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Last
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March 18, 2007
The
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| The Placing of
the Precious Robe of Our Lord Jesus Christ at Moscow (1625): The
Savior's precious Robe [ Greek "himatia", literally "over-garments"] is
not identically the same thing as His seamless coat [Greek "khiton",
literally "under-garb tunic"]. They are clearly distinct within Holy
Scripture. "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus,
took His garments (ta himatia) and divided them into four parts, to
every soldier a part, and the coat (kai ton khitona). Now the coat was
without seam, woven whole from the top down. Therefore, they said among
themselves, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it will
become. Thus the saying in Scripture was fulfilled: they divided My
raiment (ta imatia) among them, and upon My vesture (epi ton himatismon)
did they cast lots" (John. 19: 23-24; Ps. 21 [22]: 18-19).
According to the tradition of the Georgian
Orthodox Church, the Chiton of the Lord was carried by the Hebrew rabbi
Elioz from Jerusalem to Mtsket and at present is beneath a crypt in the
foundations of the Mtsket Patriarchal cathedral of Svetitskhoveli (the
Feast in honor of the Chiton of the Lord is celebrated on October 1).
None of the Mohammedan invaders ever ventured to encroach upon this
spot, glorified with a sign by the mercy of God, the Life-Creating
Pillar.
The Robe of the Lord, actually one of its four parts, the lower portion
specifically (other parts of the Robe of the Lord are also known in
Western Europe: in the city of Trier in Germany, and in Argenteuil near
Paris in France), just like the Chiton of the Lord, came to be in
Georgia. In contrast to the Chiton, the Robe portion was not kept
underground, but was in the treasury of the Svetitskhoveli cathedral
right up to the seventeenth century. Then the Persian Shah Abbas I, in
devastating Georgia, along with other treasures also carried off the
Robe of the Lord. In order to ingratiate himself with Tsar Michael
Feodorovich, the Shah sent the Robe of the Lord as a gift to Patriarch
Philaret (1619-1633) and Tsar Michael in 1625. The authenticity of the
Robe was attested by Nectarius, Archbishop of Vologda, also by Patriarch
Theophanes of Jerusalem, who had come from Byzantium, and by Joannicius
the Greek, but especially also by the miraculous signs worked by the
Lord through the venerable relic.
Afterwards two parts of the Robe came to be in
Peterburg: one in the cathedral at the Winter Palace, and the other in
Sts Peter and Paul cathedral. A portion of the Robe was also preserved
at the Dormition cathedral in Moscow, and small portions at Kiev's
Sophia cathedral, at the Ipatiev monastery near Kostroma and at certain
other old temples. At Moscow annually on July 10 the Robe of the Lord is
solemnly brought out of a chapel named for the holy Apostles Peter and
Paul at the Dormition cathedral, and it is placed on a stand for
veneration during the time of divine services. After Liturgy they carry
the Robe to its former place.
On this day a service to the Life-Creating
Cross of the Lord is proper, since the Placing of the Robe in the
Dormition cathedral in 1625 took place on March 29, which happened to be
the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross during the Great Fast.
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The Placing of the
Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow |
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