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The position of the honest belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The position of the honest belt of the Virgin - the history of the holiday The position of the honest belt of the Blessed

Position of the Honorable Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is a Christian shrine that belonged to the Mother of God. According to Tradition, the belt was woven from camel hair by the Virgin herself, and after the Dormition at the Ascension, she gave it to the Apostle Thomas.

In honor of the relic, a celebration has been established in the Orthodox Church - “The Position of the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos”, performed on September 13 (N.S.).

As you know, the Apostle Thomas did not participate in the burial of the Virgin Mary - at that time he was in the region of India and spread the Good News there. Only on the third day did he arrive in Jerusalem. Grieving and wanting to say goodbye to the Mother of God, he asked the apostles to open her tomb. When they opened it, the apostles were amazed, because the tomb was empty. Only funeral shrouds remained in it, from which came a wondrous fragrance. “Kissing with tears and reverence the burial shroud left in the coffin, they prayed to the Lord that He would reveal to them where the body of the Most Holy Theotokos had disappeared?” - writes Dmitry Rostovsky. In response to their questioning, the Mother of God appeared to the apostles at the supper and greeted them with the words: “Rejoice! “For I am with you all the days.” However, there is a tradition that on the third day, that is, before this appearance, the Mother of God appeared to the Apostle Thomas through his prayer. To comfort him, she threw her belt from the sky to him. This legend is recorded on Orthodox icons, and on the holy Mount Athos there is a fresco of the 6th century depicting Thomas bringing the belt to the rest of the disciples.

The golden ark, in which the belt revered as a great shrine was enclosed for a long time, was first opened at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise. This was done with the permission of the patriarch for the emperor's wife Zoe, who was overwhelmed by an unclean spirit. The emperor prayed to God for the healing of his wife. And there was a vision that she would be cured of her weakness if they put the belt of the Virgin on her. When the ark was opened, it turned out that the belt, which had lain in it for almost ten centuries, had not decayed. The Patriarch applied the Belt to the sick Empress, and she immediately got rid of the unclean spirit. As a token of gratitude to the Mother of God, Zoya embroidered the entire Belt with gold thread. After these events, Saint Euthymius, confessor of the emperor and Patriarch of Constantinople, compiled the Word in "in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in remembrance of the miracle that was from Her Honorable Belt, by the grace, mercy and philanthropy of Christ, our God, who was born from Her."

In the X century, the Belt of the Virgin was divided into parts, which eventually ended up in Bulgaria, Georgia (Zugdidi) and Cyprus (Trooditissa Monastery). Elena, the niece of the Byzantine emperor Roman III Argyra (Argiropulo), received healing from the girdle of the Virgin. When in 1028, after the war with Georgia, the emperor made peace with her, he married Elena to the Georgian king Bagrat IV Kuropalat in order to seal the political alliance. With the permission of the emperor, the bride brought with her to a distant country a part of the Belt. It is known that in early XIX century, the ruler of Megrelia Nino, daughter of the Georgian king George XII, after accepting Russian citizenship, sent the shrine as a gift to the Russian emperor Alexander I. The reaction of the Russian tsar is amazing. Decorating the ark with precious stones, he sent it back and ordered to build a stone church in Zugdidi to store the shrine. To this day, this part of the Belt is kept in the cathedral. Blachernae icon Mother of God in a precious icon case.

In the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos in Greece, a part of the girdle of the Most Holy Theotokos is kept, which the Byzantine emperors took with them on military campaigns and which the Bulgarians once recaptured from the Byzantines. This is a gift from the Serbian prince Lazar Khrebelyanovych, who ruled in the 14th century - the last independent ruler of Serbia. This prince is glorified in the face of the saints of the Serbian Orthodox Church as a great martyr. The history of the monastery is so closely intertwined with the history of the Belt that it can no longer be thought of separately from it. This is also evidenced by the nickname “agiazonites” (that is, “holy girders”) given to the Vatopedi monks on Athos.

