When is the Pokrov in 2015? What is the church holiday on October 14? History, traditions and customs
The basis for the celebration of the Protection of the HolyThe Virgin served as a miracle that occurred in 910 in Constantinople, when the Saracens (Muslims) siege the city, and he had to fall. At this time, many believers prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos at the Blachernae Temple and asked for her salvation. One day, the praying Christians were shown to the Mother of God, surrounded by angels and stretched a white cover over the besieged city. Soon the Saracens retreated, and the city was saved. In 911, a peace treaty was signed between Kievan Rus and Byzantium, and after 78 years the descendants of the Greek Christians, over whom the Mother of God held a veil, went to baptize Kievan Rus. Since that time, the Blessed Virgin, spreading her white veil over the heads of Orthodox Christians, protecting them from evil and enemies, has become the guardian of Orthodox Russia.
When the Pokrov in 2015
Every year on October 14, Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics celebrate the great church feast of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin. And 2015 is no exception.
When to go to church on Pokrov day and other customs
This holiday is associated with a lot of people's customs, superstitions and rituals, which were venerated in Russia and have survived to this day:
The celebration of the Intercession in 2015 beginsearly morning of October 14. In all Orthodox churches, clergymen hold a divine service dedicated to the Theotokos, and believers and sufferers turn to her with a prayer for health, ask her for protection for their relatives and friends. A few days before the holiday, the landlady should clean up the house and decorate it, prepare festive meals. It is recommended to put on the most beautiful outfit for the festive divine service, and also to bring linens embroidered with their own hands to the Temple. After the service, it is customary to cover a festive table, invite guests to it or go to visit
Unmarried girls are recommended this daycome to the church shortly before the service and pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary in silence, ask her for blessings and help in family relations. By the way, in Russia unmarried girls in the evening on the eve of the holiday arranged divination for the future groom. In order to attract the guy she liked, the girl baked a small bread, read prayers and sentences to him, and in the morning after the service she secretly treated the boy with this bread. If everything was done correctly, the young man soon reciprocated
Couples must on this day musttogether come to the temple, pray and ask the Mother of God to preserve the family ties. It is believed that if on this feast to address the Theotokos with a prayer from a pure heart, then its cover will protect you for a year
The offensive of this holiday symbolizes the end of the harvesting and the beginning of the preparation of stocks for the winter
Often the first snow falls on the Pokrov, whichLike a white blanket covers the whole earth. There is such a belief: the more snow falls on the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the more weddings this year will be. Also, on October 14, it is possible to determine what the next winter will be like: if the north wind blows, then the winter will be severe, and if the south is winter it will be snowy and warm.
