A piece of the belt of the Virgin Mary is constantly kept in the Moscow Church of Elijah the Prophet

This Christian relic, which, as legend says, belonged to the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the Savior of mankind. Every year on August 31, an Orthodox celebration is held in honor of the shrine. It is extremely revered in the religious world; chronicles record a huge number of miracles performed by the relic. The belt is also depicted on rare iconographic paintings. This is the only relic belonging to the Virgin Mary that has survived to this day.

Ark with a piece of the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Ark with a piece of the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Celebration: 31
/ September 13
HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAY

The Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the greatest shrines associated with the life of the Blessed Virgin. According to legend, She Herself wove it from camel hair and wore it until Her Dormition.

The heirs of two widows who received the belt from the Mother of God, the shrine was passed down from generation to generation, and from the 4th century it was in Constantinople, enclosed in a golden ark with the royal seal and placed in the Blachernae temple.

During the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise (886–911), his wife Zoe was healed by laying on the belt of the Mother of God. Zoya, who was suffering from an unclean spirit, had a vision of her liberation from her illness through the belt of the Most Pure One. At the request of the emperor, the Patriarch removed the seals, opened the ark with the shrine and placed it on the sick woman, who was immediately healed.

The belt of the Mother of God turned out to be completely preserved, untouched by time. After the thanksgiving service, it was sealed again and placed in the Blachernae Church. And in memory of the miracle that occurred and the double position of the honorable belt, the Feast of the Position of the Honorable Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established.

In the 10th century, the belt, already famous for its miracles, was divided into parts. One of them is now kept on Mount Athos, in the Vatopedi monastery. In 2011, on the initiative of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, the belt was brought to Russia. The shrine visited 14 cities and the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. More than three million pilgrims bowed to her.

The belt of the Most Holy Theotokos has returned to Athos, but worship of this shrine continues in Moscow. The stream of believers who want to pray for themselves and their loved ones does not stop coming to the Obydensky Church, where a piece of the belt is kept. Orthodox families without children place special hope in the help of the Mother of God. The Most Pure One saves women from infertility and bestows the joy of motherhood.

TROPARION, tone 8

In the Ever-Virgin Virgin Mary, the covering of men, / the robe and girdle of Your most pure body, / You bestowed a sovereign tax on Your city, / Your seedless Nativity is incorruptible, / about You For both nature and time are renewed. / We also pray to You to grant peace to Your city // and great mercy to our souls.

IN TROPARION, tone 5

I am inconspicuously rich, / Thy honorable belt, Ever-blessed One, / and possessor of good gifts, / The monastery of Vatopedi calls upon Thee, / girding ourselves with reverence / flowing to him / by his divine power / and destroy the fortress of the flattering enemy, // pure salvation for the faithful.

PRAYER

O Most Holy Lady Lady Theotokos, you are the highest Angel and Archangel of all and all the most honest creatures, you are the Helper of the offended, the hopeless, the intercessor of the poor, the consolation of the sad. feeding, nurse of the hungry, clothing of the naked, healing of the sick, salvation of sinners, help and intercession for all Christians. O All-Merciful Lady, Virgin Mother of God Lady, by Your mercy save and have mercy on the Great Lord and Father of our (name) His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and His Holiness Patria Orthodox bishops, and eminent metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, and the entire priestly and monastic rank, God-protected country our Russian city, this city, its power and armies, and all Orthodox Christians through the robe of Your honest protection, and begged, Lady, from You, without seed, the incarnate Christ our God, may he gird us with His power from above, against our invisible and visible enemies.
O All-Merciful Lady Lady Theotokos, raise us from the depths of sin and deliver us from famine, destruction, from cowardice and flood, from fire and sword, from the presence of foreigners and internecine warfare, and from the dreams of death, and from the attacks of the enemy, and from the harmful winds , and from deadly ulcers, and from all evil. Grant, Lady, peace and health to Your servants, all Orthodox Christians, and enlighten their minds and eyes of the heart, even to salvation; and are we, Thy sinful servants, worthy of the Kingdom of Thy Son, Christ our God, for His power is blessed and glorified, with His Beginning Father, and with the Most Holy, and Good, and Life-Giving by His Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen .

History of the origin of the relic

There are several versions of the origin of the sacred relic.

• Some legends say that the Virgin Mary wove it with her own hands using camel hair, and before her death she gave it to a righteous Christian family. The belt was passed down from generation to generation and ended up in the Cathedral of Constantinople only three centuries later. In the middle of the 10th century, Emperor Leo the First transferred the relic to the Blachernae Temple, where the miracle of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin took place.
• Another version of the origin of the relic is known from the tradition of Catholicism. Apostle Thomas did not take part in the burial of the Mother of God, since he was in the lands of India and preached about the Resurrection of Christ. Only three days after the death of the Sinless Virgin Mary, he arrived in holy Jerusalem. The Apostle, endlessly wanting to say goodbye to the Mother of God, tearfully asked to open the coffin. Amazement knew no bounds when the disciples of Christ, having removed the funeral slab from the tomb, did not find the body there. Only fragrant shrouds lay here. Kissing these fabrics, the apostles begged the Lord to reveal to them the secret of the disappearance of the Mother of God. The answer came soon: the bright spirit of the Virgin Mary appeared to them at the evening and greeted them, reassuring them with the words that She and God would forever be with the true believers.
• There is another legend that speaks of the appearance of the Heavenly Mother of God to Thomas on the third day of her repose. The Merciful Virgin, wanting to overcome the apostle’s sadness, threw her belt to him from heaven. The event found an echo in Orthodox iconography, and on the wall of one of the churches of Holy Athos there is a fresco that demonstrates the transfer of the relic by Thomas to the rest of the apostles, waiting for a miracle.

On the Orthodox belt icon, the Heavenly Mother of God, dressed in crimson fabrics, is depicted from the front, in her right hands she holds a red relic embroidered with gold thread. Two angels hover above the venerable head of the Most Pure Mother of God, chanting the name of the Lord. The canonical icon is close in style to the image called “The Intercession of the Mother of God”.

Finding of the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Apostle Thomas

The image of the belt is also found on canvases where the Virgin hands over the shrine to Thomas, who bitterly mourns her death.

