Merry Christmas. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin: the history of the holiday and free light poems

September 21 Orthodox Christians remember Christmas Holy Mother of God . This event - the birth of the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ from the righteous parents of Joachim and - is described in Church Tradition. We will tell about the history, meaning and folk traditions associated with the holiday.

What is the Nativity of the Virgin

Christmas Holy Lady Our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary is the full name of the holiday, which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates on September 21 in the new style (September 8 in the old style). This is one of . The Twelfth Feasts are dogmatically closely connected with the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Theotokos and are divided into the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Theotokos (dedicated to the Mother of God). Nativity of the Virgin - Mother of God holiday.

The event we celebrate on this day is not described in the New Testament. Knowledge about it came to us from Church Tradition, one of the sources of our dogma, along with the Holy Scriptures.

The legend that tells about the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, namely the Protoevangelium of James, was written in the 2nd century. And they began to celebrate the holiday as a separate significant day by the second half of the 5th century. For example, we read about this in the Patriarch of Constantinople Proclus (439-446) and in the breviary (liturgical book) of Pope Gelasius (492-426).

When is the Nativity of the Virgin

Orthodox Christians celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on September 21 according to the new style (September 8 according to the old style). This is a non-transferable holiday, that is, its date remains the same every year.

Holiday by Orthodox tradition lasts 6 days, from 20 to 25 September. This period includes prefeast and afterfeast. Prefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the divine services of which already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, the afterfeast is the same days after the holiday.

What can you eat on the Nativity of the Virgin

In 2018, the holiday falls on Friday, a fast day, in honor of the holiday, believers are allowed to eat fish.

Events of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the New Testament we will not find practically anything about the earthly life of the Mother of God. The Gospels do not provide information about who the parents of the Virgin Mary were and under what circumstances she was born.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is based on Church Tradition. There is the so-called Protoevangelium of James, written in the 2nd century. In it we read that Mary was born of pious parents, Joachim and Anna. Joachim was a descendant of the royal family, and Anna was the daughter of the high priest. They lived to a ripe old age and were childless. This was a source of grief for the couple and caused public censure.

Once, when Joachim came to the Temple, the high priest did not allow him to offer a sacrifice to God, saying: "You did not create offspring for Israel." After that, the inconsolable Joachim retired to the desert to pray, while Anna remained at home and also prayed. At this time, an angel appeared to both of them and announced to each: “The Lord has heeded your prayer, you will conceive and give birth, and your offspring will be talked about all over the world.”

Upon learning the good news, the couple met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem.

After that, Anna conceived. As the Protoevangelium of James writes, “the months allotted to her passed, and Anna gave birth in the ninth month.” The righteous made a vow to dedicate their child to God and gave their daughter Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem, where she served until she came of age.

The history of the celebration of the Nativity of the Virgin

Christians began to celebrate the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin only by the 5th century. We read the first mention of him in the Patriarch of Constantinople Proclus (439-446) and in the breviary (liturgical book) of Pope Gelasius (492-426). Saints John Chrysostom, Epiphanes and Augustine also write about the holiday. And in Palestine, there is a legend that the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helena built a temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Nativity of the Virgin

We meet the most ancient images of the events of the Nativity of the Mother of God by the X-XI centuries. These are icons and frescoes. For example, the painting of the Georgian temple of the 7th century in Aten. This entire temple is dedicated to the Mother of God (the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin).

There are other ancient images of the holiday: frescoes in the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral (first half of the 11th century) and in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Mirozh Monastery (XII century), a composition in the Church of Joachim and Anna of the Serbian Studenica Monastery (1304).

Traditionally, on early icons and frescoes, icon painters depicted the righteous Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, in the center of the composition. The woman in labor is reclining on a high couch, in front of her are women with gifts, a midwife and maids who wash the Virgin in a font.

With each century, this icon-painting plot was enriched with more and more new details. For example, they began to depict a table with brought gifts and treats, a pond, birds. Now the icon of the Nativity of the Virgin is often made hagiographic, that is, they supplement the main plot with separate compositions (brands) - plots from the history of the event. Lamentation of Joachim in the desert, the gospel to Joachim and the gospel to Anna, the meeting of the spouses at the Golden Gate of the Jerusalem Temple, and so on.

The painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God of the Ferapontov Monastery, which in 1502 was made by the great icon painter Dionysius, has survived to this day. This is a fresco above the main entrance, which depicts St. Anne on a couch; font; those who come to bow to the Born of wives and virgins with vessels in their hands; Joachim and Anna with the Virgin Mary in their arms.

Divine Liturgy of the Nativity of the Virgin

In the 6th century, the Monk Roman the Melodist wrote a kontakion to the Nativity of the Virgin, but his text has not survived to this day. The most ancient hymn of the holiday is the troparion "Your Nativity, Virgin Mother of God." Most likely, it was compiled in the 5th-7th centuries. In addition, the modern service of the holiday includes, for example, chants of St. Andrew of Crete (VII century), St. John of Damascus VIII century), Patriarch Herman of Constantinople (VIII century).

Troparion of the Nativity of the Virgin

Tone 4:

Thy Nativity Virgin Mother of God, joy to proclaim to the whole universe: from Thee, the Sun of Truth, Christ our God, has risen, and breaking the oath, giving a blessing, and abolishing death, giving us eternal life.

Translation:

Your Nativity, Virgin Mother of God, announced joy to the whole universe: for from you the Sun of righteousness shone forth - Christ our God, and, breaking the curse, gave a blessing, and, destroying death, gave us eternal life.

Kontakion of the Nativity of the Virgin

Tone 4:

Joachim and Anna reproaches of childlessness, and Adam and Eve are free from mortal aphids, Most Pure, in Thy holy birth. That is what Your people celebrate, having got rid of the guilt of sins, sometimes call Thee: the Mother of God and the nurturer of our life gives birth to barren fruits.

Translation:

Joachim and Anna were freed from reproach for childlessness, and Adam and Eve were freed from mortal death by Your holy Birth, Most Pure One. It is also celebrated by Your people, who have got rid of the burden of sin, exclaiming loudly to You: the barren woman gives birth to the Mother of God and the nourisher of our Life.

Magnification of the Nativity of the Virgin:

We magnify Thee, Blessed Virgin, and honor Your holy parents, and all-glorious glorify Your Nativity.

Translation:

We magnify You, Most Pure Virgin, and we honor Your holy parents, and gloriously glorify Your Nativity.

The first prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Oh, Blessed Lady, Christ our Savior, God-chosen Mother, asked of God by holy prayers, consecrated to God and beloved by God! Who will not please you or who will not sing, Your glorious Christmas. For Thy Nativity was the beginning of the salvation of men, and we, sitting in the darkness of sins, see Thee, dwelling place of the Unapproachable Light. For this sake, the ornate tongue cannot hymn thee according to the property. More than the seraphim, thou art exalted, Most Pure. Both accept the present praise from the unworthy Thy servants and do not reject our prayers. We confess your greatness, we bow down to you in tenderness and boldly ask the child-loving and merciful Mother in intercession: implore your Son and our God to grant us, who sin a lot, sincere repentance and a pious life, so that we can do everything pleasing to God and useful to our souls. Let us hate all evil, strengthen by Divine grace in our good will. You are our shameless hope at the hour of death, grant us a Christian death, a comfortable march on the terrible ordeals of the air and a legacy of the eternal and ineffable blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven, and with all the saints we silently confess Your intercession for us and let us glorify the one True God, in Holy Trinity worshiped by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Second Prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, falling down to Your miraculous image, tenderly saying: look graciously on Your servants and by Your omnipotent intercession, send down to anyone who needs it. Save all the faithful children of the Holy Church, turn the unfaithful, guide those who have gone astray on the right path, support old age and weakness of strength, grow young in the faith of the saint, increase courage for good, lead sinners to repentance and hear all Christian prayers, heal the sick, quench the sorrows of travelers travel. You weigh, All-Merciful, as if weak, as if sinners, as if embittered and unworthy of God's forgiveness, both be of help to us, but we will anger God with no sin of self-love, temptation and devilish seduction: You are the Imams of the Intercessor, Even the Lord will not reject. If you rejoice, you can bestow everything on us like a gracious source, who faithfully sing to You and exalt Your glorious Christmas. Deliver, Mistress, the falls and troubles of all who piously call holy name Yours and those who worship Your honest image. You cleanse our tuna with the prayers of iniquity, the same we fall down and cry out to you again: cast away from us every enemy and adversary, every misfortune and destructive unbelief; by your prayers, giving rains in time and abundant fruitfulness to the earth, put in our hearts the fear of God for the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, so that we all live quietly and peacefully for the salvation of our souls, for the good of our neighbors and for the glory of the Lord, for Him, as the Creator, Provider and Savior glory, honor and worship is due to us, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Third Prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Oh, Most Pure and Blessed Virgin, the Lady of the Mother of God, born from barrenness according to the promise and purity for the sake of your soul and body, being worthy to be the Mother of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, now with Him in heaven and imash great boldness to the Most Holy Trinity, from Neyazhe, like a Queen, you are crowned with a crown of eternal reign. Meanwhile, we humbly resort to You and ask: intercede for us from the All-Merciful Lord God forgiveness of all our sins, voluntary and involuntary; to the suffering fatherland of our salvation, peace, silence and piety restoration, times are peaceful and serene, sedition of the evil is not involved; to the abundance of the fruits of the earth, the air of well-being, the rains are peaceful and well-timed. And everything that is necessary for our life and salvation, ask us of Your Son, Christ our God. Most of all, hasten to adorn us with good morals and good deeds Yes, very powerfully, we will be imitators of Your holy life, even from youth on earth you were adorned, pleasing the Lord; for this sake, the most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim appeared. To her, the Most Holy Lady, be to us in everything an ambulance Helper and a wise mentor for salvation, let us follow you and help you, let us be worthy of the heir of being the Kingdom of Heaven, the sufferings of Your Son, the outgoing, the fulfillers of the holy commandments of His promised. Thou art Thou, Madam, our only hope and hope according to God, and we betray our whole life to You, hoping for Your sake of intercession and intercession, we will not be put to shame at the hour of our departure from this life, and at the Last Judgment of Your Son, Christ our God, His right hand to be worthy of standing, and there to rejoice forever with all those who have pleased Him from the ages and silently glorify, praise, thank and bless Him with the Father and the Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Sermon by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh on the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos

