Congratulations on the Myrrh-Bearing Women's Day in prose. Feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women: history, traditions and scenario of the Orthodox holiday

On the 3rd Sunday after Easter Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the holy myrrh-bearing women. Seven women were the first to come to the tomb of Jesus Christ and learned from the angel about the resurrection of the Savior.

Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom came seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who served Him with their substance” (Luke 8:1-3). Also known from Holy Scripture the sisters of the risen Lazarus Martha and Mary, Salome - the mother of the holy apostles James and John of Zebedee, and Mary Cleopas - the mother of the apostles James Alpheus and the evangelist Matthew.

“Every woman on Earth is a myrrh-bearer in life - she brings peace to the world, to her family, to her home, she gives birth to children, and is a support to her husband.”

O. John (Krestyankin).

The head of the missionary department of the Dobrin Central Church, Dmitry Adonyev, congratulated the parishioners of the St. Nicholas Church and employees on the holiday, giving roses.

The dean of the Dobrin Central District congratulated the mothers of the pupils and girls of the Svetoch Sunday school, presenting them with roses.

The missionary department has developed information booklets and postcards about the holiday.

Volunteers and activists gave booklets and flowers (300 roses) to women they met on the streets of the village.

An integral part of Orthodox Christian culture is admiration for the woman who is the mother, the keeper of the hearth, the good helper of her husband, and the teacher of children.

On the Feast of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Church remembers the feat of women who, having loved the Lord, followed the Savior in His earthly life and did not leave Him after death on the cross.

Remembering the Myrrh-Bearing Women on this day and glorifying the Risen Savior, the Church calls us to follow the example of these holy women, praising their love for Jesus Christ, their fidelity to the Lord and His commandments.

On this day, the Holy Church honors those who served the Savior during the two greatest sacraments: His death and Resurrection. Honors those who showed their love to Christ when all other disciples abandoned Him. The myrrh-bearers wept as they accompanied Christ to Golgotha, were present at the burial, and took care to buy aromas to anoint the body of Christ with. For this, they were the first to be honored with seeing the Risen Lord and talking with Him, and announcing the Resurrection of Christ to the apostles.

About the promotion.

Idea: Popularization of the Day of Myrrh-Bearing Women in society. Promoting the Orthodox worldview into public consciousness. Formation in public consciousness proper and grateful attitude towards women and motherhood.
Goal: Formation of the tradition of celebrating Orthodox celebrations, missionary work through positive events. And just holding a bright event!

Formation of a tradition of celebration in society Orthodox holiday
- creating a positive image of the church
- popularization of the holiday in the church and secular environment
- attracting new supporters
- opportunity for missionary work
- consolidation of youth departments through joint activities

Participants:
1. Participants of the missionary department of the Dobrin Central Church
2. Volunteers
3. Media
4. Sponsoring partners

Benefactor Sponsors:

Alexandra Vostrikova is a private entrepreneur in the village of Dobrinka, Vitaly Brychaev is the director of the medical center in Lipetsk - “The ABC of Health”.

Head of the missionary department of the Dobrinsky church district Dmitry Adoniev.

Orthodox congratulations to a Christian woman are relevant all year round: Believers congratulate each other on, of which there are many, Happy Angel Day, Birthday. But they become especially in demand on a holiday unusual for every Orthodox woman - the day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, celebrated annually in the third week (weeks in church tradition are usually called Sundays) after Easter.

On this day, Orthodox wives, mothers, daughters hear Orthodox congratulations in prose and poetry from their men, receive gifts, and feel that all attention is focused on them - representatives of the fair half of humanity. After all, today there is probably no one who does not know that the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women has been considered an international Orthodox women's day for several years now. Since Orthodox Easter is a moving holiday, the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women moves along with it, so this celebration does not have a fixed date. But every believing man knows: you should prepare in advance, and, in addition to the gift, it is worth preparing an Orthodox congratulation in poetry or prose.

Orthodox congratulations in verse: what do we celebrate on the third Sunday after Easter?

Sociologists predict that very soon the secular women's day imposed on our country during the Bolshevik period - March 8 - will become a thing of the past or will become completely unpopular. Let’s not guess what awaits us ahead, and yet every year more and more men prefer Orthodox congratulations to women. It wouldn't hurt to know the history of the holiday. On the day of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the church glorifies holy women who were completely different, but they were all united by one thing - love for their Teacher, Jesus Christ. It's about about Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas, Salome, Susanna, John, sisters Martha and Mary, and other faithful disciples of Christ.

