Mother of God life story. Theotokos, Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ: Life. History of the Virgin Mary

From the Gospel we know little about Mary, the Mother of God: in addition to the story of the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus Christ and His childhood, She appears on the pages of Scripture only in a few episodes. But church tradition has brought to us testimonies about the Mother of God of the first Christians, which were passed on from mouth to mouth. Here are some of them.

Annunciation - Nativity - Presentation of Christ - XII century - monastery - St. Catherine - Sinai

Do you know how old Joseph, Mary's husband, was?

Modern Western cinema likes to present Joseph the Betrothed as a man aged 30-40. Orthodox tradition says something else: “From the descendants of David, which was highly revered among the Jews, twelve wifeless elders were chosen; and their rods were laid in the sanctuary. Among them was Joseph. And his rod froze overnight; and even on it, according to the testimony of Blessed Jerome (340-419), a dove was visible flying from above. Hence the knowledge that the Most Pure Virgin was being given to Joseph for safekeeping. Elder Joseph at that time was, others think, about eighty years old” (Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov)).

She had nothing stern in her eyes, nothing careless in her words.

Do you know what the Blessed Virgin was doing at the time of the Annunciation?

“The angel found the Most Pure Virgin not outside her home and her upper room, not on the city streets among the people and worldly conversations, not fussing around at home in the cares of life, but practicing in silence, prayer and reading books, as the icon image of the Annunciation clearly shows, representing the Virgin Mary with a book placed before Her and open, as proof of Her constant exercise in reading divine books and thinking about God. At the very time when the heavenly messenger appeared to the Virgin, She, as the godly fathers of the Church believe, had in her mind the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, the Virgin will conceive in her womb” ( Is. 7:14), and wondered how and when that strange and unusual conception and birth for a girl’s nature would take place” (St. Demetrius of Rostov).

An angel came to preach the gospel to Mary. Do you know what and who an angel is?

“An angel is an entity endowed with intelligence, constantly moving, free, incorporeal, serving God, and by grace receiving immortality for its nature: only the Creator knows the form and definition of this entity. She is called incorporeal and immaterial in comparison with us. For everything in comparison with God, the only incomparable one, turns out to be both gross and material, because only the Divinity in the strict sense is immaterial and incorporeal” (Rev. John of Damascus).

Do you know why the Virgin Mary is called “The Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious Without Comparison Seraphim”?

“Because She received in Her womb the God-man, the Son and Word of God, Who took from Her human nature and united it with His Divine nature in His hypostasis” (Elder Ephraim of Philotheus).

Temple icon of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. 17th century

Do you know why the Mother of God is depicted on the icon of the Annunciation with a lily flower?

The lily flower symbolizes purity. For her incomparable purity and chastity, She was chosen by God and awarded a great miracle - she remained a virgin at the conception of the Savior and after His birth.

Do you know what the Blessed Virgin Mary looked like?
A description of the external appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos was given by the church historian Nicephorus Callistus:
“The Blessed Virgin was of average or slightly above average height, golden hair, quick, olive-colored eyes, arched and blackish eyebrows, an oblong nose, flowering lips, a face not round and not sharp, but somewhat oblong, long arms and fingers. She had nothing stern in her gaze, nothing imprudent in her words, testifies Saint Ambrose. In conversations with others, She remained calm, did not laugh, was not indignant or angry. Her movements are modest, her step is quiet, her voice is even, so that her appearance personifies the purity of Her soul.”

Is there somewhere an icon of the Mother of God painted from Her during her earthly life?
The Most Holy Theotokos, just like the Savior, revealed her miraculous image in the city of Lydda during her lifetime.
The apostles Peter and John preached in Samaria, where the converts built a temple in the city of Lydda to the glory of the Blessed Virgin. Upon returning to Jerusalem, the apostles begged her to consecrate this temple with her visit and blessing. She agreed to this and, sending them back, said: “Go and rejoice: I will be there with you!” When the apostles arrived in Lydda and entered the temple, they saw an image of the Mother of God painted by an unknown person on one of the inner pillars. Moreover, her face and details of clothing were made with amazing art and precision. Later the Blessed Virgin also arrived there. Seeing Her image and the multitude of those praying in front of it, She rejoiced and bestowed miraculous power on the icon.

Do you know that the Mother of God came to the tomb of Her Son?
The Jews, who hated Christians, did not want the Mother of God to come to the tomb of the Savior, who knelt there, cried and burned incense. The high priests posted guards and ordered them to strictly monitor that none of the Christians dared to come to this place. If the Mother of Jesus violated the ban, She was ordered to be killed immediately. The guards vigilantly lay in wait for the Blessed Virgin, but the power of God hid Her from the soldiers on duty at Calvary. They never saw the Mother of God, although She continued to come there. In the end, the guards, under oath, reported that no one was coming to the coffin and the guards were removed.

At the moment of the Annunciation, Mary read and reflected on the words of the prophet Isaiah

Do you know how many years the Blessed Virgin Mary lived on earth?
Church authorities - St. Andrew of Crete, St. Simeon Metaphrastus, St. Demetrius of Rostov, Rev. Porfiry Uspensky, as well as prominent church historians Epiphanius and George Kedrin - claim that the Most Pure Virgin lived “to extreme old age.” According to calculations based on the participation in the burial of the Mother of God Dionysius the Areopagite (57), at the time of the Dormition the Mother of God was 72 years old.

Do you know why the parents of the Blessed Virgin endured reproach for many years?
The parents of the Virgin Mary were reviled for a long time because of their infertility. It was believed that this testified to God's punishment for sins. This circumstance caused not only grief to parents who could not have children, but also a lot of inconvenience on the part of the people: Joachim was prevented from making sacrifices in the temple, believing that he was displeasing to God because he did not create offspring for the Israeli people. Anna was also humiliated by those around her for her infertility. Since it was known that the Savior would be born from the seed of David, each family hoped that this would happen precisely through its descendants. Therefore, not having the ability to procreate meant losing this chance.

Do you know what craft the Mother of God owned?
According to Tradition, during her life at the temple, the Virgin Mary worked on yarn and sewed priestly vestments. When She was given to Joseph the Betrothed for safekeeping, the need arose to make a new curtain for the Jerusalem Temple. Part of the work on this order from the high priest was carried out by the Virgin Mary. After the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel, the Blessed Virgin went to her relative Elizabeth ( OK. 1:39-56). According to legend, on the way She went to Jerusalem to give away part of the curtain, which by that time she had already made.

At the time of the Dormition of the Mother of God she was 72 years old

Did you know that Joseph, by law, had to judge Mary because she did not become pregnant by him?