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

Every feast of the Mother of God is pure joy. This joy is not only about God's love for us, but also about the fact that the earth - our simple, dear, ordinary earth - can respond to the love of the Lord in this way. This is a special joy for us.

When we receive mercy from God, our heart rejoices; but sometimes it becomes melancholy: how, how can I repay love for love, where can I find that holiness, that caress, that ability to respond with all my nature to the mercy of God? And then, although we know that each of us is weak and weak in love, we can think about the Mother of God. She answered for all of us with perfect faith, never wavering hope and love so wide that she was able to embrace heaven and earth with this love, open herself with love so that the Son of God became incarnate, and open herself with love for people so that all, the most sinful, can come to her and receive mercy. This is the answer of the whole earth, this is the answer of the whole universe to the love of the Lord.

And so, let us rejoice and take away joy today from this temple - not only for one moment: we will keep it from day to day, we will be amazed at this joy, we will rejoice at this joy and we will begin to give this joy to people so that every heart rejoices and is comforted and it was enlightened by this joy that the earth can contain the sky, that man can answer God in such a way that God would become a man.

And now, from age to age, while the world stands, God is among us, the same Christ is among us, day by day. And when the glory of earth and heaven is made manifest, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true God, is revealed, but also true man will abide among us as the Mother of God, Who gave Him flesh with Her love, faith, holiness, reverence.

Let us keep, cherish, grow this joy and live by it in the days of sorrow, in the dark days, in the days when it seems to us that we are not capable of anything, that the earth cannot respond to God's love with anything. The earth answered, and this Answer stands forever with uplifted hands, praying for all of us, for the good and the evil, never standing in the way of salvation, forgiving everyone - and She has something to forgive: after all, the people killed Her Son - and we come to Her we resort. Because if She forgives, then no one will judge us.

With what faith we come to the Mother of God, how deep it must be, so that each of us, who participates in the death of the Lord with our sins and unworthiness, could say: Mother, I have destroyed Your Son, but forgive me. And he intercedes for us, and has mercy, and saves, and grows to the full height of the love of the Lord.

Glory to God for this, glory to the Mother of God for this love of Hers. Amen.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt. Sermon on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The righteous parents of the Ever-Virgin mourned for a long time about their infertility, long and fervently prayed to the Lord for the resolution of infertility, which was considered a punishment from God for sins; they did a lot of alms in order to bow to the mercy of the All-Merciful, and endured insults from their fellow tribesmen, and in this sorrow and unceasing prayer and good deeds they were gradually purified in spirit and inflamed more and more with love and devotion to God and thus were prepared by the Providence of God for the blessed birth of the Most Blessed Daughter chosen from all generations as the Mother of the incarnate Word.

In a narrow and sorrowful way, the Lord leads His chosen ones to glory and bliss, for Simeon also foretold the Mother of God according to the flesh that Her soul will pass the weapon and She will experience grave sorrows in her soul during the suffering life of Her Son, so that the thoughts of many people's hearts will be opened (Lk. 2, 34-35). So sorrowful and cramped is the path of all the chosen ones of God, for the world and the ruler of the world, that is, the enemy of God and men, utterly oppresses the people of God; and the Lord Himself permits them to follow the narrow path, as He helps them to aspire to God and place their hope in Him alone.

But let us turn our gaze from sorrow to joy. What joy does the Nativity of the Mother of God bring us? Let us explain in more detail the church hymn that explains the reasons for the festive joy. Through the birth of the Ever-Virgin, through her only-begotten Son and God, the damned and outcast humanity was reconciled with God, immeasurably offended by their sins, for Christ became the Mediator of reconciliation (Rom. 5:10-11), freed from damnation and eternal death, and was rewarded with the blessing of the Heavenly Father; it united and merged with the Divine nature; elevated to its first property by this dissolution, according to the expression of the church song; the previously rejected man was worthy of adoption by the Heavenly Father, received the promise of a glorious resurrection and eternal life in heaven together with the angels.

All this has been and is being accomplished by the Son of God, incarnated from the Most Pure Virgin by the Holy Spirit, and through the intercession of His Most Pure Mother. How venerated and exalted is humanity through the Holy Virgin Theotokos, for She has been worthy of renewal and adoption by God; and She herself was honored by Her immeasurable humility and the greatest purity and holiness to be the Mother of the God-man! She always remains the most powerful Intercessor and Representative of the Christian race before Her Son and God! She is our shameless Hope; She removes from us the clouds of God's righteous wrath, opens the ancient paradise to us with her mighty intercession; She upholds the thrones of kings and keeps them immovable forever. She has saved and is saving Russia a thousand times from the beginning to the present day; She exalted her, glorified her, affirmed and affirms her; She is the guarantor of sinners for salvation. Christians turn their countless prayers, petitions, praises, doxologies and thanksgivings to Her; She has performed and is performing countless miracles in the Church, beneficial in all parts of the world.

Let's all celebrate the Christmas holiday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, adorning themselves with all sorts of Christian virtues. Amen.

House of Joachim and Anna

The house of Joachim and Anna is one of the Christian landmarks in Jerusalem. According to Church Tradition, the Virgin Mary was born in the house of her parents, the righteous Joachim and Anna. It was located in the north-eastern part of Jerusalem, now it is the territory of the Muslim quarter of the Old City, near the Lion Gate.

Orthodox and Catholics are still arguing about exactly where the house stood, and they built a monastery and a basilica at a distance of 70 meters from each other. Orthodox monastery St. Anna is a place of pilgrimage for many Christians of the world. On the first floor of the monastery there is a church in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God, and under the building of the monastery there is an ancient cave. It is believed that this cave is part of the house of Joachim and Anna.

Church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vladykino

Temple in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vladykino- the spiritual center of the Moscow region Otradnoye. Address: Altufevskoe shosse, 4.

Vladykino is one of the most ancient villages near Moscow. The first owner of the village was Prince Daniel of Moscow, the son of Saint Alexander Nevsky and a direct descendant of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and Princess Olga. In 1322, the village was granted to the patrimony of the thousandth Protasy Velyaminov, who arrived at the service of the Moscow prince. From his name the village got its first name - Velyaminovo.

Three centuries later, in 1619, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich granted Velyaminovo to Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, but soon the village passed to Prince Ivan Ivanovich Shuisky. It was under him that a village church was built here in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (to replace the dilapidated church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker).

After 1653 His Holiness Patriarch Nikon makes the village his fiefdom and gives it a new name - Vladykino. In Vladykino, a patriarchal travel palace and another temple are being built in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.

The first stone church in Vladykino was built in 1770. The bell tower was erected by Count K. G. Razumovsky, the owner of the neighboring village of Petrovskoye. By the middle of the 19th century, the stone church had become very dilapidated. In 1854, on the site of the old one, a new one was built, this time a three-altar one, with side chapels of Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. The main throne in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was consecrated by St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna.

In the Soviet years, the temple was not closed, even during the most severe persecution of the Church. During the Great Patriotic War not a single shell hit him, although the Germans were standing very close. In the 1970s, there were attempts to demolish the temple during the construction of an overpass at the beginning of the Altufevskoe Highway, but the parishioners were able to defend it.