It doesn’t matter whether your Orthodox congratulations will be in prose or verse, the main thing is to understand for yourself the essence of the holiday, and then the necessary words will appear by themselves. But the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women is indeed very symbolic. Before the coming of Christ, the role of women in Jewish, and not only, society was not the most enviable. The Jews believed that sin came into the world through a woman - Eve persuaded her husband Adam to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. At the same time, by their loyalty to Jesus, the women around Him showed that they could be a source not only of evil, but also of sacrificial self-giving, sometimes ahead of the apostles in this.

Therefore, Orthodox congratulations in poetry or prose always contain the brightest words towards Christian women.

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Orthodox congratulations in prose - how to celebrate Orthodox Women's Day?

Of course every Sunday Orthodox Christian must be carried out in the temple. The Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women is no exception. Therefore, all Orthodox congratulations to women should be voiced after the service. As for the celebration, each family decides for itself how best to spend this day, based on its lifestyle and budget.

In itself, an Orthodox congratulation in verse or prose will already be a surprise, because any woman is pleased to hear kind words from her beloved man. Alternatively, the gift could be a trip to the theater or cinema, a walk together in the park or on the embankment tasting new varieties of ice cream, a boat ride, or a family trip to the attractions. I think I will not be mistaken if I assume that every woman, regardless of religion, will be happy to hear Orthodox congratulations in prose or poetry from her loved one at a modest family dinner, which

April 25, 2020 (Day of Myrrh-Bearing Women)

The Day of the Myrrh-Bearing Women is revered by Christians as an important and joy-filled holiday. He, like no other, glorifies female purity and selflessness, positioning chastity and marital fidelity as the highest blessings and indispensable canons. It is widely known that one of the biblical myrrh-bearing women was the repentant sinner Magdalene, to whom not only was forgiveness granted by God, but also grace was sent down, and today the name of this saint is revered along with others.

The second meaning of the holiday lies in the difficult fate of women, which over the centuries has often been accompanied by bitter widowhood, hard work and all kinds of trials. A woman has always been associated with procreation, love and forgiveness, therefore it is the female image that is called upon to bring peace and tranquility to those tormented by strife and conflicts modern world. On this holiday it is not customary to swear or use foul language, and it, like no other, is suitable for surrounding your wife, mother and all the close and dear women in your life with love and care.

Today we remember
About faithful Wives, what then,
Grieving in soul, they walked to the grave
Anoint the Lord Christ.

Having captured the vessels of peace,
They were worried about one question:
Who would open the coffin for them?
But the stone has already been rolled away,

Some lay in a veil,
And no one... and the whole coffin is empty.
The Angels asked then:
Who are you looking for here?

Christ is no longer among the dead,
Go ahead and spread the word
To His disciples, in the morning -
Christ is risen! Christ is risen!

The holy women walked together
To the grave, to anoint the body with myrrh,
Christ Jesus, but they found
That the coffin is open and the stone is nearby,

Two Angels appeared to them
They asked, are they looking for what is in the coffin?
There is no living among the dead,
Jesus came to life, rising from the grave.

Frozen in bewilderment,
Trying to believe what I heard,
Everyone ran to the Students,
Assure about the resurrection.

They learned that he had risen from the dead,
they are the myrrh-bearers, the first news,
and tell the world that our Lord lives,
Such was their fate and honor!

And we will say thank you to all such women,
for their devotion and readiness to save,
the day of the myrrh-bearing women is all ready in May,
We welcome you again with special respect!

Their path with Christ to Golgotha ​​was not easy,
and by faith they paid tribute to him,
for women's devotion and faith in miracles,
kneel down with respect for them!

Let their prayers ascend on this day,
to the most azure beautiful skies,
for the myrrh-bearing women let there be respect,
After all, life will not be possible for all of us without miracles!

The Church honors the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women,
The holiday is celebrated on the second Sunday after Easter.
They always served Christ humbly and devotedly,
They saw His torment, His death and reported His resurrection.

The holiday has been revered by both poor and rich since ancient times,
And the chastity of a married person is considered a sacrament.
In Rus', princesses were widows and never got married again.
Many of them took monastic vows and entered the monastery.

The Holy Church honors many holy myrrh-bearing women,
And Mary Magdalene, and mother Sophia and her daughters.
There are a lot of them who are faithful, forgiving, merciful,
Their meekness and patience are always exemplary for us.

In their own way, in the life of the myrrh-bearer, all women of the Earth,
Children and husband in faith serve as support for the family.
Orthodoxy exalts all women - mothers,
He calls on you to treat them like your mother.

