The Orthodox Christians following the old church calendar celebrate the Nativity of the Theotokos or the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 21. This is one of the four great Marian feast days of the Orthodox liturgical year, IPN reports.
According to the sacred tradition of the Orthodox Church, Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of Joachim and Anna (now saints), in answer to their prayers.
The Orthodox believe that Mary received the ancestral sin, having been conceived in the normal way of humanity, and thus needed salvation like all mankind. Orthodox thought does vary on whether Mary actually ever sinned, though there is general agreement that she was cleansed from sin at the Annunciation.
The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy on the morning of the feast and preceded by a Matins service. A Great Vespers is conducted on the evening before the day of the feast.
On this day, a number of churches, communities and families celebrate the ‘hram’ or saint patron’s day. The women called Maria (Mary) celebrate the name day today.
In Moldova there are over 129,000 women called Maria.