Important! The belt is a sacred relic from the time of the life of Mary; it heals various ailments, treats infertility and helps with birth complications.

Read about other icons of the Virgin Mary:

• Akhtyrskaya
• Bethlehem
• Sovereign

History of glorification

For nine centuries, the Belt of the Most Pure Mother of God was kept in a golden ark. In the 10th century, it was opened with the blessing of the Patriarch of the Church to heal the wife of Leo the Wise, Zoya, who was overcome by unclean spirits. One of the clergy had a vision that the relic would save the unfortunate woman from weakness the very moment she touched the Belt.

• All those present at the grand opening saw the incorruptibility of the shrine, which had lain for nine centuries. And indeed, Empress Zoe fully recovered when she felt the touch of the Belt of the Virgin Mary. In honor of the miraculous event, she ordered the relic to be embroidered with gold threads, and the holy confessor Euthymius composed a Word of Thanksgiving, performed during the services.
• In the same 10th century, the Belt of the Most Pure Mother of God was divided into three parts, which ended up at different times in monasteries in Bulgaria, Syria and Serbia. The largest fragments are kept in the Trooditissa monastery in Cyprus, as well as on Holy Mount Athos. A piece of the relic ended up in the lands of Georgia after Emperor Roman III allowed his daughter Elena to bring the shrine to the homeland of her husband Bagrat IV to strengthen the union.
• In the 14th century, the holy prince of Serbia, Lazar the First, gave the Vatopedi monastery the largest fragment of the Belt along with a particle of the Life-Giving Cross. Since that time, the relic has been kept in the caches of the central cathedral of the monastery complex. Therefore, the Vatopedi monks were nicknamed “Agiazonites,” which translated means “holy belts.” They took the shrine with them when they traveled to the island of Crete, the capital of Byzantium and Asia Minor. This was done with the aim of spreading the great grace emanating from the relic and uplifting the spirit of enslaved compatriots.
• In the middle of the 19th century, the shrine ended up in Constantinople, which was suffering from cholera. As soon as the ship with the relic approached the city’s harbor, the attack completely stopped, and the affected people escaped death. The Sultan became interested in the miraculous incident and invited the monks who accompanied the Belt to his own palace. Soon the shrine resurrected a recently deceased boy, whose father turned to the monks with a request for help.
• In 1894, the Belt arrived in one of the cities in Asia Minor, where the people prayed for deliverance from the locust attacks that were devastating crops and spoiling the fruits of trees. As the ship approached the harbor, thousands of these voracious insects darkened the sky and then were cast out into the open sea. The people who saw the miracle began to sing the hymn “Lord, have mercy!” The miracles performed by the relic are still performed today.

Miracles of new times

Evidence of miraculous accomplishments has been known to Christians since ancient times, and they continue to occur today. Prayers addressed to the Belt or to the icon with the image of the Most Pure Virgin resolve human troubles of various kinds. More often, gratitude comes from women who suffer from infertility and were able to give birth after sincere prayer, as well as from people who have suffered for a long time from a serious psychological or physical illness.

Icon Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• The young man, four years after his marriage, discovered that he could not have children due to a congenital defect. Ten years later, he visited the sacred Vatopedi monastery and spent Holy Week here. The young man was inspired by stories about the miracles performed by the Belt of the Most Pure Mother of God, and decided to undergo a ritual of veneration of the relic. For a whole year he wore the consecrated belt given to him, and soon the doctors notified the couple that they would soon have a baby.
• The young woman sobbed inconsolably when she learned that doctors had given her a fatal diagnosis. The doctor advised to go to the hospital, but the operation was expensive, and the family did not have the necessary amount of money. The woman was reassured by her pious friend; she gave her a belt brought from Athos. The unfortunate woman tied the cloth at the place where the cancerous tumor was discovered and said that she sacredly believed in the omnipotence of the Lord and the Mother of God. On the day of the operation, an examination was carried out, but doctors did not find any violations. A great miracle of healing took place.
• In the middle of the 20th century, the population of the island of Thassos arrived at the Vatopedi monastery. They complained that for several years not a drop of water had fallen from the sky; such a drought gave rise to a terrible famine. People humbly asked the brethren to bring them the sacred Belt of the Mother of God. The Vatopedi monks set off on their journey two days later, as soon as the ship approached the harbor of Thassos, the people saw heavy rain approaching. A colossal storm raged on the island, which did not allow the brothers to descend to earth, so they sailed back, calmed by this miracle.
• The man was in a terrible car accident, doctors recorded broken bones, ruptures of internal organs and paralysis of the lower extremities. The doctor stated that there was practically no chance of healing. However, the man was a religious person from childhood and prayed non-stop for healing. He asked for help even in a dream in which he was on the top of a mountain, and the Belt of the Blessed Virgin appeared in the sky. The relic slowly descended to the ground and wrapped itself around the paralyzed legs. The next morning the man felt great hope for healing. After the necessary operation, the patient was able to move his legs and wiggle his toes, thanks to his great faith.

About the treasures of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

On the eve of the Nativity of Christ, the custodian of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, talks about the cathedral’s shrines, icons with an interesting history, the ancient Gospel, which is brought out only twice a year, and also answers the question about Christmas trees and corporate events that supposedly take place in the Temple .

— Father Michael, which shrine of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior would you call the main one?

— I think that the main shrine is a piece of the Robe of the Lord. Not long ago we made a special lectern for her, and now she is placed at the right choir separately from other shrines

I consider the second most important shrine to be a piece of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. It is kept in a common reliquary along with other shrines, and currently we are making a special lectern for it, which will be located at the left choir, symmetrically with the lectern with a piece of the Robe of the Lord

This is done so that everyone who comes to our temple can separately venerate these great shrines.

In addition, we have a nail of the Holy Cross and other shrines.