Today is the holiday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women,
Our Orthodox Women's Day!
So great, gentle, different,
Whose feat is valuable to people.

The one who loves and believes so,
Great joy always awaits.
Fortunately, the doors are now open,
The soul laughs and sings!

Solemn day on Myrrh-Bearing Women
We rush to church to congratulate women,
Those who are in the family for the sake of peace in their
Spends all the strength of his boundless soul.

Those who love, warmth, kindness
Warms and heals people's hearts.
Let the golden light await their joy,
May happiness never end forever.

Three women entered the Jesus Cave,
Heavenly angels descended to them with news.
They told them the news so that the people of earth would know,
The news is spreading throughout the world about the resurrection of the son of God.

The apostles gave way to doubts, those
And they hurried to the cave in a bustle.
What a miracle, they didn’t find Jesus in the tomb,
And the women were right to come first.

After Christ's crucifixion his friends fell,
After all, no miracle happened in the cave or in the surrounding area.
And the women went to visit Jesus,
Pray for salvation, place hopes.

On the bright fifteenth day they came again,
And Jesus’ body was not found in the cave.
O myrrh-bearing women, thank you for the news
O Sunday of the son of God, worthy of the highest honor.

Archpriest Georgy Goncharenko, rector of St. Vladimir's Church:“Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! We all have the happiness of being called disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. But we must not only be called, but also be such: like the myrrh-bearers, love Jesus Christ, serve Him, preach about Him, keep His word, fulfill His commandments. Moreover, to love Him means to love our neighbors, not excluding our enemies, and to love as He loved us all - even to the point of being willing to lay down our souls for them. To serve Him means to do deeds of compassion, mercy, charity, and brotherly help to each other.

But we have a great grief that we do not realize, a great tragedy that we do not notice. This is our loss of love, the most important treasure of Christians. How often do we fulfill established instructions and rituals, but we have hatred and malice towards a person in our hearts. Therefore, our faith without love is a lifeless corpse. The loss of love is the loss of eternal life.

Brothers and sisters! The greatest joy is the ability to love. The greatest happiness on earth is to be able to forgive with all your heart. Love is the secret of the next century. Let us learn this from the holy myrrh-bearing women, so that together with them we can hear in the Kingdom of Heaven: “Rejoice!” Amen".

Elijah, singer of the Church choir of St. Vladimir's Church: “Over the course of two thousand years of the existence of the Church of Christ, the women and her faithful children have constantly confirmed that they are continuers of the work of the holy myrrh-bearing women. In the recent past, their feat of fidelity, love and mercy was repeated by our great-grandmothers and grandmothers, who remained with Christ and His Holy Church during the days of severe persecution, when all the evil of this world took up arms against the Holy Church, trying to destroy Orthodoxy and even the memory of it. The women accomplished an unnoticed feat. They taught the truths of the faith of Christ to their children and grandchildren, despite any threats they visited the temple of God, participated in the Sacraments of the Church, preserved and sacredly passed on church traditions.

In our days of globalization, politicization, feminization and other fruits of civilization, the feat of bringing the Truth of Christ does not lose its relevance: the body of the Church is tormented by schisms and sects: the veneration of Christ, unfortunately, still remains an external “tribute to fashion”; society itself is destroying the foundations " small church" - Christian family. But “white handkerchiefs,” as Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, called women, as always overflow the churches, offering up their prayers to Christ for the salvation of the world.

Dear sisters and mothers! We congratulate you on your holiday - the Day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women! We appreciate your feat - the feat of a Mother, the feat of a Spouse, the feat of a Friend, the feat of a Christian. Very often we don’t notice it – not because of its absence, but because of routine. We are accustomed to your love and tenderness, to your care and mercy, and therefore all this seems to us self-evident and inalienable. However, deep down in their souls, everyone realizes that the loss of your support brings disaster. We thank you for your prayers that you pour out for your men, for the Light of the Faith of Christ that you bring to us with your patience and fidelity!

Low bow to you for your efforts! Many and blessed summers to you!

Senior sexton of St. Vladimir's Church Igor:“Today is a truly women’s holiday - the holiday of the myrrh-bearing women! To understand the significance of this day, let us mentally transport ourselves to that great morning when our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the first myrrh-bearing women after the Resurrection. Why should they? Because the Lord knew the hearts of women and men. The myrrh-bearing women directed all their strength, all their zeal to serve Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. They did all the women's work that He needed.