Every year on September 21, believers celebrate an amazing holiday - the Nativity of the Blessed Mother of God. According to legend, this is the birthday of the Mother of the Savior, which is why it is celebrated so widely. People visit the temple, pray to the Holy Mother of God, ask her for protection, help and blessings. We have prepared for you kind and warm congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Congratulations in verses on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On the great feast of the Mother of God of birth
Compiled this charming congratulations!
A wonderful, heavenly sign -
Blooming suddenly, inadvertently, a flower!
The light will come, the goodness of the Lady herself,
Clouds are scattered in the sky...
And every believer will suddenly rise in his soul,
And the burden will become like a fluff, light!
Rejoice: joy has descended,
And there is no more evil in the world!

I congratulate you today
May Mary keep you from sorrows,
May the family be happy.

I wish you peace and joy
Mercy, warmth in the heart,
The Mother of God surrounds with joy
And will give you a lot of good.

Let the soul be filled with bright faith.
You - love, kindness and patience,
To remove all doubts.

So that beautiful happiness shines on you,
It would not be a bad time.
And healthy so that all loved ones are
The sun would warm!

All sorrows and sorrows will go away.
May your soul be filled with happiness
And prayers will reach heaven.
May our heavenly intercessor,
It will help you in your undertakings.
Life will become like a fairy tale,
It's like heaven has arrived on earth.

Merry Christmas to you
Congratulations, sincerely!
May the heavens be pure and gentle,
And let peace live in the soul forever.

May health never fail
Let love warm you with warmth.
I sincerely congratulate you!
Congratulations on a wonderful celebration!

I congratulate you today.
May there be health and strength
May the family be happy.

Let the Queen of Heaven keep
From troubles and despondency, from quarrels.
Let it be filled with light
Beautiful, worthy of your home.

I congratulate you today

And I wish - let in life from now on
Happiness with joy is always found.
Let in your soul tender, vulnerable
Faith in a miracle lives to the end,
If you believe, with divine help
Miracles always happen!

Nativity of the Virgin - with us,
This is such a wonderful holiday!
We congratulate you in simple words,
We wish you well with all our heart,

And we wish you good luck
So that success never goes away!
We congratulate you today with verses,
And in honor of the holiday, we will sit down at the table!

The sky lit up with radiance -
On this day, the Mother of God was born!
Happy holiday to everyone,
Peace, good health.
We live with her image
We carry faith in our hearts.
Take care of our souls
Save and save us!

May she be with you forever
Let sorrows and sorrows disappear
And love will reign in the soul.

May the Mother of God keep you
And always gives health
Let it cover with the warmth of grace,
Giving life without worries and hassles!

Filling my heart with joy,
The holiday is coming to you great.
Fulfilled all the prophecies
Enlightening hearts and faces.
Birth of the Mother of God -
The news is truly wonderful!
Let the blessing come
Happiness sent down to you!

May the Mother of God by her holy power
Will fill souls and fill every home
Boundless happiness, pure light and peace,
Kindness, love, faith in God and warmth.
Happy Mother of God Day, I congratulate you,
Let only kind words sound
Let the joy in life not leave you -
With all my heart I wish you a Merry Christmas!

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May our hearts be filled with happiness
May grace come down to us from heaven,
Faith will save sinful souls.

To the Mother of God Virgin Mary
We turn our prayers
We ask that her kindness, strength
Saved us, saved and forgave us.

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Hundreds of candles burn in temples,
And go to kneel
There are millions of people before the saint.

Mother of God Virgin Mary,
Cover us from trouble, protect us.
You, who gave birth to a son for God,
Forgive us, your sinful children.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Let him revive faith in souls,
Holy Mother of God
May he bless us for good.

Holy Mother of God Christmas -
Reason for joy and rejoicing!
May a bright celebration come to you
Accept wishes now!
May from the Virgin Mary in your destiny
Happiness will surely come!
May this day be the best of days
And change everything overnight!

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,
The holiday is bright, great and joyful,
In honor of the most worthy birthday girl,
bell ringing heard, blessed!

I congratulate you on this holiday,
May Faith live in your soul,
I wish you great happiness
May happiness always await you!

Mother of God today is Christmas!
Congratulations! Congratulations!
Let the magic overshadow you
Grace is all around.

Heaven with azure kindness
Keep warm all the time.
Let peace live in the soul,
The burden will not be heavy.

Christmas today is unusual -
Feast of the Holy Mother of God!
May your luck be personal
Joy is not bypassed.
May all prayers be answered
Let love fill your heart suddenly!
Believe in miracles, believe in higher powers!
And in the warmth of holy magical hands!

Let goodness bloom in the soul
Only happiness fills the heart
And fun will look out the window!

This holiday inspires
Only joy and peace and love.
Let the doubts go away
And luck comes again!

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I wish you from the bottom of my heart -
May dreams and wishes come true
Life will be filled with happiness to the brim.

May the Lord surround you with faith
A good angel will protect from troubles,
And you feel with every minute -
A bright spirit flies over the earth.

Wishes on the feast of the Virgin Mary are always special. They are filled with warmth, kindness, harmony, tenderness and awe. On our site only the most beautiful congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Mother of God .

Congratulations on the Nativity of the Virgin in prose

From the bottom of my heart I congratulate you on this wonderful holy holiday! I wish you peace of mind, family harmony, strong love and good intentions! May the Blessed Virgin Mary protect you and your loved ones!

On September 21, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated. I wish that on this holiday your heart is filled with joy, and your soul with peace. I wish you family well-being, happiness and success in all our affairs.

Today is a bright holiday - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I sincerely congratulate you and wish you lightness and a holiday in your soul, family happiness, love and trust, right life decisions, honesty, good nature and mercy.

I congratulate you on the great Orthodox holiday. Let the greatness and purity of this holiday give you joy and happiness, and let faith only become sincere and stronger. I wish that in life there is always a place for big and small miracles.

Merry Christmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary! I wish that prayers to God be heard, that a miracle happens every day, that the Lord extends a helping hand in a moment of hardship, and an angel stands behind your shoulder in moments of joy.

Congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary! For every orthodox Christian, this is a bright, joyful and great holiday. I wish you that on this bright holiday your heart overflows with happiness and faith.

Congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I wish you a bright and kind path through life, on which you will meet only good people I wish you pure and good thoughts of the soul, with which you will make your life happier and more joyful. May every day bring grace and peace, may the Most Holy Theotokos protect from hardship and trouble.

Holiday event and its eortological dynamics

The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos can, according to St. Andrew of Crete, be called "the beginning of the feasts", although this non-transitory feast of the Theotokos is perhaps the last of the Twelve in terms of its appearance in the Church.

From the point of view of doctrine, the birth of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of Jesus Christ, was not an accidental and ordinary event, for She was assigned an important role in the implementation of the Divine plan for the salvation of mankind. Long before this event, there are many predictions about Her birth in Old Testament prophecies and types (miraculous growth; the birth of Emmanuel (God-Man) from the Virgin; the gates through which the Lord will pass, but those gates will remain closed, etc. See: Is 7:14; Ezekiel 44:1-3 etc.).

The New Testament contains extremely scarce information about the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos. Information about the event of the holiday can be found in the apocrypha of the 2nd century - the Protoevangelium of James. It tells of the sorrow of the pious Jewish couple in Nazareth - Joachim and Anna, to whom the Lord did not give offspring. And barrenness was considered a sign of God's wrath (see, for example: Hos. 9:14; Jer. 29:32). Every Old Testament righteous man harbored in his soul the hope that if not from him, then from his offspring the Messiah would come, and that if not he himself, then his descendants would be participants in the glorious messianic kingdom. Both Joachim and Anna often had to endure insults, neglect and reproaches from their compatriots.

During one of the great Jewish holidays, when Joachim came to the Temple in Jerusalem to bring the sacrificial sacrifice to the Lord according to the law of Moses, the high priest Issachar rejected the gifts and said: “You should not accept gifts from you, because you have no children, and therefore blessings of God." Shamed and saddened, Joachim did not go home, but hid in the mountains, where shepherds guarded his flock. Anna was left alone. She walked around the garden and cried.

And then an angel of the Lord appeared in the garden: “Anna! God heard your prayer: you will conceive and give birth to the Blessed Daughter; through her your family will be glorified throughout the world. Joachim had the same vision. He hurried home, promising to sacrifice ten sheep, twelve bullocks, and one hundred goats. Anna was at the door of the house and saw Joachim walking with his flocks, and she ran and fell on his chest. After the meeting, Righteous Joachim and Anna made a vow that if the Lord grants them a child, they will consecrate him to God and, as was customary then, give him to the temple to serve until he comes of age. And indeed, in due time, on September 8, their daughter was born. They named her Mary, which in Hebrew means "lady and hope."