In the city of Homs in Syria, there is a temple dedicated to the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the famous "Umm Zunnar". According to the tradition of these places, the shrine was placed in a silver flower on a stand. In the center of the plant, surrounded by openwork petals under glass, lies a thin woolen belt made of camel hair and gold threads, about 60 centimeters long, twisted into a ring. According to legend, this is part of the belt of the Virgin. They found it in 1953 after an old manuscript in Aramaic was discovered in a monastery in Mardin (modern Turkey). This manuscript indicated the place where the half of the belt, which Thomas took with him, was kept. Numerous healings also occur from this part of the shrine through the prayers of believers. In "Umm Zunnar", next to a niche decorated with fresh flowers, where the Belt of the Virgin is kept, there is a jug. Believers throw notes addressed to the Heavenly Intercessor into it.

After the fall of Constantinople, several locations of parts of this relic are known:

the monastery of Vatoped (Athos) - a gift from the Serbian prince Lazar, is considered part of the belt, which the Byzantine emperors took with them on military campaigns and which the Bulgarians recaptured from the Byzantines;

Blachernae Church in Zugdidi (Georgia) - a part brought by the niece of Emperor Roman III, who became the wife of the Georgian king Bagrat IV. At the beginning of the 19th century, Nino, the daughter of Tsar George XII, after accepting Russian citizenship, sent part of the belt as a gift to Emperor Alexander I, who, decorating it with precious stones, returned it back and ordered to build a church in Zugdidi for;

Church of Elijah the Prophet of the Common (Moscow) - a piece of the shrine, stored in a reliquary near the chapel of the Apostles Peter and Paul;

Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg) - on September 21, 2011, a particle of the belt of the Virgin Mary was donated to the cathedral for eternal storage;

Cathedral in the city of Prato (Italy) - a relic, allegedly captured by the crusaders during the First Crusade in Jerusalem, is revered as a belt that the Virgin Mary presented to the Apostle Thomas at the time of her Ascension. The relic was brought from Jerusalem in 1141 by Prato merchant Michele Dagomari.

The miracles manifested through the holy girdle in all ages are innumerable. Here are just a few examples.

One day, the inhabitants of Enos asked that the holy Belt be delivered for them, and the monks who accompanied the relic were sheltered at home by a priest. His wife secretly cut off a piece of the Belt. When the fathers gathered back and boarded the ship, it did not budge, although the sea was quiet. The priest's wife, seeing this strange incident, realized that she had acted unrighteously, and returned part of the Belt to the monks. The ship immediately sailed.

The flap remained detached. Subsequently, a similar incident occurred.

During the Greek War of Independence, the Holy Belt was brought to Crete at the request of its inhabitants, who were suffering from the plague. But when the monks were about to return to their monastery, the Turks arrested them and took them to execution. In the meantime, the British consul Domenicos Sanantonio bought the holy Belt and was taken to Santorini, where the diplomat's new residence was.

The news immediately spread throughout the island. The local bishop notified the Vatopedi monastery, and its abbot Dionysius went to Santorini. The consul requested 15,000 piastres for the Belt. The islanders showed unanimity and were able to raise this amount. So the holy Belt was returned, and hegumen Dionysius took him to Vatopedi.

The wife of the consul did the same as the wife of the priest at Enos. Secretly from her husband, she cut off a small piece from the Holy Belt before it was returned to Abbot Dionysius. After a short time, her husband suddenly passed away, and her mother and sister became seriously ill. In 1839, she sent a letter to the monastery with a request that messengers be sent from the monastery to receive the cut piece from her.

In 1864 the Holy Belt was brought to Constantinople when cholera was raging in it. As soon as the ship carrying the Belt approached the harbor, the destruction ceased, and none of those struck by it died.

This strange miraculous event aroused the Sultan's curiosity. He ordered that the Belt be delivered to his palace so that he could honor him.

During the stay of the holy Belt in Constantinople, a Greek from the Galata quarter asked to be brought to his home. His son was seriously ill, but when the holy belt was delivered, he had already died. However, the monks did not lose hope. They asked to be shown the remains, and as soon as the Belt was placed on them, the young man rose from the dead.

