What a Virgin Mary. The story of the life of the Virgin Mary and Akathist to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Christianity is one of the most widespread religions on earth. It was this religion that won the hearts of many with forgiveness, love, simple laws and the promise of eternal life. Once upon a time in the Middle Ages, Christianity was divided into three branches, which are still in demand throughout the world. These are Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. These three directions are slightly different from each other, but, as a rule, have common values and the same God.
The entire history of Christianity is divided into the time before the coming of the Son of God to this earth and the time after his departure. God had an impeccable plan for the salvation of all mankind, which was to send down his only son to the sinful abode of mankind. For his purpose, he chose a pure and innocent girl named Maria. It was Mary who had to conceive by the Holy Spirit in an immaculate manner and bring Jesus Christ to this earth. Mary became pregnant and learned about it from an angel. When she told all this to her fiancé Joseph, he did not believe the girl, believing that she had simply betrayed him and... But God wanted Joseph to become the human father and protector of Christ, so he sent the same angel to prove to him the veracity of Mary’s words.
Nine months later, Mary gave birth to God’s son in the hay. She never told anyone who her son really was. And when Jesus, at the age of 33, began to walk the earth and preach about the kingdom of God, Mary was often with him. Needless to say, how her mother’s heart suffered during the hour of beating and murder of her son. And although she and Joseph had other children besides Jesus, they loved him more than anyone, paying tribute to the meekness, understanding and greatest mercy of their son. It was to his human mother that the Savior appeared first after his resurrection to console her broken maternal heart.
For many Christians, the Virgin Mary has become a symbol of love and unquestioning humility. She always followed only those instructions that were given to her from above. Until the end of her days, she remained God-fearing and never allowed a drop of pride in her heart for the fact that she had the honor of giving birth and raising the Savior of the whole earth.
The Catholic branch of Christianity even created some cult of the Virgin Mary (another name for the Virgin Mary). Catholics believe that Mary was protected from her very birth even from the very possibility of sinning. Orthodox Christians believe that the Virgin Mary did not commit sins during her life not because of her innate holiness, but because of her correct and pious upbringing. As for Protestants, they recognize the Virgin Mary as a sinless woman, but they consider the creation of her cult simply unacceptable, if only because she is a simple person.
The Virgin Mary is a girl who was not afraid of a difficult burden and became an example of obedience and absolute faith. Mothers and children turn to her in their prayers, as she is known as the patroness of families and the protector of children. There are many paintings and icons in which every artist wants to convey all the power of a mother’s love and the lightness of her sinless soul.
The couple, Joachim and Anna, came from a noble family and were righteous before God. Having material wealth, they were not deprived of spiritual wealth. Adorned with all virtues, they immaculately observed all the commandments of God's law. For each holiday, pious spouses separated two parts from their property - one was given for church needs, and the other was distributed to the poor.
With their righteous life, Joachim and Annatak pleased God that He vouchsafed them to be the parents of the Blessed Virgin, the chosen Mother of the Lord. From this alone it is already clear that their life was holy, pleasing to God and pure, since they had a Daughter, the Holiest of all saints, who pleased God more than anyone else, and the Most Honest of the Cherubim.
At that time there were no people on earth more pleasing to God than Joachim and Anna, because of their immaculate lives. Although at that time it was possible to find many living righteously and pleasing God, these two surpassed everyone in their virtues and appeared before God as the most worthy for the Mother of God to be born from them. Such mercy would not have been granted to them by God if they had not truly surpassed everyone in righteousness and holiness.
But just as the Lord Himself had to be incarnate from the Most Holy and Most Pure Mother, so it was fitting for the Mother of God to come from holy and pure parents. Just as earthly kings have their purples, made not from simple matter, but from gold-woven material, so the Heavenly King wanted to have His Most Pure Mother, in whose flesh, as in royal purple, He had to put on, born not from ordinary incontinent parents, as would be from simple matter, but from chaste and holy ones, as if from cloth woven with gold, the prototype of which was the Old Testament tabernacle, which God ordered Moses to make from scarlet and scarlet cloth and fine linen (Ex. 27:16).
