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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, Holy Virgin. In Christianity, she is considered the mother of Jesus Christ. She is the most revered and greatest of all saints.

Wears holy name Theotokos, 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. This is what everyone is talking about Orthodox man thinks when 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 “ Everlasting Color».

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.

“Today the treasure of life, the abyss of grace... is covered by life-giving death and She who fearlessly approaches it is She who bore in her womb the Destroyer of Death, if it is at all permissible to call Her all-sacred and life-giving departure death.”

Second Homily on the Dormition of the Virgin MaryJohn of Damascus

The Mother of God is not just some random person who was very lucky. Who She became is the result, first of all, of Her enormous work on herself.

Mary trusts God completely; She does not try to comprehend the Mystery of His Plan with a weak human mind. She simply says, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.” I am Your servant, I am ready to do Your will.

The moment of Mary's consent to become the Mother of the Lord was the moment of the Incarnation. The Holy Spirit overshadows Her, and She takes Life into Herself.

What was Maria like in life?..

Mary was the Mother of the Son of God. But what is a mother? This is the one who raised, educated, taught the first words, attitude towards the world around us, towards the people around us. That is, by learning something about the Son, peering into the features of His Personality, we discover for ourselves the personality of the Mother of God.

The Mother of God is not a “channel” through which the Lord was born, but the true Mother. The one who is connected with the child by bonds of love and tenderness, the one who raises the child, protects him, guides him in life until the child grows up.

And when Christ, dying a painful death, from the Cross blesses the Mother of God to be the Mother of His disciples, this indicates that He desires for everyone such a Mother as He had.

We know very little about the childhood and youth of the Mother of God. Tradition says that She wanted to devote her life to God and remain a virgin.

At the age of three, She was brought to the temple. Elderly pious people of that time sent girls to the temple to be raised. The girls cleaned the temple grounds, did some other work, and learned embroidery. Tradition says that the Mother of God with her own hands embroidered a curtain, which was torn in the temple at the moment of Christ’s death. She could very well learn to weave and weave. There is even a legend that the “unsewn” tunic of Christ, which was shared by the executioner soldiers at the Cross, was woven for him by his Mother.

When a girl turned twelve or thirteen years old, she was married off. The same thing should have happened with the Mother of God. When she had reached at most fourteen years of age, she was betrothed to Joseph - this was indeed old man. They did not live together, preparations were underway for the wedding, and just at that time an Angel appeared to her, who told her something that no one had ever heard: “You have found grace from God...”.

About the Dormition of the Mother of God

It is unknown when the legends about the Dormition of the Mother of God arose, about how the apostle came to the tomb. Thomas and when the tomb was opened, it turned out to be empty. News of an incident that happened in the 5th century has reached our days. When Empress Pulcheria was building a temple dedicated to the Mother of God in Constantinople, she decided to find the body of the deceased Mother of God. According to the testimony of St. John of Damascus, Pulcheria turned to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Juvenal, and the patriarch answered the empress that this was impossible, and told her the story we know about the Apostle Thomas. Instead of the body of the Mother of God, Patriarch Juvenaly sent Pulcheria the funeral shrouds of the Mother of God kept in Gethsemane, which were placed in the temple in a specially made precious shrine.

At what age did the Mother of God die?

The Mother of God rested, as ancient legend says, when she was already over sixty years old. She gave birth to the Savior at the age of fifteen; Jesus died when He was about 33. The Mother of God lived for another twenty years, after the death and Resurrection of her Son. She visited church communities, visited Cyprus and Mount Athos. Athos in ancient times was a sacred mountain where pagan priests lived and made their sacrifices, this is also proven by excavations. And the legend says that when the Mother of God was traveling, Her ship landed on Athos, and the demons that abundantly inhabited these places, sensing that She had set foot on Athos, fled from there in horror.

The Mother of God knew in advance about the approach of Her death. She was not afraid of death because she dreamed of being reunited with Her Son. One day She was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Angel Gabriel appeared to Her, the same one who brought the Good News about the birth of the Savior through Her, and told Her that She would soon appear before the Son. The Mother of God went home and reported that death was approaching. And soon she rested. When She died, a fragrance spread throughout the surrounding area, so that many people who lived around and respected the Mother of Jesus (and She was very kind) a good man, and non-Christians loved Her too) - they all gathered near Her house.

In the East, it is customary to bury people on the same day that a person dies. And when the Mother of God died, the apostles hastened to gather at Her bedside.

