14th October, on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, His Eminence Vladimir, Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova, officiated the Divine Liturgy in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chisinau.
Praying together with the First Hierarch were Protopriest Vadim Cheibas, Metropolitan Secretary and Cathedral Dean, missionary priests from diaspora in Italy and New Zeeland, together with clergy and church-goers present in the holy place.
During the Liturgy, the clergy and faithful, united in heart and prayer, invoked the intercession of the Mother of God for health, peace, and mercy before the Righteous and Good Judge.
At the conclusion of the service, the official inauguration of Chișinău’s Patronal Feast took place. The ceremony began in the square of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord. This year, the city of Chișinău marks 589 years since its first documentary attestation.
Addressing the faithful, Metropolitan Vladimir emphasised that Chișinău is a truly blessed city, having as its protector and intercessor before the throne of Almighty God the Most Pure Virgin Mary herself.
Thus, on this great feast day—and on every day of our lives—we pray to the Mother of God:
“All our hope we place in you, O Mother of God; shelter us beneath your holy protection.”
From the history of the feast
The feast was established in memory of a miracle that took place in the Church of the Monastery of the Mother of God in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Wise (886–911). One Saturday night, during the All-night Vigil in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae, Constantinople, Saint Andrew the Fool-for-Christ and his disciple Epiphanius saw the Holy Virgin shining with divine light, surrounded by saints and angels, with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian standing beside her. Spreading her precious veil (omophorion) over the faithful, she prayed:
“Heavenly King, receive all those who praise You and call upon Your name. Wherever the memory of my name is kept, sanctify and glorify those who glorify You, and those who lovingly honour me, Your Mother. Accept, O Lord, their prayers and promises, and deliver them from every need and evil.”
In the Orthodox Church calendar, the next feast dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos is The Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, celebrated on 21 November / 4 December.
Synodal Sector for Institutional Communication and Media Relations