This tabernacle prefigured the Virgin Mary, in whom God dwelt “to dwell with men,” as it is written: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them” (Rev. 21:3). The scarlet and scarlet cloth and fine linen from which the tabernacle was made typified the parents of the Mother of God, who came and was born from chastity and abstinence, as if from scarlet and scarlet clothing, and their perfection in fulfilling all the commandments of the Lord, as if from fine linen.
But these holy spouses, by God’s will, were childless for a long time, so that in the very conception and birth of such a daughter the power of God’s grace, the honor of the Born One and the dignity of the parents would be revealed; for it is impossible for a barren and aged woman to give birth otherwise than by the power of God’s grace: it is no longer nature that acts here, but God, who defeats the laws of nature and destroys the bonds of infertility. To be born from barren and elderly parents is a great honor for the one born herself, because she is born not from incontinent parents, but from abstinent and elderly ones, such as Joachim and Anna, who lived in marriage for fifty years and had no children.
Finally, through such a birth, the dignity of the parents themselves is revealed, since after a long period of infertility they gave birth to joy to the whole world, thereby becoming like the holy patriarch Abraham and his pious wife Sarah, who, according to the promise of God, gave birth to Isaac in his old age (Gen. 21:2). However, without a doubt, we can say that the Nativity of the Mother of God is higher than the birth of Isaac by Abraham and Sarah. Just as much as the born Virgin Mary herself is higher and more worthy of honor than Isaac, so much greater and higher is the dignity of Joachim and Anna than Abraham and Sarah.
They did not immediately achieve this dignity, but only through diligent fasting and prayers, in spiritual grief and in heartfelt sorrow, they begged God for this: and their sorrow turned into joy, and their dishonor was a harbinger of great honor, and the diligent petition of the leader to receive benefits, and prayer is the best intercessor.
Joachim and Anna grieved and cried for a long time that they had no children. Once, on a great holiday, Joachim brought gifts to the Lord God in the Jerusalem Temple; together with Joachim, all the Israelites offered their gifts as sacrifices to God. Issachar, the high priest at that time, did not want to accept Joachim’s gifts because he was childless.
“We should not,” he said, “accept gifts from you, because you do not have children, and therefore no blessings from God: you probably have some secret sins.”
Also, one Jew from the tribe of Reuben, who brought his gifts along with others, reproached Joachim, saying:
“Why do you want to make sacrifices to God before me?” Do you not know that you are not worthy to bring gifts with us, for you will not leave descendants in Israel?
These reproaches greatly saddened Joachim, and in great sorrow he left the temple of God, disgraced and humiliated, and the holiday for him turned into sadness, and the festive joy was replaced by sorrow. Deeply grieving, he did not return home, but went into the desert to the shepherds who tended his flocks, and there he cried about his barrenness and about the reproaches and reproaches made to him.
Remembering Abraham, his forefather, to whom God had given a son already in old age, Joachim began to earnestly pray to the Lord that He would grant him the same favor, would hear his prayer, have mercy and take away the reproach from people from him, granting him in his old age the fruit of his marriage, as Abraham once was.
“May I,” he prayed, “have the opportunity to be called the father of a child, and not endure reproaches from people childless and rejected from God!”
Joachim added fasting to this prayer and did not eat bread for forty days.
“I won’t eat,” he said, “and I won’t return to my house; Let my tears be my food, and let this desert be my home, until the Lord God of Israel hears and takes away my reproach.
In the same way, his wife, being at home and hearing that the high priest did not want to accept their gifts, reproaching her for barrenness, and that her husband had retired into the desert out of great sorrow, cried inconsolable tears.
“Now,” she said, “I am the most unfortunate of all: rejected by God, reproached by people and abandoned by my husband!” What to cry about now: about your widowhood, or about childlessness, about your orphanhood, or about the fact that you are not worthy to be called a mother?!
She cried so bitterly all those days.
Anna's slave, named Judith, tried to console her, but could not: for who can console one whose sadness is as deep as the sea?
