The Intercession of the Theotokos, or the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

feast of the Mother of God celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches on October 1 ( Julian calendar: October 14). The feast celebrates the protection afforded the faithful through the intercessions of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

(''lit.'' Mother of God, one Eastern title of the Virgin Mary). The feast is commemorated in Eastern Orthodoxy as a whole, but by no means as fervently as it is in Russia, Belarus, and, especially, Ukraine. In the Slavic Orthodox Churches it is celebrated as the most important solemnity besides the Twelve Great Feasts and Pascha. In Ukraine, it has a special meaning through its connection to the spirituality of the Ukrainian Cossacks and, accordingly and more recently, to

Defenders of Ukraine Day Defenders Day is a public holidayVirgin of Mercy image, in which the Virgin spreads wide her cloak to cover and protect a group of kneeling supplicants (first known from Italy from about 1280).

Tradition

According to Eastern Orthodox Sacred Tradition, the apparition of Mary the

occurred during the 10th century at the Blachernae church in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) where several of her

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s (her robe, veil, and part of her belt) were kept. On Sunday, October 1 at four in the morning, St. Andrew the Blessed

Fool-for-Christ Foolishness for Christ ( el, διά Χριστόν σαλότητα, cu, оуродъ, юродъ) refers to behavior such as giving up all one's worldly possessions upon joining an ascetic order or religious life, or deliberately flouting socie ...

, who was a Slav by birth, saw the dome of the church open and the Virgin Mary enter, moving in the air above him, glowing and surrounded by angels and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s. She knelt and prayed with tears for all faithful Christians in the world. The Virgin Mary asked Her Son, Jesus Christ, to accept the prayers of all the people entreating Him and looking for Her protection. Once Her prayer was completed, She walked to the altar and continued to pray. Afterwards, She spread Her veil over all the people in the church as a protection. St. Andrew turned to his disciple, St. Epiphanius, who was standing near him, and asked, "Do you see, brother, the Holy Theotokos, praying for all the world?" Epiphanius answered, "Yes, Holy Father, I see it and am amazed!" According to the

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

of St. Nestor the Chronicler, the inhabitants of Constantinople called upon the intercession of the Mother of God to protect them from an attack by a large Rus' army (Rus' was still

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

at the time). According to Nestor, the feast celebrates the destruction of this fleet sometime in the ninth century; according to some other legend, however, the outcome was the adoption of Christianity by the whole host (led by Askold).

Icon

The icon of the feast, which is not found in Byzantine art, depicts in its upper part the Virgin Mary surrounded by a luminous aureole. She holds in her outstreched arms an orarion or veil, which symbolizes the protection of her intercession. To either side of her stand numerous saints and angels, many of whom are recognizable to the experienced church-goer: the

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

, John the Baptist,

St. Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

, etc. Below, St. Andrew the Fool for Christ is depicted, pointing up at the Virgin Mary and turning to his disciple Epiphanius. Usually, the veil with which the Virgin protects mankind is small and held either in her outstretched hands or by two angels, though a version similar to the Western European Virgin of Mercy image, with a larger cloak covering people is found in some Eastern Orthodox icons.

Feast

Pokrova (Intercession of the Holy Virgin) with the Portrait of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky

The Feast of the Intercession commemorates the miracle as a joyous revelation of the Theotokos' protection, which is spread over the world, and the Mother of God’s great love for mankind."Protection of the Holy Virgin", Tranfiguration of Our Laord Russian Orthodox Church, Baltimore, Maryland
/ref> It is a religious holy day or

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...

Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is served as an All-Night Vigil, with many of the same elements as occur on Great Feasts of the Theotokos. However, Pokrov has no Afterfeast. In Ukraine, it is celebrated on October 14 as a religious, national, and family holiday. The concept of Mother of God as the Intercessor and Protectress (i.e. the Intercession, or 'Pokrova' in Ukrainian, as an aspect of Virgin Mary) became firmly established among Ukrainians through their history. The Holy Lady of Protection was always considered the heavenly patroness of Zaporozhian Host, and therefore Ukrainian Cossacks. As a legend has it, each of their campaign the Cossacks began with Sub tuum praesidium prayer to the Holy Lady (in Ukrainian: «Під Твою милість прибігаємо, Богородице Діво, молитвами нашими в скорботах не погордуй, але від бід ізбав нас, єдина чиста і благословенна!»), by which making reference to the Intercession. Notably, an icon in the

National Art Museum of Ukraine The National Art Museum of Ukraine ( uk, Національний Художній Музей України) is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian art in Kyiv, Ukraine. History The National Art Museum of Ukraine, which was the first museum in ...

shows the Virgin Mary protecting the Ukrainian cossack hetman

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...