The angel, in fact, announced to Mary a pregnancy for which there was no legal basis. And according to the law, they were supposed to be stoned for this, because there were no such precedents for a virgin to conceive without a husband, and, accordingly, according to logic, such a pregnancy could only arise from adultery. In any case, Maria faced shame for the rest of her life. But She simply trusted God: “Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word"(OK. 1:38). But Mary did not yet know how Joseph would react to such an event: he was engaged to a girl, and suddenly - pregnancy! At first, the elder just wanted to quietly break off the engagement, without asking his bride anything and without trying to punish Maria in any way: “Joseph, Her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go.” (Matt. 1:19). But, however, the birth of a child out of wedlock would have placed Her outside of society, and Her further fate would have been terrible. And again it took the appearance of an angel, but this time to Joseph, so that he would accept Her with the Baby in her womb and call Mary his wife: "But when he thought this,–Behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to receive Mary your wife, for what is born in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 1:20). It’s not often that we have to talk about Joseph’s courage and endurance. However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in the eyes of the entire Israeli society, Joseph was the husband of Mary and was considered the father of Jesus, and only Joseph and Mary themselves knew what sacrifice the named father of Christ had to make.

ANNA

IN 80 BC was born Joachim, Maria's father.

Anna born in 74 BC in a large family, becoming the fourteenth child. Anna's mother was then 45 years old. Anna's parents were middle-income people at that time. They lived in the city of Nazareth, were engaged in cattle breeding and had a small herd. In addition, Anna's father kept a small inn. There were three rooms in the courtyard where visiting merchants stayed.

Nazareth was located very well, just on the way from Egypt to India, and caravans constantly visited this town.
Very often Simeon, a famous fortuneteller, stayed at their house. This is the same 113-year-old elder Simeon who waited for the newborn Jesus to appear in the temple. It was he who said then: “Praise the Lord that I waited for this!” At that time, Simeon was still young. He practiced medicine, treated with herbs and could predict the future. He did this with the help of thirteen stones and a lamb shoulder. Simeon threw them up, and then carefully studied what kind of layout was obtained from the stones that fell to the ground. At that moment, the unknown future of man was revealed to him. Previously, people treated fortune tellers with great respect and faith. Simeon's prophecies always came true, and people often turned to him for help.

Little Anna was then 12 years old. Anna amazed everyone with her hard work and did her best to help her mother with the housework. At such a young age, she already knew how to work like an adult: milking a cow and running a household. At the same time, she was distinguished by her enormous love of life, irrepressible gaiety and, most importantly, a childish sense of pity for all living things. She felt sorry for everyone - the old people, the weak and sick wanderers and neighbors, animals, she could not calmly look at anyone’s suffering. Anna had a big and kind heart. Anna simply fell in love with the fortuneteller Simeon. He was so unusual and mysterious. He was doing something incomprehensible and mysterious - a real magician...
The room in which Simeon stayed was divided into two parts by a curtain. Anna, a terribly curious girl, hid in the second half of the room and from there carefully watched Simeon from the side, fascinated by his actions. She really wanted to understand what their mysterious guest was doing, and she wanted to learn it herself. Simeon also paid attention to the curious child. He liked Anna for her spontaneity, kindness and obvious, undisguised thirst for new knowledge. He slowly began to teach the girl the art of healing and revealed to her some of the secrets of medicine.
Simeon was not mistaken - Anna turned out to be a capable student and grasped everything right on the fly. Soon she herself could speak out a toothache, remove a purulent abscess from a patient’s body, or soothe a pain in the stomach.
Previously, home healing was practiced everywhere. Each family had a person who could provide assistance to sick household members or pets. Magic, healing and predictions of the future did not surprise or frighten anyone; they treated this calmly, with faith and understanding. No one divided medicine into official and folk.

One day Anna begged Simeon to tell him what would happen to her when she grew up, what future awaited her. Simeon, agreeing, spread out the stones and silently looked at the resulting layout for a long time. He sighed, looked at Anna and did not say anything.
The intrigued girl began to persistently tease him, persuading him to tell her the truth. Simeon refused for a long time, but then finally, succumbing to her persuasion, he said: “You will live a difficult and short life. And you will die when you give birth to a child, at the age of 54. You will have a girl, whom you will have to name Maria. This will be an extraordinary girl. Time will pass and she will have a son named Jesus. This man will be the Messiah, he will bring people a new faith that will save the world.”
After this prediction, Simeon began to look at the little girl with completely different eyes. From ancient prophecies, Simeon knew that someday a man would be born on the land of Judea, who in the future would turn the whole world upside down, cleanse it of filth and vice, and give people a new life. And now - wow - this prophecy comes true right before his eyes!
Simeon now prayed for only one thing - if only he could live to see this bright day and see the Savior of the world with his own eyes, if only he had enough strength to wait for this miracle!
After all, it turned out according to the prophecy that the Mother of God Mary would be born when Simeon would be almost a hundred years old! If only I could live to see this day!

At the age of 13, Anna was married to 19-year-old Joachim. In those days, children grew up very quickly; at the age of 13, a girl was considered already of age and ready for marriage. They lived in the Holy Land, were well-born and rich, but they had no children. In the society around them, the absence of children in the family was tantamount to a curse, disfavour from Above, and therefore the priest stopped allowing Joachim into the temple. He left home into the desert and decided never to return. Anna was left alone in the house, grieving over her misfortune. On her wedding anniversary with Joachim, she wept bitterly in the garden: “Woe to me, to whom I have become like; I have not become like the birds of the air, because the birds of the air are fruitful before you, Lord! Woe to me, I have not become like the beasts of the earth, because they too have children! Even the waves will give birth to waves that play and splash, praising God. And I cannot compare with the earth, because the earth bears its fruits...” Anna’s cry was heard, the heavenly messenger - an Angel - assured Anna that she would soon have a girl, who would be called Mary.

Icon "Meeting of Joachim and Anna"
Images of Joachim and Anna are not uncommon in icon painting; they were always represented in the same way: Joachim - as an old man with a long beard, Anna - in a long himation with a covered head. Sometimes they were among the selected saints of the icon. There was also a special composition “Meeting of Joachim and Anna.” Joachim and Anna hugged each other when they met after the gospel and Joachim's return from the desert to his home.

Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Years passed. Anna had long forgotten about Simeon’s prophecy. Business, housekeeping, everyday life - life went on as usual. Joachim and Anna were considered a prosperous, middle-income married couple in Nazareth. They kept livestock - goats, cows, horses, bulls. And a large flock of sheep. In addition, Joachim owned a small creamery, which produced sour cream, cottage cheese, and butter. Despite his advanced age of 60, Joachim still worked hard, trying to keep up with the housework everywhere.
Suddenly the unexpected happened - his wife Anna became pregnant again. At 54 years old! Just some kind of miracle! And only now Anna remembered about Simeon! She told all her loved ones - her husband, relatives - about the prophecy made to her in childhood: that she would become pregnant at 54 years old and die in childbirth, and the resulting child should be named Mary, and this girl would then become the mother of Jesus - the Messiah, who would suffer a lot and will bring new faith to this world.

Anna's loved ones were simply confused. What kind of prophecy, where does it come from, what kind of Messiah, will Anna really die, how can this be, and who will then raise the child?
Joachim was already 60 years old, and he was unlikely to be able to raise the girl alone.
In those days, having many children was common. And none of the relatives could take little Maria into their home. And then Anna remembered her distant relative Elizabeth. Elizabeth's mother was a second cousin of Anna's mother. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had no children of their own, so they agreed to take Mary in with them.

Early in the morning, at 6:15 a.m., July 21, 20 BC. e. In the house of Joachim, a girl was born who was named Maria. Anna, unable to endure a difficult birth, died, as predicted by Simeon.