One day, sad Anna went into her garden, sat down under a laurel tree, sighed from the depths of her heart and, raising her eyes, full of tears to the sky, saw a bird’s nest with little chicks on the tree. This sight caused her even greater grief, and she began to cry with tears:
- Woe to me, childless! I must be the most sinful among all the daughters of Israel, that I alone am so humiliated before all the wives. Everyone carries the fruit of their womb in their hands - everyone is comforted by their children: I alone am alien to this joy. Woe is me! The gifts of all are accepted in the temple of God, and they are shown respect for their childbearing: I alone am rejected from the temple of my Lord. Woe is me! 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. I cannot even compare myself with the earth: for it vegetates and grows seeds and, bearing fruit, blesses You, the Heavenly Father: I alone am barren on earth. Woe is me, Lord, Lord! I am alone, sinful, without offspring. You, Who once gave Sarah the son Isaac in her old age (Gen. 21:1-8), You, Who opened the womb of Anna, the mother of Your prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1:20), look now upon me and hear my prayers. Lord Hosts! You know the reproach of childlessness: stop the sadness of my heart and open my womb and make me barren and fruitful, so that we bring what I have born to You as a gift, blessing, singing and glorifying Your mercy in agreement.
When Anna cried and sobbed, an angel of the Lord appeared to her and said:
- Anna, Anna! your prayer has been heard, your sighs have passed through the clouds, your tears have appeared before God, and you will conceive and give birth to the most blessed Daughter; through Her all the tribes of the earth will receive blessings and salvation will be granted to the whole world; her name will be Maria.
Hearing the angelic words, Anna bowed to God and said:
“The Lord God lives, if a child is born to me, I will give him to serve God.” Let him serve Him and glorify the holy name of God day and night throughout his life.
After this, filled with indescribable joy, Saint Anna quickly went to Jerusalem, there to prayerfully give thanks to God for His merciful visit.
At the same time, an Angel appeared to Joachim in the desert and said:
- Joachim, Joachim! God has heard your prayer and is pleased to grant you His grace: your wife Anna will conceive and give birth to you a daughter, whose birth will be a joy for the whole world. And here is a sign for you that I am preaching the truth to you: go to Jerusalem to the temple of God and there, at the golden gates, you will find your wife Anna, to whom I announced the same thing.
Joachim, surprised by such angelic news, praising God and thanking Him with his heart and lips for his great mercy, hastily went to the Jerusalem temple with joy and joy. There, as the angel had told him, he found Anna at the golden gate, praying to God, and told her about the angel’s gospel. She also told him that she had seen and heard an angel who announced the birth of her daughter. Then Joachim and Anna glorified God, who had shown them such great mercy, and, having worshiped Him in the holy temple, they returned to their home.
And Saint Anna conceived on the ninth day of December, and on the eighth of September her daughter was born, the Most Pure and Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the beginning and intercessor of our salvation, at whose birth both heaven and earth rejoiced. On the occasion of Her birth, Joachim brought great gifts, sacrifices and burnt offerings to God, and received the blessing of the high priest, priests, Levites and all the people for being worthy of God's blessing. Then he arranged a rich meal in his house, and everyone glorified God with joy.
Her parents took care of the growing Virgin Mary like the apple of their eye, knowing, by a special revelation of God, that She would be the light of the whole world and the renewal of human nature. Therefore, they raised Her with such careful prudence as befitted the One who was to be the Mother of our Savior. They loved Her not only as a daughter, long awaited, but also revered Her as their mistress, remembering the angelic words spoken about Her, and foreseeing in spirit what would happen to Her.
She, filled with Divine grace, mysteriously enriched her parents with the same grace. Just as the sun illuminates the stars of heaven with its rays, giving them particles of its light, so God’s chosen Mary, like the sun, illuminated Joachim and Anna with the rays of the grace given to her, so that they too were filled with the Spirit of God and firmly believed in the fulfillment of the angelic words.
When the youth Mary was three years old, her parents led Her with glory into the temple of the Lord, accompanying her with lighted lamps, and dedicated Her to the service of God, as they had promised. Several years after the introduction of Mary into the temple, Saint Joachim died, eighty years old. Saint Anna, remaining a widow, left Nazareth and came to Jerusalem, where she remained near her Most Holy Daughter, praying incessantly in the temple of God. Having lived in Jerusalem for two years, she rested in the Lord, being 79 years old.
Oh, how blessed are you, holy parents, Joachim and Anna, for the sake of your Most Blessed Daughter!
