Robe of the Mother of God. Placing the Robe of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What prayers to honor the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In its love for the Mother of God, the Orthodox Church surrounds everything connected with Her earthly life with great veneration. The Church celebrates two holidays associated with the vestments of the Blessed Virgin: The Position of the Honorable Robe Holy Mother of God in Blachernae (July 2/15) and the Position of the Honorable Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Blachernae (August 31/September 13).

In ancient times in the east, clothing, dress, and military armor were called chasuble. Today this word is almost never used in colloquial speech, but it is very common in the church environment. “Give me a robe of light, clothe yourself with light like a robe,” - it is sung when dressing the person being baptized, when he, after Baptism, puts on white clothes as a sign that the one who was baptized has put on Christ, has become pure, and has been justified from all sin. Also, the liturgical vestments of clergy are called vestments. And the room where priestly vestments and church utensils are stored is the sacristy.

Another word that also denoted clothing in general among ancient peoples, including the Jews, is chiton, the Greek name for a shirt or dress.

Omophorion or maphorium are also Greek words meaning head covering, a large covering worn by women.

The tunic, or dress of the Most Holy Theotokos, the omophorion, or Her head covering and belt - these are the vestments that the Most Pure Virgin wore in Her earthly life and, according to Christian legends, bestowed Orthodox Church as a guarantee of His protection and intercession.

Chiton of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The history of these greatest shrines of the entire Christian world is remarkable. The Most Holy Theotokos was bequeathed by the Most Holy Theotokos before Her Dormition to two poor widows in Nazareth, who served Her and received benefits from Her. One of these widows wished that this blessed gift should always be inherited from one girl to another. Thus, for centuries, the sacred tunic was preserved with great reverence in the Holy Land.

In the 5th century, two brothers, noble Greek nobles Galvius and Candide, went to worship holy places in Palestine. Arriving in Nazareth, the city where the Annunciation took place, they stopped to spend the night in a small village, in the house of a pious woman. In one of the rooms they felt a strong fragrance of incense, in addition, many candles were burning on the candlestick. This was so unusual that the nobles asked the hostess what it meant? She told them that she kept an expensive shrine - an ark with the robe of the Virgin Mary, from which many miracles and healings occur. She also told about how she got this expensive shrine, lamenting that in her family there was no longer a girl to whom she could entrust this service. The pious brothers were kindled with one fiery desire - so that the priceless treasure would go to the Christians of the reigning city - and in fervent prayer they asked the Most Pure Virgin not to forbid them to take the robe to Constantinople. Having ordered a copy of the ark in which the clothes of the Most Pure One were kept, they secretly replaced it and reverently, with unspeakable joy, went with the shrine to Constantinople, or, as it was called in Rus', Constantinople. Saint Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Emperor Leo the Great (457–471), greeted the shrine with sacred trepidation and decided to place it in the best, most honorable place. In Blachernae, near the seashore, a new temple was erected in honor of the Mother of God. The temple was located close to the emperor's palace chambers: covered passages connected the temple and the palace. On July 2, 458, Patriarch Gennady with appropriate triumph transferred the sacred robe to the Blachernae temple. Subsequently, Her holy omophorion and part of Her belt were placed in the ark with the robe of the Mother of God.

According to the historian Nicephorus Callistus, who lived in the 6th century, “the robe of the Mother of God was preserved in this temple and is still preserved as protection for the city, providing various healings and defeating nature and time with its miracles.” It was in Constantinople that the first miracle from the tunic of the Most Pure Virgin was revealed.

In the spring of 626, a huge army of Persians and Khazars approached the capital. The Emperor of Byzantium, Heraclius, was not in the city at that moment, and the leadership of Constantinople was entrusted to Patriarch Sergius (610–638). Residents of the capital were unable to provide adequate resistance to the enemy, and the Persians broke into the city. Then the Patriarch brought out the tunic of the Most Holy Theotokos and began to pray fervently, asking for protection from the Mother of God. According to a historical source, at this time a terrible hurricane suddenly arrived and destroyed the enemy, who had already reached the Blachernae temple, and all the enemy ships sank in the raging sea.

Prince Askold

On June 18, 860, more than 200 boats of the Russian fleet of Prince Askold entered the Golden Horn Bay, threatening Constantinople. The Russian ships were already clearly visible from the shore; the landing soldiers “passed in front of the city, extending their swords.”