Starting the analysis of the establishment of the celebration in question, it is necessary to recall that the Mother of God feasts appear later than the Lord's.

The first mention of the celebration of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is found in the East in the 5th century - in the words of Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (439-446), and in the West - in the sacramentary of Pope Gelasius (492-496). But these testimonies are not entirely reliable. The authenticity of the words of Proclus is disputed, and the oldest lists of the specified breviary appear late - not earlier than the 8th century.

Not only the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, but also none of the Feasts of the Theotokos is recorded in the Syrian chronology of 412 (only the Nativity of Christ and Baptism are listed from the Lord's). Under the date of September 8, there is the following memory: "Presbyter Faustus and Ammonius and 20 other martyrs."

The feast of the Nativity of the Virgin appeared, apparently, in the Greek Church and soon after that appeared in Rome, spreading to the daughter Churches.

It is significant that the feast is celebrated by both the Jacobites and the Nestorians, who call it the Nativity of the Lady Mary. This happens, as a rule, on September 8, although in some ancient Coptic menologions it dates from April 26. Such eorthological parallelism is a sign that the holiday appeared in Eastern Church before the separation of many heretical movements from it, that is, in the 5th century.

For St. Andrew of Crete, who compiled two words and a canon for the feast (about 712), the Nativity of the Virgin is a feast of great solemnity. In the canon, he says that on this day “all creation should rejoice”, “heaven must rejoice and the earth rejoice”, “the childless and unfruitful must dare and play”.

The holiday is marked in the Jerusalem canonary of the 7th century, according to the Georgian version - with obvious differences from other days. The holiday is named in the festive gospel, which was presented to the Sinai monastery by Emperor Theodosius III (715-717).

In the Western Menologions, the holiday was first mentioned in the Roman pseudo-Jerome martyrology of the 7th century.

In the West, it must have been around the same time that a version was put forward related to the dating of the holiday in question - September 8th. One pious person for several years in a row on the night before heard the festive singing of angels from heaven. When asked about the reason, it was revealed to him that the angels are having fun, since the Virgin Mary was born that night. Upon learning of this, the pope immediately ordered that, following the example of the celestials, the birth of the Holy Virgin should also be celebrated on earth.

Despite the mention of the Nativity of the Virgin in Latin sources of the 7th century, the holiday was not widespread there and for a long time Until the XII-XIII centuries, he did not have a solemn service. It was only at the Council of Lyon in 1245 that Pope Innocent IV made the octave of the feast obligatory for the entire Western Church, and Pope Gregory XI (1370–1378) established a vigil with fasting and a special liturgy service for the feast.

Feast in Orthodox worship

The source from which one can trace the history of the liturgical form of the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is the Jerusalem canonary of the 7th century. He establishes a troparion, tone 1 “Thy Nativity, Virgin Mother of God”, a prokeimenon (tone 1) “I have sanctified my village”, the verse “God is our refuge and strength”, readings: Prem. 8:2–4; Is. 11:1; Heb. 8:7–9, 10; alleluia (voice 8 "Hear, girls"); OK. 11:27–32. The gospel begins with the words: "There was always this saying," that is, from the end of the passage, which is put at the present time. The canonar gives statutory recommendations only for the liturgy. Apparently, Vespers and Matins on this holiday did not differ significantly from everyday ones, which in turn leads to the following conclusion: the status of the great feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos has not yet been fully assimilated.

The Cannonary of Sinai is important for historical liturgy in that it contains proverbs, a troparion, an apostle, a gospel, and a sacrament, identical to modern ones, for this celebration.

Analyzing individual editions of the Studian typikon (Evergetidsky, Grottoferatsky monasteries and some others), which was used in the monasteries and, possibly, in the parish churches of Byzantium in the 9th-12th centuries and was adopted in Russia in the 10th-14th centuries, we can find the following features that distinguish them from the current statute: on “Lord, I have cried,” three modern stichera are codified into six; there is no lithium at Vespers; stichera on the verse: the first is synchronous, the second stands in place of the modern third, and the third stands in place of the fourth; "Glory and now", tone 2 is similar to the "House of Euphrates". At Matins after the Gospel, as on other holidays, a prokeimenon is laid, “In the night raise your hands.” The canons were sung like this: in the first canon, in the first, third, fourth and sixth songs, the irmos once, the verses twice; in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth songs - both irmos and verses twice, since the first songs had three verses, and the last two. In the second canon, irmos and verses are prescribed once. The current three stichera followed twice on the Praise. Matins always relied on verse stichera: on this feast, verse matins (tone 2) are similar to the “House of Euphrates”.

With a similar comparison of the synchronous position with the oldest lists of the Jerusalem Charter, to which Greek passed in the XII-XIII centuries, South Slavic in the XIV century, and Russian in the late XIV - early XV centuries Orthodox Church, one can find the following diachronic changes: on “Lord, I have cried,” the first two stichera are repeated; from the canons of the second, some manuscripts indicate to sing six and only troparia (without irmos), others, mainly Slavic, prescribe to sing his irmos and troparia once; holiday exapostilary - twice; only songs from the first canon rely on the liturgy for the Blessed.

At present, the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is still celebrated by the Church on September 8, has one day of celebration (September 7) and four days of afterfeast, as well as a celebration (September 12).

Patristic exegesis of the feast

The event of the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos forced the holy fathers to ask the question: why was the Mother of God, the Root of Life, born of a barren woman?

The answer, which is given in numerous festive homily, striking, on the one hand, with the rigor of theological thought, and on the other, inspiring with their colorful descriptions, is quite clear: “Because miracles should have prepared the way for the only news under the sun, the most important of miracles, and gradually ascend from smallest to largest. However, I also know another reason for this, much more sublime and divine, namely: nature yields to the power of grace and, seized with trembling, stops, not daring to go further. Since the Virgin Mother of God was to be born from Anna, nature did not dare to warn the seed of grace, but remained barren until grace brought forth fruit. It was necessary to be born first-born in order to give birth to the First-born of all creation, in Nemzha everything will take place ”(Reverend John of Damascus).

And, of course, the holy fathers tirelessly glorify the highest degree of the Divinity’s approach to grace-filled union with humanity in the person of the pre-chosen Virgin, born according to the promise of God: “Today, an amazing Book has been prepared on earth, not the inscription of words, but capable of bearing the Living Word itself; and the word that is not in the air, but is heavenly; not doomed to disappear, but - heeding Him stealing away from death; not from the movement of human language, but from God the Father eternally born. Today, the Animated and Not-Made-by-Hands Tabernacle of God and the Verbal and Spiritual Casket are truly visible to us “the Bread of Life sent from heaven” (see: John 6: 32-33) ... Today, the one predicted in the prophecy has grown (see: Is. 11: 2) “Rod from the Root of Jesse”, from Which “Color will come forth”; A flower that is not subject to withering, but also our nature - withered and therefore deprived of an unfading place of pleasure - again calling and raising to flowering, and granting it eternal flowering, and raising to heaven, and leading into paradise; The rod - with the help of which the Great Shepherd led the verbal flock to eternal pastures; The rod - leaning on which our nature, laying aside ancient decrepitude and infirmity, easily marches to heaven, leaving the earth below for those who bowed down, as if deprived of support ”(St. Gregory Palamas).

In the “Homily for the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos,” St. Andrew of Crete also says: “Serving as the limit of the law and prototypes, it (the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. - G.B.) together serves as a door to grace and truth. Proclaiming the glory of virginity, this day of grace offers all creation a common joy. Dare, he says, this is the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, and with it the renewal of the human race. The Virgin is born and is preparing to be the Matter of the King of all - God. The Virgin becomes the mediator between the greatness of the Divine and the insignificance of the flesh.

That is why the entire human race should glorify the Nativity of the Mother of God magnificently and with many voices, with all their souls, hearts and thoughts: medicine from the same source of disease. What a joy to see the birth of the Virgin today - a change in our unfortunate state! To see that the gates that transgression has closed open before us! That we are granted grace to achieve that blessedness, which the deceit of the devil deprived us of! What a glory it is for us to rise to the point of entering into intimacy with the Most Essential Trinity, giving the Father a Daughter, the Son the Mother, and the Holy Spirit the Bride! Truly, I dare to say, we forced God to be merciful and now we have in the person of Mary a wonderful fence to reflect far from us the arrows of threatening anger ”(St. Elijah Minyatiy).

