FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF AGIOS OROS
One of the holiest pilgrimages of Orthodoxy, the Sacred Gifts of the Magi to the newborn Jesus, which are kept after the fall of Constantinople, in the Holy Monastery of Saint Paul on Mount Athos, they traveled for the first time in history, At Moscow, in the context of the one inspired by B.Putin, “Byzantine Commonwealth”……THE “Byzantine Commonwealth” it's nothing
less than Russia's attempt to unite all Orthodox
world in order to face both its challenges “Unias”
(orthodox – basically of Ukraine – which accept primacy
of the Pope) mainly to function exactly as they functioned before 10 centuries in Byzantium: As a breakwater “barbarians from the East”.
It is no coincidence that B. Poin wishes to make Mount Athos as the “orthodox capital” of the whole Universe.
Patriarch Kirill's message was exactly in this spirit, after
held at an informal memorial service for the innocent victims of terrorism
of attacks in Volgograd saying: "Remember at
your prayers, those who suffer from the acts of terrorism in
Volgograd and Pyatigorsk. Let us ask the Lord for their health
injured, support for sufferers, rest of the souls of the dead".
It should be noted that the Gifts of the Magi traveled on a special flight from
Thessaloniki and arrived in Moscow where they will stay until 13
January.
Their arrival was solemnized while the Orthodox
flock suffocatingly filled the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
service where the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia officiated
Cyril.
For the first time in the history of the Russian church its performance
of the official Christmas Liturgy was accompanied by a prayer in front of
one of the most precious threads of Orthodoxy.
About 14.000 people were waiting in a queue around the Cathedral
Church of the Savior in Moscow to worship three of the largest
sacred relics, the Gifts of the Magi to the newborn Christ, the representative
of the organizing committee Maria Korovina.
The Precious Gifts arrived late Monday night, stay
Christmas, in Moscow from the Holy Monastery of Saint Paul, where
is located on Mount Athos.
"According to the information we have, about 14.000
devotees stand patiently in the huge queue, while the average time
waiting to get inside the cathedral is
five hours", said Korovina, recalling that the gates
of the temple close at 10 the evening, about’ this good will be some to
postpone their visit until the next day.
The Gifts of the Magi will be hosted at the Temple of the Savior until 13 January.
At 14 In January, the altar with the Sacred Gifts will be moved
in Saint Petersburg and specifically in the Novodevichy Monastery, where the
believers will be able to worship up to her 17 January.
From the 18 until 24 January the holy relics will be at
Minsk, Belarus, while their last stop will be the Monastery
Pecherskaya Lavra of Kiev, in Ukraine. They will remain there until
them 30 January and then they will return to Mount Athos erasing the entire eastern “Orthodox bow” before returning to their safekeeping area on Mount Athos.
It is worth noting that this is the first time, since the 15th century, when the Holy Gifts leave the Monastery of Saint Paul.
He accompanies them on their journey to the Russian Orthodox Church
a delegation of brothers led by Archimandrite Mourelatos, who
has been living on Mount Athos for more than 50 years.
The Gifts of the Magi (gold, frankincense and myrrh) they are preserved in a sacristy of the Monastery of Saint Paul.
Gold has the form 28 triangle and square tiles
shape, 5 as 7 millimeters, with very fine decorative engraving, while the
frankincense and myrrh have the form 70 of dark colored pellets which
they look like olives.
According to tradition, the Virgin Mary kept throughout her life
these gifts. Then he handed them over to two virgins, along with other shrines
heirlooms.
At the end of the 4th century, the emperor Arcadius learned of the existence of the Holy Gifts and brought them from Jerusalem to Constantinople, where for a long time it was kept in Hagia Sophia.
They reached Mount Athos at the end of the 15th century, when after the
capture of the city by the Turkish sultan Muhammad II, his stepmother
decided to transfer them to the Holy Monastery of Saint Paul. The
Saint monks believe that the Gifts of the Magi have healing properties
power and testify to the coming of the Savior into the world.
Source : defencenet.gr
Diligence : NewsRoom Mykonos Ticker