In icons of the Protecting Veil, she retains this pose, while holding her veil or prokov spread between her outstretched arms, even as she did for the people of Constantinople. We’re not at the mercy of ministers or priests who make up services for us. In the mid-1980s he wrote a commissioned piece for cello and strings called The Protecting Veil, named for a feast instituted by the Church in the early tenth century. It is also known as the feast of the Virgin Mary's Cerement.. On the evening of September 30 and the morning of October 1, the seminary and monastic communities gathered for the Vigil and Divine Liturgy to celebrate the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, known informally as Mother Cover, is an ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin as she appeared in a tenth century cathedral, covering the faithful gathered there with her cloak. Join our community and get involved. This holiday is a favorite of the Russian Orthodox people. We are members of Christ, constituting his body, which is the Church. So we should be hearing the word of God and the words of God, and following the word of God and trying to complete the word of God every moment of our life. Now, it’s very interesting also, very pertinent, very instructive, that the epistle reading on this particular festival is the first six verses of the ninth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews. Even the other priests didn’t go in, and the people stood outside. Found inside – Page 1379Among the works that followed was the heavily recorded The Protecting Veil ( 1987 ) , for cello and strings . ... the Eastern Orthodox religion in 1977 and has composed many works relating to the teachings and feast days of that faith . How is it to be done? I think that that sentence is interesting, because it says, “Even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary,” so what the author, St. Paul and Apollos or the Holy Spirit who inspired this letter to the Hebrews as a canonical, truly dependable holy Scripture for Christians… It says, “Even the first covenant,” which means we also have regulations for worship as Christians. In north Wales there is the Church of the Holy Protection (Eglwys yr Amddiffyniad Sanctaidd) at 10 Manod Road, Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the liturgy is celebrated partly in Welsh, also English, Greek, and Church Slavonic. Found inside – Page 387V. The Protecting Veil of the Mother of God , ' Pokrov . ' The literary source of the feast of the Veil / Protection of the Mother of God on 1 October is the Greek Life of St Andrew the Fool ... Stream songs including "Vigil for the Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev: No. So we have an entirely new worship in the New Covenant, one Great High Priest, Christ, offering himself on behalf of all and for all; we, offering him and ourselves in and with him to the Father; he offering us, together; the Holy Spirit coming upon us, and we celebrate this marvelous, celestial, divine Liturgy, the Liturgy that is divine. And we should be living in holy communion with the Father, through the Son, from the Spirit, every minute of our life. Found inside – Page 30Compared to the private, tender ecstasies of Tavener's recent choral music— works such as Funeral Ikos (1981), The Lamb (1982), and 2 Hymns to the Mother of God (1985)—The Protecting Veil was quite a contrast. The Mother of God protects every single person. For the latest news, photos, and live streams we regularly update our Facebook Page. Then you have the New Covenanted realities—the truth, as it says [in] the letter to the Hebrews. It is a principle of Orthodox spiritual tradition. He is often shown directly below the Virgin Mary, standing on a bema, or on a kathedra, chanting from a scroll. Well, as a matter of fact, there was no temple. Etymology. The Protection of the Mother of God Commemorated on October 1 and on October 28 in the Greek tradition. Kindly offer It begins: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…. This is, in fact, what we’re celebrating on this festival day, the first day of October, in the festival of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God. And we should never feel lonely. Usually, the veil with which the Virgin protects mankind is small and held either in her outstretched hands or by two angels,[4] though a version similar to the Western European Virgin of Mercy image, with a larger cloak covering people is found in some Eastern Orthodox icons. So the rule would be, so to speak, that we should actualize the gifts given to us in church and as Church in every day, every moment of our life: every day of our life, every second of every minute of every hour of every day of our life. Then here’s what we want to hear, most important. 2, Opening Vespers . Then this reading says that over all of this the cherubim are in glory, and it’s overshadowed by what is called the “mercy seat” in English, “hilastērion” in Greek. In most Slavic languages the word "cerement" has a dual meaning of "veil" and "protection." The Russian word Pokrov (Покров), like the Greek Skepi (Σκέπη), has a complex meaning. The Pokrov and Eight Chosen Saints North Russia, 16th century Painted in sombre colours, the Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God surrounded by saints shown half-length including the Archangel Gabriel, an unidentified saint, Saints Philip Metropolitan of Moscow, Zosima and Savatii, Nikita, Nicolas and Paraskeva Piatnitsa, on partially gilt ground, surrounded by a repoussé, chased . For this reason, the name of the feast is variously translated as the Veil of Our Lady, the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos. Email Newsletter, Terms of Use Privacy Policy Permissions Content Disclaimer, Darwin and Christianity - Part 14: Meditation on Miracles. It begins like this, ninth chapter, letter to the Hebrews. The Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, known in Church Slavonic as Pokrov (Покровъ, "protection"), and in Greek as Sképē (Σκέπη), is a feast of the Mother of God which is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches-that is to say, it is not a Church Feast found in the Western Church. 