke 1, 46 - 47) - the humble Virgin Mary met the hour of the Assumption with this jubilant song of Her God-chosenness. Church tradition describes Her blessed meeting with the Divine Son in solemn words: “Those who saw this were horrified; the top of the temple seemed to disappear in the rays of Heavenly radiance, and the King of glory Christ Himself descended, surrounded by the darkness of angels and archangels and with the righteous souls of the patriarchs and prophets who had once foretold about the Most Holy Virgin, and approached His Most Pure Mother. Seeing Her Son, She with joyful delight, rising from her bed, bowed to Him. He, looking at Her with eyes filled with Divine love, said to Her: “Come, My neighbor; come, my beloved; Come, My dearest pearl, and enter into the abode of eternal life." "Blessed be Thy glorious Name, O Lord My God! - answered the Blessed Virgin. - You deigned to choose Me, Your humble servant, so that I might serve Your sacrament! Remember Me, King of glory, in Thy endless Kingdom." She reclined on the bed and, looking at the bright face of the Lord, His dearest Son, without any bodily suffering and, as if sweetly falling asleep, betrayed Her most holy soul in His hand." God the Son Himself lifted into the Father's Kingdom the greatest treasure of Heaven, the crown of creation - the humble soul of the Immaculate Mother of God. “Since the Ever-Virgin carried the Son of God in Her arms during His earthly infancy, then, as reward for this, the Son of God carries Her soul in His arms at the beginning of Her Heavenly life,” Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow says about this sacred event.

The burial of the body of the Mother of God was a triumph of Heaven, reflected on earth. Here the Heavenly Kingdom visibly stretched over the earthly procession of Christians who saw off the funeral bier of the Blessed Virgin. The bed of the Mother of God, carried by the supreme apostles, was preceded by Saint John the Theologian, holding in his hands a branch of paradise, radiating with a gracious radiance. Many sons and daughters of the Church, founded by the Son of God and strengthened by the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, gathered to honor the Dormition of the Ever-Virgin. And over the earthly funeral procession, an unprecedented crown of Heavenly glory stretched a luminous cloud and a wondrous angelic song sounded: “Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; blessed are You among women” (Luke 1:28).

Meanwhile, the Jewish high priests and scribes learned about the unprecedented procession of Christians and the reason for it, and demonic anger flared up in them. Again, as in the days of the murder of Christ the Savior, they bribed the soldiers and persuaded the foolish people to commit a new atrocity - beating the disciples of Christ and burning the body of His Most Pure Mother. But God did not allow their satanic plan to come true - the cloud of Heavenly glory covered the funeral procession of the faithful, becoming a wall between them and their fierce pursuers. Immediately many of the attackers were struck with blindness. These unfortunates rushed from side to side, smashing their heads against the walls of houses, or sat on the ground, helplessly mourning their misfortune. Only one of the wicked, with the permission of the Lord, broke through to the bed of the Most Holy Theotokos. It was the Jewish priest Athos. Possessing remarkable physical strength, even increased tenfold by the demonic fury blazing within him, this Pharisee ran through the crowd of Christians and was about to grab the bed on which the body of the Mother of God lay, thinking of throwing it to the ground. But what? The angel of the Lord instantly cut off both the blasphemer’s arms at the elbow, so that they remained hanging on the funeral bier, and Athos himself fell to the ground crying: “Woe is me!”

But, apparently, in the depths of the soul of this lost man there was also something good - the Mother of God began to pray to the Lord for mercy on Her offender, and God sent down saving repentance to Athos. Athos publicly confessed his monstrous sin and revealed the terrible truth about the crime of the deicide-Pharisees: “I believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, the Christ, foretold by the prophets! We have seen before that He is the Son of God; but, darkened by envy and malice, They brought Him unrighteously to a shameful death. But He resurrected by the power of the Divine and shamed us, His haters! In vain we tried to hide His Resurrection by paying a lot of money to the guards: we did not have time to stop the glory that spread about Him everywhere.”

Hearing the sincere self-accusation of Athos, seeing the sincerity of his repentance, the kindly Mother of God in Heaven rejoiced, all Christians rejoiced with angelic joy, for this lost soul, washing away his monstrous sin, returned to the Heavenly Father. The pardoned sinner called on the name of the Immaculate Mother of the Savior - and the severed hands grew back to his body, leaving only the memory of the miracle of admonition on thin scarlet scars around Afonius’s elbows. Then they began to bring to the bed of the Mother of God those of the blinded blasphemers who found the strength to realize their sin - and all of them, through the prayers of the angerless Mother of God, regained their bodily sight and saw in their hitherto blind souls.