You are especially blessed for the sake of Her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all the nations and tribes of the earth received blessings! It is right that the Holy Church called you Fathers of God, 3 for we know that God was born from your Most Holy Daughter. Now standing close to Him in heaven, pray that at least some part of your endless joy will be given to us. Amen.
Troparion, tone 1:
Who in legal grace was righteous and gave birth to a God-given child to us, Joachim and Anna: the same day, joyfully celebrating, the divine church honors your memory, glorifying God, who raised the horn of salvation for us in the house of David.
Kontakion, voice 2:
Now Anna rejoices, having resolved her infertility, and nourishes the Most Pure One, calling all to sing praises, who gave from her womb to man one Mother and the inexperienced
The Mother of God is the patroness and Holy Virgin, most revered in the Christian world. She is called the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Blessed Virgin. In Christianity, she is considered the mother of Jesus Christ. She is the most revered and greatest of all saints.
She bears the holy name of the Mother of God because she gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom the entire Christian world considers Almighty God.
The Mother of God was born in the city of Nazareth, in Galilee. Mary's parents were Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. They were already a very middle-aged married couple, and they had no children. However, Anna had a vision from a heavenly angel that she would soon give birth to a child. A girl was born, they named her Maria. Until the age of three, the girl lived with her parents. Then, along with the rest of the children, she was brought up in a place where she prayed a lot. After reaching adulthood, she left the temple because a husband was chosen for her. This was a man from the tribe of David, an elderly man, Joseph the Betrothed. Joseph was chosen because a miracle happened the day before - his staff blossomed in an extraordinary way. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would be the mother of the long-awaited and promised Messiah. Mary conceived him through the Holy Spirit. There was a prediction that the Mother of God would give birth to a son who would save her people from their sins. She ended her life in the city of Jerusalem 12 years after the ascension of Christ, she was 48 years old. The death of Mary was marked by her Ascension on the third day, and in the last moment of her life Jesus Christ himself appeared to her.
Akathist is a song, or more precisely a genre of Orthodox church hymnography, which is performed while standing. The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos can be read as part of a prayer service and other services. It is especially recommended to do this at the morning of the holiday called Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos. This is one of the main songs in the Christian world. Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos is a song of thanksgiving that is addressed to the Mother of God herself. All Christians revere the image of the Queen of Heaven in a special way, pay homage to her and praise her deeds.
Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos is also gratitude to the one who is the Intercessor of all Orthodox people. It is about her that every Orthodox person thinks about when he is offended, humiliated, in sorrows and in distress. The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos says that this saint awaits sincere human repentance. She guides sinners on the path of a true Christian and helps them turn to a righteous life. She extends a helping hand to everyone who turns to her and even to those who live in sin but ask for help.
The Akathist to the Mother of God speaks of a special attitude towards immaculate souls, towards people with a pure heart and good thoughts. People with the highest spirituality and purity of heart clearly feel the presence of her son, God, at the moment of turning to the saint. The Akathist to the Mother of God calls on you to carefully preserve God’s word and live as the Virgin Mary lived - in perfect purity.
Icons of the Mother of God are considered miraculous, since a person has a spiritual connection with God, through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - these are prayers that bring peace and prosperity to family relationships. For example, if you are about to get married, pray near the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary called “The Unfading Flower.”
The words that usually sound in front of this icon are requests to choose the right spouse, to get rid of quarrels in the family. Very pure, fiery words of prayer, sounding from the heart, will help you find what you are asking for, and will also allow you to achieve reconciliation in the event of a quarrel in the family. Prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos are filled with the main meaning - purity and chastity.
Tcherezova Galina
the Virgin Mary
Summary of the myth
Mother of God with Child
(XVI-XVII centuries, Nessebar school)
the Virgin Mary(September 8, 20 BC? - August 15, 45 AD?) - mother of Jesus Christ, one of the most revered figures in Christianity. In Orthodoxy, Catholicism and other traditional churches it is usually called Mother of God.