Saints Joachim and Anna
The icon painter was usually commissioned to depict the parents of the Mother of God by families who had no children or were expecting their first child.

The child was very sick, and it was not certain that the girl would survive without mother's milk. Therefore, Joachim entered his daughter into the family genealogical lists only when the danger of early death had passed, i.e. exactly two months later - September 21.
This date began to be considered Mary’s birthday. Nowadays, on this day, September 21, one of the twelve great church holidays is celebrated - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
All babies born three days before July 21 and September 21 are often gifted children, and all of them are under the protection of the Virgin Mary.
July 21 is a special day. Nature itself rejoices and celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary - the air is filled with the heady smells of summer and sun, an extraordinary lightness settles in the soul of all people, in the morning everyone wakes up in a good mood, anticipating that something extraordinary is about to happen today.

Dormition of Righteous Anna

July 25/August 7 - Dormition of Righteous Anna, mother of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Dormition is right. Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

According to legend, Saint Anna acquired two estates in Jerusalem: the first at the Gethsemane Gate, and the second in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In the second estate, she built a crypt for deceased family members, where she was buried along with Joachim. The most pure body of the Mother of God was buried in this family cemetery. A temple was erected at the burial site. There is a legend that St. Equal to the Apostles Helena built a basilica here. In 614, the temple was destroyed, but the tomb of the Mother of God was preserved. Much of the modern building dates back to Crusader times. This is an underground temple, with 50 steps leading to it, with chapels of Sts. Godfathers Joachim and Anna and Joseph the Betrothed, located on the sides of the stairs.

Funeral crypt of Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Tombs of St. Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

In con. X century On Mount Athos, the monastery of St. Anna was built - the most ancient of all Athonite monasteries. Devastated for many years by sea robbers, it was in the 17th century. was restored by the Patriarch of Constantinople Dionysius, who acquired the foot of the holy righteous Anna from the Christians of Asia Minor. In 1680, a cathedral church was erected there in memory of the Dormition of St. Anna. From that time on, the monastery began to bear the name “St. Anna”. It is famous on Mount Athos for the high ascetic deeds of its monks.
Not far from the skete of St. Anna there is the so-called New Skete of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary or “Little Anna”. The proximity of these blessed places emphasizes the connection between the sacred events of the conception and birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Under the holy blessed king Justinian (527-565), a temple was built in her honor in Deutera, and Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) renovated her temple, because righteous Anna appeared to his pregnant wife ; at the same time, her body and maforium (veil) were transferred to Constantinople. The Dormition of St. Righteous Anna is celebrated on August 7 (July 25).

Currently, particles of the relics of St. Anne are located:
- in Athonite monasteries (left foot in the Great Skete of Righteous Anna, right foot in the Kutlumush monastery, left hand in the Stavronikita monastery);
- in various monasteries and churches in Greece (including the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist on Patmos, the Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos in Thessaloniki);
- to the church of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi, Moscow;
- October 26, 2008, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was brought from Athos to the temple complex of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Dnepropetrovsk, where she was placed in an ark in the lower aisle of the cathedral church in the name of Joachim and Anna;
- July 10, 2011, a particle of the relics of St. Anna was transferred to the Valaam Monastery.

Troparion of Righteous Anna

Voice 4
You, the Pure Mother of God, God-wise Anno, bore the life that you gave birth to in your womb. Moreover, you have now reposed in heavenly acceptance, where those who rejoice are the dwelling place, rejoicing in glory, honoring you with the love of sins, asking for cleansing, ever-blessed.

Kontakion of Righteous Anna

Voice 2
We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ, who faithfully ask for help, to free everyone from all sorrow, calling: Our God is with us, glorify these, as you have been pleased.

Glorification of the Dormition of Righteous Anna:

We magnify you, holy and righteous Anno the Pramate of Christ our God, and we all honorably glorify your dormition.

The miraculous icon and part of the relics of St. Righteous Anna in the monastery of St. Anna on Mount Athos.

On June 17, 2006, Valaam met the icon of the holy righteous Anna, the foremother of Christ, who has great grace from the Lord to heal from the disease of infertility. This is a list from the miraculous icon, which is located in the Skete of St. Anna on Mount Athos. There are now three such lists in the monastery, all are exact copies of the miraculous image of St. Anna, and were written directly to the monastery of St. Righteous Anna. Countless letters of gratitude have come and are coming to Mount Athos from parents who have gained the opportunity to have children thanks to the intercession of the holy righteous Anna.

Prayers for marital infertility

For help with marital infertility, turn with prayers to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the prophet Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Monk Roman, the martyr Paraskeva, named Friday.

Meeting of St. Righteous Joachim and Anna. Fragment of an icon from the 17th century.

Prayer to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna:
About the ever-glorifying righteous women of Christ, the holy godfathers Joachim and Anno, standing before the heavenly throne of the Great King and having great boldness towards Him, as from your most blessed Daughter, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who deigned to be incarnate!
To you, as a powerful intercessor and zealous prayer books for us, we, sinners and unworthy (names), resort to you. Pray for His goodness, that He may turn away His anger from us, righteously moved against us by our deeds, and may, despising our countless sins, turn us to the path of repentance, and may He establish us on the path of His commandments. Also, with your prayers, preserve our life in the world, and in all good things ask for good haste, all that we need from God for life and piety, freeing us from all misfortunes and troubles and sudden death through your intercession, and protecting us from all enemies, visible and invisible, for let us live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity, and so in the world this temporary life has passed, we will achieve eternal peace, where, through your holy prayer, may we be made worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him, together with the Father and the Most Holy Spirit, belongs all glory , honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.

Personal petition of Righteous Anna for the gift of a child(from the Chetyi-Menya of St. Demetrius of Rostov):
Woe is me, Lord! Who will I be like? Neither to the birds of the air, nor to the beasts of the earth: for they too bring You, O Lord God, their fruit, but I alone am barren. Woe is me, Lord! I am alone, sinful, without offspring. You, who once gave Sarah the son Isaac in her old age. You, Who opened the womb of Anna, the mother of Your prophet Samuel, look now upon me and hear my prayers. Stop the sadness of my heart and open my womb, and make me, barren, fruitful, so that we bring what I have born to You as a gift, blessing, singing and glorifying Your mercy.

Kissing Zechariah and Elizabeth. End of XV - began. XVI century

ANNA

IN 80 BC was born Joachim, Maria's father.

Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Early in the morning, at 6:15 a.m., July 21, 20 BC. e. In the house of Joachim, a girl was born who was named Maria. Anna, unable to endure a difficult birth, died, as predicted by Simeon.

Saints Joachim and Anna
The icon painter was usually commissioned to depict the parents of the Mother of God by families who had no children or were expecting their first child.

Dormition of Righteous Anna

July 25/August 7 - Dormition of Righteous Anna, mother of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Dormition is right. Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Funeral crypt of Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Tombs of St. Joachim and Anna in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Troparion of Righteous Anna

Kontakion of Righteous Anna

Voice 2
We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ, who faithfully ask for help, to free everyone from all sorrow, calling: Our God is with us, glorify these, as you have been pleased.