But this is not the only merit of the myrrh-bearing women. Their merit, first of all, is that their hearts were pure, holy and perfect before God. The Lord knew that women, first of all, myrrh-bearing wives, would perceive the truth completely differently than men - than His holy Apostles. He knew how difficult it would be for some of His apostles to believe that the Risen Christ stood before them, and for his myrrh-bearing wives, because of faith, hope, devotion and female perception, it would be easier. That is why the myrrh-bearing women were awarded this greatest honor, this greatest happiness - to be the first to see the Risen Lord! After 40 days, the Lord ascended to heaven, and it became impossible to serve Him in a visible way.

Returning to today, we see that Christian wives, despite the high intensity of their lives, bear the difficult cross of their home, family, parental, industrial and social responsibilities. They find time, without missing out on the succession handed down by the holy myrrh-bearing women, to serve the visibly invisible Lord. And they serve Him in a different way - to give alms to the beggar, to visit the sick, to help and calm the suffering, to come to the prisoner and comfort him. And they serve Him in the saints Orthodox churches and bring in the vessels of their hearts faith, hope, love, devotion and the depth of female heartfelt perception. And for this, low bow to everyone!

On behalf of the honor of the church and all brothers in Christ, we congratulate you, dear wives and young girls, on a truly women's holiday - the holiday of the holy myrrh-bearing women! We wish you mental and physical health, peace, love, patience and true purity of heart. “...Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God”... (Matthew: 10, 5).

Our dear man.

On Orthodox Women's Day, we send heartfelt and warm congratulations to all Orthodox wives and young women. But I would like to say special words expressing sincere respect and admiration to Mother Natalia, the wife of Father George.

We are all parishioners or employees of our Church. We are all somehow accustomed to thinking that the temple is run by our shepherd. And we hardly think about the fact that next to the priest stands a woman, an assistant and guardian, who is not without reason called kind words"mother".

Mother is not an ordinary profession, but a merit; she bears enormous responsibility for the order and life support of the Church. Before such a woman, on whose shoulders the temple rests, it is impossible to stop admiring and being amazed at her ability to love people. After all, not every person is endowed with such qualities as mercy, hard work, modesty and kindness.

Only a truly Orthodox woman can have these virtues. And these are exactly what Mother Natalia is endowed with. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh noted: “Faith is required from a priest’s wife, genuine faith, which helps the husband to act, gives him a feeling of trust and support of his wife, even when she does not have the right to fully understand his actions...” And only faith in God helped mother realize very many things in life, get answers to your pressing questions.

Our dear mother Natalia! We thank you for carrying your difficult cross of serving God and people with such zeal and a smile. In many ways, through your prayers and your labors, Father George was able to realize his plans and aspirations, create a parish here, and leave a good mark on other churches where he served.

You never lose heart, but only people close to you know how much mental and physical strength you give to the life of the parish, to each of us. The Lord has given you many talents: both in the choir and in the refectory you are successful and irreplaceable. Yours outer beauty inseparable from spiritual beauty. For us, you are a true example of piety, chastity, purity, patience and humility, friendliness and hard work, meekness and simplicity, courage and resourcefulness.

We thank you and wish you spiritual ascent, love, God's blessing, and salvation of your soul. May every drop of your labor turn into a fragrant lily in the Heaven of the Hall. May the Lord never leave you and fulfill all your requests. Have a long and prosperous summer!

A woman's heart is meek
Knows how to love and feel sorry.
And the beggar and the orphan
Maybe it will warm it up.

It will respond sensitively
To our sadness and pain,
Seriously alarmed,
Whispers: “I’m next to you!”

The gift of selfless love
The Lord gave the woman
Graceful, pure love,
Washed by drops of tears.

It so happened that many Christian Orthodox holidays were superimposed on more ancient pagan ones. This was done so that the people would better and faster get used to the new religion and adapt to the changing requirements and living conditions. An example of such celebrations is the story of the myrrh-bearing women.

Celebration date

The Feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women is a special event in Christianity. It does not have a specific date - it depends on what date Easter falls on in a particular year. The celebration is celebrated on the third post-Easter Sunday, on the 15th day after Easter Day. If Easter is early, then the feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women falls at the end of March or the first half of April. At a later date, the Church celebrates it at the end of April or May. Not only Sunday itself is considered a holiday, but also the entire week after it. Among believers these days, it is customary to congratulate mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, daughters, and spouses. After all, the holiday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women is considered in Christianity to be a celebration of women.

