Orthodox Christians celebrate Entrance of Holy Mother of God into the Temple

Orthodox believers celebrate Entrance of Holy Mother of God into the Temple today. It is one of the Twelve Great Christian Feasts.

According to the tale and the latest apocryphal works, righteous parents of the Holy Mary Joachim and Anna could not conceive a child for a long time. They made a vow to God to sacrifice their lives to serving God and after that, they gave birth to a girl. When the girl was three years old, they brought Mary into the Temple of Jerusalem. She surprised the high priest Zechariah when she quickly ran up the stairs. The high priest took her into the Holy of Holies, which was allowed to do only for him. The tale would have it that Mary was brought up in the Temple until fifteen years of age. There are no other details known of this period of her life.

Patriarch Kirill has performed the Morning Prayer after all-night service in the temple in Likhovoy lane, according to the website of Moscow Patriarchy. Members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church were present at the service together with congregation and pilgrims. The solemn church service will be held today in honor of this Feast and 100th anniversary of enthronization of St. Tikhon. Patriarch Kirill will serve traditional Divine Liturgy in Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Russkiy Mir