Glorification of the Dormition of Righteous Anna:

We magnify you, holy and righteous Anno the Pramate of Christ our God, and we all honorably glorify your dormition.

The miraculous icon and part of the relics of St. Righteous Anna in the monastery of St. Anna on Mount Athos.

Prayers for marital infertility

For help with marital infertility, turn with prayers to the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the prophet Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Monk Roman, the martyr Paraskeva, named Friday.

Meeting of St. Righteous Joachim and Anna. Fragment of an icon from the 17th century.

Kissing Zechariah and Elizabeth. End of XV - began. XVI century

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There are many holy images in Orthodoxy. But most often it is customary to pray to the Virgin Mary. It is Her image that is considered to be the feminine principle. This is the face of the mother of Christ, the giver of life. It includes the divine miracle of emerging life and ordinary earthly life. Her life was not easy. She had to endure quite a lot of sorrow and go through a thorny path.

The parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary were deeply religious people. They always strictly adhered to God's commandments and lived righteously. The family lived in prosperity and understanding. There was only one sorrow in their life. There was no way they could have children. For a long time, the married couple offered prayers to the Almighty so that he would send them the long-awaited happiness - a child. Those around them laughed at them and at their grief.

Having been married for 50 years, the couple no longer believed that they would have children. One day, while walking in the garden, Anna had a vision of an angel who told her that she would soon experience maternal happiness, and her child would certainly become famous later. The woman came home to tell her husband about what she saw. It turned out that Joachim also received the same news. Not long after that meeting, Anna found out that she was pregnant. Then the couple decided that the child would be sent to a temple school to serve God. The baby was born on time. She was named Maria.

When the Blessed Virgin Mary was born, the neighbors again began to gossip and pour negativity on the couple, only now about the miracle that had occurred, that a child had appeared in the family. The happy couple did not pay attention to the talk of their neighbors and raised their long-awaited daughter in happiness and love. When the baby was three years old, she was sent to be raised in the Jerusalem temple. The first miracle was that Mary, at such a young age, independently climbed 15 steps to the gates of the temple. An adult could not always pass them, but a child did it with ease.

A few more years passed and my parents died. The baby continued to live and study in the temple. At the temple, girls were taught:

Orthodox faith;
taught to cook and clean;
basic child care rules;
cutting and sewing.

Most of all the girl liked to sew. Until the age of 11-13, the girl lived in an Orthodox school at the temple.

She was supposed to be an enviable bride. But the girl was not interested in such a life and she took a vow of celibacy. Since adult ladies were not allowed to live at the temple, she had to leave her place of study, but in those days she also could not live alone. The school teachers found a way out of the situation; they married her to Elder Joseph. In turn, the man was not very happy about his new wife, as he was afraid of the gossip of others, but he did not refuse and took Maria into his house as his wife.

Immaculate Conception

One day Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, went to work at a construction site to work. During this period of time, an angel appeared to her with the news that she would soon give birth to a son. According to the angel, the boy must become the savior of all people. The woman was a little embarrassed by this news, because she was a virgin.

The angel answered her that the child would not be from an earthly man, but from the Supreme Spirit. It was this day of the appearance of the angel that today became the Feast of the Annunciation. A little time passed before Maria realized that she was pregnant. She did not know what role her child should play in the lives of others. This is how a real miracle happened in Orthodoxy - the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary.

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Returning home, the old man saw changes in his wife. She told him about her vision and what happened. Joseph did not immediately believe what had happened. He thought that the girl had been deceived by the neighboring youths. He asked his wife to flee the city so that she would not succumb to the lynching of people. At that time, treason was very severely punished. They could throw stones at us. But then an angel appeared to him, after which he believed Mary and left him.

The birth of a son - the Savior

Before the woman gave birth, a population census was announced in the city. To do this, everyone had to appear in person in Bethlehem. The married couple hit the road. The city was crowded with people and there was no place to spend the night. Not far from the city there was a cave where cattle were hidden during the rain. Semya stopped there for the night.

As soon as the sun set, the woman gave birth. That same night the bright star of Bethlehem shone above. Her light told the whole world about the appearance of a miracle and a savior. At that moment, the Magi saw the light and began to look for the birthplace of the baby in order to offer gifts.

On the seventh day after birth, the boy was circumcised. At the same time, the introduction of the Virgin Mary into the temple took place. The son was brought to the temple in order to make a donation to the Almighty.

Many Orthodox believers are interested in the question: at what age did the Virgin Mary give birth to Jesus? There is no exact answer here. Since the opinion of historians is divided. Some write that she was 24 years old, others 14 years old. Orthodox clergy are more inclined to the second option.

Despite such a young age, the girl had to go through a lot of difficulties. After all, while she was with her son in Bethlehem, King Herod learned that a miracle had happened and the Son of God was born. Since they could not tell him into which family Jesus was born, he ordered the destruction of all newborns. Then an angel appeared to the old man and warned him that trouble was coming. Maria hid in Egypt and only after everything had calmed down and the danger had passed, the woman and her baby returned to their hometown.

Very little is known about the further fate of the saint. What is known is that she was everywhere with her child. She supported him in everything and helped him carry God’s Word.

On the day when God's son was brought to crucifixion. The virgin felt all the pain that her own son endured, every blow and every nail driven into his body. And despite the fact that she knew about his purpose on this earth, her mother’s heart could hardly stand what she saw.

Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary shows how faithful she was to the Lord and her faith. The saint spent her entire subsequent life after the death of her son on Mount Athos. She continued to preach the Word of God. Today, many different temples have been built on that site; they contain many different images of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Before her death, the saint spent all her time in prayer. She asked her son to take her home. Then the angel appeared to her again and informed her that her prayer had been heard and that her wish would soon come true. She said goodbye to her closest people and lay on her deathbed. Quite a few people gathered around her and witnessed another miracle. That day was cloudless and clear. Mary's son Jesus descended from heaven to pick up his beloved mother. Her body was also ascended to the Heavenly Realm. Since then, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Assumption was born. Which is celebrated every year on August 28th.

How does the Blessed Virgin Mary help?

In Orthodoxy, the face of the Mother of God is considered special. Prayer requests are offered to her in different life situations. Most often, people turn to the intercessor by praying:

about healing from physical and mental illnesses;
about a successful marriage and a strong family;
to avoid conflicts;
about the health of children and relatives.

In addition, the saint is asked for the prudence of children and good study. She is the intercessor of the family, in particular women and children. You can offer prayers to the Virgin Mary both in your own words and with special prayers from the prayer book. The main thing is that the appeal is sincere.

O most pure Mother of God, All-Tsarina! Hear our much-painful sigh before Your miraculous icon, brought from the Athos inheritance to Russia, look upon Your children, those suffering from incurable ailments, who fall to Your holy image with faith! Just as a winged bird covers its chicks, so You, now and ever-living being, have covered us with Your multi-healing omophorion. There, where hope disappears, awaken with undoubted Hope. There, where fierce sorrows prevail, Appear with Patience and Weakness. There, where the darkness of despair has settled in the souls, let the ineffable light of the Divine shine! Comfort the faint-hearted, strengthen the weak, grant softening and enlightenment to hardened hearts. Heal Your sick people, O all-merciful Queen! Bless the minds and hands of those who heal us; may they serve as an instrument of the Almighty Physician Christ our Savior. As if You are alive and present with us, we pray before Your icon, O Lady! Extend Your hand, full of healing and healing, Joy to those who mourn, Consolation to those in sorrow, so that with miraculous help we soon receive, we glorify the Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

May the Lord protect you!

