Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God

[Monica4316]

October 1st is the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, in the Eastern (Slavic) churches

Is this according to the Gregorian or the Julian calendar?

Is your church doing a liturgy for the feast day? The Ukrainian church’s bulletin here isn’t updated yet…

Also I was wondering, I know in the West, it’s encouraged to not work on days of obligation - like on Sundays. In the East, should people also not work on major feast days? What about this feast?

thanks!

 

[frjohnmorris]

Feasts are always celebrated on the dates mandated by the tradition of the Church. The liturgical day in the Byzantine Rite always begins on the evening before the day of the feast. Thus, we celebrated the Vespers of the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God during Vespers this evening. Thus, this feast is always celebrated on October 1 which is tomorrow according to the Gregorian Calendar, but will not fall for about two weeks according to the Julian Calendar. Most Orthodox except for the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia and the Serbian Orthodox use the Gregorian Calendar in the United States.
In the Middle East, the Catholics and Orthodox worked out a compromise on the calendar question. Both Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Pascha according to the Orthodox calculation and every other un-moveable feast such as Christmas are celebrated according to the Gregorian Calendar. That way all Middle Eastern Catholics and Orthodox celebrate the same feast on the same day.

Archpriest John Morris

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you for the reply Fr John Morris!

For the Eastern rite Catholics and Orthodox who follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate the feast on the 1st (I looked up the feast in the Julian calendar is the 14th) - would they try to rest on that day in addition to going to liturgy? Or are they allowed to work? I read that resting on major feasts is encouraged but I don’t know which ones.

 

[frjohnmorris]

Thank you for the reply Fr John Morris!

For the Eastern rite Catholics and Orthodox who follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate the feast on the 1st (I looked up the feast in the Julian calendar is the 14th) - would they try to rest on that day in addition to going to liturgy? Or are they allowed to work? I read that resting on major feasts is encouraged but I don’t know which ones.

If possible they would. The book of feast services, a 12 vol. set called the Menaion tells which days rest from work is expected. However, in the modern world, we have to be realistic and people cannot always get the day off on a religious feast.
That particular feast is celebrated mostly by Russian Churches. With us Antiochians, it is optional.

 

[5Loaves]

S’pradznikom!

October 1st is the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, in the Eastern (Slavic) churches

Is this according to the Gregorian or the Julian calendar?

Both. Our Russian Greek Catholic parish follows the revised Julian calendar, as I think you know, which is Julian for all the dates connected to Pascha, and then the un-moveable feasts are celebrated on the Gregorian calendar.

Is your church doing a liturgy for the feast day? The Ukrainian church’s bulletin here isn’t updated yet…

Tonight our parish had Vespers, and tomorrow we celebrate Divine Liturgy. Pokrov is our altar feast. Please remember us in your prayers.

We have two local Ruthenian Churches: St. Basil the Great Church in Los Gatos, celebrated Vespers tonight and will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow morning, and St. Philip the Apostle Byzantine Catholic Church in Sacramento, celebrating Divine Liturgy in Church Slavonic tomorrow.

The OCA cathedral and parishes here, except the one in Berkeley, are also on the Revised Julian and so celebrating the Feast now. The Greek Orthodox locally are also on the Revised Julian, however Greeks celebrate the Feast on October 28.

This means we can celebrate this great Feast three times this month!

Also I was wondering, I know in the West, it’s encouraged to not work on days of obligation - like on Sundays. In the East, should people also not work on major feast days? What about this feast?
thanks!.

We would rely on the guidance of our spiritual father. We want to take part to the fullest extent in the feast.

You can feel free to follow the practice of your Latin Church. I believe Oct 1 is celebrated as the Feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux in the Latin Church. I have been told by Russian Orthodox clergy and laity that Saint Thérèse is much loved in Russia and many Orthodox there have pictures, or holy icons, of her in their home. We have a special love of her in our parish as well. Her icon was on our iconostasis in our former location, fashioned, after the iconostasis in the Russicum seminarian’s chapel.

 

[frjohnmorris]

You are right the Greeks celebrate the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos on October 28. However, in the Antiochian tradition, both Orthodox and Melkite Eastern Catholic we celebrate the feast of the Protection on Oct. 1. However, in the Arabic version of the Menaion, published in English by the Melkites, it is listed as an optional observance.

Archpriest John W. Morris