In 1894, the inhabitants of the city of Madita in Asia Minor wished that the holy Belt be brought there, because locusts devastated their crops and spoiled fruit trees. When the ship carrying the Belt approached the harbor, clouds of locusts darkened the sky, which then rushed into the sea, and the ship could not drop anchor. The Madites on the shore, seeing the miracle, began to continuously sing the hymn "Kyrie Eleison" (Greek - "Lord, have mercy!").

Up to our time, many miracles have been performed through the holy girdle. Vatopedi monks make small belts, consecrate them on the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos and distribute them to believers. It is known that thanks to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, these belts help in the treatment of cancer and other patients, as well as infertility in women. The monks distribute to the faithful a kind of memo on how to use the consecrated belts. It says that “the patient girds himself with this belt for some time, living in repentance, confessing and partaking of the Holy Mysteries. Spouses do the same, adding to this, if possible, fasting and marital abstinence while wearing a girdle. At the same time, it is noted that “spiritual life in repentance and constant participation in the Sacraments of the Church must, of course, continue throughout life, since it is the only way for us to communicate and unite with God.”

On August 31 (September 13 according to the new style), on the last day of the church year, the feast of the Position of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated.

In the Zachatievsky monastery, this holiday is revered especially, since the monastery has an embroidered belt, consecrated on an ark with the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Holy Vatopedi monastery. The belt was made by the sisters in November 2011, when the ark with the Honorable Belt of the Mother of God arrived in Russia, accompanied by a delegation from the Vatopedi Monastery, headed by the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Ephraim. Then the monastery was given the opportunity to participate in the prayer service with an akathist in front of the Belt in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and on that day, November 25, 2011, the monastery belt was received by Father Ephraim in order to take it to Vatopedi for consecration. For 6 months, the belt was in the altar of the cathedral church of the Vatopedi monastery, and was consecrated on many shrines stored in the Athos monastery. At the end of May 2012, he was transferred to the Zachatievsky monastery with a certificate indicating his stay in Vatopedi and with the blessing of Mount Athos.

This year, an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with an honest belt was brought to the Zachatievsky Monastery for the festive service, the same one that accompanied the ark with the shrine throughout all the cities of Russia in 2011, when more than 30 million believers bowed to the natural Belt. The icon will stay for some time in the cathedral church of the monastery.

The history and liturgical meaning of the holiday

The Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was one of the three main shrines of Constantinople, associated with the earthly life of the Mother of God.

In addition to the Belt, the Robe (more precisely, the maforium) of the Virgin Mary and the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, written, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke, were kept in Constantinople (see the latest article on the Holy Mother of God Shrines of Constantinople: Wortley J. The Marian Relics at Constantinople // Greek, Roman & Byzantine Studies, Durham (NC), 2005, Vol 45:2, pp 171–187).

It was the possession of these three shrines that was one of the main reasons for considering Constantinople the city of the Mother of God - the expression “Your City, Mother of God”, found in many, many Byzantine hymns (including the hymns of the feast of the Belt of the Blessed Mother of God), for the Byzantines it was a synonym for the word Constantinople.

According to the tradition reflected in the Menology of Basil II (X century; see: PG. 117. Col. 613), the Belt and Robe of the Mother of God, shortly before Her Assumption, were given to two pious Jerusalem widows and then passed on from generation to generation. Under the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Arcadius (emperor from 395; died in 408), the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was delivered to Constantinople and placed in a beautiful casket, which found its place in one of the three main Mother of God churches in Constantinople - the Chalkopratia Church (some sources say that the Belt was not in this, but in the Blachernae church - this is probably a consequence of confusion - the Blachernae church was the place of storage of the Robe of the Mother of God; it is quite possible, however, that the shrines could be moved from one temple to another). For centuries, the casket with the Belt of the Mother of God was not opened, but five centuries after the Position of the Belt in the Chalkopratian temple, during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, his wife Zoe Karbonopsina had a vision that she would get rid of her illness (as Menologis narrates, the empress was tormented by an unclean spirit) if the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is placed on her. The Emperor opened the chest and found the Belt safe and sound; The belt was sealed with a golden chrysovul of the emperor Arcadius, on which the year and indict of the Position of the Belt in Constantinople were indicated, as well as the exact date of this event - August 31. By order of the emperor, the Belt of the Blessed Virgin was placed on the head of the suffering empress (this was entrusted to Euthymius, the future Patriarch of Constantinople, who also compiled the Word in honor of the triumph of the new acquisition of the Belt), and she was healed. After these events, the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was returned to its place, and the feast of the Belt was given even greater solemnity than before.