Holiday in pre-Chalcedonian and Western traditions

The feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is not among the most majestic in the Roman Church. It is lower in rank than the celebrations in honor of some saints: the Nativity of John the Baptist, Joseph the Betrothed, the apostles Peter and Paul, all saints, a temple feast and a local saint. However, it is higher than the Transfiguration. The service of the daytime saint (martyr Adrian) is connected with his service.

At the same time, the Catholic Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, like all great holidays, has an eight-day afterfeast (octava).

It must be said that, in general, in terms of composition and composition, the worship of the Roman Catholic Church differs significantly from the Orthodox. The predominant place in it is occupied by the psalms, and then the biblical and patristic readings (it is worth mentioning that the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos does not have special hymns, extracting them from the general Mother of God service).

Both are preceded and concluded by separate verses, part of the psalms and in general from the Bible, applicable to the celebrated event. Among them there are verses not from the Bible, but compiled by various church writers. These hymnographic works accompanying both psalms and readings similar to prokimens Orthodox service and called antiphons (“near the psalms”) and responsories (“near the readings”) and constitute the main festive singing material of the service.

At each of the main services - Vespers and Matins (which is divided into a night service - nocturnum and Matins in the proper sense, called ad laudes - laudatory) - one or two hymns corresponding to the stichera are also dedicated to the holiday.

In addition, short prayers available in each service (mostly one each) speak of the celebration.

Of course, there are readings adapted for the holiday (lectiones). These are comparatively large passages laid down at matins (nine in number) and at the liturgy (from the Apostle and the Gospel), which are accompanied by verses similar to the prokimen and alliluary (graduale and sequentia), as well as fragments from the homily of the holy fathers. On the Nativity of the Mother of God, the first, second, and third readings from the first chapter of the Song of Songs are prescribed in the morning; fourth, fifth, sixth - from the word Blessed Augustine; the seventh and eighth are from the commentary of the blessed Jerome on Matt. 1:1–16, read at the liturgy; the ninth is about the martyr Adrian.

At the liturgy, where "The Nativity of Mary is boasted from the perspective of Her Motherhood and thus the Nativity of Christ", Proverbs are installed instead of the Apostle. 8:22-35 and the already mentioned gospel fragment.

In addition, there are also - one at a time - short readings (capitula) from one or two biblical verses. In the case under consideration, they are as follows: at Vespers, at the end of Matins and at the third hour - Sir. 24:10; at the sixth hour, Sir. 24:11-13 ("Before the age from the beginning He brought me forth, and I will never die", "I served before Him in the holy tabernacle and thus established myself in Zion, He gave Me also rest in the beloved city and in Jerusalem - power Mine. And I took root in a glorious people, in the inheritance of the Lord).

Iconography of the holiday

The circumstances of the Nativity of the Mother of God most significantly affected the iconography of the holiday. When compared with the images of other twelfth holidays, their more earthly, human structure attracts attention.

At the same time, imagery is not only a transfer of the theological and liturgical content of the holiday, but contains extremely subjective details, including everyday ones.

Researchers note that the artifacts of the pre-iconoclastic period (VIII century) have not been preserved, and the most ancient icons and frescoes date back to the 10th-11th centuries.

However, the stable and widespread visual themes and composition indirectly indicate that the iconography of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary has existed since early times.

Of the oldest surviving images of the Nativity of the Virgin, the most famous are the frescoes of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Church of Joachim and Anna in the Serbian Studenitsa Monastery (1304), Kiev Sophia Cathedral (first half of the 11th century), and the frescoes of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Pskov Mirozhsky Monastery (XII century).

On the iconography of the early versions righteous Anna reclining or sitting on a high bed (the accepted type of Christmas without suffering), her image is larger than others; wives with gifts are coming to her, in front of her is a midwife and maids, washing the Mother of God in the font or already offering Her mother, the Virgin Mary is often present in the cradle.

On the icons of a later time, the righteous Joachim is also depicted. The icons contain more details: a table with brought gifts and treats, a pond, birds.

Of great interest for eorthological history are the stigmas, the plot and architectonics of which are characterized by independence. The main storylines exhaust the event milestones: the righteous Joachim brings his sacrifice to the Jerusalem temple; the high priest refuses to accept a sacrifice from a childless one as having secret sins or vices; Joachim reproaches Anna (occurs infrequently); crying of Joachim in the wilderness; Anna's weeping in the garden; the prayer of Joachim and Anna; the gospel to Joachim and Anna; meeting of the spouses at the Golden Gate of the Jerusalem Temple; conversation between Joachim and Anna; the actual Nativity of the Virgin; caressing the Virgin Mary (Joachim and Anna are sitting side by side, holding the Newborn).

Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

Historical content

About the Nativity of Bo-go-ro-di-tsy and about her ro-di-te-lyah from-west-but from apo-cri-fi-che-sko-go Pro-to-e-van- helium Ia-ko-va (II century). There, s-ska-for-but that b-go-che-sti-howl se-mei-noy couple from Ieru-sa-li-ma, Io-a-ki-ma and An-na, dol -th time there were no children. They are very stra-yes-whether from this. And then one day, when they prayed differently about yes-ro-va-nii to them re-ben-ka, both of them would-lo vi-de-an- ge-la, announcing that the Lord heeded their prayers to you and they will speak of their offspring all over the world. After this bless-go-vestiya An-na for-cha-la. Su-pru-gi, is it a vow to consecrate your re-ben-ka to God and, as it were, in the custom, give it to Jeru- sa-lim-sky temple for serving and re-pi-ta-niya until the end-shen-no-le-tiya. Che-rez de-vyat me-sya-tsev An-na ro-di-la daughter, someone-rui on-z-va-li Ma-ri-she.

Nativity of the Virgin

Lord, living on heaven, he wants to appear on earth and live with people, first of all, the shaft on it is a place of se-le-niya of the glory of Yours - Pre-clean of Your Mother: for in the custom of the kings, when they want to come in any-bo-city, pre-go-tov-lyat yourself in it for pre-wa-va-niya pa-la-tu. And how pa-la-you earthly kings co-zi-da-yut-sya is-kus-nei-shi-mi ma-ste-ra-mi from dra-go-valuable-nee-shih pre- me-tov, on the highest place, more beautiful and wider than all other dwellings of human-lo-ve-che-sky, so had z-give-sya and pa-la-ta glory to the Tsar of Heaven. In the Old Testament, when God arose to live in Jeru-sa-li-me, So-lo-mon co-gave Him a temple (Ch.; Ch.) through is-kus-ney-she-go stro-and-te-la Hi-ra-ma, someone was full of hu-to-the-same, ra-zu-ma and zna- nia for everything. So-z-gave So-lo-mon a temple from dra-go-valuable-their-things, from an excellent-go-no-go-stone (), from b-go-out-of-the-n de-re-vieve: ked-ra and ki-pa-ri-sa (), in-winter-my from Li-va-na, and from pure gold-lo-ta, on air you-shen-nei-shem me-ste, on Mount Mo-ria. The temple was all the more beautiful because on its walls there would still be images of he-ru-vi-mov, various personal de-re- viev and fruits (). The space of the temple was so large that it could accommodate without cramping all the many people from Rael, and descended on him glory to the Lord in fire and about-la-ke (). However, this temple was not-to-a-hundred-to-chen for accommodating in itself Not-together-my-God. So-lo-mon created a temple for Him, but the Most High does not live in the ru-to-ren-ny temples. "Which house with-zi-wait-for me, - go-vo-rit Lord, or some place for Mo-e-go to rest?"(). And now God b-go-of-leal, so that in na-cha-le but-in-for-vet-noy bla-go-yes-ti was co-z-given not-ru-ko- your-ren-ny temple - Pre-chi-flock, Pre-bla-go-slo-ven-naya De-va Ma-ria. What kind of building-and-te-lem co-z-given was that temple? In-truth-well - pre-wise-rei-shim, sa-my Pre-wise-ro-by God-she, as go-vo-rit Pi-sa-nie: "Pre-wisdom-growth in-stro-and-la se-be house"(), and everything co-created by the Pre-wisdom of God is beautiful and perfect. And in-ate-ku Pre-wisdom of God co-z-yes-la ode-shev-len-nuyu pa-la-tu of the Word, - in this way co-z-give-sya con-ver-shen-ny temple for con-ver-shen-no-God, pre-light-laya pa-la-ta for pre-light-lo-th Tsar, pure and not-o-bad-nen-ny devil-tog for the pre-chi-hundred-th and not-square-no-go -roch-no-go Lamb. Se-mu is a faithful witness on the sky, speaking to Her: "You are all beautiful, my beloved, and there are no stains on you!"(). And the holy Da-mas-kin writes: "All is the devil of the Du-ha, all is the city of God, mo-re bless-go-da-tey, all is good, all is near Bo-gu "(Word 1 on the Nativity of the Pre-Holy Bo-go-ro-di-tsy).

