St. Alexandra of Diveyevo

Joyous feast!

Today we commemorate St. Alexandra (Melgunova), founder and first abbess of the Diveyevo Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Born a noblewoman in Ryazan, early in her marriage St. Alexandra (then named Agafia) was widowed and decided to dedicate her life to God, becoming a nun at St. Florus' Monastery in Kiev.

After receiving visions from the Mother of God and the death of her only child St. Alexandra moved from Kiev to Diveyevo, where she began the building of the monastery with funds from the sale of her lands. The first cells for the future sisterhood were built around the Monastery's Church of the Kazan Icon with the blessing of the Sarov elders, among them St. Seraphim of Sarov.

After Mother Alexandra's repose St. Seraphim told pilgrims to visit her grave and ask for her prayers, prophesying the later uncovering of her relics and her glorification by the Russian Orthodox Church. Of the Saint he said, "She was a great woman, a saint; her eyes were fountains of tears, her humility was inscrutable, her prayers to God were pure, and her love for everyone was unfeigned!"

More on St. Alexandra's life can be found here. May her blessing and prayers be with us all!

300,000 Venerate Sash in St. Petersburg

Since the arrival of the Sash of the Mother of God in St. Petersburg earlier this month over 300,000 people have venerated it despite the waiting line, which is generally 10 to 15 hours long. The Sash is due to remain in St. Petersburg until 19 November, after which it will be transferred to Moscow before its return to Mount Athos on 23 November. More here.

Apparitions of the Mother of God Reported in Cairo, Alexandria

Coptic Orthodox Christians from Alexandria and Cairo are reportedly claiming to have witnessed multiple appearances of the Mother of God last night as Egypt continues to mourn clashes in Cairo that resulted in the death of twenty-eight Copts. A film of one of the apparitions reported in Heliopolis, a Cairo suburb, can be found here. There is no word as to whether anyone in the hierarchy of the Coptic Orthodox Church has verified the apparitions.

Sash of the Mother of God Visiting Russia

The Sash of the Mother of God has left Mount Athos to make its first visit to Russia. The sash normally leaves the Holy Mountain once a year to visit different cities in Greece, but this year the abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery where it is kept blessed the request of the Russian Orthodox Church to have the relic visit Russia for the next month. More here.

Nativity of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! Today we celebrate the Nativity of the Mother of God. Like many of the saints, the Mother of God was born to barren parents, Sts. Joachim and Anna, and was dedicated by them to God and eventually sent to dwell with the virgins living at the Temple in Jerusalem (an event we commemorate on the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God).

More on today's feast can be found here. May the protection and intercession of the Mother of God be with us all!

Dormition and Assumption of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! It may seem a little late to be celebrating the Dormition given that the Orthodox following the Armenian, Gregorian/'New Julian,' Coptic, and Ethiopian have all celebrated it already (on 13, 14, 22, and 21/22 August respectively), but greetings with this beautiful feast regardless!

Today is called the Pascha of the Mother of God by some and the services mirror this in several ways, most notably with a funeral procession of the Mother of God's funeral shroud (painted, like the Lord's, with an icon of the sleeping Mother of God) during the festal Vigil. We celebrate the Mother of God, who has been brought over from death to life by her Son, Who allowed her to fall asleep to greater glorify Himself by resurrecting her and bringing her to dwell with Him in the fullness of His Kingdom.

More details on today's feast, as well as the fast which precedes it, can be found here and here. May the Queen of Heaven's protection and intercessions be with us all!

Of the icons pictured the first is a Byzantine-style icon of today's feast, which in the Byzantine Rite combines the celebration of her Dormition and Assumption on a single day, whilst the second is a Coptic-style icon showing the Assumption, which is the primary focus of the Alexandrian Rite's observance and which in the Ethiopian Rite falls a day after the observance of the Dormition.

Icon of the Mother of God 'the Tender-Feeling'

Joyous feast! The Icon of the Mother of God 'the Tender-feeling' (Умиление in Russian) was treasured by St. Seraphim of Sarov, who prayed before it daily in his cell and anointed the sick and suffering who came to him with oil from the lampada that burned before it. St. Seraphim called this depiction of the Mother of God both the 'Tender-feeling' and the 'Joy of All Joys.'

