The month-word captures several important events of the year that are little known to people. Many Christians, hearing the gospel of bells calling for worship, wondered what church holiday is celebrated on July 23, 2017? Indeed, in the church calendar there are great holidays that everyone knows about, medium and small.
July 23 (Orthodox church holiday, 2017) celebrated the Position of the Holy Robe of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Moscow, which took place in 1625. Solemn celebration of this event began in the 17th century and continues to this day.
What do you need to know about the clothes of Christ?
Robe of Christ is one of the greatest shrines of Christianity. This is our Savior's garment, His outer garment. The greatness of this shrine is incommensurable. The life-giving Body of the Savior touched her. Robe on the material level was an accomplice to all the bloody events of the last days of the Lord.
But you should pay attention to the fact that between the Honest Robe and the Chiton of the Lord there issignificant difference. These are completely different pieces of clothing. The riza is the upper garment of Christ, and the tunic is the lower one. The gospel clearly points to these differences.
Mention of the Robe of the Lord
The first mention in the Gospel of the Robe of Christ is associated with a bleeding woman who suffered from her illness for 12 years and spent all her savings on treatment. She touched the garments of Christ and was healed.
The second mention of the outer clothing of Christ is associated with the last tragic days of Jesus Christ, when the soldiers began to divide his Robe into 4 parts.
According to Georgian Tradition, some of the vestments of Jesus Christ were kept in Georgia. How did they get there? The warrior who guarded Christ was a Georgian, so he took his part of the Robe to Iberia (modern Georgia).
Mention of the Chiton of the Lord
The chiton was woven by the Holy Virgin Mary - the Mother of Jesus. This is part of the non-seamless (woven) tunic of Jesus, which was removed from Him by the guards during His suffering. If it had been torn apart, it would have been torn apart. Therefore, the Chiton was not divided. Its future owner was determined by lot, and as a result, one of the guards got it.
There is a Tradition in Georgia, according to which Christ's underwear was brought to Iberia by one pious Jew Eleos from the Holy City. He saw the passion of Christ and was able to redeem the Chiton from its owner and bring it toGeorgian capital Mtskheta. She was laid in the Svetitskhovelitsky temple. By the grace of God, even during the Muslim raids and conquests, he was not touched or kidnapped.
The Chiton of Christ The Holy Church commemorates October 1 every year. The laying on of the robe is celebrated on July 23 (an Orthodox church holiday in 2017 was more beautiful than ever).
How did the shrine get to Moscow?
The Shah of Persia revered the Russian tsars of the Romanov dynasty and often sent them gifts. In 1625, Shah Abbas 1 sent ambassadors headed by Urusambek to the Moscow Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Together with various precious gifts, a golden reliquary with the holy Robe of Christ was presented. Jewels adorned this great gift.
All Muscovites came out to meet the ambassadors from Persia, led by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich himself and Patriarch Filaret. They received a letter from the Shah of Persia stating how it ended up in the hands of the Muslims. This shrine was found in the Metropolitan's chamber during the attack on Iberia (Georgia). A particle of the Robe was tightly immured in the cross. The Persians removed the shrine and handed it over to Russia.
Authenticity
Initially, Muscovites doubted the authenticity of this shrine. An investigation was carried out, the purpose of which was to find out whether the Persian ruler really presented the real Robe of the Lord. The Metropolitan called together all the Greek elders who lived on the territory of Russia and asked them to tell what they knew about this holy Robe. They said what came from hera great many miracles and healings. In addition, the authenticity of the riza is easily proven by historical facts.
After that, the metropolitan turned to God with fervent prayer to help dispel doubts about the authenticity of the Robe. Metropolitan Filaret announced a strict fast for the entire Orthodox people. On the Sunday of the Cross, having prayed to God, Filaret ordered that the robe of the Lord be placed on all those who were sick in the temple. A great miracle happened - all the sick people, on whom this shrine was entrusted, received the healing of their ailments. It was confirmation from above, God Himself confirmed its authenticity.
Glorification of the shrine
Having received an answer from God Himself, the patriarch, without any hesitation, laid this part of Christ's robe in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Moscow Kremlin. This event took place on the week of veneration of the Cross of the Lord in the days of Great Lent. Since the calendar day of the Deposition of the Robe now had to fall on a strict fast, it was decided to postpone the celebration to the day of accession to the throne of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Since then, July 23 is celebrated as an Orthodox church holiday - the Deposition of the Robe of the Lord.
The Icon and the Nail of the Lord
In memory of this event, a local icon painter painted an icon in 1627.
And in 1688, another Orthodox relic arrived in Russia - the Nail of Christ (it was they who nailed the hands or feet of the Savior to the Cross). Holy Nail also came to Moscow from Georgia. This event happened thanks to the Georgian king Archil Vakhtangovich, whomoved to Moscow for permanent residence. The nail of Christ is in the altar of the Assumption Cathedral. It is known that when the Orthodox church holiday of the Deposition of the Robe is celebrated on July 23, the Holy Nail is also honored.
The fate of the shrines today
The Romanov dynasty established July 23 as an Orthodox church holiday - the Deposition of the Robe of the Lord. At first, the shrines were carefully guarded by the kings. But in godless revolutionary times, they were confiscated and transferred to the chambers of the Kremlin Museum. And only in 2007 they were transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church by the President of Russia. The relics with honors were placed in the casket of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
So, we answered the question of what church holiday is celebrated on July 23rd. You will already remember this. And yet, let's talk about it again. Every year on July 23, the Orthodox church holiday of the Deposition of the Robe of the Lord is celebrated. Then the shrine will be triumphantly worn out from the altar of the Peter and Paul Limit. The faithful offer their fervent prayers before her, and at the end of the service they carry her back to the altar. As long as there are such great shrines in Russia, our country will not be defeated, either spiritually or physically.