Merciful Mother for all, the Immaculate Virgin did not desire anyone’s sorrow on the day of Her glorious Dormition.

And on the third day after all these wonderful events, the Lord showed an even more magnificent miracle. That was the all-glorious and all-praiseworthy Resurrection of the Mother of God.

Of course, of course, it couldn’t be otherwise. Was the earth capable of holding for a long time the God-receiving body of She who was honored to carry within Herself the Inconceivable Lord of the universe? Could the All-Loving Son of God leave even a particle of the being of His Beloved Mother in a sinful world? Didn’t the humble Ever-Virgin deserve the fullness of Heavenly existence through Her incomparable earthly feat? Only a short rest after earthly sorrows was the three-day stay of the body of the Mother of God in the tomb. And then, resurrected by the Almighty, in the glory of the transfigured flesh and the Most Pure Spirit, His humble Chosen One appeared at the Throne of the Lord.

By God's permission, the “always late” Saint Apostle Thomas did not have time to arrive at the celebration of the farewell of the Mother of God on her last earthly journey. This deprivation plunged Saint Thomas into such grave sadness that his compassionate fellow apostles decided to open the tomb of the Most Pure One so that he too could say goodbye to Her. However, to the bewilderment of the evangelists, the body of the deceased was not in the tomb. The surprise of Christ's disciples, who remembered that the tomb of the Crucified Savior had once been empty, was replaced by joyful anticipation of a new great miracle. And truly: on the same day the Risen Mother of God appeared to the assembly of the apostles. She appeared in Heavenly glory, surrounded by Angels, with the gracious greeting: “Rejoice! For I am with you always.” And, made happy by the appearance of their spiritual Mother, the evangelists exclaimed: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us!” The Dormition and Resurrection of the Mother of God marked the completion of the House of the Holy Church of Christ. A humble Queen, worthy of His ineffable Greatness, appeared at the Throne of the Heavenly King. The Most Pure Bride of God was the best fruit that humanity produced for the Most High, and She also appeared as the most precious gift of the All-Bountiful God for the salvation of the human race.

In our Lady Theotokos, weak, unstable, sinful and unworthy people - we all have found the Everlasting Prayer Book, the Most Loving Intercessor, the Most Powerful Helper. The Queen of Heaven, dear to us in humanity, surpassed in glory all the powers of the angels - she appeared first according to God and after God. She is capable of turning away even the righteous anger of the Almighty Creator from a pitiful sinner if he resorts to the intercession of the Lady. Looking at Her greatness, Saint Demetrius of Rostov says: “If someone asked me: what is strong in heaven, and strongest above all? I would answer: there is nothing else stronger and stronger on earth and in heaven, like - according to our Lord God Jesus Christ - Our Most Pure Lady Theotokos, Ever-Virgin Mary. She is strong on earth: She has destroyed the head of the serpent, She has trampled down the power of hell in heaven: She binds the Mighty God with Her prayers, Who sometimes binds Him with swaddling clothes on earth, I say, with Her prayers. For He, enraged by our sins, wants to execute us with sudden plagues. She stretches out Her prayerful hand to Him and holds His vengeful right hand, so that He does not destroy sinners with their iniquities.”

But what is the power, what is the power of the Queen of Heaven? Does She command the elements, give orders to the archangels, does She autocratically bestow the mercy and grace of God? No, nothing of the kind, and such speculation is infinitely far from the true appearance of the humble Lady. All of Her Royalty, all of Her power is in prayer. She prays for us - these tearful, tireless petitions of the Mother to the Lord and Her Son turn out to be stronger than any power that the human mind and the angelic mind can imagine. The Most Pure Virgin, our Prayer Book, with her quiet requests appears as if omnipotent, “for the Mother’s prayer can do much for the mercy of the Lord.”

The Russian Orthodox people call the Mother of God “Mother Intercessor”. Truly inexhaustible and inexhaustible is Her Mother’s love, all-forgiving and all-saving. According to the words of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt: “Not a single human heart is capable of loving all people with the kind of love with which the Mother of God loves us. Only the purest heart can love all people, and no one has had a purer heart than Her.”