The parents of the Virgin Mary, righteous residents of Jerusalem Joachim and Anna, prayed to God all their lives to send them children, and when they reached old age, the Angel of the Lord appeared to them with the news that they would soon have a child, about whom the whole world would talk. Soon Anna conceived and after 9 months gave birth to a girl, who was named Maria. When Mary grew up, she was taken to the Jerusalem Temple to serve until she came of age, as was customary at that time. At the age of 12, Mary took a vow of eternal virginity, and at the age of 18, her parents gave her in marriage to an elderly Jew, Joseph, who greatly respected her promise to the Lord. In his house, Mary spun yarn that was used in the temple for the altar. One day, while she was working, an Angel appeared to the girl and announced that she would soon give birth to a baby, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind. Christians remember this event on the Feast of the Annunciation. Mary was very surprised because she kept her vow and had no intention of breaking it. Her husband was also saddened and surprised when her pregnancy became noticeable to others, and was about to throw Mary out of the house as an unfaithful wife, but Archangel Gabriel, who appeared to him, announced that Mary had conceived from the Holy Spirit and was honest with her husband.
Nativity of Jesus Christ. Shortly before the birth, a population census was announced in Judea, and Joseph and Mary went to the city of Bethlehem, as representatives of the family of David. As people came there from all over the country, all the inns were occupied, and many travelers stayed in stables. It was there, in a manger (animal feeding trough) that the baby Jesus was born. There shepherds and wise men found him, who came to worship the Savior and bring Him their gifts. The Magi came from the East, because shortly before this they saw a sign in the sky - a new star, which announced the birth of the son of God on earth. The Magi were astrologers, and having long ago calculated this great event, they were waiting for a sign to appear that would tell them that the prediction would be fulfilled. The shepherds who came to Jesus were tending sheep in the vicinity of Bethlehem, and suddenly an Angel of God appeared to them, announcing that a great child had been born in the city of David, who would be called the Savior of the world. And the shepherds, leaving everything, went to Bethlehem, and the Angel showed them the way.
On the 40th day, the parents brought Jesus to the Temple of Jerusalem, on the steps of which they met Simeon the God-Receiver, a famous righteous man, whom the Holy Spirit once predicted that he would not die until he saw Christ. Simeon, having bowed to the Savior, bestowed his blessings on him, and predicted future suffering to Mary, saying that a weapon would pierce her soul. This is how the “Seven Arrows” icon appeared, on which the Mother of God is depicted with arrows piercing her heart, a symbol of maternal torment and pain for the death of her only son. Orthodox Christians remember the meeting of Simeon and Christ during the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, considering this event a prototype of the meeting of the Savior of the World with humanity, which was personified by the God-Receiver.
Mary's flight to Egypt. When the wise men, led by a guiding star, came to Bethlehem, they went to King Herod, believing that he might know where to look for the born baby, the future King of the Jews (in the horoscope of Jesus they saw that he would become the King of Judea in a symbolic, spiritual sense) . But Herod took their question literally and was very afraid, asking them to inform him without fail when they would find Jesus. But the Magi broke their promise, and King Herod, afraid that he would be dethroned, decided to kill all the babies recently born in Bethlehem. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that a great massacre of infants was coming, so Joseph and his family must urgently leave the city. The next day, the couple headed to Egypt, fleeing the monstrous atrocities of Herod, and lived in Egypt until the death of the king. Subsequently, having learned that the son of Herod reigned in Bethlehem, they did not dare to stop in this city and settled in Nazareth.
The further life of the Mother of God. The Mother of God is not often mentioned in the Gospel, and all evidence about her further life, unfortunately, is very meager and scattered. Collecting pieces of her biography, it becomes clear that she was always close to her son, accompanying him on trips and helping in preaching activities. During the crucifixion, she stood at the cross, and Jesus, dying, asked the Apostle John to take care of her. Mary's life was full of experiences and suffering that only mothers can understand. She was tormented seeing how the high priests did not accept her son. Her heart bled when Pilate gave Jesus to be crucified. She fainted from pain as nails were driven into the palms of her only son. She felt His pain as if it were her own, and her loving motherly heart could barely withstand this torment. The Mother of God initially knew what fate awaited Jesus, and therefore there was not a day in her life when the sharp arrows of sorrow did not pierce her soul. The prediction of Simeon the God-Receiver came true. Mary deliberately gave her son up to be torn to pieces, and did she have a choice? How could she resist the will of the Almighty? She sacrificed her life to the One who saved the whole world... The Mother of God was with the myrrh-bearing women who came to the cave to anoint the body of Jesus with oil. She did not leave her son after the resurrection and remained among the apostles from the moment of the ascension of Christ, during the descent of the Holy Spirit and during the apostolic preaching of Christianity in subsequent years. When Jesus' disciples cast lots for the distribution of lands to spread the teachings of Christ, Georgia fell to Mary. But the Angel of the Lord who appeared commanded her to preach among the pagans on Athos, which is now considered the monastery of monasticism and the House of the Mother of God.