At this time, Emperor Michael III was on a military campaign. He quickly returned to the capital. All night the emperor prayed fervently, prostrating himself on the stone slabs of the Blachernae temple. Holy Patriarch Photius addressed the people with a sermon, calling in earnest heartfelt prayer to ask for the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. The danger increased every hour. The city was almost raised to the top. In the face of this formidable danger, a decision was made to save church shrines and, above all, the holy robe of the Mother of God, which was kept in the Blachernae church. After a national prayer service, the holy robe of the Mother of God was carried around the city walls with a procession of the cross and its edge was immersed with prayer in the waters of the Bosphorus, and then transferred to the center of Constantinople - the Church of Hagia Sophia. A miracle happened: the Mother of God covered and pacified the furious militancy of the Russian soldiers with Her grace. Having concluded an honorable truce, Askold lifted the siege of Constantinople. Russian troops began to retreat, taking with them a large ransom. A week later, the miraculous robe of the Mother of God was solemnly returned to its place, in the shrine of the Blachernae Church. In memory of these events, Patriarch Photius established the annual celebration of the Position of the Venerable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae on July 2/15.

Soon the Russian embassy arrived in Constantinople to conclude a treaty of “love and peace.” The most important point was the Baptism of Rus'. The Byzantine chronicles record that “their embassy arrived in Constantinople with a request to make them participants in holy Baptism, which was fulfilled.” Askold received holy Baptism with the name Nikolai. Many of his squad were also baptized. Metropolitan Michael was appointed to Kyiv by Saint Photius, and the Russian metropolitanate was included in the special lists - notifications - of the dioceses of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

In the documents of that time, the words of the Holy Patriarch Photius were preserved: “The Russians, who raised their hands against the Roman state, now even they have exchanged the wicked teaching that they previously held for the pure and genuine Christian faith, lovingly placing themselves in the rank of subjects and friends ours." (The Byzantines considered as “subjects” all those who received Baptism from Constantinople and entered into a military alliance with the empire.) “And the desire and zeal of faith flared up in them to such an extent that they accepted the bishop and the shepherd, and kiss the shrines of Christians with great zeal and zeal.” .

So, in an amazing way, the feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae is, at the same time, the feast of the founding of the Russian Orthodox Metropolis in Kyiv. With the blessing of the Mother of God and the miracle from Her holy robe, not only the salvation of Constantinople from the most formidable siege in its entire history took place, but also the calling of the Russians to eternal life. At the same time, the year 860 brought recognition of Kievan Rus by Byzantium: young Russian state entered the arena of history.

The Venerable Nestor the Chronicler notes that it was from this time that “the Russian Land began to be called.”

Honoring the Feast of the Placing of the Robe in Rus'

The veneration of the Feast of the Placing of the Robe has been known since ancient times in the Russian Church. Holy Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky († 1174; commemorated July 4/17) erected a temple in Vladimir on the Golden Gate in honor of this holiday, thanking the Most Holy Virgin that She bestowed the robe of Her body as “a sovereign tax on the city, an insurmountable wall, a treasure of healings, miracles source, refuge of salvation."

During Crusades In the 13th century, the tunic of the Mother of God did not fall into the hands of robbers: among the sacred relics stolen by the crusaders from the Blachernae Church, only the headdress of the Mother of God, transferred by Henry de Ulmen to the monastery in Trier, is mentioned.

In 1434, the Blachernae Church burned down, parts of the clothes of the Mother of God were transferred to different places. Part of the robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus' by Saint Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal († 1385), and was kept in Moscow in the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals.

The Holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously guarded the capital of Byzantium, later saved the capital Moscow from the enemy.

In the summer of 1451, the Tatar hordes of Tsarevich Mazovsha approached the walls of Moscow. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, strengthened the defenders of the capital with incessant prayers and church services. On the night of July 2, the chronicle reports, great confusion occurred in the Tatar camp, the enemies abandoned their stolen goods and hastily retreated in disarray. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow, Saint Metropolitan Jonah (†1461) erected the Church of the Deposition of the Robe in the Kremlin in the same year.

It burned down, but in its place in 1484–1486 a new one was built, also dedicated to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of Our Lady and preserved to this day.

Now once a year, on the feast of the Deposition of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae (July 2/15), the Divine Liturgy and prayer service are held before a piece of the Robe of the Mother of God in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Moscow Kremlin.

A piece of the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos is also kept in the Serapion Tent of the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and is available for veneration.

Vlahernoba - a holiday in honor of the robe of the Virgin Mary in Georgia

Today, the tunic of the Virgin Mary is kept in the historical museum in Zugdidi (Georgia), located in the palace of the Dadiani princes. The authenticity of the shrine was certified by Greek and Georgian experts. The Zugdidi Historical Museum houses shrines that were removed from various churches and monasteries during the period of Soviet atheism. Among them is the famous robe of the Virgin Mary.