Who better to intercede for us, who better to listen to our prayers, if not the Mother of God? Although She is now in Heaven, in all Heavenly glory, She is from us, from our sinful earth, lived here, like us, and also experienced many sorrows; How can She not listen, not stand up for Her own?

Just don’t, never forget that She is the Most Holy and does not like lawlessness. Those who call on the Most Pure Virgin for help - the Treasure of purity and angelic chastity - especially need to take care of maintaining the purity of their hearts and lives."

Yes, the Most Holy Theotokos promised the greatest good to the faithful, saying that they should not cry, but rejoice at Her death. Truly the Most Blessed Lady “did not leave the world after her Dormition,” the Mother of Christ the Life-Giver appeared as the Mother of Eternal Life for an innumerable host of weak people, saved only thanks to Her Almighty Intercession. Her tomb, which did not contain the Queen of Heaven, appeared to us as a truly blessed “Ladder to Heaven.” And now the Holy Church rejoices, triumphant in the reign of the Loving Mother Intercessor over the world, calling us to eternal happiness and carefully supporting her unworthy children on the slippery earthly roads, helping to rise up those who stumble, pulling the fallen from the stinking pits of vice, even extracting the criminal from the abysses and abysses, - only the dying person would have the good will to repent. In great spiritual joy, Christians sing: “And after death you live, saving forever, O Mother of God, Your inheritance.”

The holiday has brightened, the triumph of the Dormition of the Mother of God is high! But alas! In today's world we see phenomena that can turn the sweetest honey into the bitterest bile, winged rejoicing into grievous sorrow. For such sins are sweeping over and inundating our Fatherland in stinking waves that are shameful to even name on the day of the celebration of the Immaculate Bride of God.

Rus' was once called the House of the Most Holy Theotokos, who took Kyiv and Diveevo as her earthly inheritances, walked the entire Russian land from edge to edge, protected and saved the Orthodox people from troubles. What now? No, miracles from the All-Merciful Lady have not become scarce in Russia, but what are these signs now?

In Russian churches and monasteries, one after another, icons of the Queen of Heaven begin to shed tears; there are already dozens of such miraculous images. Is this a sign of mercy or a final warning? The Russian Abroad hastened to notify the whole world about the myrrh-streaming of the Iveron image of the Mother of God, seeing in this a harbinger of prosperity, but is it really so? The current spiritual darkness enveloping Russia makes one think rather that the Merciful Lady is trying to warn the people about their ultimate destruction if we do not manage to bear the fruits of repentance and turn to the path of God’s Truth. This bitter interpretation of the latest miracles can be confirmed by the news that back in the 30s of this century a Bulgarian boy who died and then resurrected brought from the Kingdom of Heaven. While the funeral rites were being performed over his body, this child suddenly sat up in the coffin and burst into uncontrollable sobs. This is what he said: “When I died, I immediately found myself in those places where sinners are tormented. What terrible faces they have - I cannot forget them, and I cannot describe their torment! It is so terrible that a person cannot imagine imagine this! Then they took me to the heavenly abode, and I saw the Most Pure Mother of God, how She prayed for sinners and for the whole world. Her face sparkled with indescribable beauty, but it was exhausted, tears rolled down it. She told me: you will not stay. here, you will return to earth to the people. Tell them that they have tortured Me with their sins. I am no longer able to pray for them. Let them take pity on Me."

This ingenuous, touching and infinitely creepy testimony of a resurrected child in those years shocked and forced many to come to their senses. But this unprecedented event was lost in the stream of empty information flooding the spiritually dead “civilization.” Woe to humanity if it still fails to hear the cry of sorrow of the Mother of God! But how does this fit together? How can one understand the unspeakable happiness of the Bride of God, and Her bitter tears, the radiance of the glory of the Queen of Heaven, and the fatigue of Her Maternal heart? There is a terrible secret of the universe, the mystery of the Lord’s Sacrificial Love for us, ungrateful and unrepentant sinners. For the Almighty there is no time; in His eternity there are other laws inaccessible to our minds. Time drags on here, in the created world distorted by ancient malice. And from century to century, from the Fall of Adam to the Last Judgment, until the kingdom of the serpent is finally defeated, the painful moment of the Calvary Sacrifice lasts. Century after century, year after year, while the hours move and the minutes fly, the Crucifixion of Christ continues, the standing at the Cross of His Most Pure Mother continues. Here and now the Divine Savior dies, washing away our sins with His Blood. Here and now the Most Holy Theotokos suffers inhumanly, washing away our crimes with Her tears. And it is us, you and me, Their killers and tormentors. It is we, with our vices, predatory deeds and thoughts, who again and again drive sharp nails into the Most Pure Body of the God-Man and into the Most Pure Soul of the Mother of God.