Three or four days after the death of the Mother of God, the belated Apostle Thomas arrived and asked to open the tomb so that he could say goodbye to the Mother of the Lord. They open the tomb and see that it is empty, there are only clothes and vestments, which were then kept by Christians as the greatest shrine (the belt of the Virgin Mary is kept on Holy Mount Athos to this day). The body of the Mother of God disappeared.

We can trust this legend, if only because it is undoubtedly known that the bodies of holy people in the East were surrounded with very great honor. Luxurious tombs were built for them, their graves were visited and decorated. It is known that when John the Baptist was killed, his body was carefully buried by his disciples, and we know the same about the saints of the first centuries - their bodies were sometimes even bought by rich Christians in order to bury them with honors. And the body of the Mother of God, who is above all saints, disappeared. She was resurrected by Her Son.

This could happen as an anticipation of our general resurrection from the dead. We believe that our souls live after death and then, after the general resurrection, will be reunited with our bodies. We, of course, will not find the kind of bodies that we have today, but others - luminous, spiritual, like the one that Christ had after the Resurrection, so that He could remain unrecognized and pass through walls. And the Mother of God, as the highest of the saints, as the highest even of all angelic ranks, having died like any ordinary person, was then resurrected. As the most spiritual and highest representative of the human race!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The main female figure for Orthodox believers is the Virgin Mary, who was given the honor of becoming the Mother of the Lord. She led a righteous life and helped people cope with various troubles. After ascending to heaven, believers began to pray Mother of God, asking for help in different situations.

Virgin Mary in Orthodoxy

For believers, the Mother of God is the main intercessor before her Son and Lord. She is the woman who gave birth and raised the Savior. It is believed that nothing is impossible for the Mother of God, and people ask her for salvation for their souls. In Orthodoxy, the Virgin Mary is called the patroness of every person, since she is loving mother worries about his children. More than once the appearance of the Virgin Mary occurred, which was accompanied by miracles. There are many icons, temples and monasteries created in honor of the Mother of God.

Who is the Virgin Mary?

A lot of information is known about the life of the Mother of God, which can be found in the apocrypha and in the memoirs of people who knew her during her earthly life. The following main facts can be highlighted:

1. The Holy Virgin Mary was in a specialized school at the Jerusalem Temple until she was 12 years old. Her parents sent her there, who made a vow that their daughter would devote her life to the Lord.
2. The appearance of the Mother of God was described by the church historian Nicephorus Callistus. She was of medium height, golden hair, and olive-colored eyes. The Virgin Mary's nose is oblong and her face is round.
3. To feed her family, the Mother of God had to constantly work. It is known that she was a good weaver and independently created the red tunic that Jesus wore before the crucifixion.
4. The Virgin Mary constantly followed Jesus until the end of his earthly life. After the crucifixion and ascension of Christ, the Mother of God remained to live with John the Theologian. Further life is known to a greater extent from the apocryphal “Proto-Gospel of Jacob”.
5. The death of the Virgin Mary was recorded in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, where the Catholic Church is now located. According to the apocrypha, apostles from different parts of the world arrived at his deathbed, but only Thomas stayed behind, so at his request the tomb was not closed. On the same day, the body of the Virgin Mary disappeared, so it is believed that the Ascension of the Virgin Mary took place.

Symbols of the Virgin Mary

There are many symbols that relate to the Virgin Mary:

1. A monogram made up of two letters “MR”, which means Maria Regina - Mary, Queen of Heaven.
2. A common sign of the Virgin Mary is a winged heart, sometimes pierced by a saber and depicted on a shield. This picture is the coat of arms of the Virgin Mary.
3. The name of the Mother of God is associated with a crescent moon, a cypress tree and an olive tree. The flower symbolizing the purity of the Virgin Mary is the lily. Since the Virgin Mary is considered the queen of all saints, one of her symbols is called white rose. She is represented with five petals, which is associated with the name Maria.

Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

The sinlessness of the Mother of God did not immediately become a dogma, since the authors of the first Christian texts did not pay attention to this issue. Many do not know how the Virgin Mary became pregnant, but according to legend, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven to her, and an immaculate conception occurred, thanks to which it did not pass on to Jesus Christ original sin. In Orthodoxy, the Immaculate Conception is not accepted as a dogma and it is believed that the Mother of God was freed from sin thanks to contact with Divine grace.

How did the Virgin Mary give birth to Jesus?