When and under what circumstances was the tunic of the Most Holy Theotokos transferred to Georgia? There are several versions: according to the first, this shrine was brought from Jerusalem at the beginning of the 12th century; according to the second, the tunic of the Virgin Mary was secretly taken from Byzantium in the 8th century in connection with iconoclasm; According to the chronicle “Kartlis Tskhovreba”, the tunic of the Mother of God from time immemorial was kept in the Khobi Dormition Monastery in Georgia.

Critically reflecting on diversity written sources allows us to draw the following conclusion: the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved in the Blachernae Church in Byzantium until 1453, then, due to the tragic events associated with the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, traces of the tunic were lost for two whole centuries. In the 17th century, the tunic of the Mother of God was found by the Providence of God in the Khobi Monastery in Mingrelia.

Catholic missionary Giuseppe Maria Zampa writes: “They say that in those days (after the capture of Byzantium by the Turks) one archbishop came to Colchis, bringing with him a shroud, which, according to them, belonged to the Virgin Mary... It is equal in length to eight Roman palms, in four wide, sleeves of one hand and a narrow collar... The material from which it is sewn is yellow, in places with printed flowers, and it is embroidered with a needle..."

Every year on July 2/15, the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Vlahernoba - a holiday in honor of the robe of the Virgin Mary. On this day, the tunic of the Mother of God is taken from the Zugdidi Museum to the Cathedral of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God, located right there on the territory of the museum, where after the Divine Liturgy believers can venerate this greatest shrine of the Christian world. Many pilgrims from different countries come to Georgia to venerate the Most Pure Robe of the Mother of God.

July 15 (July 2, old style) The Church celebrates the position of the venerable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae. This day is otherwise called the Feast of the Laying of the Robe. The veneration of the Feast of the Placing of the Robe has been known since ancient times in the Russian Church. At the end of the 14th century, part of the Robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus' by Saint Dionysius of Suzdal. The Holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously guarded the capital of Byzantium, also saved the capital of Moscow from the enemy. This is the story of the discovery of this great shrine.

During the reign of the pious Emperor Leo and his wife Verona, two brothers Galbius and Candide, very important dignitaries, lived in Constantinople. Wanting to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem, they set off with the permission of the emperor. When the brothers walked through Galilee, they went to the small village of Nazareth to venerate the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary lived and where the angel Gabriel appeared to Her, announcing the birth from Her of the Son of God - the Savior of the world. Galbius and Candide stopped in the poor house of a pious unmarried Jewish woman, where they saw a room in which there were many candles and incense was smoking, emitting an aromatic fragrance. In this room there were many sick people - lame, blind, deaf... And the brothers began to ask the hostess what kind of shrine was kept in this room. Confused, she replied that the Lord had once appeared at this place.

The astonished brothers began to ask in more detail, and then the hostess told them this: Pious men! Find out what great shrine is kept here! By her power, all the sick receive healing from their ailments: the blind begin to see, the deaf begin to hear, the lame walk, the dumb gain the gift of speech, lepers are cleansed, demons are cast out from people... And these miracles are performed by the vestments of the Most Holy Theotokos stored here, which I inherited from my ancestress. mine - one of those widows who were at the Dormition of the Mother of God and, according to Her will, received a robe. According to the will of the ancestress, the vestments are passed from girl to girl, famous for her honest and pious life. In our family, besides me, there are no more girls left, and I reveal this secret to you so that you do not disclose it until my death.

Having promised to keep the secret, the brothers were allowed into the room, and they saw there an ark, surrounded by candles and censers, in which lay the most pure vestments of the Virgin Mary. Having asked permission to attend the all-night prayer service near this shrine, the brothers meanwhile began to think about who, after the hostess, would receive the funeral clothes of the Most Holy Theotokos. And having decided to have such a priceless treasure in the capital city of Constantinople, they measured the length, width and height of the ark at night and determined what kind of wood it was made of. In the morning they bowed to the most pure vestments of the Mother of God and went to Jerusalem, promising the hostess to visit her on the way back.

Having venerated the Holy Cross and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the brothers called one carpenter and ordered him exactly the same ark as the one in which the vestments of the Mother of God were kept. When the master completed the order, Galbius and Candide bought a gold-woven bedspread, which they then showed to the Jewess. And then they asked permission to cover the ark with this blanket and stand next to it in prayer for another night. When everyone in the house fell asleep, the brothers fell to the ground with tears and prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos so that they would not be forbidden to take the ark with Her robe and take it with them. At midnight, with fear and humility, they took the ark, and put another in its place.