To understand the Christian tradition and the Divine image of the Mother of God itself, it is useful for every Christian to know the following truths: The Most Holy Virgin Mary is in the literal sense the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore the Mother of God; She remains the Ever-Virgin before the birth of Jesus Christ, at Christmas and after Christmas; The Mother of God follows the Savior as the highest power of all heavenly powers - the holy apostles and holy fathers of the church. The books of the Old and New Testaments, and the very earthly life of the Mother of God, lead to such a generalization.

More than two thousand years separate us from the day when the Blessed Virgin was born into the light of God. Today it is difficult to even believe that She had an earthly life filled with human worries, joys and sufferings. We are accustomed to perceiving Her as the Queen of Heaven, but She had her own earthly character traits - a tendency towards peace and thoughtfulness, as evidenced by Her contemporaries. The divine touching smile of the Virgin Mary was forever captured by icon painters; it is not even a smile, but an image of kindness itself.

Mary’s mother’s name was Anna, her father’s name was Joachim, both family branches had venerable ancestors behind them, among whom were patriarchs, high priests and Jewish rulers from the branches of the wise Solomon and the mighty David. Joachim and Anna were not considered wealthy and noble, although they lived comfortably, raising large flocks of sheep. They were oppressed by only one sadness: there were no children. The coming of the Messiah was already predetermined, and childless people were obviously deprived of the hope of having the Messiah as their descendant, which every family secretly dreamed of. Among the Israelis at that time, even the clergy perceived a childless person as being punished from above. This is confirmed by a fact from the life of Joachim. On the feast of the renewal of the Temple of Jerusalem, he, along with other residents, brought rich gifts for the Temple, but the priest refused to accept them - Joachim’s childlessness was the reason for this. He bore his grief heavily, for some time he even retired to the desert, where, crying bitterly, he repeatedly turned to God: “My tears will be my food, and the desert will be my home until the great and wise Lord hears my prayer.” And then Joachim heard the words of the Angel of the Lord: “I was sent to tell you that your prayer has been heard.”

Your wife Anna will give birth to you a wonderful daughter, and you will name her Mary. Here is a confirmation of my words: when entering Jerusalem, behind the Golden Gates you will meet your wife Anna, and she will also delight you with joyful news. But remember that your daughter is the fruit of a divine gift."

The Angel of the Lord also appeared to Anna and also told her that she would give birth to a blessed daughter. The small southern town of Nazareth, where Joachim and Anna lived, was located three days' journey from Jerusalem. From the very beginning of their life together, they walked from Nazareth to express their great request to God in the famous Temple in Jerusalem: to have a child. And now the dream came true, their joy knew no bounds.

On December 9 (Hereinafter in the biography the dates are given according to the old style.) the Orthodox Church celebrates the conception of the Blessed Virgin, and on September 8 - Her birth. At the age of three, Mary was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem. This was a very important moment; it is no coincidence that the Orthodox Church celebrates such an event. It took place in a very solemn atmosphere: the procession was opened by girls the same age as the Blessed Virgin, with lit candles in their hands, and behind them walked Joachim and Anna together with their blessed daughter, holding hands. They were followed by numerous relatives, among whom were very noble persons. Everyone's faces were lit up with joy. The virgins walked singing spiritual songs, their voices merging with the singing of the Angels.

The Blessed Virgin was destined to spend many years in the Temple of Jerusalem. That temple was the prototype of a monastic monastery. Within the walls of the Temple there were 90 separate spacious rooms-cells. A third of them were allocated to virgins who dedicated their lives to God, the remaining rooms were occupied by widows who gave dinner to remain celibate. The elders took care of the younger ones, taught them to read sacred books and handicrafts. The Blessed Virgin Mary immediately surprised everyone by the fact that she easily comprehended the most difficult passages of the sacred books, better than all the adults who had studied these books all their lives.

After the birth of the desired child, the parents die very soon, first Joachim at the age of 80, then Anna. There was no one even to visit the little child staying in the Temple. Orphanhood and the consciousness of her loneliness turned Mary’s heart even more strongly to God, in Him was contained her entire destiny.

When Mary was fourteen years old, the high priests announced to her that the time had come to get married. Mary replied that she wanted to devote her life to God and wanted to preserve her virginity. What should I do?

An angel of the Lord appeared to the high priest Zechariah and told him the advice of the Most High: “Gather the unmarried men of the tribe of Judah, from the line of David, let them bring their staffs. And to whomever the Lord shows a sign, hand over the Virgin to him, so that he may become the guardian of Her virginity.”

That's exactly what happened. The high priest Zechariah gathered unmarried men near the temple and turned to God with a prayer: “Lord God, show me a husband worthy of becoming the betrothed of the Virgin.” The staffs of the invited men were left in the sanctuary. When they came for them, they immediately saw how one staff blossomed, and a dove was sitting on the branches that appeared. The owner of the staff turned out to be 80-year-old widower Joseph, who was engaged in carpentry. The dove flew off the staff and began to circle above Joseph’s head. And then Zechariah said: “You will receive the Virgin and keep Her.” At first, Joseph objected, fearing that with adult sons older than Mary, he would become the laughing stock of people. Tradition says that Mary herself was very upset that She had to leave the Temple of God. But by the will of the Almighty, the betrothal took place, only Joseph became not the husband of Mary, in our usual understanding, but the guardian of holiness and a caring servant of the Virgin Mary.

Not much is said about Joseph in Scripture, but still, bit by bit, a fairly clear image can be formed. The elder was a descendant of kings David and Solomon, a man of firm and truthful character, modest, attentive, and hardworking. From his first marriage to Solomiya, he had two daughters and four sons. Before his engagement to Mary, he lived for many years in honest widowhood.

Joseph brought the God-given girl to his home in Nazareth, and they plunged into ordinary everyday affairs. Only Mary had a premonition of a great accomplishment, something indescribable, extraordinary. All people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, as the only deliverer from numerous vices that entangled people like a web.

Luxurious Rome, which conquered many countries, indulged in pleasures, wallowed in debauchery, perversion, fanaticism, forgetting about all virtues. A catastrophe of the spirit always leads to a catastrophe of the body. Only the Almighty could be a healer of the spirit. And the Virgin Mary, as if instinctively, without realizing it, was preparing for the fulfillment of the greatest Divine plan. Her soul comprehended the birth of the Savior. She did not yet know in what way God would send His Son to Earth, but Her soul itself was already preparing for this meeting. Thus, the Most Holy Virgin of things, in Her essence, alone could unite the age-old foundations of the Old Testament with the new Christian laws of life.

