17th-18th. St. Demetrius of Rostov, bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, who lived in the centuries BC, explained that “at the beginning of the New Testament grace, a temple not made with hands was created” – thanks to the Virgin Mary herself. The Savior was born. He explained the reasons for his birth as follows:
“The Lord, living in heaven, desiring to appear on earth and dwell with people, first prepared a place there for the abode of His glory – His Most Pure Mother: for this is the custom of kings when they want to come. to any city, to prepare for themselves to stay there.”
Parents of the Virgin Mary
Since the New Testament does not say anything about the origin of the Mother of God, information is taken from the apocryphs and works of church thinkers. The earliest information about his birth is found in the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of James, dated to the 2nd century. He says he was born to a religious couple from Jerusalem, Joachim and Anna. The parents of the Mother of God are called godparents.
According to legend, despite their righteous life, they remained childless until old age. Being rich, Joachim and Anna kept a third of their income for themselves and donated the rest to the temple and charities. At the same time, they prayed earnestly.
One day Joachim brought a sacrifice to the Jerusalem Temple, but the high priest did not accept it. “You cannot first bring a gift because you have not created the descendants of Israel,” he said.
Joachim studied the genealogy of the twelve tribes of Israel and became convinced that he was the only one who had left no descendants. Then, feeling very sad, he went to the desert, pitched a tent there and stayed alone for 40 days, fasting and praying.
Meanwhile, his wife Anna was mourning her childlessness. One day he went to the garden, saw a laurel tree, sat under it and prayed, asking God for a child. “And then the Angel of the Lord appeared before her and said: “The Lord has answered your prayer, you will conceive and give birth, and your seed will be spoken of in all the earth,” says the Proto-Gospel of Jacob. The angel also visited Joachim and told him that he would have a child. The couple later met at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem.
Anna became pregnant and nine months later the couple had a daughter. Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Conception of the Mother of God on December 22.
Demetrius of Rostov described the parents of the Mother of God as follows: “Her father, holy righteous Joachim, was the son of Barlathir, a descendant of the son of David Nathan, and her Mother, holy righteous Anna, was the daughter of God. Priest Matthan from the tribe of Aaron; Thus, the Blessed Virgin was from a royal family on her father’s side, and from a bishop’s family on her mother’s side. Oh, of what precious substance, of the most honorable origin I speak, this moving chamber was created for the King of Glory!”
When did they start celebrating the Nativity of the Virgin Mary?
Like other holidays associated with the life of the Mother of God, her Nativity began to be celebrated only in the early Middle Ages – in the face of the increasing importance of the person of the mother of Jesus Christ after the Council of Ephesus. 431. It is assumed that the holiday was officially included in the church calendar at the end of the 6th – the beginning of the 7th century, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Mauritius.
Mentions of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin are also found in the sayings of St. Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople and Sacramentary in the 5th century. (ritual book) by Pope Gelasius. However, it has been proven that this information was added to the original works later.
The canon law for celebrating the Nativity of the Virgin Mary has developed over several centuries. Probably the author of the first holiday kontakion (church hymn) 5.-6. Roman the Sweet Singer was a Byzantine hymn writer who lived in the centuries.
Its text has not survived to the present day. Now in churches on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the evening of September 20, canons of St. Andrew of Crete (VII century), St. John of Damascus (VIII century), Patriarch Herman of Constantinople (VIII century), Bishop Anatoly of Thessalonica (IX century) and also Stephen and Sergius of Svyatogradtsev (IX century). On the feast day before the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the canon of Joseph the Songwriter, who lived in the 9th century, is performed. After the holiday comes the four-day holiday.
Signs for the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
In Slavic folk tradition, the Nativity of the Virgin is a harvest festival. This is the time when all field work is completed – harvesting flax, harvesting, grain extraction. The popular name for the holiday associated with the autumnal equinox is Autumn; This is a time when it is customary to thank the Mother of God for a rich harvest.
This is primarily a women’s holiday – in some regions women went to the banks of reservoirs with bread and jelly, sang songs, tore bread into pieces and treated it like an animal.
Another tradition of the Nativity of the Virgin is to visit the newlyweds. All relatives and friends gathered to see how the newlyweds live. Young housewives welcomed guests and had to praise them and give valuable advice on arranging their lives.
As for superstitions, at the time of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary physical labor or doing household chores such as sewing, cleaning, laundry, etc. was considered a bad omen. It was not good to fight and get angry on a bright day. It is good to give alms and help the needy.
We also noticed the weather. If the weather had been clear on the day of the Nativity of Our Lady, it would have been thought that the sunny autumn would last until October. On the contrary, fog or rain often heralded autumn rains. If it is cloudy and rainy all day, you should expect a cold winter.
Pilgrimage to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
It is not known exactly where the Virgin Mary was born, but there are assumptions. According to one version (more common), he was born in Jerusalem near the Lion’s Gate, according to another – in Sepphoris near Nazareth. The views of Catholics and Orthodox Christians about the place of birth do not coincide, so St. Mother Orthodox monastery and St. The Catholic Basilica of St. Anne is separated by about 70 m. Joachim and Anna could live in both. Pilgrims often go there to honor the Virgin Mary and her family.
A special place for believers is New Athos in Abkhazia. Here, on the 344 m high Iverskaya Mountain, the castle ruins and the Chapel of Our Lady have been preserved. According to legend, an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Anakopia emerged from this mountain.
In Russia, you can go to the Solotchinsky Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary monastery, an Orthodox monastery founded in 1390 in the Ryazan region.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is widely celebrated in the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. Here it is a patronal feast in which a procession of the cross takes place after the liturgy.