It is not possible to find details regarding how the Virgin’s birth took place, but there is information that it was absolutely painless. This is explained by the fact that Christ emerged from his mother’s womb without opening it or expanding the paths, that is, the Mother of God Virgin Mary remained a virgin. It is believed that Jesus was born when his mother was 14-15 years old. There were no midwives near the Mother of God; she herself took the child in her arms.

Prophecies of the Virgin Mary at Fatima

The most famous apparition of Our Lady is the Miracle of Fatima. She came to three shepherd children, and each of her appearances was accompanied by a number of inexplicable incidents, for example, the random movement of the sun across the sky was observed. During the communication, the Mother of God revealed three secrets. The predictions of the Virgin Mary of Fatima have been revealed at different times:

1. At her first appearance, the Mother of God showed the children terrible visions of Hell. She said that the First would soon end World War, but if people do not stop sinning and offending God, then he will punish them with various disasters. The sign will be the appearance of bright light at night, when it will be visible as during the day. According to some data, before the outbreak of World War II, the northern lights were observed in Europe.
2. The second appearance of the Virgin Mary brought another prophecy and it says that when everything is illuminated by an unknown light at night, it will be a sign that God is going to punish the world. To prevent this from happening, the Mother of God will come to ask for the consecration of Russia, and also for the holding of expiatory sacraments on every first Saturday of the month. If people listen to her requests, then there will be peace, but if not, then wars and new cataclysms cannot be avoided. Many believe that this prophecy speaks of the spread of communism, which was accompanied by various clashes.
3. The third prophecy was received in 1917, but the Virgin Mary did not allow its discovery until 1960. The Pope, having read the prophecy, refused to reveal it, citing the fact that it did not concern his time. The text indicates that an assassination attempt will be made on the Pope and this happened in May 1981. The Pope himself admitted that it is believed that the Mother of God protected him from death.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary

There are a huge number of prayer texts addressed to the Mother of God. She helps believers cope with various problems, this is how women who want to get pregnant and get married turn to her, ask her for healing and material benefits, pray to her for children, and so on. There are several rules regarding the pronunciation of prayer texts:

1. You can turn to the Mother of God in church and at home, the main thing is to have an icon before your eyes. It is recommended to light a candle nearby to make it easier to concentrate.
2. The prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary must be said from a pure heart and with faith in her power. Any doubts are a block to assistance.
3. You can turn to the Mother of God at any time when your soul desires.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary of Lourdes

In 1992, the Pope established a holiday in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes. People turn to her for help to receive healing from illnesses. During her lifetime, the Holy Virgin healed the suffering and after that became the savior of the sick. When she was a child, the Virgin Mary, the Most Holy Theotokos, began to appear to her and taught her the rules of prayer, called her to repentance for sinful people and asked her to build a church. She showed the girl where the healing source was. Bernadette was canonized only 10 years after her death.

Strong prayer to the Virgin Mary for help

In Christianity, prayer to the Mother of God is considered the most powerful and effective. They ask her for help in different situations, the main thing is that the request is serious, because over trifles Higher power It's better not to bother. The prayer to the Virgin Mary for help should be repeated daily and even up to several times a day. You can say it out loud or to yourself. The sacred text, when read regularly, instills hope and gives strength not to give up in a difficult situation.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for well-being

A person's life is filled with different situations that are not always positive. Guardian family hearth are women, therefore representatives of the fair sex should pray for the well-being of their relatives. The Blessed Virgin Mary will help reconcile people, and another one will protect from quarrels and family destruction. With the help of the presented prayer, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from various negativity from the outside.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for health

There is a huge amount of evidence from believers that confirms that sincere prayer requests to the Mother of God they helped to be healed from various ailments. The prayer to the Holy Virgin Mary can be said in church, but it is also recommended to place an image at home near the patient’s bed, light a candle and pray. You can say the text on, and then give the person with the disease a drink and wash it.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for marriage

Many girls who are in search of a soul mate turn to the Most Holy Theotokos so that she can bring petitions to the Lord and help establish personal life. She is considered the main intercessor of all women, helping them in love affairs. To find happiness and love, you need to read a prayer to the Virgin Mary every day until what you want becomes real. Prayer requests will not only increase the chances of meeting a worthy life partner, but will also protect the relationship from various problems and help build a happy family.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for children

The Mother of God is the main mother for all believers, since she gave the world the Savior. Great amount people turn to her for help, asking for their children. The blessed Virgin Mary will help guide the child on the righteous path, discourage him from bad company and give him inspiration to find himself in this world. Regular prayer to the mother will be a strong protection against illnesses and various problems.