“I think that if Muscovites talk about the main shrine of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, most will name the relics of St. Philaret, but they won’t even remember the particles of Reese.”
Why do you think? “I’m afraid that, unfortunately, many Muscovites will not even name the relics of St. Philaret. It often happens that people come to our church, see the shrine with the relics of the saint and ask: “Who is this?” And we have to tell them who Saint Philaret was, what spiritual influence he had on the history of our Church and what intellectual contribution he made to the design and creation of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Probably, few people know that we have Reese particles, because this has not been said publicly anywhere.
And then, they were transferred to our temple not so long ago, but previously they were in the Moscow Kremlin Museums and therefore were not widely available for worship. Before the revolution, for example, a piece of the Robe of the Lord was taken out for worship by believers once a year - on the day of its position in Moscow. It was a big Moscow holiday, and many people flocked to pray in front of this great shrine and venerate it. Then the Riza was kept in the storerooms of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

On August 19, 2000, on the day of the great consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and with the permission of the directorate of the Kremlin Museums, we carried a piece of the Robe of the Lord around the temple in a religious procession, and all that day it remained in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Of course, then we were forced to give it back to the museum, and only in 2007, at the request of the late Patriarch Alexy II, was it decided to transfer it and some other shrines, which were also kept in the Kremlin museums, to the Russian Orthodox Church.

We were given both the Robe of the Lord and the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, and in addition - a nail of the Cross of the Lord, the relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, the Great Martyr Euphemia All-Praised, the Venerable Michael Malein, John the Baptist, Basil the Great and the head of St. Gregory the Theologian.

The shrines were transferred in historical arks, which, of course, was somewhat controversial, because these arks were valuable to museums. But there were people who paid for the making of copies of these arks, into which we transferred the particles of the relics. Thus, the arks were returned to museums, and the shrines, which were of no value for secular history, remained in the Church.

At first, we brought out a piece of the Lord’s Robe only on Saturday and Sunday. But many pilgrims come to our temple from different cities and countries, not everyone has the opportunity to come on weekends, so we considered it possible and necessary for her to stay in the temple and be available to believers on any day.

— What is the history of the particles of the Robe of the Lord and the Robe of the Mother of God, how did they get to Moscow?

-As for the particle of the Lord’s Robe, it is not entirely clear what kind of Robe it is. One version of the legend says that this is the tunic of the Savior, received by lot by one of the soldiers present at the Crucifixion. According to another version, the Robe of the Savior is not a tunic, but another outer garment - a cloak (gimantium), because the tunic simply could not be later divided into parts: it would have unraveled, since it was knitted. One way or another, the Robe of the Lord was transferred to Iveria (Georgia), where it was kept in the ancient capital - Mtskheta, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli.

In 1617, Georgia was captured by the Persian Shah Abbas II. His soldiers destroyed the temple and handed Riza over to the Shah. In 1625, the Shah, at the insistence of the Russian ambassador, sent the Robe as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Patriarch of Moscow Filaret (Romanov) collected reliable information about the Robe of the Lord, and only after that it was solemnly laid in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In honor of this event, the annual holiday of the Placing of the Robe of the Lord was established in Moscow, July 10 according to the old style (July 23 - according to the new style). Subsequently, a fragment of the Robe of the Lord was divided in order to send particles of the shrine to the major cities of the empire. In 1918, a piece of the Robe of the Lord, which was kept in the altar of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, was transferred to the Holy Cross Monastery, and after its closure it was confiscated and placed in the funds of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

In the 14th century, Dionysius of Suzdal brought a piece of the Robe of the Mother of God to Rus' from Constantinople. Among other shrines, it was located in the so-called “Ark of Dionysius,” which was a significant relic of the Moscow Grand Dukes. After the October Revolution of 1917, a piece of the Robe of the Virgin Mary ended up in the Moscow Kremlin Museums. It was transferred to our temple in 2008.

We do not have more accurate information about the history of these relics.

— In the Cathedral of Christ the Savior there is an icon of the Mother of God “Smolensk” with a very unusual history...

— We have two Smolensk icons in our church.

One, from the 16th century, resides in the lower church.

This image has a tragic fate: it was cut into 4 parts and was preparing to be transported abroad, but something did not work out, and somehow it ended up with an artist friend of mine - a restorer.
He restored this icon, connected the four parts so that the saw marks were almost invisible, and decided that the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was a worthy place to place this large ancient image. Now it is located to the left of the iconostasis, near the Tikhvin chapel. The second icon is located in the upper church near the relics of St. Philaret. This is the famous miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Smolensk - Ustyuzhenskaya” from the city of Ustyuzhna, Vologda province.

Initially, the icon was in the local cathedral; after the revolution, a museum was turned into the temple, and the icon became a museum exhibit.
Then she disappeared somewhere, maybe she was secretly taken out or stolen, and at some point she appeared at one of the foreign auctions. A certain benefactor bought this ancient icon, and during his first presidency, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin presented it as a gift to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. With the blessing of His Holiness, the icon was transferred to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a special icon case, and it was decided that it would remain here until the Ustyuzhna Cathedral was transferred to the Church. I must say that people from the city of Ustyuzhna came to our church and asked that the icon remain in our church for now, because they were afraid that it might disappear again and it would hardly be possible to find it again.

— What other icons with an unusual history are there in the cathedral?

— The icon of St. Nicholas from the city of Bari, which is located in the lower Transfiguration Church on the right side, near the chapel of Alexy the Man of God. This image was made by an Italian artist in 1994. It is no coincidence that I use this very word - “made” - because the icon is made using a rather rare technique and is not only painted with paints, but also contains appliqués made of semi-precious stones.

Initially, the icon was placed in the city of Bari in the basilica, which houses the relics of St. Nicholas.
Seeing with what love Russian pilgrims come to venerate the saint, the artist who created it decided to donate the image to the Russian Orthodox Church, and with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II it was brought to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, one of the chapels of which is dedicated to St. Nicholas. The path that the icon took from Bari to Moscow is interesting. She was brought to Odessa by sea, from Odessa by land she was carried and transported to Moscow through several dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, and along the entire route prayers were performed in front of her and akathists were sung. Many, knowing this, come to our church, kneel before this image and, as they say, through this image St. Nicholas gives people his help.

In December 2012, another icon of St. Nicholas was transferred to our church, which is associated with the name of the great singer Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya, whom we held a funeral service just recently - on December 14.