From what substances did this pa-la-ta co-z-da-las? In-truth-well - from dra-go-principal-nee-shih: for it came from, as from a dra-go-price-but-th stone, from the royal genus, from Yes-vide-yes, someone embedded in the ancestor with a stone, pro-o-ra-zo-vav-shim stone - Christ, smashed Go- lia-fa(); and, as from the b-go-out-of-the-nyh de-re-vie ked-ra and ki-pa-ri-sa, De-va Bo-go-ro-di-tsa ro-di-las from ro-da ar -hi-hereic-th, with-but-sya-shche-go-go-go-out sacrifices-you to God. Her father, the holy righteous Jo-a-kim, was the son of Var-la-fi-ra, leading his pro-is-ho-de-tion from his son Da- vi-do-va Na-fa-na, and her mother, the holy great-ved-naya An-na, was-la-to-che-ryu-priest-no-ka Mat-fa-na from the ple- me-ni Aaro-no-va; in such a way, Pre-chi-flock De-va, according to the father, was the ro-da royal, and according to the ma-te-ri - ar-khi-here. Oh, from how many other-valuable-their-their-things, - I-ra-zu-me-more-honest-neck about-is-hot-de-nie, - so-da-was Tsa- ryu sla-you odu-shev-len-naya pa-la-ta! And how in the So-lo-mo-no-vom-temple-me-men-nye and de-re-vyan-nye buildings with-ob-re-ta-whether a special value from chi -a hundred gold-lo-ta, someone-eye would-whether in-zo-lo-che-us; so in the birth of the Pre-Holy God-ro-di-tsy of the b-go-kinship of the royal and ar-chi-hereian pro-is-hozh-de-niya even more deserving of the reading from the whole-wisdom of the saints Her ro-di-te-lei, someone else is better, "Isn't it from gold: it is more expensive than precious stones; and nothing from the same mess with her"(). For the Pre-holy De-va was born from whole-wise-ren-ro-di-te-lei, that you are above all goodness. About this, Saint Da-mas-kin, addressing the holy great-ved-God-from-tsam, goes-to-rit like this: "Oh blessed su- spring-gi, Jo-a-kim and An-na! In truth, according to the fruit of your womb, you appeared not-by-roch-us, according to the word of the Lord -under-nude: "By their fruits you shall know them"(). You arrange your life, how b-go-y-year-but God and how worthy this is Born from you. For, living whole-lo-wise-ren-but and right-wing-but, you are about-from-races-ti-whether with-kro-vi-sche virginity, - ra-zu-me De- vu: before the birth of De-vu, in the birth of De-vu, after the birth of De-vu, and always De-vu, the only ever present -stvo-yu-shchu and mind, and soul, and body. In-do-ba-lo, so that virginity, from whole-wisdom-born-day, would be with-not-se-but the flesh of Sam-mo-mu Edi- but-sort-no-mu Light. Oh, two-and-tsa chi-shi-shih layer-weight mountains-faces, Io-a-kim and An-na! you, co-b-love-whole-wise-ren-but-the-law of nature, divinely-but s-be-be-be-were supernatural-yes-ro-va- ny, and ro-di-li mi-ru De-va Mother of God. You, bla-go-che-sti-vo and pra-ved-but alive in human nature, pro-d-we-whether the Daughter of the highest an-ge-lov and we-do not have power over an-ge-la-mi. Oh, beautiful and sweet tea Daughter! Oh, krin, you grew up in the middle of ter-nia from the b-go-rod-of-her-she-th royal root! That-battle about-ga-ti-elk the kingdom of the priesthood ". Si-mi words-va-mi holy Da-mas-kin is clear, but in-ka-zy-va-et, from ka-ko-vyh ro-di-te-lei birth-de-na of the Mother of God, from how many other-valuable things do-e-na-pa-la-ta Tsa- rya Heaven-no-go.

In what place would it be to arrange this ode-shev-len-naya pa-la-ta? In truth - on you-with-tea-shem, for the Church gives the following testimonial about it: "truth-but you-sh-shi of all are De-vo chi-flock"; but you-she is not a place, but good-ro-de-te-la-mi and you-with-that of God-their yes-ro-va-ny. The place where the pre-bla-go-slo-ven-naya De-va was born was a small city in the land of Ga-li-lei, on-zy-va -e-my Na-for-re-that, for-vi-sev-shi from the pain-sho-go-ro-yes Ka-per-na-u-ma, and would it be pre-zi-ra-e-we, in what way and about Christ it would be said-for-but: "from Na-za-re-ta, can there be anything good?"(). But Lord "Someone, obi-taya on you-with-those, with-to-lo-nya-et-sya, in order to come to heaven and earth"(), b-go-of-lil, so that His Pre-chi-flock Mother would be born-la-de-na not in Ka-per-on-at-me, in her own mountains -dy-not up to no-ba rise-nes-shem-sya, but in humble-ren-nom On-for-re-te, "for what you-so-co with people is an abomination before God"(), and pre-zi-ra-e-mine and uni-chi-zha-e-mine with them you-so-ko and dra-go-tsen-but at Ne-go. Sa-my name Na-for-re-ta with this depicts you-so-that good-ro-de-te-lei Pre-chi-stay De-you. For as in His birth, the Lord, through Beth-le-em, which means: "the house of bread", secretly pro-about-ra-zo-val what He is bread that descended from heaven for resurrection and strengthening of people: so in the birth of Pre-chi-stand Your Ma-te-ri He, through Na-za-ret, depicts exalted objects; for on-name-no-va-nie "On-for-ret" means color-that-thing, fenced-off, crowned-chan-noe and co-vein-noe place : and all this is clear, but before-goiter-ra-zha-et Pre-holy De-vu. She is a color that chilled from the non-fertile and caught the morning-to-su-ho-go de-re-va, the color is not-u-vya-yes-e-my, pre- but-blooming-tu-schy virginity, the color of b-go-u-ha-yu-schi, ro-dya-schi b-go-u-ha-nie Edi-no-th Tsar, - color, bringing fruit - Christ-hundred God of the Lord, yes, the only apple-lo-ko is good. She sanctifies the b-go-da-tyu on-she-she-go on Her and the autumn-niv-she-go of Her Holy Spirit and is the saint of all saints like ro-div-shay "all holy saints-tey-neck word". She is excluded from the number of sinful earthly relatives, as pure and not-for-rock, and not only Sama is alien to sin, but also a sin -no-kov from-in-dit from without-for-to-ni, as the Church calls to her: "ra-duy-sya, nasty iz-ma-yu-shchaya deeds". She is crowned with glory and honor: crowned with glory, for she grew out of the royal root; uven-cha-on che-stu, in a way that came from the tribe-me-ni ar-khi-erey-th. Uven-cha-on glory, in a way that came from whole-wise-wise ro-di-te-lei; uven-cha-on che-stu, in a way that, in che-che-on-bla-go-ve-shche-ni-em and serve ar-khan-ge-la. Uven-cha-on glory, like the Mother of God; for what can be more glorious than that, how to give birth to God? Uven-cha-na-che-stu, like Pris-no-de-va; for what can be more than even, how to be and after the birth of de-howling? Uven-cha-on glory, "glory-ney-shay se-ra-fim", like se-ra-fim-ski voz-lyu-biv-shay God. Uven-cha-on-che-stu, "honest-ney-shay he-ru-vim", as pre-ascended-shay he-ru-vi-mov is wise-ro-stu and in the knowledge of the Godhead: "glory and honor and peace to all-to-mu, de la-yu-sche-mu good-swarm"(), go-vo-rit Apo-table. But is there any of the earthly relatives more kind-ro-de-tel-ny than the Pre-chi-pack of De-va? She saved everything for-the-god-of-the-God-under-no, used-half-nya-la all the will of the Lord-for-yes, all the institu- tions of His co- blu-la, all the words of His co-wing in His heart, eyes-for-la neighbors all de la mi-lo-ser-diya. In this way, it’s worthy, but She is crowned-cha-on, as your-rya-shchaya all-good. She is also some kind of storage; for so-storage-nya-la so-kro-vi-sche of your-e-go de-vi-che-so-go whole-wisdom-ry so carefully that yes an-ge -lu didn’t want to entrust it, because, having seen the dev an-ge-la, She was embarrassed by his words and thought-my-la-la, so that she would know -chi-lo this greeting (). All this Na-za-ret pro-ob-ra-zo-shaft in the Pre-chi-stand De-ve in their own name-but-va-ni-em. And who will not tell how you-so-co-rose that pa-la-ta Christ-sto-va according to the good-ro-de-te-lyam and yes-ro-va-ni-yam of God -them? She is you-so-ka, for yes-ro-va-na from the sky, although she was born on earth from earthly relatives; - from no-ba, for, as some of the god-enlightened men say, ar-khan-gel Gav-ri-il, bless- go-ve-steve-shiy For-ha-rii about the birth-de-nii of Io-an-no-vom, bless-go-ve-steel Io-a-ki-mu and An-not about for-cha-tii Pre-holy Bo-go-ro-di-tsy and brought from heaven to Her the most-bla-go-word-ven-name, go-in-rya not-fruitful ma-te- ri: "An-na, An-na! You give birth to the Daughter of the most-bla-go-word-ven-naya, and on-re-four-sya is Her name: Ma-ria." So She, without co-m-non-nia, can be called-on-the city of the holy, Jeru-sa-li-mom new, descending from heaven from Bo -ga (), ski-ni-her God-she-she. You are from this God's tabernacle, for, having given birth to the Tsar Christ, she rose-you-si-pa-che se-ra-fi-mov. Oh, you-so-ta, not-u-to-bo-vos-ho-di-may for che-lo-ve-che-th-thoughts!