9, Vespers Proki. The Intercession of the Theotokos or the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, is a feast of the Mother of God celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches. Of course, for Orthodox, that means a gathering headed by a bishop or by a presbyter assigned by the bishop, where it is not simply a gathering of people or people coming to pray or a prayer service, but it’s actually the constitution of the Church of Christ on earth in space and time where the Church of God, worshiping God, glorifying God, communing with God through Christ, risen and glorified, actually experiences this communion of the age to come, together with Christ’s mother, Mary, and all of the saints. It’s in the Church that the grace and the vision and the truth of God, the very presence of God is given to us. For this reason, the name of the feast is variously translated as the Veil of Our Lady, the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos. The Feast Of The Protecting Veil has been held ever since. The depiction of the Bodiless Angels surrounding her is meant to teach us how powerful her protecting . Then it says: ...and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the sprinkled Blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel. The Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God. It is wonderful to gather on a day, not only to celebrate a local feast, for we have this altar dedicated to the Protection or the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos. Inspired by the Orthodox Church's Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, Tavener's The Protecting Veil is a dark and moody work for cello and orchestra that secures his place as a modern day mystic. Once Her prayer was completed, She walked to the altar and continued to pray. It’s interesting that in the Akathistos hymn, the very famous Akathistos hymn to the mother of God in the Eastern Church—which may indeed have been written by this Romanos himself, the same one who wrote the kontakion—that he called one of the titles of Mary is “the living hilastērion,” the animated mercy seat, the warm—actually, the word is “warm”—“the warm one.” It’s not dead, it’s not cold: the living, the warm, the active propitiatory place is Mary herself now, because Christ comes from her. Our life’s hidden with God in Christ, as St. Paul says. Certainly, that’s what was important in ancient Christianity. So this was the day of Romanos, but also happened to be the day of Ananias, one of the Seventy Apostles in the early Church. Twitter Only Moses went in there, and he went by himself, and they had to stand outside. Found inside – Page 43... the obzha , a ' primary , i Podvysotskii , Slovar ' , 96 ; ' Toropetskaya kniga ' , f . 170v . 2 Traditionally animals were stalled from the feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother real tax unit , not to be divided ... Before the throne of God himself in Jesus, on the right hand of the Father, with him and in him, with his mother, Mary, and with all of the prophets and apostles and martyrs and all of the holy people through the ages. So she is blessed because she hears the word of God and she keeps it. Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little Child. Western Christian depictions of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God are often called "the Virgin of Mercy" and are sometimes associated with Christ's remarks that He "longed to gather your children [the people of Jerusalem] together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…." (Matthew 23:37) The Mother of God is shown with the faithful of many social ranks and classes . Really in the early Church already, some folks thought even that perhaps the actual person who crafted this letter, who actually wrote it by hand, was Apollos, St. Paul’s disciple, who gave the teaching of Paul in this epistle, concerning the temple, concerning how Christians relate to temple worship, because there is no more temple. That’s what’s important. For this reason, the name of the feast is variously translated as the Veil of Our Lady, the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos. The Protecting Veil' is proving to be one of the most important new compositions around and for several reasons: its melody, it's spirituality, it's accessibility. His voice then shook the earth (in the Old Testament), but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Image: According to the Georgian Orthodox Church, "The feast of Svetitskhovloba in Georgia is celebrated twice a year: on October 14, when it falls on the feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, and on July 13, when the Christian world celebrates the Synaxis of the Glorious and All-laudable twelve Apostles, to whom the church in the city of Mtskheta is dedicated." The body and blood of Christ on the cross breaks through death, is raised from the dead. It is celebrated on October 14 (OS October 1). On Sunday, October 1 at four in the morning, St. Andrew the Blessed Fool-for-Christ, who was a Slav by birth, saw the dome of the church open and the Virgin Mary enter, moving in the air above him, glowing and surrounded by angels and saints. Found inside – Page 110... introduced a special feast, the festival of Pokrov, the Protecting Veil (of the Holy Mother of God), honoring in this way a saint's vision of the Holy Mother and her veil in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople. That means that we have to always be aware, as the early Christian saying goes, that “one Christian is no Christian.” Christianity is not a matter of individuals accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. They go in there with him, into the very presence of God to offer their spiritual worship in the New Covenant, in the final covenant. The feast is celebrated additionally on October 28 in the Greek tradition. It is teaching us this, that this was the earthly sanctuary, but there is the heavenly sanctuary. Found inside – Page 1436... the famous robe kept at the palace of Blachernae and used as a palladium for the imperial city ( evidenced in the famous Greek hymn of the Akathist , and in the cultic celebration of the feast of the Protecting Veil ) . But in Christ everybody enters. The Protection of the Mother of God is one of the most beloved feast days on the Orthodox calendar among the Slavic peoples, commemorated on October 1/12. So we say this “yet once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been created, in order [that] what cannot be shaken may remain, namely, the new heaven and new earth that has been redeemed. Pakrou (Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Holy Mother of God, October 14), Orthodox church of the Protecting Veil, Plotnitsa 2018. In any