10/14/2026
The PROTECTION of our MOST-HOLY LADY, the BIRTH-GIVER of GOD and EVER-VIRGIN MARY
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Protection of the Birth-Giver of God. It is neither one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church nor is it a commemoration of any event in the earthly lives of our Lord or His Mother, yet in our Tradition, it is one of the most beloved Holy Days of the Liturgical year.
Just before His death on the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ established a special relationship between Mary and His beloved disciple John. “When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing at the foot of the Cross, He said to His mother: ‘Woman, behold Your Son!’ Then He said to the disciple: ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took Her to his own home.” (John 19:26-27)
We understand this special relationship with Mary is not only with John the beloved disciple, but also with all the faithful disciples of the Lord. We accept that the command “Behold your mother” is directed to each of us. From the earliest times, the Church has celebrated Mary as our spiritual Mother, the Mother of the Church. The Holy Birth-Giver, who is in Heaven in the Presence of her Son, Our Lord, intercedes on our behalf. She is protectress of the Christian people, and by her intercessory prayers, implores God’s mercy for us sinners. Her heavenly intercession helps us to remain steadfast in Faith and protects us from the onslaughts of the evil one and from all evil.
The help of the Most-holy Mother of God has been clearly shown numerous times, to individuals and to nations, in peace and in war, in monasteries in the wilderness and in densely populated cities. The event that the Church commemorates and celebrates today confirms her consistent protection of Christian people.
In the early 10th Century, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise (+912), the city of Constantinople was under siege. The waters surrounding the city on three sides were filled with an armada of hostile attackers. The situation seemed desperate, and the people turned to prayer as their ultimate defense. On the night going into October 1st/14th, there was an All-Nigh Vigil Service at the Blachernae Church of the Mother of God in Constantinople. It was in this church that the ‘omophor’ or veil of the Virgin Mary was preserved as a most precious relic.
According to tradition, as the Service was in progress, at about 4:00AM, St. Andrew the “Fool–for-Christ” - a freed slave from Scythia - and his disciple Epiphanios witness and extraordinary vision. The Holy Virgin appeared, accompanied by St. John the Forerunner, St. John the Evangelist and a huge host of saints. The Birth-Giver of God proceeded through the crowded center of the church, into the Holy Altar. She knelt in prayer for a long time. Her face was covered in tears. After completing her prayer, she then appeared larger than life above the whole church. She took her veil and spread it over the people praying in church, as a sign of protection from enemies both visible and invisible. The Most Holy Lady was resplendent with heavenly glory, and the protecting veil in her hands shone with an unspeakable radiance. Saint Andrew gazed trembling at the miraculous vision, and he asked Epiphanios standing beside him, “Do you see, brother, the Holy Birth-Giver, praying for all the world?” Epiphanios answered, “I do see, holy Father, and I am in awe.” After this appearance of the Mother of God, a violent storm broke out and the enemy ships which were not destroyed fled the harbors in panic. The danger of the barbarian invasion was averted, and the city was spared from bloodshed and suffering. The people understood that the Lord, through the prayers of His Mother, had preserved their beloved city from sure destruction.
This miraculous event therefore entered liturgical life and was celebrated every year on its anniversary. After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, the day lost its popularity in the Greek Church but has continually increased in devotion among the Slavic Christians. This is particularly ironic, because the defeated invaders may well have been a raiding army from pre-Christian Kyivan Rus-Ukraine! Upon accepting the Orthodox Faith from Constantinople, our ancestors wholeheartedly appreciated the power of the protective love and intercession of the Mother of God.
In 1037, in the Church of the Annunciation in Kyiv, Great-Prince Yaroslav the Wise entrusted the whole nation to the protection or patronage of the Mother of God. Thus, the Most Holy Birth-Giver of God was proclaimed officially the Patroness, Defender and Queen of our nation. Down through the ensuing generations the hearts of believers have been illumined with the joy of the Protection of the Mother of God, the joy of her prayers for the world. In fact, by the early 18th-Century, this day was generally considered the third most important Holy Day of the Church year, after Pascha and the Nativity of our Lord.
Recently, this commemoration has been regaining devotion in the Greek Church, but on October 28, as part of the observance of “Oxi Day”, when the Greek government refused the demands of Fascist Italy in1940 to allow troops to occupy portions of the country.
As we celebrate this Holy Day, we implore the defense and assistance of the Queen of Heaven, for ourselves as individuals, and for our nation. We affirm her role as our intercessor, praying with us, praying for us, to her Son our God.
In the words of one of the oldest prayers in Christianity (dating from about 250AD):
“Beneath your tender mercy we flee, Birth-Giver of God.
Reject not our prayers in time of trouble,
but deliver us from harm,
only Pure and Blessed Lady.”
MOST-HOLY BIRTH-GIVER OF GOD, SAVE US BY YOUR PRAYERS!
+ + + +
Troparion, Tone 4:
Today, Mother of God, we faithful people sheltered by your coming joyfully keep the feast and looking upon your most-pure image we are moved to the depth of our hearts to say: “Protect us with your precious veil and deliver us from sickness, beseeching Christ your Son and our God to save our souls.”
Kontakion, Tone 3:
Today the Virgin is present in the Church with the Communion of Saints, and prays to God on our behalf. The angels and high priests worship and the Apostles and Prophets rejoice, for the Birth-Giver of God prays to the Eternal God for us.
The Reading is from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews (Chapter 9)
Brethren:1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance;
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (Chapters 10 and 11)
At that time, 38 (Jesus) entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. 27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" 28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
