Commemoration DAY of
the DISCOVERING of the Girdle of
the Holy Mother of God
In addition to the two garments of the Holy Mother of God, which according to her final wishes were given to the two women who lived with her, there also existed a sacred girdle.
According to tradition, the Virgin Mary gave this girdle to the Apostle Thomas, and it was thereafter passed down from one believer to another. The faithful preserved this holy relic with great reverence, handing it down from generation to generation, and through it many miracles were performed.
Later, in the fifth century, during the reign of Emperor Arcadius (A.D. 395–408), the Holy Virgin's girdle was discovered in Jerusalem and was solemnly and honorably transferred to Constantinople. Through the efforts of Emperor Arcadius and his daughter, the girdle was placed in a precious reliquary and enshrined in a church dedicated to the Mother of God.
As a result of public calamities and the passage of time, the Holy Virgin's girdle was later taken from Constantinople to Cappadocia. During the reign of Emperor Justinian, however, it was returned once again to Constantinople.
The miracles performed through the healing power of the Mother of God's girdle are beyond counting. The Greek Empress Zoe suffered from a severe illness for a long time. During her suffering she was told in a dream that she would be healed only if the Virgin's girdle were placed upon her. This was done: the girdle was removed from its reliquary and laid upon the empress, who was immediately healed.
After her healing, the girdle was ceremonially returned to its reliquary.
In later centuries, portions of the Holy Mother of God's girdle were distributed among various churches.
When the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Romanos Argyros married the Georgian King Bagrat, she brought with her a portion of the girdle. That relic is now preserved in Georgia in a church built by Emperor Alexander. Another portion is kept in a church in Athens. The Holy Virgin's girdle had been adorned by the emperor with pearls and emeralds.
The Feast of the Finding of the Girdle of the Mother of God was added to the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Church only in 1774, following the liturgical reforms of Catholicos Simeon.
The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates this feast on the second Sunday after the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. Because it is a movable feast, it falls each year between August 26 and September 1.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
~ Isaiah 19:8-19 ~
Those who fish will mourn; all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will languish. The workers in flax will be in despair, and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale. Its weavers will be dismayed, and all who work for wages will be grieved. The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the sages, a descendant of ancient kings"? Where now are your sages? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of its tribes have led Egypt astray. The Lord has poured into them a spirit of confusion; and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings as a drunkard staggers around in vomit. Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt. On that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts raises against them. And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the Lord of hosts is planning against them. On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun. On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.
~ 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 ~
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
~ Holy Gospel of St. Mark 4:35-41 ~
Do you not say, "Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, "One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word.