And ka-ko-va kra-so-ta of that cape-len-noy Christ-hundred-howl pa-la-you, - listen to that same sweet-to-gla-go-li- in-th Io-an-na Da-mas-ki-na, the following things about Her are the following: "She is with-not-se-on God, Tsa- ryu everyone, dress-yan-naya bla-go-le-pi-em dob-ro-de-te-lei, as if with golden ri-zoyu, decorated with bla-go-da-tew Spirit of the Holy One, and Her glory is within Her: for as for every woman, her glory is a husband who comes from the outside, so glory Bo-go-ro-di-tsy inside Her, i.e. the fruit of Her womb ". And Da-mas-kin go-vo-rit, turning to Her: "Oh, De-vo Bo-go-bla-go-dat-naya, holy Church of God , someone-ruyu spirit-hov-but co-z-gave this co-creative world So-lo-mon (Pre-wise Creator of the world) and all-poured into No, not golden, not without souls, we are embellished with stones, but, instead of golden, si-i-et Spirit, together - one hundred expensive stones has a lot of valuable bi-ser - Christ-hundred. more beautiful than the former in the temple of So-lo-mo-no-vom, in some-rum, would you have depicted-ra-same-us in-do-biya he-ru-vi -mov, de-re-viev and flowers. -vim-sky; for with her he-ru-vim-sky zhi-ti-em She not only compared with he-ru-vi-ma-mi, but also surpassed them. -whether the Church used to call other saints he-ru-vi-ma-mi, vo-pe-vaya: "What are you-re-what saints; he-ru-vi-we, as if Christ had Christ on you", then the pa-che De-va Bo-go-ro-di-tsa is he-ru-vim, for in Her Christ rested His body with His, and on pure ru- kah Her God has risen, as on a pre-hundred-le: De-va has become a pre-hundred he-ru-vim-skim. She has in Se-be-do-biya and de-re-vie b-go-plo-do-vi-ty, spirit-hov-but co-de-lavish mas-li-noy flat do-with-toy in the house of God and color-tu-schi fi-no-com (), why are we-not and have-well-there-sa-house of life -nos-nym, ko-g-yes the Church rises-ne-va-et: "from not-fruit-on-go-to-re-not the garden of life-in-no-sen from-ras-ty to us, Your mother, who is God of miracles ". All this is about the beauty of Her spirituality. But She wouldn’t be li-she-na and beautiful-te-forest-noy, as many church-teachings testify that in all under the sun-nech-noy was not and will not be such a beautiful de-you, ka-ko-wa would-la De-va Bo-go-ro-di-tsa, having seen Someone-ruyu, the holy Dee-o-no-siy Are-o-pa-git would like to speak God, if he didn’t know God, from Her birth-day but th. For God-divine grace-give, to which She would-la use-half-not-on the inside, pro-si-I-va-la and on Her pre-light-scrap -tse. So-fore-fore-that-shaft se-be pa-la-tu on earth the King of Heaven, - pa-la-that beautiful soul and body, "pri-go-tov-len-ny as not-ve-hundred, decorated for her husband's own"(), - moreover, pa-la-tu pro-strange: "the womb of Her pro-strange-her non-devil co-de-la", and together in Her "not-together-my-Christ-God".

Pa-la-you royal usual-but-veins-but are building about-shirk-us-mi, so that they could accommodate not only the king, but also many -stvo of the next hundred servants and people coming to him from all over. The vast village of the Word, the Pre-chi-flock of the De-va, the pro-country, but not only for God the Word, as Tsar, but also for us, at- those-th-th-th-those servants of God-them in Her all-la-you-shche-mu-sya: God holds in the morning-be, but we are in His blessing go-at-tro-bee. Chosen co-judgment of God, holy Apo-table Pa-vel, move-my-my-love-view, spoke to his beloved-len-cha - ladies: "heart-tse na-she ras-shi-re-no. You are not cramped in us"(). But one of the saints can have such a strange good-go-at-tro-be-be as Ma-ri-i-no about God good-go-at-tro-be ? Here, together, and whole-wise-wise, and sin-no-mu here is not crowded. Ka-yu-shchi-sya has her own place in Her, and for from-cha-yav-shih-sya and not-ka-yu-shchi-sya She is an un-excused adjective -no-sche, in-better-but-mu-mu, as No-ev kov-cheg served with a hundred of not only clean, but also unclean animals. In b-go-at-tro-biya Her without tight-but-you-together all mourning, offended-di-mye, al-chu-shchy, strange , obu-re-va-e-my, sick: for it cannot but be sweet-hearted-that morning-ba, someone-paradise ro-di-la bless us God. Pa-la-you of the kings of the earth are guarding a lot in-weapons-of-the-wife guards, someone-paradise is not everyone, well-la-yu- whoever enters them, let in, but hold on, pay attention, but follow, from where and why. And ode-shev-len-naya pa-la-ta Christ-sto-va, ho-cha and surround-same-on he-ru-vi-ma-mi and se-ra-fi-ma-mi and demon- numbers-len-us-mi-li-ka-mi an-ge-lov and all the saints, but, nevertheless, in two-ri Her b-go-at-throb-no-go mi-lo -ser-diya, no one hinders to enter, if anyone would like this: neither st-ra-zh does not from-tal-ki-va-yut, nor in -and-we don’t-go-nya-yut and don’t-follow-du-yut, for-what who goes, but everyone enters them demon-obstructed-five-stven-but with mo-le -we don’t eat and accept a gift for the good-of-required pro-she-nii.

So, let's run to the mi-lo-ser-diya Born-den-noy from the non-fruitful morning with such a greeting:

Ra-duy-sya, all-not-roch-naya pa-la-ta Tsar of all! Ra-duy-sya, se-le-tion of God and the Word, Ko-e-mu with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and You-be, Do-che-ri of the Father, Ma-te-ri Son-na, Ne-ve-ste of the Holy Spirit, may honor and glory be from us mortals forever. Amen.

Liturgical (liturgical) features

An all-night vigil is performed the night before. See in

The source from which one can trace the history of the liturgical form of the feast of the Most Holy Theotokos is the Jerusalem Canon of the 7th century. He establishes a troparion, tone 1 - Thy Nativity, Virgin Mother of God:, prokeimenon (tone 1) He sanctified His village:; verse God is our refuge and strength:, reading: ; ; 10; alleluia (tone 8 - Hear the daughter; the Gospel begins with the words: But when this was spoken:, that is, from the end of the passage that is currently laid down. In the Canon, statutory recommendations are given only for the Liturgy. Apparently, Vespers and Matins on this the holiday did not have serious differences from everyday ones, which in turn leads to the following conclusion: the status of the great holiday of the Nativity of the Virgin has not yet been fully assimilated.

The Cannonary of Sinai is important for historical liturgy in that it contains proverbs, a troparion, an apostle, a gospel, and a sacrament, identical to modern ones, for the said celebration.

Analyzing individual editions of the Studian Typicon (Evergetid, Grottoferatsky monasteries and some others), which was used in the monasteries and, possibly, in the parish churches of Byzantium in the 9th-12th centuries and was perceived by Rus' X-XIV centuries, one can find the following features that distinguish them from the current Charter: in the Lord, I cried: three modern stichera were codified into six; there is no lithium at Vespers; stichera on the verse: the first - the synchronous second - stands in the place of the modern third, and the third - in place of the fourth; Glory now:, voice 2 is similar to the House of Euphrates: In the morning after the Gospel, as on other holidays, a prokeimenon is laid In the night, raise your hands: The canons were sung like this: in the first canon in the first, third, fourth and sixth songs of the irmosa once, poems - twice; in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth songs - both irmos and verses twice each. In the second canon, irmos and verses are prescribed once. The present three stichera followed twice on the praises. The verse stichera were always relied on at matins: on this feast the verse matins (tone 2) are similar to the House of Euphrates28.