“A weapon will pierce your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” (Luke 2:35), Saint Simeon the God-Receiver once predicted to the Virgin Mother, who was holding the Child Christ in her arms. This terrible prophecy came true over Her when the hour of Golgotha struck. While the soulless executioners pounded with hammers, piercing the Body of the God-Man, the same cruel wounds stung the soul of His Mother, who was crucified to the Redeemer. They are both crucified, the Divine Son and Mother, who at that moment adopted all humanity. From century to century They, the Innocent Ones, endure the torment of the cross for us, the guilty, taking away from us the cup of wrath, the cup of the Lord’s Justice. But human lawlessness is multiplying, bringing Heavenly retribution closer to the dying world - the long-suffering of the Most High Judge is not eternal, the Blood of the Crucified Christ the Savior is drying up, and even our Most Pure Intercessor has become exhausted in tearful prayers for us. Terrifying news, a most woeful sign! So is it really possible that even now our stony hearts will not tremble with compassion for the Most Holy Virgin, crying over the destruction of our souls? Will not our darkened mind be frightened by the foreshadowing of the imminent Judgment of God, when all the shame of our deeds, words and thoughts will be exposed?! But this hour may be close, for even the Mother of Life is tired of begging us for forgiveness from Her Son and Lord!

Unhappy Russia, cruelly deceived and basely deceived, is now wandering in spiritual darkness. “Western way of life”, “consumer paradise” - that new sugary bait to which the lost people succumbed turned out to be a new satanic lie, turning into a frenzy of poor savages around the dollar “golden calf”. And even many of those who did not succumb to the crude temptations of profit and permissiveness turned away from the pure source of the Holy Russian faith for the sake of crafty foreign heresies. Fair barkers from Protestant sects call themselves Christians, boast of their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures - and at the same time spew blasphemy against the Mother of God. But here are the words of the Gospel, the prophetic God-inspired song of the Blessed Virgin - “From now on all generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48) - that is, Christian generations, generations of the faithful, from which Protestants cut themselves off with ungodly mentalities. And even more terrible: truly demonic desecrations of the humble majesty of the Mother of God on the part of the savage communities of the “Virgin Center” and the “White Brotherhood”, bowing to the hellish “female hypostases”. And all this is happening in Russia, in a country that has so many times been saved from death only under the Protection of the Mother of God!

We all need to understand: for decades, and perhaps even centuries, the end of this world, the execution of God’s Justice over unrepentant humanity, has been postponed only through the prayers of the All-Forgiving Intercessor Mother to the Lord who loves mankind. If it were not for the tearful petitions of the Most Holy Theotokos, perhaps you and I would not have had time to be born. The great wisdom of the Holy Orthodox Church is in how She tirelessly turns to the Mother of God, how she relentlessly asks the Most Holy Theotokos for Her prayers to Her Divine Son. However, the Most Merciful Queen of Heaven cannot help the stubborn wicked.

So what should we do? Tremble before the impending disasters, mourn the perishing Fatherland, indulge in despair, thinking: is it too late, is the abomination of desolation inevitably consuming our people? No! It can never be “too late” for the Lord, the Almighty and All-Good, who embraces the Universe with His Love. Yes, we must cry, weep bitterly and sob, but not over current adversities and threatening disasters, but over our sins, each cleansing ourselves with repentance for deeds of Christian love. For a few days of people’s repentance, the All-Bountiful Creator had mercy on the wicked Nineveh - and so from us, if we finally return to the path of piety, the Savior will take away adversity and disaster through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother.

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord!

In the miserable bustle of life, in the impurity of thoughts and cowardly fears, we forget about the main thing, the only important thing for a person - about eternity, about immortality, about the salvation of the soul. The constant memory that we will all leave this world and appear before the Just Lord is what can make us truly courageous and allow us to free ourselves from spiritual stupor. What is next to the inevitable death of all these current “inflation, stagnation and voucherization”! Death still seems to be the most terrible thing for a person, but for the faithful it is the threshold of an incomparably better and endless life. The bright feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God shows us the right “stairway to Heaven,” along which those who walk in earthly life find joyful peace in their soul.