After St. Seraphim reposed while praying before the Tender-feeling Icon it was given by Abbot Niphont of the Sarov Monastery to St. Seraphim's spiritual daughters at the Diveyevo Monastery of the Trinity, where it is treasured to this day by the sisterhood and enshrined on the south side of the nave. (St. Seraphim now rests on the north side of the nave.)

May the Mother of God's protection and intercessions be with us all!

Dormition of St. Anna

Joyous feast! Today we commemorate the falling-asleep of St. Anna (or Hannah), mother of our Lady Mary. It is said that St. Anna, having born the Mother of God in her old age, fell asleep shortly before the Annunciation after having lived seventy-nine years.

As the Mother of God is in a sense the mother of the Church, so St. Anna is in a sense the grandmother of the Church and many turn to her for prayer and protection just as they do in life to their earthly grandmothers. Because of her love for her children St. Anna has been glorified by many miracles, most notably in our times through her weeping icon (pictured), and is the protectress of many cities, among them Detroit.

More on St. Anna's life can be found here. May her blessing and prayers be with us all!

Sash of the Mother of God to Visit Russia

One of the most treasured relics of the Orthodox Church, the sash of the Mother of God, will be visiting Russia from Mount Athos this fall. More here.

Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! The Tikhvin Icon is said to be one of the icons of the Mother of God written by St. Luke the Evangelist. In the 400s the Tikhvin Icon was translated from the Holy City of Jerusalem to Constantinople where the Blachernae church was built to enshrine it. Several hundred years later, in 1383, the Tikhvin Icon disappeared from Blachernae and appeared over the waters of Lake Ladoga in northern Russia, eventually settling near the city of Tikhvin, where it was enshrined anew in a monastery dedicated to the Dormition.

The Tikhvin Icon remained in northern Russia for many years, at one time helping the Russian armies defeat the invading Swedes. During the upheaval of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union the Icon was taken from Tikhvin to the Latvian capital, Riga. When the Soviets began to approach Riga towards the end of World War II the Tikhvin Icon was again translated, eventually settling in Chicago with its caretaker and remaining there until its return to Russia in 2004.

More on the Tikhvin Icon can be found here. May the Mother of God's protection and prayers be with us all!

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Joyous feast! Today we commemorate the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, born to Sts. Zachariah and Elizabeth after their child-bearing years had ended. Even in the womb St. John witnessed to the Christ, leaping in St. Elizabeth's womb when she was visited by her relative, St. Mary.

Throughout St. Elizabeth's pregnancy her husband was unable to speak, but after the naming of St. John on the eighth day his speech was restored so that he could glorify God and prophesy concerning the coming of the Christ. More on today's feast can be found here. May St. John's blessing and prayers be with us all!

Minya Celebrates the Mother of God

Despite growing tensions between Orthodox Christianity and Islam in Egypt some 2 million Copts and Muslims have participated in a feast day of the Mother of God in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya, with many holding signs saying, "Minya Without Sectarianism." More here.

Zhirovits Icon of the Mother of God

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! Today is the commemoration of the wonderworking Zhirovits Icon of the Mother of God, which was discovered shining radiantly on a tree by shepherds near the village of Zhirovitsa (today in western Belarus). More on the Zhirovits Icon's discovery and history can be found here. May the Theotokos' protection and intercessions be with us all!

This icon was somewhat dear to an old friend of mine whose family immigrated from Belarus, where its still widely venerated. He's no longer living, but whenever I see this icon I think of him - please remember in your prayers today God's servant Michael.

Saturday of the Akathist of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! Today's feast of the Akathist of the Mother of God was established on this the fifth Saturday of Lent to commemorate the Theotokos' deliverance of Constantinople from a Persian army in 625 and her defense of the city against attacking Arab Muslim armies in 655 and 705. The original Akathist, dedicated to the Mother of God, originates in this period in the praises of the people of Constantinople for the Mother of God's deliverance of the city. May her protection and intercessions be with us all!

"Evangelical Issues with Orthodoxy: Most Holy Mother of God"

A good survey of Evangelical Protestantism's approach to the Mother of God by a recent convert to Orthodox Christianity in Kenya can be found here.

Quote of the Day: From the First Hour of the Agpeya

You are the honored mother of the Light; from the rising of the sun to its setting praises are offered to you, O Theotokos, the second heaven...