With a similar comparison of the synchronous position with the oldest lists of the Jerusalem Charter, on which in the XII-XIII centuries. passed the Greek, in the XIVth - the South Slavic, at the end of the XIV - the beginning of the XV centuries - the Russian Orthodox Church, you can find the following diachronic changes: in the Lord, I cry: the first two stichera are repeated; from the canons of the second, some manuscripts indicate singing for six, and only troparia (without irmos); others - mainly Slavic - prescribe to sing his irmos and troparia once; holiday exapostilary - twice; in the Liturgy for the Blessed, only songs from the first canon rely.

Photo of the day

Today we celebrate (Mother of God Virgin Mary). On September 21, She was born who gave the world our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ. The one that became the bridge between Heaven and earth, between the Lord and man. On this day Orthodox world congratulate each other on this wonderful holiday and wish peace, kindness, joy, love and happiness. And we have prepared for you sincere and beautiful congratulations in verse.
On the Feast of the Birth of the Most Holy Theotokos, we congratulate all Christians today! May Ever-Virgin Mary help in all endeavors, and may hearts be filled with pure faith.

Congratulations on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On the great feast of the Mother of God of birth
Compiled this charming congratulations!
A wonderful, heavenly sign -
Blooming suddenly, inadvertently, a flower!
The light will come, the goodness of the Lady herself,
Clouds are scattered in the sky...
And every believer will suddenly rise in his soul,
And the burden will become like a fluff, light!
Rejoice: joy has descended,
And there is no more evil in the world!

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,

Nativity of the Virgin - with us,
This is such a wonderful holiday!
We congratulate you in simple words,
We wish you well with all our heart,

And we wish you good luck
So that success never goes away!
We congratulate you today with verses,
And in honor of the holiday, we will sit down at the table!

May the Mother of God by her holy power
Will fill souls and fill every home
Boundless happiness, pure light and peace,
Kindness, love, faith in God and warmth.
Happy Mother of God Day, I congratulate you,
Let only kind words sound
Let the joy in life not leave you -
With all my heart I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,
The holiday is bright, great and joyful,
In honor of the most worthy birthday girl,
The bell ringing is heard, blessed!

I congratulate you on this holiday,
May Faith live in your soul,
I wish you great happiness
May happiness always await you!

Congratulations on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary,
Christians celebrate the holiday all over the world,
The temple is open and waiting for the arrival, go with the whole family,
And say a prayer for health out loud.
Mother of God Mary, mother of Jesus,
I pray for you and for your family on this day,
Congratulations to all friends and enemies of the innocent,
So that we always communicate without reproaches and resentment.

I congratulate you today
And I wish - let in life from now on
Happiness with joy is always found.

Let in your soul tender, vulnerable
Faith in a miracle lives to the end,
If you believe, with divine help
Miracles always happen!

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin -
The holiday is bright, great and joyful.
In honor of the most worthy birthday girl
The bell ringing is heard, blessed!

I congratulate you on this holiday.
Let faith live in your soul.
I wish you great happiness.
May you always be lucky in everything!

Merry Christmas of the Blessed Virgin,
Congratulations, today, accept!
Let the soul not languish from sadness,
And blooms from mutual love!
May our Heavenly Intercessor,
Inspire you to win
And then it will surely come true
Your life is a happy dream!

Merry Christmas my dear
My dear friend!
On this holiday, be happy
And let there be friends.

Christmas means everything will work out!
The Mother of God will give help,
You pray - and the desire will come true,
Only the Lord will not betray you!

Beautiful congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Merry Christmas
I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.
May all hopes, plans come true,
Live a century without sorrow, need.
On the day of world happiness and joy,
Pray to the Most Holy Heavens.
Rejoice and create without fatigue
The bright world of beauty and kindness.

Merry Christmas
I congratulate you today.
May there be health and strength
May the family be happy.
Let the Queen of Heaven keep
From troubles and despondency, from quarrels.
Let it be filled with light
Beautiful, worthy of your home.

On a fine September day
We celebrate the birth of Mary,
The one in early January
Giving Jesus to the world!
Everyone calls her pure,
And that's why I wish
To your family now
Good came in. like paradise
From now on, your life will be
The soul will be cleansed and the body!
I want my heart to go up
And happiness knew no bounds!

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Hundreds of candles burn in temples,
And go to kneel
There are millions of people before the saint.

Mother of God Virgin Mary,
From trouble hide, protect,
You who gave birth to God the Son,
Forgive us, your sinful children.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Let him revive faith in souls,
Holy Mother of God

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All sorrows and sorrows will go away.
May your soul be filled with happiness
And prayers will reach heaven.
May our heavenly intercessor,
It will help you in your endeavors.
Life will become like a fairy tale,
It's like heaven has arrived on earth.

On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,
I want to ask for love
To make it come true that the soul really wants,
And my heart was beating in my chest.
May the Lord save from despondency
And saves you from anger
Turn to heaven in prayer
And the Lord will not pass by words.

Merry Christmas
I congratulate you today
May Mary keep you from sorrows,
May the family be happy.
I wish you peace and joy
Mercy, warmth in the heart,
The Mother of God surrounds with joy
And will give you a lot of good.

Merry Christmas
Glorious Mother of God!
Let in the world day after day
All dreams will come true!
Let everything be just like that
What do you want in life?
Taking the first step, fortunately,
Expect more!

Merry Christmas
I heartily congratulate you.
Let the soul be filled with joy
In this joyful, festive hour.

I wish warm, sincere prayers
For family, for myself and friends.
Grace from heaven, like a spark,
Illuminate so that life becomes fuller.

Mother of God Virgin Mary,
Cover us from trouble, protect us.
You, who gave birth to a son for God,
Forgive us, your sinful children.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Let him revive faith in souls,
Holy Mother of God
May he bless us for good.

Merry Christmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Let the soul be filled with bright faith.
You - love, kindness and patience,
To remove all doubts.

So that beautiful happiness shines on you,
It would not be a bad time.
And healthy so that all loved ones are
The sun would warm!

Under the whisper of golden foliage
And the blessing of the melodious ringing,
I hasten to congratulate you from the bottom of my heart,
Celebrate that wonderful moment
When she appeared to the world
And a miraculous bright face,
What gives us warmth and strength!
Let the Lady go your way
The most faithful will indicate in life,
Where sadness will disappear forever
There will be no grief, evil and filth!
Live with faith in good
Under the care of the Mother of God,
For the sun of joy to rise
Filling the house with warmth and laughter!

SMS congratulations on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Merry Christmas
Congratulations to the Orthodox people!
I wish you patience and joy,
So that everything turns out nicely in life!

The Nativity of the Virgin is here again!
I want happiness to await you.
So that faith lives in your heart,
And the hope in the soul could not die!

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary -
This holiday is filled with love!
I congratulate you on him and wish
So that the Angel clings to the headboard!

Under the whisper of golden foliage
And the blessing of the melodious ringing
I hasten to congratulate from the bottom of my heart
Merry Christmas to you Blessed Virgin!

The Nativity of the Mother of God entered your house,
I wish that the holiday is immensely lucky,
So that you can do good things,
To make life interesting and bright!

On this day, the Mother of God was born!
May he be happy, bright and clean,
Gives joy! Dreams will all come true
And life will be filled with love!
On the day of the Nativity of the Virgin
Let a miracle happen.
May your heart be filled with happiness
There will be paradise in your soul.
Let neither illness nor sorrow
You will never be found.
There will be good news
Only years bring joy.

Merry Christmas to the Mother of God!
May wonderful wishes
Bring to your happy home
Understanding and recognition.
I congratulate you sincerely,
And I wish you earthly blessings,
Happiness eternal and magical,
Lots of joy every moment!

Queen of heaven and earth
They named Mary the Virgin.
For many, you are salvation
And give healing.

Great holiday in the yard
Let's wake up together at dawn.
The house is full of holy prayer,
Let us rejoice together in it.

What fell like a lot -
Unbreakable plan always!
On land, in water and in the sky -
The will of the Lord is firm!
God's mercy appeared
The one that is pure,
Mother of God appeared
For the birth of Christ!

Merry Christmas
Glorious Mother of God!
Let in the world day after day
All dreams will come true!

Let everything be just like that
What do you want in life?
Taking the first step, fortunately,
Expect more!

On the Birthday of the Most Holy Theotokos, one must observe spiritual purity, do virtue, help in word and deed. You can not eat meat, other non-lean foods, as well as alcoholic beverages. Any physical work, quarrels, abuse and condemnation are forbidden. Love each other, respect each other and congratulate your family and friends on the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos!
Peace and goodness to all!