And if anyone wants to serve their neighbors, the people, the Fatherland, well, let them strive to the best of their ability to imitate the Blessed Virgin, who became the Intercessor Mother of the entire human race. Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer talks about what the Purest of people on earth was like: “We all know that the Ever-Virgin Mother of God is full of grace and all virtues. They say that She was always cheerful in persecution and troubles; in need and poverty she was not She was grieved; not only was she not angry with those who insulted Her, but she was kind to them in the welfare of the poor; she was merciful in piety and a teacher of every good deed. She especially loved the humble, because Herself was apparently filled with humility. angelic with human."

So simple and so bright is the image of the Immaculate Mother of God and so unattainably high is Her Light for us, unworthy?! But the Queen of Heaven favorably listens to the prayers of repentant sinners, and neither misfortune, nor sorrow, neither life nor death will frighten us, if we decide, in a sincere desire for correction and salvation, to resort to the intercession of the Most Pure Mother of God, crying out: “We will not retreat, Lady, from You : “Your servant always saves you from all evil ones.” Amen.

Giving back to the holiday

This is the name of the last day after the celebration of the great or twelfth feasts. This day differs from the days after the celebration by the greater solemnity of the divine service; the succession assigned to it retains most of those prayers and songs that were sung on the holiday itself. The holiday's offerings were adopted during the organization of worship in the 4th century. and mainly for the main holidays: Easter, Pentecost and the Nativity of Christ; in subsequent times, the church, for greater solemnity, added them to other great holidays.

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .

See what “Holiday Giving” is in other dictionaries:

DELIVERY of the holiday, the last day of the post-celebration (see AFTER-CELEBRATION) of the twelve feasts (see Twelfth Holidays) and some great holidays, celebrated with a special divine service... Encyclopedic Dictionary

The celebration of the holiday (Lev.23:36; Num.29:35) the end of the holiday (in the original: “solemn assembly”, cf. 1 Kings 8:65). (see post-festival) ... Bible. Old and New Testaments. Synodal translation. Biblical encyclopedia arch. Nikifor.

giving\holiday- celebration of the holiday (Lev.23:36; Num.29:35) completion of the holiday (in the original: “solemn meeting”, cf. 1 Kings 8:65). (see post-festival) ... Complete and detailed Bible Dictionary to the Russian Canonical Bible

Giving of the Holiday- the last day of the feast. See Afterfeast... Orthodoxy. Dictionary-reference book

Giving back to the holiday- the day that ends the post-festival... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Giving back to the holiday- term for the end of the post-celebration of the twelfth and great holidays. Dept. holiday, or the last day after the celebration of great holidays, is marked by a particularly solemn divine service, during which all prayers are performed and... ... Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary

Celebration of the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord- The celebration of the Ascension of the Lord, which takes place on the fortieth day after Easter, has one day of pre-celebration and eight days of post-celebration. On Friday of the seventh week (week) after Easter, the Giving (end) of the Feast of the Ascension is celebrated. IN … Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Celebration of the Feast of Pentecost- takes place on the Saturday following the holiday; in 2010 it is celebrated on May 29 (May 16 according to the strict style). Pentecost (Greek Pentekoste), the greatest Christian holiday, celebrated on the fiftieth day of Easter in memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Celebration of the Feast of Mid-Pentecost- On Wednesday of the 4th week (week) after Easter, the Orthodox Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost, that is, half the time from Easter to Pentecost. In 2010, this day falls on May 5 (April 22, old style). This forefeast... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Giving of the holiday, also apodosis (Greek: απόδοσης bestowal, return; Greek: τέλος του Πάσχα giving of Easter; English: leave taking), in Orthodox worship the last day of the after-feast of a multi-day, usually great holiday... Wikipedia

We ask for your holy prayers and all possible help. Perhaps some of you will want to come to Olenevka for a day, or a week, or a month: to work for the Glory of God in the choir, as an altar boy, as a bell ringer. Help is needed in the cell: to receive pilgrims, to accompany them to a spring, to an oak tree, to a holy grave; help in cleaning the temple, cells and the area around.

Everyone will be provided with housing and food. We will help those who wish to settle in a holy place forever to buy a house or estate for housing construction.