As a result of two falls of Constantinople - first in 1204, then, finally, in 1453 - the Belt, like almost all other shrines of Constantinople, left the city, but did not disappear without a trace. Parts of the Belt are still kept on Mount Athos (in the Vatopedi monastery) and in Cyprus (in the Trooditissa monastery); they were famous for many miracles. The belts consecrated on parts of the Belt of the Mother of God are distributed to the faithful for wearing; many women who had this or that infirmity, thanks to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, received healing from them.

The date of the celebration of the Position of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is deeply symbolic. This holiday is a continuation of the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos - it is not only dedicated to the Mother of God, but the very event of the giving of the Belt took place in connection with the Assumption. In the practice of the Athos monasteries, this connection is even more obvious - on Athos, the afterfeast of the Assumption continues until the day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and after all, after this day and its one-day afterfeast, the triumph of the Position of the Belt takes place (see: Svyatogorsk charter of church following. Sergiev Posad; Athos, 2002, pp. 133–135).

Thus, the church year begins with the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (September 8 (September 21, N.S.), a week after the church new year) and ends with the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and the feast of the Deposition of Her Honorable Belt associated with it. This is also mentioned in the troparion of the feast of the Position of the Belt: the Ever-Virgin Mother of God, the Intercession of men, the Robe and the Belt of Your most pure body, the sovereign city of Your taxation, Thy seedless Christmas, incorruptible abiding: in You, for both nature is renewed, and time. The same we pray to Thee, grant peace to Thy city, and great mercy to our souls

The annual circle of church holidays again and again reminds us of the events that made possible the salvation of man, and such a beginning and end of it clearly indicate the humble feat of the One who was chosen to become the Mother of Christ; That, between the Nativity and the Dormition of which the favorable summer of the economy of salvation accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ has come; The one on Whose Intercession all Orthodox Christians hope. (Deacon Mikhail Zheltov)

CERTIFICATE

By this sacredly sealed and signed monastic act, we certify that the belt, which is kept in the Holy Convent of the Conception of the Mother of God in Moscow and is symbolically called the “Honest Belt” (its detailed description is given below), was made in the above Holy Monastery in 2011 under the abbess of Gerontissa nun Juliana in the time of our stay there and the bringing of the Holy Belt of the Theotokos to Moscow. He remained for consecration, from December of the same year to May 2012, under the ark with the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, which, like a treasure, is kept in our Holy Abode. He is also blessed on other shrines of our Abode: the Honest Tree, the Honest Cane, the sacred and gracious head of our Father John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom, who is among the saints. This belt is given as a blessing from the Holy Abode of the Conception of the Mother of God for the consolation and healing of the sisterhood in Christ and reverent pilgrims in it, as a token of the love of our two Abodes in the Lord.

The belt is 74 cm long, 13 cm wide and made of red velvet. Decorated with a pattern embroidered with gold threads. Pattern pattern - curly stems and leaves of acanthus. It is complemented by pearl inserts and gold cord trim. In the center of the belt there is an equal-ended cross, lined with pearls along the contour, filled with gold embroidery inside. In the middle of the cross is a small emerald in a silver setting. At the ends, the cross is framed with large pearls and small semi-precious green stones. Along the edges of the belt there are two golden ribbons, 17 cm long, decorated with tassels of golden beads. The lining of the belt is the same red velvet.

According to ancient church tradition, leaving this world in order to unite with Her Son and the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos bequeathed two of Her clothes to two poor Jewish women who served Her. They carefully kept these relics, passed down from generation to generation. In the reign of Leo I, the Christians Galvius and Candide received the robe of the Virgin, resorting to a pardonable trick, and laid it in Blachernae Church.