. The singular (as compared to the rest of the Christian world) devotion of Ukrainians to the Intercession feast (for them being the third important, after Easter and Christmas, holiday) was acknowledged in Pylyp Orlyk Constitution, where Christmas, Easter and 'Pokrova' were set to be the three designated annual days of convention by the supreme cossack council that was supposed to rule the country. The tradition was referred to again in

XX century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...

, when the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was attributed (although retrospectively and probably inaccurately) to

14 October Events Pre-1600 *1066 – The Norman Conquest, Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings. *1322 – Robert the Bruce, Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forc ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. In

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...

, along with its religious meaning, the Pokrova Feast Day was also commemorated popularly as Ukrainian Cossack Day ( uk, День Українського козацтва); then officially promulgated as such by decree of the Ukrainian President in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. Finally, on 14 October 2014, another President decree (approved by the Ukrainian parliament on 5 March 2015) promoted the day to the new public holiday "Defender of Ukraine Day" ( Ukrainian: День захи́сника́ Украї́ни,

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: ''Den zakhysnyka Ukrainy''), to replace the former "

Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day (russian: День защитника Отечества ''Den' zashchitnika Otechestva''; kk, Отан қорғаушы күні; tg, Рӯзи Дорандаи Ватан; ky, Мекенди коргоочула ...

" inherited from the Soviet Union. The Lady of Intercession is regarded as a holy defender of both the Ukrainian nation at large and of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

. Some, but not all, regions of the Russian Federation celebrate the Feast of Intercession as a work

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

. It is not a part of the ritual traditions of, and therefore is not celebrated by, the Oriental Orthodox Churches or some jurisdictions that allow Western Rite Orthodoxy. Yet the feast is perfectly consistent with the theology of these sister churches. The Western Rite Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) do celebrate this feast on their calendar. October 1 (in the Julian calendar) is also the feast of St. Romanus the Melodist, so he is often depicted on the same icon, even though he and St. Andrew lived at different times. He is often shown directly below the Virgin Mary, standing on a

bema A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancien ...

, or on a kathedra, chanting from a scroll. The scroll represents the various

kontakia The kontakion (Greek , plural , ''kontakia'') is a form of hymn performed in the Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions. The kontakion originated in the Byzantine Empire around the 6th century and is closely associated with Sain ...

which have been attributed to him. The feast day of St. Andrew, the Fool-for-Christ, falls on the following day, October 2 (in accordance with the Orthodox liturgical tradition of the Synaxis).

Churches dedicated to Pokrov

The first churches dedicated to feast of Pokrov appeared in Russia in the 12th century. Probably the most famous Russian church named for the feast day is

Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed ( rus, Собо́р Васи́лия Блаже́нного, Sobór Vasíliya Blazhénnogo), commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most pop ...

, Red Square, Moscow, which is officially entitled "the Church of Intercession of Our Lady that Is on the Moat" (russian: Собор Покрова пресвятой Богородицы, что на Рву) or shortly "Intercession Cathedral upon moat" (russian: Храм Покрова "на рву"). The other one is the Church of Intercession in Bogolyubovo near Vladimir on the Nerl River (russian: Церковь Покрова на Нерли, ''Tserkov Pokrova na Nerli''). Both churches are on the United Nations' World Heritage List, the latter as part of the site White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal. There is also a Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in St. Petersburg. Other notable churches commemorating this feast are Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Manchester, England,Pokrov Church of the Russian Orthodox church website from UK
Accessed February 7, 2010. and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin &

St. Sergius Sergius (or Serge) and Bacchus were fourth-century Roman Christian soldiers revered as martyrs and military saints by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Their feast day is 7 October. According to their hagiograph ...

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...

. In north Wales there is the Church of the Holy Protection (Eglwys yr Amddiffyniad Sanctaidd) at 10 Manod Road, Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the liturgy is celebrated partly in Welsh, also English, Greek, and Church Slavonic. The church, under Igoumen Deiniol, is under the omophor of the diocese of Sourozh of the Moscow Patriarchate.

References

Bibliography

Покров Пресвятой Богородицы
The article was used for iconography description. * ''Basil Lourié.'
The Feast of Pokrov, its Byzantine Origin, and the Cult of Gregory the Illuminator and Isaac the Parthian (Sahak Part^cev) in Byzantium

External links

Celebration of Pokrov in Russia

Icons of the Intercession

The Protection of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary
Icon and

Synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...

of the feast
The Feast of the Holy Skepi of the Theotokos
from the Website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Saint Andrew, Fool-for-Christ
* {{in lang, ru}
Pokrovsko-Vasil'evsky monastyr (Protection-Basil monastery)

Pokrov Foundation
a Bulgarian Orthodox Christian organization Eastern Orthodox Mariology October in the Eastern Orthodox calendar Marian feast days October observances