Chairman of the Parish Council
Elizaveta Mikhailovna Egorova

Latest events

January 27, 2018.

On January 27, 2018, on the day of the Feast of Holy Epiphany, the cleric on duty of the Peter and Paul Church in Penza, Priest Alexy Roy, performed the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. John Olenevsky.
Liturgical chants were performed by Olga Denisova, singer of the St. Seraphim Church in Penza.
After the Liturgy, the believers prayed at a prayer service with an akathist to Hiero-Confessor John Olenevsky.
At the end of the prayer service, the clergyman congratulated all those present on the celebration of the feast of Holy Epiphany - the Baptism of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, the communicants on the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and gave a blessing to those praying.
It is worth noting that Penza pilgrims attended the festive service.

Let us remind you that the celebration of the Epiphany holiday ends the cycle of Christmas holidays. Epiphany is the twelfth holiday and has 4 days of pre-celebration and 8 days of post-celebration. And today - the celebration of this holiday - is the last of the days of the after-feast, distinguished by greater solemnity, the services of which contain a significant part of the prayers and songs sung on the holiday itself. Therefore, it is believed that if someone really wanted to take communion on the Holiday, but could not for some reason, they can take communion on the Giving - the service is performed more solemnly than on an ordinary day and prayers and chants of the holiday itself are heard.
The Twelfth Feasts are a cycle of the twelve most important annual holidays of the Russian Orthodox liturgical calendar. The definition of “twelve” comes from the Slavic cardinal number “twelve” (or “twelve”), that is, “twelve”. (Easter, as a “holiday holiday,” is outside this classification.)

The concept of giving away a holiday is found in the Old Testament:

“In seven days you shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord; On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly, and offer a sacrifice to the Lord: this is the giving of the holiday, do not do any work.” (Lev. 23:36)
“On the eighth day you shall have the celebration of the feast; do not do any work; and offer burnt offerings..."
(Num. 29:35–39)

In Christianity, the tradition of celebrating holidays is reinterpreted as a repeated remembrance of the holiday event after some time has passed.

In early Christian times, this was practiced strictly on the 8th day (nowadays the entire eight-day period, starting from the day of the holiday itself, is called an octave in non-Orthodox Christian churches).

Under Emperor Constantine I, eight-day celebrations were held at the consecration of the basilicas in Jerusalem and Tire. This set a precedent for similar celebrations of other annual liturgical holidays, and the first of them began in the 4th century. Easter, Pentecost and, in the East, Epiphany; later they are joined by the Nativity of Christ.

Since the 7th century. Saints' feasts begin to coincide with the day of celebration; the oldest examples here are Saints' Day. Peter and Paul, St. Lawrence and St. Agnes.

Dates for some holidays in the Orthodox Church

Holiday	Holiday date	Giving	Days pre-festivities	Days on-celebration
Nativity of the Virgin Mary	September 8 (21)	September 12 (25)	1	4
Exaltation of the Holy Cross	September 14 (27)	September 21 (October 4)	1	7
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple	November 21 (December 4)	November 25 (December 8)	1	4
Christmas	December 25 (January 7)	December 31 (January 13)	5	6
Epiphany (Epiphany)	January 6 (19)	January 14 (27)	4	8
Presentation of the Lord	February 2 (15)	February 2 (15)... February 9 (22)	1	0...7
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem	Sunday before Easter	No	No	No
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary	March 25 (April 7)	March 26 (April 8)	1	1
Easter	Sunday, determined by Easter	Wednesday, 6th week of Easter	No	39
Midnight of Pentecost	Wednesday, 4th week of Easter	Wednesday, 5th week of Easter	No	7
Ascension of the Lord	Thursday, 6th week of Easter, 40th day	Friday, 7th week of Easter	1	8
Trinity Day	Sunday, 7th week of Easter	Saturday, 1st week after Pentecost	No	6
Transfiguration	August 6 (19)	August 13 (26)	1	7
Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 15 (28)	August 23 (September 5)	1	8

It should be noted that the Week of Antipascha (Fomino Sunday) has a period of post-feast. From Monday to Saturday of the second week of Easter we remember the assurance of the Apostle Thomas. On these days, the troparion, kontakion, prokeimenon and sacrament of Antipascha and St. Thomas the Apostle.

The following holidays do not have any dedication (as well as pre-celebrations and post-celebrations):