The girdle of the Virgin was acquired under unknown circumstances in the diocese of Zela, near Amasia in Pontus. Around the year 530, during the reign of Justinian, it was brought to Constantinople and laid in the Chalcopratian church, located west of Hagia Sophia, in the quarter of coppersmiths. On this day, the patronal feast and the memory of the discovery of two precious relics stored there - the honorable Belt of the Virgin and the Veils of Christ, were celebrated in the Chalkopratia temple.

Many years later (c. 888), the wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, Zoya, became seriously ill due to the delusion of an unclean spirit. She saw a dream in which it was revealed to her that she would be healed if the Belt of the Virgin was placed on her. The emperor immediately ordered the seals on the shrine with the relic to be broken, and with amazement saw the honest Belt sparkling and clean, as if woven yesterday. Nearby lay a note in which the day of the transfer of the Belt to Constantinople was named and it was told how the emperor himself put it in this shrine and sealed it with his own hand. Emperor Leo reverently venerated the relic and handed it over to the patriarch. He put the Belt on the head of the empress, and she was immediately healed of her illness. Everyone offered praise to Christ the Savior and His Most Pure Mother. The grateful Empress embroidered the Belt with golden threads, and the holy relic was again placed in the reliquary.

According to legend, the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen (1187-1196), having defeated Emperor Isaac II Angelos (1190), captured the cross with a particle of the honorable Belt embedded in it. This cross was thrown into the river by a certain priest so that he would not be mocked. The shrine then came to the Serbs and was subsequently transferred by Prince Lazar († 1389) to the Athos monastery of Vatoped. She is revered there to this day. The holy relic exudes a sweet fragrance, and numerous miracles are performed from it.

The Honest Belt, which touched the Most Pure Womb, which bore the Creator, and moistened with drops of milk, which nourished Him Who is the Life of the world, is for all Christians a testimony of salvation. He seems to be talking about the need to curb all the aspirations of the flesh and imitate the spiritual and bodily purity of the Most Holy Virgin and Mother of God, in order to be worthy to carry Christ in our hearts, Who forever becomes a Baby for us.

Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius Simonopetrsky,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery Publishing House

The Feast of the Deposition of the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Chalkopratia Church should be distinguished from the feast of the Deposition of the Honorable Robe, or Maforia, the Virgin in Blachernae (celebrated on July 2 and October 1).

Data from hagiographic sources are very vague and contradictory. Here we present the version of the "Constantinople Synaxarion", confirmed by the "Imperial Minology" (XI century). However, in the same text, as in the Minology of Basil II, it is further stated that the transfer of the shrine took place under Arcadius, the son of Theodosius (395-408). On the other hand, it is known that the construction of the Chalkopratia church was started by Pulcheria, and completed only under Leo I. Perhaps the church was destroyed by an earthquake and then restored by Justin II (565-578), who made a great contribution to this temple and built a chapel for honest Belts. On April 12, Synaxar commemorates another transfer of the honorable Belt - from Zela to Constantinople, but in the text it is attributed to the 9th century. This date is, of course, erroneous, since church hymns for this holiday, composed in the 7th century, have been preserved. St. Maximus the Confessor, as well as the homily of St. Herman of Constantinople, relating to the next century. Some historians believe that at first there was only one holiday in honor of the honorable Belt and Robe, celebrated in Blachernae, and that the current holiday appeared only in the 9th century. Be that as it may, the procession, which took place every Friday from Blachernae to Chalkopratia, indicates the connection between these two greatest Holy Mother of God shrines in Constantinople.

August 31 (September 13, new style), on the last day of the church year, the feast of the Position of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated.

The Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was one of the three main shrines of Constantinople, associated with the earthly life of the Mother of God; in addition to the Belt, the Robe (more precisely, the maforium) of the Virgin Mary and the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, written, according to legend, by the evangelist Luke, were kept in Constantinople.