Having said goodbye in the morning to the hostess, who had not noticed anything, the brothers set off on their way back. Arriving in Constantinople, they did not tell anyone about the acquired shrine, but created a small church in their house in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Mark and placed in it, in a hidden place, an ark with a holy robe. However, the miracles that constantly appeared from such a relic, and the grace poured out from it on everyone, forced them to go and tell about all the signs to Emperor Leo, his wife and Patriarch Gennady. Filled with spiritual joy, the king and patriarch arrived at the brothers’ home church, fearfully opened the ark and saw in it the incorruptible robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. Having kissed it, they solemnly transferred the shrine to the Blachernae church, where they placed it in an ark decorated with gold and silver. In memory of the transfer of the vestments of the Most Holy Theotokos, the feast of the Laying of the Robe was established in honor and glory of the Mother of God, which is solemnly celebrated on July 2 (15).

The miraculous power of the robe of the Queen of Heaven was experienced by the Persians and Avars in 626, and in 673 and 713. - Saracens, and in 866 the knights Askold and Dir. Russian chronicles report that two Varangian knights - Askold and Dir - left Novgorod, took possession of Kiev and began to reign there. At first, setting off from Novgorod, they wanted to get to Constantinople (Constantinople) in order to join a special Varangian squad there as soldiers. Having become princes of Kyiv, they changed their intentions and decided to go to war against Constantinople. Having gathered a large squad, Askold and Dir put their warriors on boats and sailed to Constantinople. Frightened by the numerous Kyiv army, the Greeks did not hope to repel the enemies, and then the Patriarch of Constantinople, with prayer chants, took the Most Holy Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos from the Blachernae Church and prayerfully immersed it in the sea. The prayer of the Christians was heard; suddenly a strong storm arose on the sea, which scattered the boats of the Kievites in different directions. When the storm passed, princes Askold and Dir, witnesses of the miracle that had taken place, adopted Christianity in Constantinople. In holy baptism Askold was named Nicholas, and Dir was named Elijah.

In the 14th century, according to the historian Nicephorus Callistus, “the robe of the Mother of God was preserved in this temple as protection for the city, providing various healings and conquering nature and time with its miracles.” The Russian Metropolitan Pimen mentioned in 1387 that on the Feast of the Deposition of the Robe he was in the Blachernae Church and kissed the holy shrine there, in which the vestments of the Most Holy Theotokos were kept. After the fire of 1434, which destroyed the Blachernae Church, the location of the Riza is lost.

A piece of the Robe of the Virgin Mary appeared in Russia in the 14th century. It was acquired in Constantinople by Dionysius of Suzdal among other relics that were included in the “Ark of Dionysius,” which became a significant relic of the Moscow Grand Dukes. In honor of the Feast of the Placing of the Robe, many churches and monasteries were built, including in the Moscow Kremlin (Church of the Placing of the Robe in the Moscow Kremlin). Another part of the Robe in the 17th century ended up in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin through the efforts of Prince Vasily Golitsyn. After the confiscation of church valuables Soviet power the shrine ended up in the museums of the Moscow Kremlin. In 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev part of the Robe of the Virgin Mary, among other relics, was transferred to the Russian Church.

During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Leo the Great, the Macedonian (457-474), the brothers Galbius and Candide, close associates of the king, went from Constantinople to Palestine to worship holy places. In a small village near Nazareth, they stopped for the night with an elderly Jewish woman. In her house, the attention of pilgrims was attracted by lit candles and smoking incense. When asked what kind of shrine was in the house, the pious woman did not want to answer for a long time, but after persistent requests she told that she kept an expensive shrine - the Robe of the Virgin Mary, from which many miracles and healings occur. Before the Dormition, the Most Holy Virgin gave one of Her clothes to a pious Jewish maiden from this family, bequeathing to her to give it to the maiden before her death. Thus, from generation to generation, the Robe of the Mother of God was preserved in this family.

The precious ark containing the sacred Robe was transported to Constantinople. Saint Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople († 471; commemorated August 31), and Emperor Leo, having learned about the sacred find, were convinced of the incorruptibility of the holy Robe of the Theotokos and venerated it with trepidation. In Blachernae, near the seashore, a new temple was erected in honor of the Mother of God. On July 2, 458, Saint Gennady, with appropriate triumph, transferred the sacred Robe to the Blachernae Temple, placing it in a new ark.

Subsequently, Her holy omophorion and part of Her belt were placed in the ark with the Robe of the Mother of God. This circumstance is captured in Orthodox iconography a holiday that combines two events: the position of the Robe and the position of the belt of the Mother of God in Blachernae. The Russian pilgrim Stefan Novgorod, who visited Constantinople around 1350, testifies: “I went to Blachernae, where the Robe lies in the altar on the throne in the ark.”

More than once, during enemy invasions, the Most Holy Theotokos saved the city, to which she bestowed Her sacred Robe. This happened during the siege of Constantinople by the Avars in 626, the Persians in 677, and the Arabs in 717. The events of 860, which are closely connected with the history of the Russian Church, are especially significant for us.