In 1979, Galina Pavlovna’s husband, Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, bought the icon in one of the London antique shops. The image of St. Nicholas was kept in their family for a long time and was very revered. In the last years of her life, Galina Pavlovna decided to transfer the icon to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, knowing that one of its chapels was dedicated to St. Nicholas, and intended to do this on December 19 of this year. For the singer, December 19 was significant not only as a church-wide holiday of St. Nicholas, but also as a very memorable personal date: on December 19, 1961, Anna Andreevna Akhmatova, having heard on the radio how Vishnevskaya sang “Brazilian Bahiana No. 5” by Heitor Villa-Lobos, wrote a dedication a poem for her:

A woman's voice rushes like the wind, It seems black, wet, night, And whatever it touches on the fly - Everything immediately becomes different. Fills it with a diamond radiance, Somewhere somewhere turns silver for a moment And rustles with a mysterious robe of unprecedented silks. And such a powerful force, an enchanted voice, attracts, As if there was not a grave ahead, but a mysterious flight of stairs.

But the Lord decreed otherwise: on December 11, Galina Pavlovna died. On the 9th day, which fell exactly on December 19, her daughters Elena and Olga, fulfilling the will of their deceased mother, brought the icon to our church.

The image of St. Nicholas needs some restoration. After it is done, we will find an appropriate place for the icon, where it will remain permanently.

There is another interesting icon in our church - the image of the Savior from the southern aisle of the upper church, made by one of the Orthodox people of Georgia. This image does not attract attention with any colors or artistic features, but a special story is associated with it. The man who made it, together with his wife, carried it on foot from the city of Kutaisi to Moscow to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The only place where the couple traveled by car was Karachaevo-Cherkessia, because they were forbidden to carry the image of Christ throughout the territory of this Muslim republic.

— Probably, we can’t help but mention the famous image of the holy martyr Alexander Khotovitsky?

- Yes, you won’t find such an icon anywhere else. Protopresbyter Alexander was the last keymaster of the first Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and there was a desire to somehow imprint his memory in our church.

Initially, Hieromartyr Alexander was canonized in the American Orthodox Church. Naturally, his image was written there, and I asked to make a list from this icon, but only to bring it closer to our tradition. This is how the first small icon of the Holy Martyr Alexander appeared in our church, which is now located in the lower church. But I wanted the image of Father Alexander to be present in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior itself, and at my request, the artist Nikita Nuzhny, who took part in the painting of our temple, painted a full-length icon of the Holy Martyr Alexander, standing as if against the wall inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In my opinion, it turned out very well.

Symmetrically to this icon, on the right side of the temple there is an image of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', created by the same artist. As you know, after many decades of the Synodal period, it was in our church that Schema-Archimandrite Alexy drew lots and pronounced the name of the future Patriarch: “Tikhon.” And I wanted the memory of this moment to be somehow captured in our church.

— One of the treasures of the temple is the ancient Gospel. What kind of book is this and how did it get into the temple?

— This is the altar Gospel from the time of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

It was transferred to our church according to the will of the late Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryev Pitirim for especially solemn holiday services.
When I was a subdeacon with Patriarch Pimen, in the Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki there was a large old Gospel, which was taken out on the patronal feast day when the Patriarch served. Remembering this, we decided to support this tradition and establish it in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. With the blessing of the ever-memorable Patriarch Alexy II, our ancient Gospel is brought out only twice a year: at Great Vespers on the day of the Nativity of Christ and at Easter Great Vespers. Usually two archdeacons carry it out, because one person cannot lift a 30-kilogram book. His Holiness the Patriarch reads the Gospel while standing in the Royal Doors, and this gives the service a special solemnity. On other days, the Gospel is kept in our sacristy.

— In the altar of the temple there are six original restored paintings by the artist V.P. Vereshchagin. Is it possible to at least sometimes take them out so you can look at them?

“It is impossible to take them out of the altar, because they are huge canvases, 6 by 3 meters.

— Why was it decided to leave these masterpieces in the altar, where no one except the clergy can see them? After all, for example, fragments of the “Last Supper” from the destroyed temple are exhibited in the Museum of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

“There was nothing left from “The Last Supper” except these fragments, but Vereshchagin’s canvases were completely preserved, and after restoration they decided to place them in their original place. Some time ago, one artist made reproductions of them, which could be purchased in our icon shop. Now we are not collaborating with him, but these paintings can be found in albums dedicated to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

“Sometimes we have extremes: relics are perceived either as a magical object, thanks to which miracles are performed, or, on the contrary, they are seen as something meaningless, which is treated with indifference and inattention. How to treat relics correctly?

— Now, in almost every church of the Russian Orthodox Church there are particles of the relics of one or another saint, it has become possible to bring relics or particles of relics from one city and country to another. Sometimes this happens somewhat uncontrollably, so His Holiness the Patriarch created a special commission for the transportation of relics, so that now the movement of shrines is regulated by the hierarchy and put in proper order.

Unfortunately, we have to observe that some of our believers have become in the habit of coming to the temple, looking for relics and striving to venerate as many of them as possible: it is believed that the more relics you kiss, the more grace you will receive. There is a danger in this, because in this pursuit of quantity, a person may simply lose the spiritual mood, disposition and reverence that should be present at the sight of a shrine. I remember with what reverence we came to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to venerate the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. It was quite an event! And all attention was concentrated on this meeting with the monk and the prayer at the shrine with his relics and was not distracted by anything else.

We must approach the shrine without thinking that if we venerate it, it will certainly produce some kind of magical effect on us and we will become better, cleaner, healthier, richer. To become purer and better, we need to do some work within ourselves, and touching a shrine can only help us in this spiritual work and improvement, inspire, give strength and joy. Of course, miraculous phenomena and healings occur at the relics, but this depends on the faith and condition of the person and on what the Lord wants for us. We must remember that, hoping to receive help, we in no case turn to a particle of relics, but to a saint who is invisibly present next to them and through the shrine can give us help, if it is the will of the Lord.

— Father Mikhail, now, during the New Year holidays, many are outraged that Christmas trees, corporate parties and concerts are held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Questions arise about corporate holidays throughout the year. How is it possible for such things to take place in a temple premises?

