“Magnify O my soul, the honourable Translation of the Mother of God from earth to heaven.” (Refrain for the 9th Ode of the Canon)
Let us be happy, beloved brothers and sisters that we belong to the Holy Orthodox Church, worthily and rightly glorifying the Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos on this eminent day out of all the days of the year with special solemnity. There exists on earth many societies and entire governments that do not consider the need nor the obligation to call upon and glorify the Queen of heaven and earth, the Mother of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ, and other saints and angels; to submissively serve Her lovingly, as the true Mother of God. Sadly in Russia nowadays we have heretics (among us) who actively dishonor the Mother of God, the saints, their icons, their relics and their festivals. O, if only they also unanimously with us glorified the worthy Queen of heaven and earth!
Jevstatije II (Јевстатије II) was the Archbishop of Serbs from 1292 to 1309. He is venerated as a saint, Saint Jevstatije II. In the times of his two predecessors, Serbia expanded significantly in territory. In 1282, Skoplje (future capital), Polog, Ovče Polje, Zletovo, Pijenac, Kičevo and Debar were conquered.
The Icon of the Savior, Image Not-Made-By-Hands, also Acheiropoieta (Byzantine Greek: αχειροποίητα, "made without hand") is one of the earliest icons witnessed to by the Church. The Feast of this icon is celebrated on August 16, during the afterfeast period of the feast of the Dormition, and is called the Third Feast-of-the-Savior in August.
The feast of the Dormition or Falling-asleep of the Theotokos is celebrated on the fifteenth of August, preceded by a two-week fast. This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.
The seven holy Maccabee martyrs Abim, Antonius, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebonus, Alimus and Marcellus, their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar suffered in the year 166 before Christ under the impious Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This foolish ruler loved pagan and Hellenistic customs, and held Jewish customs in contempt. He did everything possible to turn people from the Law of Moses and from their covenant with God. He desecrated the Temple of the Lord, placed a statue of the pagan god Zeus there, and forced the Jews to worship it. Many people abandoned the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but there were also those who continued to believe that the Savior would come.
On this day two feasts are celebrated: 1) the Procession, that is, bringing out of the Honorable Wood of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, and 2) the celebration of the All-Merciful Savior Christ God and His Mother the Most Holy Theotokos, Mary. This is a minor feast. In Constantinople, during the time of the Greek emperors, on August 1 the Life-Giving Cross was carried out of the palace to the Church of the Hagia Sophia, and there was a blessing of the waters. This custom came to Russia from Greece. On this day after the Liturgy a small blessing of the waters in performed to bless the rivers, ponds, and lakes, and people process to these places from the church. The lesser blessing of the waters differs from the great, Theophany blessing of the waters in that hymns are chanted during the procession, and in that the prayers for the water blessing are shorter. Also, during the immersion of the cross into the water, "Save O Lord Thy people..." is sung, rather than "When Thou O Lord wast baptized in the Jordan."