To preach the gospel of His Divine plan, the Lord chose the Archangel Gabriel, one of the very first angels. The icon of the Annunciation (celebration of March 25) reveals to us this great act of the Lord. It depicts the quiet descent from heaven to Earth of an angel in the guise of a magnificent young man. He hands the Virgin Mary a heavenly flower - a lily and pronounces priceless words; "Rejoice, Full of Grace: the Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women!" The meaning of these heavenly words is that the Most Holy Virgin conceives a Son, whose kingdom will have no end. Before, She read the sacred books, in particular, the prophet Isaiah, that a certain Virgin would give birth to the Son of Man from God. She was ready to become a servant of That woman, and did not think about her own divine destiny.

Modern man can create doubt in his mind. The Immaculate Conception has raised questions throughout the ages. But the most amazing thing is that hearing the Good News first of all doubted Mary herself. “How will this happen to me when I don’t know my husband?” - were her first words.

A fact may indeed seem dubious if one comprehends it with a cold mind. But it must be accepted not with the mind, but with the soul. The Immaculate Conception or ever-virginity of the Most Holy Theotokos is a union of the heavenly and earthly, the spiritual and the material. That was the moment of the rebirth of a worldly person into Holiness, which people have been worshiping for two millennia.

Moscow Metropolitan Saint Philaret (1782-1867) speaks insightfully and sublimely about this phenomenon: “The virgin is ready to become a mother, She bows before the Divine destiny, but does not want and cannot experience earthly marriage, this common path to birth on Earth.. ". This heart trembles with Divine love alone. Everything - all thoughts, feelings, aspirations - are given to the invisible, unapproachable God. He alone could be Her desired, Her incorruptible bridegroom. And at that moment, as they told Her about the Son, Her purest soul ", frightened by the mere possibility of the thought of earthly marriage, she rushed with strength there, into the heights, to the only desired and awaited God. And then the mysterious, wonderful, immaculate conception took place..."

Thus the words of the Archangel Gabriel were confirmed: “The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore, the One who is born is holy, and will be called the Son of God.”

Materialists cannot comprehend this miracle. Some accept only physics, others take a bolder step - into metaphysics. But how natural and natural it is to recognize the Divine principle! Although the concept of “beginning” is applicable to a specific phenomenon, and God is Eternity, which cannot have a beginning and an end. God is the force that establishes harmony in the Universe.

The Annunciation icon helps mortal man to accept this spiritual essence and connects us with the Divine world. In Nazareth, where the Archangel Gabriel preached the gospel to the Virgin Mary, a temple was erected in the 4th century in memory of the Annunciation. Unquenchable lamps burn in the altar, casting light on the words that contain the essence of the greatest sacrament: “Yic Verbum caro fuit” (“Here is the word flesh”). Above the throne is an image of the Annunciation and next to it are vases with white lilies. The flower that was in the hands of the Archangel Gabriel symbolizes purity.

One must imagine the state of the Virgin Mary, who must explain to her husband the reason for the already visible fruiting. The sublime and the sinful stood on the same scales in her imagination. A grave drama was brewing in the soul of earthly man. And what was the state of Joseph, who was in awe of Mary, but saw changes in Her figure and suffered from questions that tormented him?! Of course, the Virgin Mary could tell Joseph everything as it happened... But would he believe that the Divine fruit was hidden in Her womb? And how can we speak of ourselves as holiness? The Virgin Mary preferred silent suffering to all such supposed explanations, questions and answers. After all, She was aware of the fact of the ascension of mortal man to an unattainable height.

Righteous Joseph, not knowing the secret of the Lord’s incarnation, showed extraordinary kindness. After much torment, various assumptions and hesitations, he decides to secretly present the Virgin Mary with a letter of divorce without indicating the reason for the divorce. Saint John Chrysostom explains this act this way: “Joseph showed amazing wisdom in this case: he did not accuse or reproach the Virgin, but thought only to let Her go.” He really wanted to preserve the honor of the Virgin and save Her from persecution by the law, thereby satisfying the demands of his conscience. And just as he decided to carry out his plan with the letter, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. All contradictions and omissions were instantly resolved by the Lord's revelation.

The Nativity of Christ and His entire subsequent earthly life are most fully and variedly represented in spiritual literature, in icon painting. Over the course of two millennia, a number of books have been written about it that cannot be counted in the usual circulations. There was no other similar life on Earth that would attract human souls with such unshakable force. Over the course of a gigantic period of time (in the usual human understanding), the burning of lamps and candles did not stop in honor of Jesus Christ on Earth. If black forces blew up the temple of God, then a candle burned in some hut. If it went out in one part of the world, it invariably shone with flame in front of a pure image in another. At all times, the great spiritual feat of Christ, which all people in the world must know about, remained the highest ideal of service to God the Father and service of God the Son to humanity. The life of Jesus Christ was a living example of fulfilling the two first biblical commandments: to love God and to love your neighbor.

Failure to observe these commandments by humanity leads to destruction. Life has convinced us of this more than once. Evil seems to migrate across the planet in time. History records: the obscurantism of pagans of various stripes, the ferocity of the Herodian dynasty, the cruelty of Nero, the fanaticism of the Jesuits, the harmful consequences of the doctrines of philosophers like Nietzsche, the deception of false prophets and the disastrous temptations of the new “kings” and so-called democracy. Where the commandments of the Lord are not kept, evil invades, lies flourish there, and faith in God becomes false; where the commandments of Christ the Savior are not observed, there is constant bloodshed, and love for one’s neighbor is manifested only in words; where the commandments of the Almighty are not observed, there the government is luxurious, and the people are poor. Such a society is doomed to destruction.

If we imagine that Jesus Christ had not come to earth, then there would have been no force at all to counteract evil, and humanity would have ended its existence long ago. The Savior appeared on earth during the reign of King Herod. It is clear what people associate with this name. At all times and to this day, the most vile rulers are called Herods. Whoever opposes them follows the commandments of Christ.

At all stages of the spiritual feat of Jesus Christ himself in the name of saving people, His Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos, stood next to Him. She bore her cross with the greatest earthly dignity. On a cold night, having given birth to a son, She could not shelter Him in Her house ("She gave birth to Her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn) Luke 2:7." King Herod, who unrighteously commanded the people, was very afraid of the coming of the Messiah; he in every possible way prevented the fulfillment of God’s intentions. Having learned about the birth of Christ, he committed a terrible, barbaric act - he ordered to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and its environs, hoping that among those killed would be the newborn King of the Jews - the Savior. 14,000 innocent children - boys - fell as sacrifices for Christ by the will of King Herod. What fear did the Mother of God feel for the life of her Son?!

She experienced every second of Jesus' life, from birth to crucifixion and ascension. And one must imagine Her grief, how it shook the soul when the ignorant crowd mocked the Holiness, when the blood froze on the forehead of Her Son from the crown of thorns and when the Most Pure Body of Jesus had to be removed from the cross...

After the Ascension of Christ, the earthly path of the Mother of God was still quite long and fruitful.