— Thank you for this question, because it comes up all the time. No matter how we explain, no matter what we say, for some reason people’s consciousness does not perceive our words. Journalists - I don’t know why, whether on purpose, or out of ignorance, or because they don’t care what they tell the public - constantly talk about these events being held in the temple. One of the latest examples is a television news broadcast about a charity concert by Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, which took place in the Hall of Church Councils. I myself saw how the correspondent, standing in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and pointing at it, said that this evening world celebrities are singing in the main cathedral of the country. This was a lie, because Carreras and Domingo gave a concert exclusively in the Hall of Church Councils; there was no talk of any performance in the temple and there could not be any.

Once again I want to say that in the church itself, where the service is held, there are no Christmas trees, concerts, corporate events, parking lots or car washes. In the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, only divine services are performed. Events are held in the Hall of Church Councils and refectory chambers.

- Don’t these rooms belong to the temple?

— The Hall of Church Councils is in no way connected to the temple and has nothing to do with it. It was built not with church money, but with budget money from the Moscow government. They, as well as the refectory chambers and the entire complex in general, are managed not by the Church, not by those who serve in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, but by the Foundation of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior - an organization that is in no way connected with the Moscow Patriarchate. Along with many secular events, church events are also held there, for example, Bishops' and Local Councils, Diocesan meetings of the Moscow clergy.

— That is, the request to rent the Hall of Church Councils and refectory chambers is not addressed to the Church, not to the Patriarch, and not to you?

- No. This is all for the Foundation. And since the Foundation manages these premises, we cannot in any way influence the events that take place in these halls, be it a concert or a corporate event. They do not coordinate them with us in any way.

— If the Church does not own these premises and, relatively speaking, comes there, so to speak, “to visit,” does this mean that for church events—for example, patriarchal meals, the Council of Bishops, and so on—these halls also have to be rented?

— If meals or events (for example, a Council of Bishops or a Diocesan Assembly) are held in the presence of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Foundation does not charge rent. But if we want, say, to hold a children's Christmas tree or youth evening in the refectory or in the Hall of Church Councils, then we must pay rent.

— Why this year the Diocesan meeting of the Moscow clergy was held not in the Hall of Church Councils, as in previous years, but in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior itself?

— Usually the Diocesan meeting took place before the Christmas tree began, and the Hall of Church Councils was free; there were no decorations installed in it, which are difficult to put up and dismantle. This year the meeting took place almost before the New Year, when all the Christmas trees were already planned and the decorations were installed, so it was decided to gather in the temple itself. Many people liked it because it was a more church-like atmosphere. And His Holiness the Patriarch said that next year the Diocesan meeting will also be held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior itself.

Fler

Virgos, like many here, I wanted to go to the belt, but after soberly assessing my strength, I realized that I could not stand in the cold for 15 hours or more.

I started researching about shrines. And I came across this information, perhaps it will be useful to someone.

Dear believers, strong believers, believers since childhood, simply churchgoers, unchurched people, non-strong believers, doubters and those who simply joined them! Dear, beloved people! If you wanted to venerate the shrine - the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, and when you arrived, you realized that you cannot survive if you are sick, or pregnant, or, on the contrary, you want to have children, but it doesn’t work out, or if you already have children, but you you still need to go to the shrine, then remember: 1. In the Cathedral of Christ the Savior there is always (!) an ark with a piece of the Robe of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself . This great shrine was transferred to the Russian Church by the Moscow Kremlin Museums in 2007. The Gospel says that the bleeding wife was healed as soon as she touched “the hem of His garment” in faith (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34). This woman obviously had a serious gynecological disease; she had been ill for 12 years.

2. In the same Cathedral of Christ the Savior, another shrine is kept - a piece of the Robe of the Mother of God . It was brought from Constantinople to Russia by Dionysius of Suzdal in the 14th century. Part of the Robe was located, among other shrines, in the so-called “Ark of Dionysius,” which became a significant relic of the Moscow Grand Dukes. After the October coup, the shrine ended up in the Moscow Kremlin Museums, from where in 2008 it was transferred to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Before this precious particle, as well as before the particle of the Savior’s Robe, anyone in need of spiritual support can pray at any time convenient for him. You just have to wait until the Belt is taken away from the temple. The Robe of the Virgin Mary is no less a shrine than the Belt; these are, let's say, equivalent shrines. They just aren't in the news every day.

3. In the Church of the Prophet Elijah , located very close to the Kropotkinskaya metro station, at the address: 2nd Obydensky lane, building 6, there is a piece of the Belt of the Virgin Mary , the very same one, and it was placed there a long time ago. And there are usually no crowds there. It is located in a reliquary in the chapel of the apostles Peter and Paul. The temple is open daily from 08.00. until 23.00. Anyone can go there absolutely any day. There, most likely, they do not give belts, but you can always take a small icon of the Mother of God and, if necessary, attach some kind of “material evidence” as a prayer memory. In addition, there is a miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy”, a particle of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross, a part of the Holy Sepulcher, and the relics of many saints.

4. A piece of the Robe of the Virgin Mary is in another Moscow church - in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo , located near the Avtozavodskaya metro station (exit from the last car from the center), at the address: st. Vostochnaya, house 6. The temple is open daily from 7.30 to 17.00 or until the end of the evening service. In the temple there is an icon “The Position of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae,” in which a particle of the Robe of the Mother of God is located inside the reliquary. Several other especially revered icons of the Most Pure Mother are also kept in the temple. All sick women who are afraid of catching a cold in a 10-20 hour line can easily go there and pray at the shrine without temptation.

5. Let us recall another well-known temple in Moscow. In the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Gryazekh , which is on Pokrovka Street, building 13, there is a revered icon of St. David of Gareji with a particle of his relics . Through prayer to St. David, many were healed of female diseases, infertility, and received help during pregnancy and childbirth. On Mondays at 17.00 a prayer service with blessing of water is held in the church.

Found here: https://www.taday.ru/text/1315642.html
GOD help everyone!

Temple of the Prophet Elijah

If you, like many other pilgrims, were unable to venerate the Belt of the Virgin Mary in Moscow in 2011, then do not despair. Of course, this shrine, first brought from Mount Athos, is of great importance in the eyes of believers. But in fact, pieces of it have long been stored in the Temple of the Prophet Elijah in Moscow. The belt of the Virgin Mary did not get there by accident, but let’s talk about everything in order.