It was the possession of these three shrines that was one of the main reasons for considering Constantinople the city of the Mother of God - the expression Your City, Mother of God, found in many, many Byzantine hymns (including hymns of the feast of the Laying of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos) , for the Byzantines was a synonym for the word Constantinople.

Under the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Arcadius (emperor from 395; died in 408), the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was delivered to Constantinople and placed in a beautiful casket, which found its place in one of the three main Mother of God churches in Constantinople - the Chalkopratia Church (some sources say that the Belt was not in this, but in the Blachernae church - this is probably a consequence of confusion - the Blachernae church was the place of storage of the Robe of the Mother of God; it is quite possible, however, that the shrines could be moved from one temple to another). For centuries, the casket with the Belt of the Mother of God was not opened, but five centuries after the Laying of the Belt in the Chalkopratian temple, during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, his wife Zoe Karbonopsina had a vision that she will get rid of her disease(as Menologis narrates, the empress was tormented by an unclean spirit), if the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is placed on her. The Emperor opened the casket and found the Belt safe and sound, sparkling and clean, as if woven yesterday; The belt was sealed with a golden chrysovul of the emperor Arcadius, on which the year and indict of the Position of the Belt in Constantinople were indicated, as well as the exact date of this event - August 31. By order of the emperor The belt of the Blessed Virgin was placed on the head of the suffering empress(this was entrusted to Euphemia, the future Patriarch of Constantinople, who also compiled the Word in honor of the triumph of the new acquisition of the Belt), and she was healed. Everyone offered praise to Christ the Savior and His Most Pure Mother. The grateful empress embroidered the Belt with gold threads, and the holy relic was again placed in a shrine, and the feast of the Laying the Belt received even greater solemnity than before.

The date of the celebration of the Position of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is deeply symbolic. This holiday is a continuation of the holiday - it is not only dedicated to the Mother of God, but the very event of the giving of the Belt took place in connection with the Dormition. In the practice of the Athos monasteries, this connection is even more obvious - on Athos, the afterfeast of the Assumption continues until the day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and after all, after this day and its one-day afterfeast, the celebration of the Laying of the Belt takes place.

Thereby, the church year begins with(September 8 (September 21, N.S.), a week after the church new year) and ends with the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and the feast of the Deposition of Her Honorable Belt associated with it. This is also stated in the troparion of the holiday of the Lay of the Belt: Ever-Virgin Mother of God, the Protection of men, the Robe and the Belt of Your most pure body, the sovereign city of Your taxation gave You, Your seedless Christmas, incorruptible abiding: in You, both nature is renewed, and time. The same we pray to Thee, grant peace to Thy city, and great mercy to our souls

The annual circle of church holidays again and again reminds us of the events that made possible the salvation of man, and such a beginning and end of it clearly indicate the humble feat of the One who was chosen to become the Mother of Christ; That, between the Nativity and the Dormition of which the favorable summer of the economy of salvation accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ has come; The One Whose Intercession is the hope of all Orthodox Christians.

Deacon Mikhail Zheltov

Source: hram-troicy.prihod.ru

Troparion, tone 8:
Ever-Virgin Mother of God, protection of men, the robe and girdle of Your most pure body, Thou hast granted Thy sovereign city taxation, Thy seedless Nativity is incorruptible, for Thee and nature are renewed and time. The same we pray to Thee, grant peace to Thy city, and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion, tone 2:
Your God-pleasing womb, the Theotokos, enclosing Your honest belt, the power of Your city is invincible, and the treasure is not scarce of the good, the only one who gave birth to the Ever-Virgin.

Another kontakion, tone 4:
The honorable belt of Your position is celebrating Your day, worshiping, the temple, and diligently crying out to You: Rejoice, Virgin, praise of Christians.

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More than three and a half million people in 2011 bowed to the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The arrival of this shrine from the Athos monastery of Vatopedi to Russia has become a truly historic event, which Orthodox Christians will remember all their lives. For many, contact with the Belt has become a kind of countdown to a new life.

Some time after the bringing of the shrine to Russia, reports began to arrive from different parts of the country about cases of miraculous healing.
Women who for many years could not get pregnant or, for medical reasons, give birth to children, went to the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, prayed and asked for a miracle.