On June 18, 860, the Russian fleet of Prince Askold, consisting of more than 200 boats, having devastated the shores of the Black Sea and Bosphorus, entered the Golden Horn Bay and threatened Constantinople. Russian ships sailed in sight of the city, and the landing soldiers “passed in front of the city, extending their swords.” Emperor Michael III (842-867), having stopped the campaign against the Arabs that had begun, returned to the capital; he prayed all night, prostrating himself on the stone slabs of the Church of the Blachernae Mother of God. Holy Patriarch Photius addressed his flock with a sermon, calling on them to wash away their sins with tears of repentance and in earnest prayer to resort to the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The danger increased every hour. “The city was almost raised on a spear,” says Patriarch Photius in another of his sermons. Under these conditions, a decision was made to save church shrines, and first of all, the Holy Robe of the Virgin Mary, which was kept in the Blachernae Church, not far from the shore of the bay. After a national prayer service, the holy Robe of the Mother of God, taken from the Blachernae Church, was carried around the city walls with a procession of the cross, its edge was immersed with prayer in the waters of the Bosphorus, and then transferred to the center of Constantinople - the Church of St. Sophia. The Mother of God with Her grace covered and pacified the belligerence of the Russian soldiers. Having concluded an honorable truce, Askold lifted the siege of Constantinople. On June 25, Russian troops began to retreat, taking with them a large ransom. A week later, on July 2, the miraculous Robe of the Mother of God was solemnly returned to its place, in the shrine of the Blachernae Church. In commemoration of these events, the holy Patriarch Photius established the annual celebration of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God on July 2.

Soon, in October - November 860, the Russian embassy arrived in Constantinople to conclude a treaty of “love and peace.” The terms of the peace treaty included provisions on the Baptism of Kievan Rus, on Byzantium paying the Russians an annual tribute, allowing them to join the Byzantine army, conduct trade on the territory of the empire (primarily in Constantinople), and send diplomatic missions to Byzantium.

The most important point was the Baptism of Rus'. The continuator of the Byzantine “Chronicle of Theophanes” says that “their embassy arrived in Constantinople with a request to make them participants in holy Baptism, which was fulfilled.” In fulfillment of the mutual desire of the Russians and Greeks, an Orthodox mission was sent to Kyiv. Not long before (in 855), Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril the Philosopher († 869; commemorated February 14 and May 11) invented the Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel. It was natural to send St. Cyril and his brother, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius († 885; commemorated April 6 and May 11), with translated Slavic books, on a mission to Kyiv. This is what Saint Photius, whose disciple was Saint Cyril, did. The brothers spent the winter of 860/861 in Kherson, in the spring of 861 they were on the Dnieper, with Prince Askold.

Askold, as later before the holy Prince Vladimir, faced a difficult choice; he was seduced by either the Jewish or the Mohammedan faith. But under the gracious influence of Saint Cyril, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the prince made a choice in favor of Orthodoxy. At the end of 861, Cyril and Methodius returned to Constantinople and brought with them a message from the prince (or, as the Kyiv princes called themselves in the 9th-11th centuries, “Kagan”) Askold to Emperor Michael III. Askold thanked the emperor for sending “such a man who showed by word and example that the Christian faith is holy.” “Convinced,” Askold further wrote, “that this is the true faith, we commanded everyone to be baptized of their own free will in the hope that we too will achieve holiness. We are all friends of your kingdom and are ready to serve you when you require.”

Askold received holy Baptism with the name Nikolai, and many of his squad were baptized. Directly from Constantinople, the capital of Orthodoxy, through the labors of the holy apostles of the Slavs, Slavic worship and Slavic writing came to Rus'. Metropolitan Michael was appointed to Kyiv by Saint Photius, and the Russian metropolitanate was included in the notations - lists of dioceses of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Holy Patriarch Photius, in his District Epistle of 867, names the Baptism of the Bulgarians and Russians among the main achievements of his high priestly ministry. “The Russians, who raised their hands against the Roman Empire,” he wrote, quoting Askold’s message almost verbatim, “at present, even they have exchanged the wicked teaching that they previously held for the pure and genuine Christian faith, lovingly placing themselves in the rank of subjects and our friends." (The Byzantines considered as “subjects” all those who received Baptism from Constantinople and entered into a military alliance with the empire.) “And the desire and zeal of faith flared up in them to such an extent that they accepted the bishop and the shepherd, and kiss the shrines of Christians with great zeal and zeal.” .

The Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae is, therefore, at the same time the feast of the canonical founding of the Russian Orthodox Metropolis in Kyiv. With the blessing of the Mother of God and the miracle from Her holy Robe, not only the salvation of Constantinople from the most formidable siege in its entire history took place, but also the salvation of the Russians from the darkness of pagan superstition to eternal life. At the same time, the year 860 brought recognition of Kievan Rus by Byzantium and marked the equal entry of the young Russian state into the arena of history.