One of the most revered temples in the capital was built at the end of the sixteenth century. Surprisingly, it was erected in just one day. That’s why they called it “Ordinary”; the lanes closest to the structure received the same name.

Initially, the temple was wooden, and only at the beginning of the eighteenth century did it acquire the outlines familiar to our contemporaries. It is noteworthy that even during the years of Soviet power, divine services were held here, and in the most turbulent times there was a religious procession to the temple.

At the moment, about seventy-three shrines are kept in this church, among them is a piece of the Belt of the Virgin. It came to Moscow during the tsarist regime and is kept in a reliquary at the chapel of Peter and Paul. Some believers, in order to have a memory of this shrine at home, purchase a small icon of the Mother of God and place it on the relic when visiting the temple. It is not known whether such an icon can work miracles, but many Orthodox believers talk about healing and help in business after praying to the Blessed Virgin at home.

Belt of the Virgin Mary in Moscow: the capital held the shrine

Starting from the first day of the Belt of the Virgin Mary’s stay in Moscow, hot meals were organized for pilgrims near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In addition, Mosgortrans buses were on duty near the temple and along the entire length of the queue, where people could warm up if necessary. But according to eyewitnesses, people were reluctant to get on the buses for fear of losing their place in line.

In addition, about 25 ambulance teams and several psychological assistance teams were constantly on duty in the temple area. Order was maintained by about 2 thousand police officers, and two boats of the Ministry of Emergency Situations monitored the situation from the water.

You could find out which metro station it was best to get off at to get in line by calling the 24-hour hotline, but it was almost impossible to get through - there were too many people wanting to get through. On average, hotline staff answered 2 thousand calls daily. The Moscow metro began to tell pilgrims the right metro station: from November 24, corresponding announcements were made at stations and in metro cars.

It was planned to feed pilgrims at the minimum prices recommended by the Moscow authorities at 15 non-stationary retail outlets near the temple and eight points along the embankment. Pilgrims were offered a wide range of baked goods, as well as pancakes, hot sandwiches, instant soups and confectionery, as well as tea and coffee. In addition, there were nine field kitchens with hot porridge.

But after the queue stretched for 4.5 kilometers, and the waiting time in it increased to a day, the authorities had to increase the number of hot food distribution points by more than 1.5 times (from 9 to 16) and send several KamAZ trucks with hot tea. The number of toilets also had to be increased - from 300 to 580. In total, during the time the Belt of the Virgin Mary was in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, 80 thousand free portions of porridge and 95 thousand glasses of hot tea were given out.

Pilgrim Delivery Service

While the relic was in the capital, there were also three free night (from 1.00 am to 5.00 am) bus routes in the direction of Kievsky, Kursky, Kazansky, Leningradsky and Yaroslavsky railway stations in Moscow. According to the organizational headquarters for bringing the Belt of the Virgin Mary to Moscow, more than 20 thousand people used the services of these buses.

Near the temple, on Volkhonka, there was a special taxi dispatch center for pilgrims who had already bowed to the shrine and were heading home. There was also a taxi stand there. Official taxi carriers in Moscow sent additional vehicles operating at minimum rates to the temple area to serve pilgrims. Thus, the 14th taxi fleet to any part of Moscow (within the Moscow Ring Road) transported passengers at a fare not exceeding 350 rubles. As of Saturday, November 26, about 3 thousand taxi orders were accepted.

Traffic jams at the shrine

Who can benefit from a wonderful belt?

Archive of newspaper No. 42 (175) dated November 29, 2011

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What does mass worship of shrines indicate - a sincere religious impulse or the fact that Russians live hard and hope only for a miracle?

The pilgrimage of Russian residents to the Christian relic turned out to be so massive that it surprised even the clergy

In Russia, something that no one expected came out of a seemingly completely familiar action. Over ten days in Moscow, almost a million (800 thousand) people came to venerate the Christian shrine - the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In order to touch the ark with the belt for a moment, people stood for days, the queue stretched for several kilometers. Even the clergy are surprised by such a stir - and it was observed in other cities of the country. What is this – a massive religious outburst or evidence that Russians live a difficult life and hope only for a miracle?

Size doesn't matter

The belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary was brought to Russia for the first time. For the last 200 years, he has not left Greece at all (the shrine is kept in Athos, in the Vatopedi monastery). According to legend, the Mother of God wove a miraculous belt from camel hair and wore it until her death. The belt is believed to heal and help women who dream of having a child.

The ark with the belt traveled around Russia for more than a month and visited 15 cities, including Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Norilsk and Stavropol: Russia was, as it were, overshadowed by a blessing cross. And everywhere people selflessly stood in line for hours. In Norilsk, even the night frost of minus twenty degrees did not frighten us, and mothers brought their babies with them. According to some reports, about three million people in Russia came to venerate the relics.

In Moscow, the longest queue was observed in the first days. It stretches for ten kilometers - from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior along Prechistenskaya Embankment to the Crimean Bridge. Worship wait times ranged from 45 minutes to 26 hours. People carried blankets, folding chairs, food, and thermoses with hot tea. But many still did not calculate their strength, fainted, and suffered heart attacks: in six days, more than 750 pilgrims turned to emergency doctors.

To speed up the process of worship, on the fifth day the holy ark was installed on a special two-meter arch in the temple, and the passage of people significantly accelerated. Soon there were reports that the belt would “fly around” Moscow in a helicopter, but this know-how was never put into practice - they simply extended the ark’s stay in the capital by a day.

The unprecedented popularity of the imported shrine seems strange given the fact that Muscovites have their own, literally under their noses. A few hundred meters from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the Church of Elijah the Everyday, a particle of that very belt of the Mother of God, brought from Athos, constantly resides. And a very significant fragment of the belt lies just 70 kilometers northeast of the capital, in the Serapion Chambers of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. You can access these artifacts without any queues and at any time. In addition, according to Orthodox dogmas, the physical size or state of preservation of a relic does not in any way affect the degree of its “grace.”