She was destined, together with the apostles, to carry the teachings of Christ throughout the world. Rejoicing at the successes of the Son’s disciples, the Mother of God herself almost never spoke before the people. However, there is one wonderful exception in the legends... More on it later. The Mother of God sought the essence of Christian teaching not in words, but in life itself. By the way, this is the most effective method of teaching children by parents: you can say little and do a lot, then children will definitely understand how to do and what to do. The Virgin Mary diligently served the poor, gave to the poor, cared for the sick, and helped orphans and widows. She devoted a lot of time to prayers at the tomb of her Son. The Virgin Mary buried Joseph the betrothed when Jesus was in adolescence. Joseph also modestly and nobly fulfilled his life’s feat. The life of each of us should be a feat; the essence of life lies in fulfilling with dignity the destiny given by God to each person. How to do it? Follow your conscience. Conscience should be the guide of life - sent by God, guarded by man. With her existence, material and spiritual efforts, the Mother of God taught people how to live, awakening in man Conscience - the voice of God. The Mother of God - the Mother of God, standing in front of the icon - Her image, a person opens his soul, trusts secrets, sends repentance for sins, hoping for Her mercy and mediation before God. And the Mother of God connects a particle of this Divine principle in man with the Almighty.

The laconic Virgin Mary once nevertheless had to speak to people with a most wonderful sermon, the legend of which has survived to this day. The Mother of God intended to visit Cyprus.

The ship crossed the Mediterranean Sea, and the desired island was about to appear. But suddenly a storm hit the ship, and it became uncontrollable, it was carried to the other side of the world, as if by the will of the heavenly Helmsman. The ship fell into the Aegean Sea, rushed between numerous islands and stopped by the will of the Almighty at the foot of Mount Athos. That area was literally teeming with idolatry temples with a huge temple of Apollo in the center, where various fortune-telling and pagan sorcery were performed.

But then the Mother of God descended from the ship to earth, and people began to flock to Her from everywhere with questions: who is Christ and what did He bring to Earth? And then She was forced to tell people for a long time about the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, about the suffering that befell Him for the sins of people, about execution, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

She revealed to people the essence of the teachings of Jesus Christ - about repentance, forgiveness, love for God and neighbor - as great values that affirm goodness, justice and prosperity in the world.

After such a heartfelt sermon of the Mother of God, an extraordinary action took place. Everyone who heard Her wished to be baptized. Leaving Athos, the Mother of God blessed the newly converted Christians and uttered a prophecy: “Let this place be my lot, given to me by My Son and My God. May My grace rest upon those who live here with faith and piety and keep the commandments of My Son and My God. They will have "In abundance and with little difficulty, everything necessary for earthly life, and the mercy of My Son will not fail for them. Until the end of the age, I will be the Intercessor of this place and the intercessor for it before My God."

The further history of Athos to this day confirms that Divine protection has been felt and materialized over that place in all centuries.

The blessings of the Mother of God similar to those of Athos are so endless that a whole chronicle can be compiled from them. Many icons of the Mother of God are dedicated to this. There is a story about them ahead. Towards the end of her earthly life, the Mother of God strove with all Her being towards Heaven. And one day, during prayer, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her again with a joyful and radiant face, just as decades ago, when he brought the Good News from the Almighty. This time the news was that the Mother of God had only three days left to remain on Earth. With the same great joy, She accepted this message, for there could be no greater happiness for Her than to eternally contemplate the image of Her Divine Son. Archangel Gabriel handed Her a heavenly date branch that emitted extraordinary light day and night. The Mother of God was the first to tell the Apostle John about the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel, who almost never separated from the Mother of God.

Having notified everyone at home about her upcoming departure from the sinful Earth, the Mother of God ordered to prepare Her chambers accordingly: decorate the walls and bed, burn incense, light candles. She exhorted her loved ones not to cry, but rather to rejoice in the fact that, talking with Her Son, She would direct His goodness to everyone living on Earth, and would visit and protect those in need.

Apostles and disciples from all over the world, alerted by the Holy Spirit, gathered in a miraculous manner to see off the Mother of God on her final journey. There were about seventy of them - the most devoted preachers of the teachings of Christ. On the blessed 15th day of August and the third hour from noon, everyone gathered in the temple, decorated especially for the sacred unprecedented action. Many candles were burning, the Mother of God was reclining on a splendidly decorated bed and praying selflessly in anticipation of her outcome and the coming of Her Son and Lord. According to legend, one can imagine an extraordinary picture.

At the appointed time, the entire temple was bathed in a never-before-seen heavenly solemn light. It was as if the walls parted and the King of Glory Christ Himself ascended above the heads of people, surrounded by a host of angels, archangels and other disembodied forces, with the righteous souls of the forefathers and prophets.

Rising from her bed, the Mother of God bowed to Her Son and the Lord with the words: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God My Savior, for He has looked upon the humility of His servant!.. My heart is ready; be unto Me according to Thy word...”

Looking at the radiant face of the Lord, Her dearest Son, without the slightest bodily suffering, as if sweetly falling asleep, the Mother of God transferred Her most radiant and pure soul into His hands.

Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Philaret, in his letters on the veneration of the Most Holy Theotokos (M. 1844), explains to his compatriots this solemn moment of transition from earthly life to the life of the eternal Virgin Mary: “And 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."

The body of the Virgin Mary was buried on earth. Saints Peter and Paul, with the Lord's brother Saint James and the other apostles, lifted the bed onto their shoulders and carried it from Zion through Jerusalem to the village of Gethsemane. Saint John the Theologian carried before the bed a paradise date branch presented to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel. The branch shone with heavenly light. Above the entire crowded procession and the most pure body of the Mother of God, a certain cloudy circle suddenly appeared - something like a crown. And the joyful singing of the heavenly forces spilled into space. Radiance and Divine chants accompanied the procession until the burial.

Tradition testifies to how the unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, amazed by the extraordinary grandeur of the funeral procession and embittered by the honors given to the Mother of Jesus Christ, reported what they saw to the Pharisees. Their order followed: destroy the entire procession and burn the coffin with Mary’s body! But a miracle happened: a shining crown - the Divine Sphere - hid the procession like a protective cap. The soldiers heard the footsteps of people accompanying the Mother of God, heard singing, but could not see anyone. They bumped into each other, into houses and fences, and felt as if they were blind. Nothing could interfere with the solemn burial.

Nowhere in Holy Scripture will we find a narrative about the death of the Virgin Mary. There was no death. Of course, in the understanding of how it happens to an ordinary person, when the body is given over to the earth and the soul to God. The Holy Orthodox Church calls the departure of the Mother of God from earthly life the Assumption. And he sings the Dormition of the Mother of God like this: “The laws of nature are defeated in You, O pure Virgin, virginity is preserved at birth and life is combined with death: remaining a Virgin through birth and living after death, You will always save, Mother of God, Your inheritance.”

The Dormition means that the Virgin Mary, after a difficult many-year wakefulness, fell asleep in a sweet sleep, reposed to the eternal source of life, becoming the Mother of Life, delivering with Her prayers the souls of mortals from torment and death, instilling in them with Her Dormition a living foretaste of eternal life.

The Apostle Thomas, as the legend says, arrived in Gethsemane only on the third day after the burial of the Most Holy Theotokos. He grieved and cried a lot over this and really regretted that he was not awarded Her blessing. And then the other apostles allowed him to open the coffin to make a final farewell. The stone was rolled away, the coffin was opened, but... the body of the Virgin Mary was not there. The apostles began to pray to the Lord that He would reveal His secret to them.