This film contains testimonies of cases of grace-filled communion with the shrine that occurred in ordinary families from Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Magnitogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ulyanovsk, Moscow. For people, touching the Belt of the Virgin was the last hope of becoming parents. Some couples, having a diagnosis of infertility in their medical record, waited for their baby after 10 years.

The Belt of the Virgin helped those women who had a difficult pregnancy, and those who were told by doctors that their fetus had serious malformations.

BELT OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

P The laying of the honorable belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople was under the emperor Arcadius (395-408). Prior to that, the great shrine entrusted to the Apostle Thomas by the Mother of God herself, after Her Assumption, was successively kept in Jerusalem by pious Christians. Many years later, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise (886-911), the girdle of the Mother of God performed a miracle of healing his wife Zoya, who was suffering from an unclean spirit.

The Empress had a vision that she would be healed of her illness when the belt of the Mother of God was placed on her. The emperor addressed a request to the Patriarch. The Patriarch removed the seal and opened the ark in which the shrine was kept: the belt of the Mother of God turned out to be completely intact, undamaged from time to time. The patriarch laid the belt on the sick empress, and she was immediately freed from her illness. A solemn thanksgiving service was served to the Most Holy Theotokos, and the honest belt was put back into the ark and sealed with a seal.

In memory of the miracle that happened and the double position of the honorary belt, the feast of the Position of the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was established. Particles of the Holy Belt of the Mother of God are located in the Vatopedi Monastery of Athos, in the Trier Monastery and in Georgia.

The position of the honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Chalkopratia Church

According to ancient church tradition, leaving this world in order to unite with Her Son and the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos bequeathed two of Her clothes to two poor Jewish women who served Her. They carefully kept these relics, passed down from generation to generation. During the reign of Leo I, the Christians Galvius and Candide received the robe of the Virgin, resorting to a forgivable trick, and laid it in the Blachernae Church.

The girdle of the Virgin was acquired under unknown circumstances in the diocese of Zela, near Amasia in Pontus. Around the year 530, during the reign of Justinian, it was brought to Constantinople and laid in the Chalcopratian church, located west of Hagia Sophia, in the quarter of coppersmiths. On this day, the patronal feast and the memory of finding two precious relics kept there - the honorable Belt of the Virgin and the Shrouds of Christ - were celebrated in the Chalkopratia temple.

According to legend, the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen (1187–1196), having defeated Emperor Isaac II Angelos (1190), captured the cross with a particle of the honorable Belt embedded in it. This cross was thrown into the river by a certain priest so that he would not be mocked. The shrine then came to the Serbs and was subsequently transferred by Prince Lazar († 1389) to the Athos monastery of Vatoped. She is revered there to this day. The holy relic exudes a sweet fragrance, and numerous miracles are performed from it.

From the book "Synaxarion: Lives of the Saints Orthodox Church”, published by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery.

Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetra,

adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery Publishing House

Here is a version of the "Constantinople Synaxarion", confirmed by the "Imperial Minology" (XI century). However, in the same text, as in the Minology of Basil II, it is further stated that the transfer of the shrine took place under Arcadius, son of Theodosius (395–408). On the other hand, it is known that the construction of the Chalkopratian church was started by Pulcheria, and completed only under Leo I. Perhaps the church was destroyed by an earthquake and then restored by Justin II (565–578), who made a great contribution to this temple and built a chapel for honest Belts. On April 12, the "Synaxar" commemorates another transfer of the honorable Belt - from Zela to Constantinople, but in the text it is attributed to the 9th century. This date is, of course, erroneous, since church hymns for this holiday, composed in the 7th century, have been preserved. St. Maximus the Confessor, as well as the homily of St. Herman of Constantinople, relating to the next century. Some historians believe that at first there was only one holiday in honor of the honorable Belt and Robe, celebrated in Blachernae, and that the current holiday appeared only in the 9th century. Be that as it may, the procession, which took place every Friday from Blachernae to Chalkopratia, indicates the connection between these two greatest Mother of God shrines in Constantinople.