Two Marys

The names of those in whom the Orthodox Church honors the female half of humanity have reached us. These are two Marys - one is the well-known Magdalene, a former sinner who repented of her debauchery and accepted the commandments of Christ as the main and necessary for life. The second is Kleopova. According to various sources, she was either the sister of the mother of Christ, or the wife of the brother of St. Joseph the Betrothed, the husband of the mother of Jesus. Third biblical texts speak of her as the parent of the relatives of the Son of God - Jacob, Josiah, Simon, Judah. The Feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women is also celebrated in memory of John, a faithful disciple of Christ. She walked with His other listeners through Galilee and secretly buried her head when Herod killed him.

Mother of the Apostles and Sisters of Lazarus

Salome also deserved the high honor of church memory. She is the mother of the disciples and apostles of Jesus, James and John. Christ appeared to her first after Magdalene at his resurrection. Various Gospels also mention the sisters Martha and Mary, originally from Bethany - the Savior honored them with his presence and sermons. But they believed in Him after their brother Lazarus was resurrected by Christ. And, of course, Susanna, about whom the Evangelist Luke speaks, she served the Son of God “from her possessions.” Thanks to these personalities, pious and righteous Christian women have been receiving congratulations on the feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women for a long time to this day.

About the event

Many who do not know the history of the holiday may wonder: why are the wives called myrrh-bearers? How to understand this expression? We find the answers in the Bible, in the New Testament. These are residents of the places where Jesus walked and preached. They welcomed Christ into their homes with joy and hospitality, accepted Him as their personal savior, served Him and followed Him. When Jesus was crucified, these women witnessed His suffering on Calvary. And the morning after the execution, when the bodies of the crucified were removed from the crosses and buried, they came to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His body with myrrh, as required by Jewish customs. Hence the name of the celebration. Congratulations on the feast of the myrrh-bearing women are also associated with the joyful news of the resurrection of Christ, which these women brought to other people. After all, it was to them that Jesus appeared after death on the cross. They were the first to learn the truth about the salvation and immortality of the soul from a meek angel, who pointed them to an open, empty crypt.

Spiritual and moral connections

Myrrh-bearing women were especially revered in Rus'. This is due to the element of piety in Russian culture and spirituality. Morality and morality, strict norms and requirements of Orthodoxy have become part of the flesh and blood of the people, especially their female part. Simple peasant women, high-ranking noblewomen, representatives of the merchant and bourgeois class tried to lead a righteous and honest life, in the fear of God. Good deeds, donations to the needy, distribution of alms to the poor and merciful deeds for the suffering - all this was done by them with a special elation and desire to please the Lord. What is also characteristic of Russian Orthodoxy is an extremely chaste attitude towards the sacrament of marriage. Fidelity to a given word, an oath before the altar (that is, to those covenants that Christ bequeathed) in the old days was a distinctive feature of a Russian woman. These ideals still live among the people today. The myrrh-bearing women were distinguished by meekness, humility, patience, and forgiveness. That's why they became role models. And the Russian land gave Christianity many saints and righteous women, blessed ones and martyrs, who did good for the glory of Christ. Mother Matrona, Ksenia of Petersburg, Fevronia of Murom, Abbess Catherine and many others are revered by the people as intercessors, helpers, comforters, healers, true followers of the work of Christ.

Orthodox International Women's Day

It is not for nothing that the Myrrh-Bearing Women is considered international. It is joyfully celebrated in many countries around the world. And this is not surprising. After all, a woman gives birth new life, brings ideas of goodness and love into the world, is the keeper of the hearth, a support for her husband and children. Essentially, who are the myrrh-bearing women? Ordinary mothers, sisters, spouses, only living according to the commandments of God. The most striking and significant personification of the sacrificial feminine principle, love and forgiveness is, undoubtedly, the Mother of God. But other holy righteous women also deserved universal respect and glorification. That is why the fair half of humanity has two special events. This is March 8th and the Feast of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women.

Ancient Slavic roots

As already mentioned, many Christian significant dates were combined in religious practice and popular consciousness with earlier rites and rituals of paganism. Priests do not always agree with this statement, but ethnographic research proves the validity of such guesses. This applies to Christmastide, Ivano-Kupala night gatherings and many others. magical days. This happened with the Feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women. Among the Slavs, it coincided with the end of youth festivities on Radunitsa. Often, it was on the third post-Easter Sunday that in many areas of what is now Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the rite of initiation, or cumulus, was performed.