Belt of Discord

Seeing such a rise, the abbot of the Vatopedi monastery, abbot Ephraim, said: “We have witnessed the great strength of the Russian Orthodox people,” the chief sanitary doctor of Russia, Gennady Onishchenko, called what was happening “a phenomenon that requires explanation,” and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that, among other things, the phenomenon of the belt The Most Holy Theotokos will help solve the demographic problem in Russia.

The big event was overshadowed by reports of so-called thieves' pilgrims. True, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev bowed to the belt without harming Muscovites (one during the meeting of the ark at the airport, the other in Nizhny Novgorod). But eyewitnesses told how cars with special license plates “AMP” and “EKH” were allowed to enter the Cathedral of Christ the Savior out of turn, and then holders of important IDs were allowed through the barrier in the place where disabled people pass. Then many clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church explained this by the fact that officials, literally burning at work, do not have time to stand in lines.

Even pickpockets took advantage of the phenomenon in their own way. In the crowd they felt like fish in water, stealing wallets and cash from their fellow citizens who were thinking about lofty things. And they even carried their jewelry to their belts to illuminate; the media reported that they were stolen from the famous actress.

But these are all minor things compared to the reaction to the phenomenon on the part of the so-called Russian non-believers. They also lined up in line - although virtual, it was also impressive. And in this line there are not only motorists who are enraged by the traffic jams created by the crowd in the center of Moscow. Battles are literally unfolding on the Internet, in which the very fact of faith angers some and is perceived as a restriction of freedom for others. “Only very backward people nowadays believe that they can solve their problems by touching a chest with an old belt,” the first ones are indignant. “You have nothing sacred left,” the latter are offended.

Journalist Boris Falikov believes that, unlike Europe, in Russia shrines do not unite, but separate people. The reason for this is the revolution of 1917 and 70 years of atheism, which tore apart the cultural integrity of the country. “The modern secular public does not perceive religion as an organic part of the cultural heritage; for them, a believer is a retrograde who is trying to drag the country into the swamp of the past. Believers, on the contrary, look at culture through the prism of Orthodoxy... No one knows how to get out of this situation.”

Powerful visit

Saratov was not included in the “route cross” of the Belt of the Virgin Mary across Russia (unlike Samara), but the wave of interest in the shrines may reach the Saratov region. For the second week, the relics of the holy blessed Matrona of Moscow are being transported to regional churches - the ark with the particle was delivered from the Holy Dormition Monastery, which is near Tula.

So, when on November 20 the relics of Matrona were brought to Rtishchevo, the shrine was greeted not only by the dean of the district, but also by the first persons of the municipal district, the interdistrict prosecutor and the heads of the largest enterprises. The route of the ark passes through Khvalynsk, Volsk, Novouzensk, Balashov, Ershov, Krasny Kut, Marks, Bazarny Karabulak.

The shrine will arrive in Saratov on December 15 and will remain in the church in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on Gorky Street for five days. This is not the first visit of the relics of Blessed Matrona to our region. The Ark was brought in January 2010, and huge queues lined up at the Church of the Intercession. The data of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate included the number of 120 thousand people. People stood in the cold for hours, twice extending the period of stay of the relic - first by a week, then by another.

Judging by the excitement that has arisen around the belt of the Virgin Mary, it is quite likely that it will also happen in Saratov around the relics of the Matrona of Moscow. How many people will come to bow to them this time is unknown, but city authorities need to be prepared for at least possible difficulties on the roads.

***

Vladimir Sanatin, head of the center for social research “ROSS-XXI Century”:

SUCH A SOCIAL OUTLET

“Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with the fact that so many people responded and came to worship the Orthodox shrine. After all, the belt of the Virgin Mary was brought to Russia for the first time!

Perhaps people are trying to distract themselves from negative emotions and join something big, spiritual. It's such a social outlet. Apparently, there is a certain critical attitude towards reality in society, an aggravation of various social feelings, mental tension that many feel and are looking for reassurance.

It is also impossible not to take into account the fact that a person in a crowd is not the same as a solitary person. I know from myself: when you speak in the square, the prepared speech somehow flies out of your head by itself, and you are drawn to say what the crowd wants to hear. Large masses of people have enormous infectious power. This is from the field of social psychology. These queues may mean that people want to be involved in the bright symbolic phenomena of life. But the strength of spirit turns out to be stronger than the physical readiness to stand for days, hence people fainting and deteriorating health.

Oleg Smirnov, chief psychiatrist of Saratov, candidate of medical sciences:

PERSONS WITH SPECIAL PASSES SHOULD NOT HOPE FOR A MIRACLE

– I’m afraid to seem harsh, but the saying about God and a bruised forehead is definitely about our Russian character trait. Well, what sane person, seeing a five-kilometer queue, would stand in it?! I have a dual impression when I see this: on the one hand, a feeling of respect, on the other, a certain skepticism. By the way, I can’t imagine that a shrine could cause such a stir in Europe, in the Vatican, but perhaps among Muslims, in Mecca. There is something similar to the Hajj in this.

In fact, mass fascination with supernatural phenomena is typical for Russia. And this happens at different times. Remember how the whole country was “treated” on television screens with the sessions of Kashpirovsky and other magicians. What about the UFO craze? Now many are infected with the idea of ​​the end of the world - people are selling apartments, giving away jewelry, money, etc.

Will the belt of the Virgin Mary help those who are “worthy”? Of course, it will help believers. It’s not for nothing that the Bible says: “Everyone will be rewarded according to his faith.” So there are those in that queue whose health will improve, some will have a long-awaited pregnancy. Understand that a miracle is not a touch of a magic belt, but a psychic phenomenon. A true believer stands for a day, preparing to meet the shrine, and at the moment of meeting it, his body experiences an unprecedented shock, excitement, and hormonal explosion. The immune system is activated and the body's hidden reserve forces are released. This release is a miracle. So there is no need to hope for a miracle for important people who have free access to the shrine and do not make any efforts - they are less likely to have their wishes fulfilled. After all, as you know, obstacles enhance the effect of victory.