The Virgin Mary died at the age of 48 in Jerusalem, and the apostles came to her tomb, only the Apostle Thomas did not have time to say goodbye to Mary. At his request, the coffin was opened, but to the surprise of everyone present, it turned out to be empty. According to legend, Jesus descended from heaven for his Mother and lifted her into the Kingdom of God.
Images and symbols of myth
Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta).
Leonardo da Vinci. 1490 - 1491
The Mother of God is the prototype of a perfect person, in whom all the best that is in Creation is embodied. She is both heaven and earth, and a ladder connecting heaven and earth. She is a symbol of true Divine Love, which any believer can touch during prayer or visiting holy places.
One of the main symbols of the Mother of God is considered to be Jacob's Ladder (Mary is the link connecting heaven and earth). She is like a ladder that leads humanity to God through the deification of the flesh. The burning bush (the burning but not consumed thorn bush from which the Lord himself appeared before Moses on Mount Sinai) is also a sign of the Mother of God, announcing the immaculate conception of Jesus from the Holy Spirit.
The Virgin Mary is also called the “vessel of manna” because her son is the bread of life, capable of satisfying a person’s spiritual hunger.
The Tabernacle of Meeting, a Jewish camp temple in which the Ark of the Covenant is kept and sacrifices are made, is also considered an image of the Mother of God as the guardian of all spiritual traditions of Christianity.
Mount Nerukosechnaya with a stone that fell off it is an allegory associated with the Mother of God, where the stone that fell off is Jesus Christ. On many icons, the Mother of God is depicted on this mountain, surrounded by other symbols.
Communicative means of creating images and symbols
Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”
(last quarter of the 18th century)
The most famous work that tells us about the life of the Virgin Mary is undoubtedly the Bible. Biblical fragments dedicated to the Mother of God are divided into direct references (in the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles), as well as Old Testament prophecies about the Virgin, who was to become the mother of Christ, and biblical prototypes, symbolically speaking about the saving mission of Mary.
Since ancient times, the Mother of God has been described by church historians (Nicephorus Callista, monk Epiphanius, etc.), depicted by the greatest sculptors and artists (Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Raphael), painted on icons by such masters of icon painting as Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, Evangelist Luke, Ivan Bezmin and many others. Many icons and statues of the Virgin Mary are deeply revered and considered miraculous. The most famous miraculous statues are in the monastery of Montserrat (Spain), in the Austrian Mariazell and in the Mexican city of Jalisco. Another famous Mexican shrine is the image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe (Mexico City). In Eastern Europe, among the revered shrines, the Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God (Czestochowa, Poland) and the Ostrobramskaya Icon of the Mother of God (Vilnius, Lithuania) stand out. All these cities, along with such places of apparitions of the Virgin Mary as Lourdes and Fatima, serve as objects of mass pilgrimages. The Virgin Mary is traditionally depicted in certain clothes: a purple maforia (a married woman's veil that covers her head and shoulders), and a blue tunic (long dress). Maforium is decorated with three stars - on the head and shoulders. In Western European painting, the traditional attribute of Mary is the white lily, a symbol of purity.
In addition to the images, one cannot fail to mention the numerous holidays dedicated to the Mother of God - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation, the Assumption and many others, which are celebrated every year by believers all over the world, who thereby show their love, devotion and deep respect for the Virgin Mary.
Social significance of the myth
Sistine Madonna. Raphael
In the Orthodox tradition, love for Christ is inseparable from love for the Mother of God, who is the Intercessor of all Christians before the throne of God. On this issue, Orthodox and Catholics disagree with Protestants, who, following the ideas of the Reformation, believe that there can be no mediators between God and man, and reject the Divinity of the Virgin Mary.