Indian festivities

The action was associated with ancient divination and then new Christian symbols. For the ceremony, a “Trinity tree” was chosen - a young birch tree in a forest clearing or a large maple branch, which was brought into the hut. The tree was decorated with ribbons and wreaths of wild flowers. Bundles with colored eggs and/or crosses were hung in the wreaths. Women and girls gathered around the birch tree and “celebrated”: they kissed each other crosswise and exchanged crosses and dyes through wreaths. Rings and monistas, earrings and beads, scarves and ribbons were given as gifts. This was the essence of the holiday: for the women of the village or village to become more friendly. In addition, round dances were performed around the birch tree, songs were sung and refreshments were always offered. Unmarried girls guessed about their “heart friend,” and married girls guessed about their later life. The main dish was scrambled eggs, which were called "woman's eggs". In general, when the feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Woman came, they also said about it: “womanish.”

Other names of the holiday and its connection with Christianity

This day has many names among the people. The main definition in them pointed specifically to the feminine principle. They called it: “Woman’s Yayishna”, “Woman’s Bratchina”, “Woman’s Week”, “Kumitny” or “Curling” Sunday (from the “curling” of birch trees - intertwining its branches in the form of an arch and braiding braids). What’s interesting: practically no Russian province had a single regulation for holding celebrations. In Pskov or Smolensk, Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod, as well as in others, “Indian Sunday”, or the holiday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, was celebrated in their own way. The scenario is different everywhere. The only thing that united them was that the day before the women went from house to house, collecting bread, pastries, eggs, and other products for a common feast. Mandatory on a holiday unmarried girls, their older relatives first went to church to celebrate mass. Afterwards they ordered a general prayer service for the entire female part of the village. They paid for it not with money, but with eggs, which was also part of the ritual of Myrrh-Bearing Week. And already in the evening the festivities themselves began: with dances and songs and other attributes of the holiday. And then the feast followed. In the regions where flax was grown, for a rich harvest, scrambled eggs were often eaten under a special spell.

Funeral motives

Among the days of Myrrh-Bearing Week, time was always set aside for remembering the dead. For these purposes, a common magpie was served in each parish - secular, according to the deceased members of the church. On Myrrh-Bearing Sunday, in many populated areas Cemeteries were visited and paints were left on the graves. In this tradition, echoes of pagan cults, in particular the cult of ancestors, are also clearly heard. The deification of nature, the change of seasons, as well as the onset of the agricultural season also played a role in the emergence of the holiday.

“Myrrh-bearing” days today

Orthodox is celebrated today in all Christian parishes in Russia and beyond. IN Sunday schools At churches, teachers prepare a concert with children for mothers, grandmothers, and sisters. In songs, poems, and staged scenes based on scenes from the Holy Scriptures, they glorify not only biblical heroines and saints, but simply all women - continuers of the human race, the embodiment of peace, goodness, and love. If there are workshops at Sunday schools, then mentors and students prepare small gifts for guests. These are, as a rule, frames and shelves for icons, wooden eggs painted or with burnt patterns, bags for prosphora and other beautiful and useful items, as well as thematic drawings and appliqués. Organized with soul, such holidays leave a deep imprint on the heart and have enormous educational and moral significance.

Temple Celebrations

Solemn services are held in all Orthodox churches and cathedrals on these days. Pilgrims come from everywhere to places of faith to feel their community with the entire Church of Christ. Lay people attend services no less zealously than Orthodox believers. Within the walls of the houses of God, in the pious examples of clergy, in the wisdom of the Holy Scriptures, they seek and find support that helps them survive in our difficult times and gives hope for the future. After the Divine Liturgies, the pastors address the parishioners with a special Word - a heartfelt sermon in which they congratulate all women on a bright, joyful holiday.

The Church treats with respect and veneration not only the feat of the biblical women. Special attention the holy fathers devote in their Word to the famous and little-known, modest workers of the Faith. To everyone who works in the spiritual field, the Christian field, performing daily, sometimes unnoticed feats for the glory of God, words of gratitude are addressed, wishes for the grace of the Lord, health and peace - in souls, in families, between people. In their sermons, pastors emphasize that without women’s participation, without the support of women, their painstaking work for the good of the Church, Christianity would not have become so widespread. In Russia, for example, in the era of godlessness, it was women who remained the stronghold of faith and unbending courage. Therefore, although they are called the weaker sex, their mission in Orthodoxy is significant. Parishioners should always remember this and remain the personification of spiritual purity, chastity, bearers of eternal Orthodox moral values. Women must fight for peace, and the example of the myrrh-bearing women inspires them on this thorny path.