Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary

For maternal feat, for unparalleled submission to God, for unspoken suffering and humility, and for the fact that with her the new spiritual chronicle of the human race began, on January 8, the Orthodox Church glorifies the Most Pure Mother of God In accordance with church custom, after important events dedicated to the Son of God, to remember those who played a significant role during his life, the Council of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated immediately the next day after the Nativity of Christ The first mention of the holiday dates back to early Christianity - in 681, when the decree of the VI Ecumenical Council laid the foundation for this bright day The holiday is called a cathedral because on this wonderful day there is a general (conciliar) celebration of other saints close to Mary: believers glorify Saint Joseph the Betrothed - who served the Mother of God and her son Christ with high reverence; King David, from whose family the Savior came into the world; Saint James - the brother of Christ and one of his first apostles, who was next to God's chosen family fleeing to Egypt during the persecution of King Herod On the great feast of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, solemn services are held in all Orthodox churches Priests and believers perform church chants of praise, turn to the Mother of God, give thanks, say words of gratitude and pray in front of icons with her image In the old days, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not only a religious holiday, but also a good opportunity to preserve folk customs, because Russian traditions did not disappear without a trace with the advent of Christianity In Rus', this day was combined with a special women's day - "Women's porridge" From the very morning, the housewives cooked delicious porridge, baked pies, fed the whole family, and then headed to the church to present a treat for the Most Pure One Returning from church, they collected food: pies, homemade meat, lard, bread or flour and went to bow to the midwives, so that those receiving newborns would not need anything It is difficult not to notice a symbolic comparison in this, a hidden hint that the Mother of God herself accepted the baby Christ who was born On January 8, the entire Orthodox world remembers the Virgin Mary, the earthly righteous woman for whom the Creator prepared an unusual and great destiny, the woman who became the mother of God’s son, the Savior and the Messiah, who sacrificed himself for the atonement of human sins