The Mother of God is a symbol of the sanctification and glorification of human nature, because she was the first among people to receive the Holy Spirit, which entered her during the Annunciation. Orthodoxy does not agree with Catholicism that the Virgin Mary was also conceived immaculately; this separates her from humanity, to whom she showed by her example how to be a true Christian. She walked with Christ His entire path - from birth to Calvary. And also any Christian can follow the Savior in his daily life, crucifying his sins and passions. In the Mother of God, earthly and heavenly wisdom were united for the first time, therefore the secret of Christianity and its ultimate goal are hidden in her. The Mother of Christ even now sanctifies the world with her Love and Purity, protects it from troubles and adversity with her cover. Nowhere is the Mother of God revered as much as in the Orthodox Church. Many holidays are dedicated to Her, and not a single service is complete without a prayerful appeal to Her.
10.05.2015
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of the Savior. In Christianity, she is considered the Mother of God, as well as one of the greatest saints. The name Mary in Hebrew sounds like Mariam, and can have different meanings, including - bitter, rebellious, beloved by the Creator.
The fact is that many scholars who study the sacred scriptures most trust the meaning of “beloved,” and attribute this word to the ancient language of the Egyptians, which is explained by the presence of the Jewish people in the African country for several centuries.
Early Mary is unknown to anyone
Almost nothing is known about Mary’s early life; in the Gospel the story about Mary begins from the moment when the Archangel Gabriel comes to her in Nazareth, who tells her that she has been given the honor of being chosen, after which she must give birth to the Messiah. It is known that Mary became engaged to Joseph in those years, but remained a virgin, as evidenced by the words spoken by Mary - “How can I have a child if I don’t know my husband?” The angel explained to her that the light and power of the Creator would descend on her, after which Mary agreed, saying: “Let it be as you say.” After this event, Mary decided to visit her close relative Elizabeth, to whom the Archangel also came and said that she would have a son, although she was barren and was many years old. Elizabeth had a son, John the Baptist.
When Mary was next to Elizabeth, she sang a song of praise to her, the Bible says that it resembles the song of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, one of the revered prophets. Upon returning to Nazareth, her husband learned that Mary would have a child, after which he decided to let her go and not tell anyone. But Archangel Gabriel appeared to him too, telling him about the Great Secret itself.
Maria had to flee the city
In those years, the population census was taking place, and the family was from the line of David, so they had to flee to Bethlehem. Soon a baby, Jesus, was born in the stable. Next came the wise men to the birthplace, who learned about the birth of Christ and walked in the direction of the Star in the sky. The shepherds saw Joseph, Mary and her child. Eight days later, the ritual of circumcision was performed and the baby was named Jesus. Forty days later, the husband and wife went to the Temple to perform a cleansing ritual in accordance with the law and dedicate the child to God. They sacrificed four birds. When this ritual was being performed, Simeon, the elder in the Temple, decided to tell the future of the child to everyone present, after which he said that Mary would participate in the suffering of Jesus.
Mary was close to Jesus for many years. It is a well-known fact that when Mary asked her son to turn water into wine, a wedding was taking place in Cana at that time. Then she stayed with Christ in Capernaum. After Christ’s execution, she also had to be in place, and Jesus told John to always be with his mother. After Christ ascended into heaven, she, along with those who were next to the Savior, waited for the Holy Spirit. They managed to see the descent of the Spirit, which took on a different form; it was fire. Further, nothing is said anywhere about Mary’s life.
The Virgin Mary is the holiest of all women
Before the Council of Nicaea was held in the fourth century, clergy and figures, including Justina Martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, Cyprian and many others, argued that Mary's role in the redemption of mankind was undeniable. If we talk about the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary, then she is considered the greatest woman of all who existed on Earth. According to scientists, in order to become the Mother of God, Mary needed to be awarded great divine favor. In Catholicism, the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary is considered as a logical condition that prepares the Virgin Mary herself for the coming of the Messiah.
Mary was saved from vice
If we talk about Pope Pius, he said that the Holy Virgin Mary became her even before the moment of the Immaculate Conception occurred, everything consisted of an exceptional gift of grace. This suggests that the mother of the Savior was from the very beginning protected from sin, which alienates any creature from God, since the time of the first man, when the Fall occurred.
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