In the evening, the holy apostles sat down to a meal. As was customary among them, they left one place unoccupied, and placed a piece of bread in front of it, so that after the meal, giving thanks to the Lord, glorifying the name of the Holy Trinity, this piece of bread could be tasted by everyone as a blessed gift with the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ.” , help us!" Everyone thought and talked during the meal only about the miraculous disappearance of the body of the Mother of God. The meal was over, everyone stood up and, according to custom, raised the bread set aside in honor of the Lord... Looking up, preparing for prayer, everyone saw the Most Pure Virgin Mary, surrounded by many angels. And they heard from Her: “Rejoice! I am with you always!”

The entire earthly life of the Mother of God fits into a specific 72 years, this is evidenced by the calculations of the ancient holy fathers of the church (St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, St. Simeon Metaphrastus), authoritative church historians agree with them. But from the entire holy life of the Blessed Virgin, the Orthodox Church has identified four most important spiritual events, celebrated by great holidays: the Nativity of the Mother of God, the Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation and the Dormition. These holidays are counted among the so-called twelve and are equated to the great holidays of the Lord. There are twelve of them in total per year. Behind every holiday there is a great spiritual event, the reflection of which is an endless number of icons.

But at the same time, the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos themselves have a special life, a special history, they preserve miracles and still have a beneficial effect on people.

Before interpreting the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos, it will be interesting and useful to imagine Her earthly appearance according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses that have come down to us in the sacred books. But the main feature of the Blessed Virgin, which determines all of Her spiritual content, was defined by Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea as follows: “She has a mind controlled by God and directed towards God alone.” All of Her contemporaries, without exception, place the impeccable spiritual qualities of the Mother of God in the foreground.

Saint Ambrose, in the guise of the Mother of God, notices those features that can serve as an ideal person: “She was not eloquent, a lover of reading... Her rule was not to offend anyone, to be kind to everyone, to honor elders, not to envy equals, to avoid boasting, to be sensible, to love virtue. When did She offend her parents, even with the expression of her face? When did she disagree with her relatives? When did she become proud in front of a modest person, laugh at the weak, shy away from the needy? She had nothing stern in her eyes, nothing imprudent in her words, nothing indecent in actions: modest body movements, quiet gait, even voice; so Her bodily appearance was an expression of the soul, the personification of purity."

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, three years after his conversion to Christianity, was honored to see the Blessed Virgin Mary face to face in Jerusalem, describes this meeting as follows: “When I was brought before the face of the God-like bright Virgin, such a great and immeasurable Divine light enveloped me from without and within and such a wonderful fragrance of various aromas spread around me that neither my weak body nor my spirit itself were able to bear such great and abundant signs and firstfruits of eternal bliss and glory.”

Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer surprisingly accurately defines the essence of the blessed influence of the Mother of God on mere mortal people: “In Her the angelic nature was united with the human.”

From the legends and memories of contemporaries of the Blessed Virgin, a completely visible image emerges. The church historian Nicephorus Kallistus verbally depicted him this way: “She was of average height, golden hair, quick eyes, with pupils as if the color of an olive, arched and moderately black eyebrows, an elongated nose, flowering lips, full of sweet speeches; her face was neither round nor sharp. , but somewhat oblong, arms and fingers long."

At all times, the holy fathers of the church expressed their genuine delight before the image of our Most Pure Theotokos, Ever-Virgin Mary. For example, the great theologian of the Orthodox Church, Saint John of Damascus (VII century), says: “God, the highest and purest light, loved her so much that through the invasion of the Holy Spirit he was essentially united with Her, and was born from Her as a perfect man, without changing or mixing his properties. ".

It is these properties, specifically defined and named by the venerable chroniclers of the church, the holy fathers and contemporaries of the Virgin Mary, that are present in every icon of the Mother of God, corresponding to one or another event in Her life, one or another feast of the Mother of God, one or another phenomenon associated with Her.

The first icon painter who left the most accurate image of the Mother of God was the disciple of the Apostle Paul and his assistant, the holy evangelist Luke. Pious believers wished to see the face of the Mother of God. Saint Luke paints an image of the Virgin Mary and presents it to Her directly. Having seen the first icon of the Mother of God, or rather her own image, she involuntarily said: “May the grace of the one born of Me and Mine be with this icon!” Her blessing made the icons of the Mother of God blessed - giving the believer good, deliverance from vice, filling the soul with divine light.

The history of the first icon is unique. She spent many years in Antioch, where believers first called themselves Christians. Next, the holy image moves to Jerusalem, and then ends up in Constantinople to the holy queen Pulcheria (in the middle of the first millennium). Together with their husband Emperor Marcian, they erected three magnificent temples in Constantinople in honor of the Mother of God - Chalkopratea, Odigitria and Blachernae. In the temple of Hodegetria they place an icon painted by the holy evangelist Luke.

The Mother of God in the fate of Russia is like a mother for a baby. There is a special mystery in the veneration of the Mother of God by Russian people. It lies in the hope of omnipotent maternal intercession before God. After all, the Almighty is not only a great benefactor, but also a formidable judge. Russians, who have such a valuable character trait as repentance, have always had fear of God side by side with love of God. Like his own mother, a God-fearing sinner asks for the protection of the Mother of God, going to the judgment of the Lord. A person knows his sins; that is why God has given him a conscience. The great Intercessor, Defender, Savior - the Mother of God - helps us to be accountable to God for our sins. It seems to soften the punishment, but it reveals a person’s conscience. When the poet says that “you can’t understand Russia with your mind,” he means precisely Conscience. The Russians entrusted this vulnerable and completely non-material “structure” - the divine essence - to the Mother of God.

There is no more illustrious name in Rus' than the Most Holy Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary. From the very beginning of Russian history, the main cathedral churches have been dedicated to the Mother of God. Byzantine craftsmen erected the Assumption Cathedral in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra at the command of the Mother of God Herself. The desire of the Mother of God to remain in Rus' is attested in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon. And since then, people in Rus' began to consider their Fatherland as the House of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The veneration of the Mother of God is accomplished primarily through icons. In the church calendar alone there are about three hundred venerated icons of the Mother of God. Each has its own name. There is almost no day in the year that this day is not illuminated by the celebration of one or another icon of the Mother of God.

The outcome of great historical events is associated with the miraculous influence of the icons of the Mother of God. The Don Icon helped in the Battle of Kulikovo; in the salvation of Moscow from Tamerlane and during the great stand on the Ugra - Vladimirskaya; in the Time of Troubles during the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow - Kazan; with the establishment of the ruling Romanov dynasty - Feodorovskaya; in the Battle of Poltava - Kaplunovskaya. In 1917, on the day of the abdication of the martyr Tsar Nicholas II from the throne, it was as if the Mother of God Herself, unexpectedly appearing in the form of the Sovereign, took upon herself the succession of power of the Russian Power. But many people did not preserve this holy image, nor did they preserve themselves.

For Russian people, the saving quality of the Mother of God has always been revered as the blessing of one’s own mother. The people entrusted their souls and all of themselves to the Mother of God. The icons of the Mother of God were treated as living shrines, and therefore they were often given their own names, just like a person.

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