case, this is what the story is. And that’s the ending of the reading. It is dedicated to Pamela Moody. We still are offering the incense in there, according to the Scripture. They did not have access to that holy place and to that mercy seat, and they did not hear directly the word of God. As St. Paul writes to [the] Galatians, not only free Jewish males or priests or high priests, but everybody: female, Gentile, slaves, everyone who’s baptized into Christ, everyone who enters into the priesthood of Christ, the kingship of Christ, anointed with the Holy Spirit of Christ, becoming christs themselves (with a little “c”), by grace, they all enter into that holy of holies together with him. And we might add, than the blood of any cow and lamb and goat or bull that was ever sacrificed in the Old Covenant, because that sprinkled blood is the blood of the Son of God himself. In 1977, Tavener converted to the Russian Orthodox Church, and since then his music . But that mercy seat in Greek is “hilastērion,” and if you look up “hilastērion” in a biblical Greek dictionary, it will define “hilastērion” as the place where mercy is given, the place where mercy is known, the place where the people of God experience the expiatory—if I said that word right—where the expiation… because “hilasmos” means “expiation” or “redemption.” That’s where they actually, you might just simply say, that’s where you fully experience the saving activity of God. The Western Rite Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) do celebrate this feast on their calendar. The Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God is the Orthodox Christian feast day that commemorates Mary's appearance at the church of Vlacherni (Constantinople) in the 10th century. The Protection of the Mother of God. In the church we offer ourselves to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, who is himself the offering, the broken body, the spilled blood, and we should be doing that every minute of our life, offering our bodies to God as a living sacrifice which is our logikē latreia, our spiritual, reasonable worship, which is what the Divine Liturgy of the Church is. Taverner once commented that Western music took a wrong turning somewhere losing a spiritual dimension. Mother of God, the Eastern title of the Virgin Mary). Other notable churches commemorating this feast are Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Manchester, England,[9] and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin & St. Sergius in Glen Cove, New York. Angels and Bishops venerate Her, Apostles and prophets rejoice together, Since for our sake she prays… On the evening of September 30 and the morning of October 1, the seminary and monastic communities gathered for the Vigil and Divine Liturgy to celebrate the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Incarnation/The Protecting Veil. The Head of the UGCC in Vinnytsia on the Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God: "The Feast of the Protection - is celebrating of something which is happening today" Friday, 14 October 2016, 11:29. October 1 in the Orthodox Church is the festival of the Protection or the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos, of the Mother of God. In this icon, it is depicted literally—her veil being a shield against all the attacks of evil. It is also known as the feast of the Virgin Mary's Cerement. So this is why we have the ninth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews as the epistle reading for this festival. Indeed, it would take a rather long English language sentence to express the full meaning. Our Programme is updated on a monthly basis so that keeping up to date is easy. Found inside – Page 200the Virgin of Vladimir the idea of the Protecting Veil (Pokrov) over Moscow was brought into being—placing the ... The attack was repelled by prayers answered by the Mother of God and “the arriving feast”, in fact the feast of the ... We hear Christ, our one Teacher, our one Master, teaching us from heaven, through the words of the holy Gospels, the holy Scripture. Protection of the Mother of God (Pokrov) On October 14th (October 1st old calendar) the Church triumphantly and joyfuly celebrates the Protection of the Most Holy Virgin. We have the gospel book, and it’s not the Bible. The Virgin Mary asked Her Son, Jesus Christ, to accept the prayers of all the people entreating Him and looking for Her protection. The Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God was instituted in the Orthodox Church to commemorate her appearance in the Church at Vlacherni (Constantinople) in the early tenth century, possibly 902. Orthodox Icon of the Theotokos the Holy Protection, Theotokos "Agia Skepi" (2). A great many Ukrainian churches are also named in honour of this feast in Canada.[3]. It is held annually on October 14, which corresponds to October 1 on the "Old Style calendar" i.e. It says the Old Covenant was a shadow, a skia; the New Covenant is the reality, the final reality. The Protection of the Theotokos or the Intercession of the Theotokos (Church Slavonic: Покровъ, Pokrov, Ukrainian: Покрова, Pokrova), like the (Greek: Σκεπή, Skepḗ) has a complex meaning.First of all, it refers to a cloak or shroud, but it also means protection or intercession. World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. In addition, many Marian feasts in the Eastern Churches tend to be associated with historical events or with Marian apparitions. Then we remember the Theotokos and of all the saints at every Liturgy, and all the angels, and we pray with the angels and we image the angels. Any Eastern Orthodox knows that’s a line in the funeral service. Then behind the second curtain stood another tent (another tabernacle), called the holy of holies, and in the holiest place (the holy of holies, that means the holiest), they have the golden ark of the incense, they have the ark of the covenant, covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna (that was the bread that came from heaven that the people ate in the wilderness), and Aaron’s rod that budded (that’s also connected to the exodus from Egypt, Aaron’s rod), and the tables [sic] of the covenant (the [tablets] of the law that were given to Moses that was kept in there; then it said); above it (and over this table, in this holiest place, where you had an offering of incense) there were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. 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