The Navity of the Virgin Mary

Πάσας ἀληθῶς, Ἄννα, νικᾷς μητέρας, 
Μήτηρ ἕως ἂν σὴ γένηται θυγάτηρ. 
Ἐξάγαγε πρὸς φῶς Θεομήτορα ὀγδόῃ Ἄννα. 
 

Today we celebrate God's great gift to mankind: the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary came from Nazareth in Galilee. Her parents, Joachim and Anna, were from the line of King David. As they were childless, they prayed to God and He gave them a daughter, Mary (or Mariam, which means Princess, Despoina or Lady). On September 9, the church honors the couple of Joachim and Anna. 

The first mention of the Virgin Mary in the New Testament begins with the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary with the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel and the receipt of the news that she would bring the Son of God into the world. 

 The feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was first established in the late 5th or early 6th century in Jerusalem. Since then it has spread throughout the Orthodox East. It was introduced to Rome in the late 7th century by Greek monks who fled to Italy due to the Arab invasions. Pope Stergius I (687-701 AD) established the birth of the Virgin Mary as an official feast and included it in the calendar of the Western Church. 

Ἡ γέννησίς σου Θεοτόκε, χαρὰν ἐμήνυσε πάσῃ τῇ οικουμένῃ, ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ ἀνέτειλεν ὁ Ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ λύσας τὴν κατάραν, ἔδωκε τὴν εὐλογίαν, καὶ καταργήσας τὸν θάνατον, ἐδωρήσατο ἡμῖν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον. 

There are Churches all over the Orthodox world dedicated to this event. 

On Saturday, April 13, 2024, Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium celebrated the inauguration of the church and the Divine Liturgy at the parish of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Kortrijk. Many important figures of the Belgian Orthodox scene were present, as well as the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Belgium, Alexander Arvelevich Tokovnin, and his wife. The inauguration of this church was a significant development for Orthodoxy in northern Europe and marks the flowering of new, Orthodox spiritual centers around the world. 

Furthermore, the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos adorns the historic Metekhi district of the Georgian capital. The church houses the relics of Saint Susanik. In fact, there are many legends about this holy place, some dating back to the eighth century AD. According to one of them, the Metekhi rock was the place where the Patron Saint of Tbilisi, Saint Ambos, was tortured. A small church has been built for him at the base of the rock. 

The Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos is one of the oldest churches in Tbilisi and is believed to have been built in the sixth century AD.