Prince Askold's attempt to revive the Christian gospel of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called on the Dnieper and the religious and government reform he conceived ended unsuccessfully. The time for the establishment of Christianity on the Russian Land has not yet come. The supporters of pagan antiquity were too strong, the princely power was too weak. When Askold clashed with the pagan Oleg in 882, the people of Kiev betrayed their prince. Askold suffered martyrdom at the hands of hired killers, lured by deceit into the camp of enemies for negotiations.

But the work of blessed Askold (as the Joachim Chronicle calls him) did not perish in the Russian Church. The prophetic Oleg, who, having killed Askold, took over the reign of Kiev after him, called Kyiv “the mother of Russian cities” - this is a literal translation of the Greek expression “Russian metropolis”. The grateful memory of the first Kiev Christian prince was preserved by the oldest churches of Orthodox Kyiv: the Church of the Prophet Elijah, built by Askold and later mentioned in the Treaty of Igor with the Greeks (944), on the site of which a temple of the same name now stands, and the Church of St. Nicholas The Wonderworker, erected in the 50s of the 10th century over the grave of Askold by Saint Olga, Equal to the Apostles. Askold’s most important conquest, forever included in the church heritage not only of Rus', but also of the entire Orthodox Slavs, is the Slavic Gospel and Slavic Divine Service, created by the works of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles. In Kyiv, at the court of Askold, in 861, the beginning of their apostolic activity among the Slavs began, which later continued in Bulgaria and Moravia. Following the blessed Askold, in the words of the ancient “ABC Prayer,” “the Slavic tribe is now flying—everyone has rushed to Baptism.”

Several outstanding works of Byzantine church hymnography and homiletics are associated with the miracle of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae. Saint Photius owns two sermons, one of which was delivered by him directly during the days of the siege of Constantinople, the other shortly after the departure of the Russian troops. (They were published twice in Russian: 1) Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Four conversations of Photius, the most holy Archbishop of Constantinople, and reasoning about them. St. Petersburg, 1864; 2) E. L. (Lovyagin E. I.). Two conversations of His Holiness Patriarch Photius of Constantinople on the occasion of the Russian invasion of Constantinople. - "Christian Reading", 1882, Nos. 9-10). The famous church writer George, chartophylax of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia - the Wisdom of God in Constantinople, compiled, on behalf of Patriarch Photius, “A Sermon on the Position of the Robe of the Virgin Mary in Blachernae” (Russian translation of it was published in the appendix to the work: Loparev Kh. M. Old certificate of the position of the Robe of the Virgin in Blachernae in a new interpretation in relation to the Russian invasion of Byzantium in 860 - "Byzantine Temporary", volume II, St. Petersburg, 1895). Askold’s campaign against Constantinople is also associated with the creation of the famous “Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos,” the author of which some church historians call the same holy Patriarch Photius. This Akathist forms the main part of the Divine Service on the day of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not only Byzantine, but also Russian chronicle sources tell about the events of 860. The Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, emphasizing the significance of the Russian campaign against Constantinople, notes that from that time “the Russian Land began to be called.” Some chronicles, among them Joakimovskaya and Nikonovskaya, preserved news of the Baptism of Prince Askold and Kievan Rus after the campaign against Constantinople. At the same time, popular memory firmly linked the names of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir, although, according to historians, Dir reigned in Kyiv somewhat earlier than Askold.

The veneration of the Feast of the Placing of the Robe has been known since ancient times in the Russian Church. Saint Andrew Bogolyubsky († 1174; commemorated July 4) erected a temple in Vladimir on the Golden Gate in honor of this holiday. At the end of the 14th century, part of the Robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus' by Saint Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal († 1385; commemorated June 26).

The Holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously guarded the capital of Byzantium, later saved the capital of Moscow from the enemy. In the summer of 1451, the Tatar hordes of Tsarevich Mazovsha approached the walls of Moscow. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, strengthened the defenders of the capital with incessant prayers and church services. On the night of July 2, the chronicle reports, great confusion occurred in the Tatar camp, the enemies abandoned their stolen goods and hastily retreated in disarray. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow, Saint Metropolitan Jonah in the same year erected the Church of the Deposition of the Robe in the Kremlin, which became his cross (house) church. It burned down, but in its place thirty years later it was built in 1484-1486. new, also dedicated to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of Our Lady. This temple, standing to this day, continued to serve as the home temple of Russian metropolitans and Patriarchs until the time when the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was erected under Patriarch Nikon.