Alexander Panteleev, independent political scientist, candidate of psychological sciences, associate professor of the department of psychology at Saratov State Pedagogical University:

SMART PR MOVE

– Relics and other shrines were revered in ancient times, and one of the Roman popes even put their production on stream, then various kings fought for their possession. There are so many artifacts on earth that if you combine all the fragments and parts of shrines that are carried around cities and villages, then there will be much more of them than is needed for one whole. But for most believers, to believe in the divine, spiritual manifestation is not enough; materialization is needed - icons, vestments, relics. It is precisely this majority that stands in line for the belt of the Virgin Mary.

In general, the stronger a person’s sense of uncertainty and uncertainty about the future, the stronger the desire to worship religious artifacts. It’s not for nothing that they say that a person turns to God when he feels bad, when there is no way out. Maybe this pilgrimage of people to the belt of the Virgin Mary is from the same series? In the USSR, communism used to play the role of God; people believed in the bright future of the country, and this was their shrine. Nowadays, many people are afraid to live in the information field, where something breaks, explodes, and dies all the time. And turning to religion, a person seeks reliability and confidence. As for the officials (including President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin), who also actively reached out to venerate the shrine, this is a PR stunt. Of course, ordinary people will be indignant when they see VIPs jumping in line, but the bottom line is this: officials are also with the people, this is important to them too. A very smart move before the elections!

The path from Athos to Russia

The relic left Greece for the first time; monks from Mount Athos accompanied it on the journey. It is noteworthy that not a single woman can set foot on the land of Athos - this is strictly prohibited. Therefore, it was difficult to even imagine that the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary would ever end up in Moscow.

In which temple was the relic kept all these years on Mount Athos? She was in a monastery known as Vatopedi. It is considered the second most important among the Athonite monasteries, and is also the richest and most ancient.

Finding the Belt of the Virgin Mary

The first written sources mentioning this shrine appeared in Constantinople. They were written by different authors at approximately the same time.

One of them said that the Belt was kept in a small temple built in the city of Zila. Here the relic lay forgotten by everyone until it was transported to Constantinople. A separate chapel was built for her, and a little later a canon of a holiday dedicated to the shrine arose.

According to another version, the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary was kept in Jerusalem, from where it was transported to Constantinople around the fifth century. They put it in the ark and practically forgot about the relic for four hundred years. During this period, Emperor Leo sat on the throne, his beloved wife suffered from mental illness. Many doctors considered her possessed and threw up their hands when the emperor asked about the possibility of her healing. But one day the sick woman herself saw in a dream how a relic hidden in the ark completely healed her of her illness. The Emperor immediately ordered the Belt of the Virgin Mary to be taken out and unrolled it over his wife’s head. Immediately the demons left the woman, and the shrine took its rightful place in the temple of Constantinople. From that time on, the clergy marked a special day in the calendar when a holiday was solemnly celebrated in honor of the amazing and miraculous relic.

Temple of All Saints Who Shined in the Russian Land in Novokosino

On January 23, 2021, a Center for distributing to the regions of Russia the belts of the Virgin Mary consecrated on Mount Athos opened in Moscow . They are made by the monks of the Vatopedi Monastery, which houses one of the greatest relics of the Christian world - the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and are consecrated at the shrine itself. The belts will be sent throughout Russia to those in need of their healing help, namely, married couples facing the problem of infertility, as well as pregnant women.

The center operates on the basis of the Church of All Saints who shone in the Russian Land, in the Moscow district of Novokosino. The delivery of belts from Athos to Moscow is provided by the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation.

On the opening day, the first shipment of belts to the regions of Russia took place. The recipients were married couples from 24 cities of the country. Geography of the first mailing: Khabarovsk Territory, St. Petersburg, Penza Region, Moscow Region, Crimea, Komi Republic, Chelyabinsk Region, Republic of Bashkortostan, Cheboksary, Bryansk Region, Leningrad Region, Novosibirsk Region, Primorsky Territory, Voronezh Region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, Kursk region. Statistics : About 70% of recipients are families suffering from infertility, 30% are pregnant women.

The first mailing was carried out by married couples attending a school for pregnant women at the Novokosinsk temple. In the future, the belts will be distributed to parishioners of the temple who are expecting a new addition to their family, as well as to married couples suffering from infertility.

At the moment, the application base is growing steadily. By the beginning of the week, 25 new recipients were listed in the database. About 100 applications are expected by the end of the week.

The opening of the Center is timed to coincide with the bringing to the Novokosinsk church of a unique shrine - the icon “Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos”, painted on Holy Mount Athos and which traveled to 15 regions of Russia along with the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The bringing of the icon will take place on January 30 at 13.00 (Church of All Saints Who Have Shined in the Land of Russia, Suzdalskaya St., property 8B). The shrine will remain in the temple until January 31 at 17.00. These days, Muscovites will be able to venerate the shrine and receive the sash of the Virgin Mary, consecrated on Mount Athos.

The icon has already visited the temple three times, and since then interest in it among Muscovites has only increased. In the Novokosinsk temple, more than 10 thousand people have already venerated this shrine; about 20 cases of healing from infertility, as well as cancer, are known. In addition to requests for healing from this illness, pregnant women and married couples also flock to the icon, asking for a successful resolution of childbirth.

The rector of the Novoksa church, Archpriest Mikhail Zazvonov , notes that the opening of the Center for distributing the belts of the Virgin Mary is a consequence of the social and missionary work that the church is conducting jointly with the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation. Starting from January 27, 2015, on the day of the first bringing of the “Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos” icon to the temple, it began to serve weekly prayer services for the gift of children and the well-being of pregnancy, and to carry out social and missionary work with infertile couples and pregnant women. “These events became very noticeable in Russia, and we began to receive a lot of letters asking people to sign up for a prayer service and send a belt. Together with the leadership of the Foundation, we came to the conclusion that it is necessary not only to respond to the requests of believers, but to make this work systematic. In addition to receiving belts, people from other regions now have the opportunity to submit a note for a prayer service for the gift of children and the well-being of pregnancy online on the website of our church,” says Fr. Michael.

Deputy rector for social work Vyacheslav Moshkov explains that only married couples who are legally married and facing the problem of infertility, as well as pregnant women, will be able to receive the belts.

Below is a form to fill out. Use the scroll wheel inside the form, carefully answer the questions and click the “Done” button. If you make an error, use the “Change Answer” function, which appears after clicking the “Done” button.

For questions about sending belts