Robe of the Virgin Mary

Robe of the Virgin Mary (Chiton of the Virgin Mary) - Orthodox shrine, clothing that belonged to the Mother of God. In honor of the relic, a celebration was established - “The position of the honorable Robe of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Blachernae” ( Robe position), performed on July 15 (NS).

Historical excursion

The Most Holy Theotokos was bequeathed by the Most Holy Theotokos before Her Dormition to two poor widows in Nazareth, who served Her and received benefits from Her. One of these widows wished that this blessed gift should always be inherited from one girl to another. Thus, for centuries, the sacred tunic was preserved with great reverence in the Holy Land.
In the 5th century, two brothers, noble Greek nobles Galvius and Candide, went to worship holy places in Palestine. In Nazareth, they stopped for the night in the house of an elderly Jewish woman, where they saw a room with many burning candles, continuously burning incense and many sick people thirsting for healing. When asked what the reason for such veneration of this place is, they heard the following story:
Here I keep the robe of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Christ God. When She passed from earth to heaven, one of my ancestors, a widow, was present at Her burial; According to the will of the Most Pure Mother of God herself, that honorable robe was given to her; She, having received that robe, kept it with reverence all the days of her life; dying, she gave the robe for storage to one maiden from her family, commanding her with an oath to keep in purity for the honor of the Mother of God herself, not only that honest robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, but also her very virginity.
Having the opportunity to spend the night next to the shrine, the brothers measured the ark in which it was kept, and then in Jerusalem they ordered a copy of it to be made and a gold-woven cover for it. On the way back to Nazareth, they replaced the ark with the Robe and brought the relic to Constantinople. Saint Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Emperor Leo the Great (457–471), greeted the shrine with sacred trepidation and decided to place it in the best, most honorable place. In Blachernae, near the seashore, a new temple was erected in honor of the Mother of God. The temple was located close to the emperor's palace chambers: covered passages connected the temple and the palace. On July 2, 458, Patriarch Gennady with appropriate triumph transferred the sacred robe to the Blachernae temple. Subsequently, Her holy omophorion and part of Her belt were placed in the ark with the robe of the Mother of God.

The position of honest Riza

More than once, during enemy invasions, the Most Holy Theotokos saved the city, to which she bestowed Her sacred robe. This was the case during the siege of Constantinople by the Avars, Persians, and Arabs. The events of 860 are especially significant for the history of the Russian Church. On June 18, 860, more than 200 boats of the Russian fleet of Prince Askold entered the Golden Horn Bay, threatening Constantinople. The Russian ships were already clearly visible from the shore; the landing soldiers “passed in front of the city, extending their swords.”

In commemoration of these events, Patriarch Photius established the annual celebration of the Position of the Venerable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae (V) on July 2/15. During the Crusades of the 13th century, the tunic of the Mother of God did not fall into the hands of robbers: among the sacred relics stolen by the crusaders from the Blachernae Temple, only the headdress of the Mother of God, transferred by Heinrich de Ulmen to the monastery in Trier, is mentioned.

The Russian Metropolitan Pimen, who traveled to the Holy Places, mentions in his notes that in 1387, “on the day of the Laying of the Robe of the Mother of God,” he was in Blachernae and kissed the holy shrine there, in which lay the wonderful tunic and belt of the Mother of God.

In 1434, the Blachernae Church burned down, parts of the clothes of the Mother of God were transferred to different places. Part of the robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus', and was kept in Moscow in the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals. The Holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously guarded the capital of Byzantium, later saved the capital Moscow from the enemy. In the summer of 1451, the Tatar hordes of Tsarevich Mazovsha approached the walls of Moscow. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, strengthened the defenders of the capital with incessant prayers and church services. On the night of July 2, the chronicle reports, great confusion occurred in the Tatar camp, the enemies abandoned their stolen goods and hastily retreated in disarray. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow, Saint Metropolitan Jonah (†1461; commemorated March 31 and May 27) erected the Church of the Deposition of the Robe in the Kremlin in the same year.

It burned down, but in its place in 1484–1486 a new one was built, also dedicated to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of Our Lady and preserved to this day. Now once a year, on the feast of the Deposition of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae (July 2/15), His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' performs the Divine Liturgy and prayer service before a piece of the Robe of the Theotokos in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Moscow Kremlin.

A critical understanding of a diverse range of written sources allows us to draw the following conclusion: the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved in the Blachernae Church in Byzantium until 1453, then, due to the tragic events associated with the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, traces of the tunic were lost for two whole centuries. In the 17th century, the tunic of the Mother of God was found by the Providence of God in the Khobi Monastery in Mingrelia. In the spring of 1840, Russian ambassadors Fedot Elchin and Pavel Zakharov visited the court of Levan II Dadiani. They visited the Khobi Monastery, where they were honored to venerate the tunic of the Most Holy Theotokos. Russian ambassadors Alexey Ievlev and Nikifor Tolochanov were in Imereti (Georgia) in 1650–1652. They met with the monks of one of the Athos monasteries, who told them that the tunic of the Mother of God was brought from Constantinople allegedly in the 8th century (during the iconoclastic heresy in Byzantium) and was placed in the Khobi monastery... In the 17th century, Patriarch Dotheus of Jerusalem tried to take the tunic of the Mother of God from Georgia , but unsuccessfully. Then the Mingrelian king Levan sealed the golden casket with the shrine and assigned guards to it. But this did not save the Most Pure Chiton from the robbers. Fortunately, the stolen shrine was found on the second day... Previously, the robe of the Mother of God was kept in the altar of the temple, in a silver casket. According to legend, many miracles and healings are associated with the robe of the Virgin Mary. In Soviet times, they forgot about the tunic of the Mother of God: the great shrine was preserved in the Khobi Monastery without proper care; it was wet by rain, covered with snow... In 1936, it was moved to the storerooms of the Zugdidi Historical Museum.

Now the Most Pure Chiton is again open for worship by Orthodox believers. Every year on July 2/15, the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Vlahernoba - a holiday in honor of the robe of the Virgin Mary. On this day, the tunic of the Mother of God is taken from the Zugdidi Museum to the Cathedral of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God, located right there on the territory of the museum, where after the Divine Liturgy believers can venerate this greatest shrine of the Christian world. Many pilgrims from different countries come to Georgia to venerate the Most Pure Robe of the Mother of God.

Description

Riza at the beginning of AD. in the east they called clothing, dress, military armor.
The tunic of the Most Holy Theotokos, the omophorion (head cover) and the belt - these are the vestments that the Most Pure Virgin wore in Her earthly life and, according to Christian traditions, bestowed on the Orthodox Church as a guarantee of Her protection and intercession.
A chiton is a piece of fabric measuring 150x180 cm. The colors on it have already faded, so now this material is a uniform, brownish color.

Position of the Robe of Our Lady

According to legend, the robe of the Virgin Mary was acquired by two Byzantine aristocrats, brothers Galvin and Candide, who made a pilgrimage to Palestinian shrines during the reign of Emperor Leo I (457-474). In Nazareth, they stopped for the night in the house of an elderly Jewish woman, where they saw a room with many burning candles, continuously burning incense and many sick people thirsting for healing. When asked what the reason for such veneration of this place is, they heard the following story:

Here I keep the robe of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Christ God. When She passed from earth to heaven, one of my ancestors, a widow, was present at Her burial; According to the will of the Most Pure Mother of God herself, that honorable robe was given to her; She, having received that robe, kept it with reverence all the days of her life; dying, she gave the robe for storage to one maiden from her family, commanding her with an oath to keep in purity for the honor of the Mother of God herself, not only that honest robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, but also her very virginity.

Having the opportunity to spend the night next to the shrine, the brothers measured the ark in which it was kept, and then in Jerusalem they ordered a copy of it to be made and a gold-woven cover for it. On the way back to Nazareth, they replaced the ark with the Robe and brought the relic to Constantinople.

The brothers placed the Riza in their home church and kept it secretly, but, according to legend, the numerous miracles that came from it forced them to report the relic Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople. After which, in 458, the Robe was placed in the Church of the Mother of God, built on the shore of the Blachernae Gulf (Blachernae Church). In honor of this event, an annual celebration was established<Положение Ризы Пресвятой Богородицы во Влахерне>.

Later, an omophorion and part of the belt of the Virgin Mary, discovered in the tomb of the Virgin Mary, opened by decision of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, were placed in the ark with the Robe. This circumstance was reflected in the Orthodox iconography of the holiday, which combines two events: the position of the Robe and the position of the belt of the Mother of God in Blachernae.

The presence of the Robe of the Mother of God in Blachernae is evidenced by the 14th-century Russian pilgrim Stefan Novgorodets:

We went to Blachernae, to the church of the Holy Mother of God, where the robe, and the belt, and the head covering that was on her head are located. And this lies in the altar on the throne, hidden in the ark, just like the Passion of the Lord, and is even more tightly guarded: chained with iron chains, and the ark itself is made of stone very skillfully.

Metropolitan Pimen of Kiev and All Rus' writes about his veneration of the Robe in 1387, saying that on the day of placing the Robe of the Mother of God he was in Blachernae and kissed the reliquary there, in which lie the chasuble and belt of the Mother of God.

After the fire of 1434, which destroyed the Blachernae Church, the location of the Riza is lost. It is known that its particles are found in different places: in Russia in the Ark of Dionysius, in the Lateran Basilica of Rome and a number of other places.