On April 7 Orthodox Christians celebrate Lady Day (the Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady), one of the great Christian feasts, when the believers recollect the event described in the Gospel According to Luke. Lady Day is the day when Archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to a son, who will become the Saviour of the World.
On Lady Day Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia conducted a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin and according to the well-established tradition, released white pigeons into the sky, staying on Sobornaya Square. The pigeons symbolize the Holy Spirit and the Good News.
The plot of the Feast of the Annunciation – the meaning of Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary – is pictured on the tsar’s gates in all Orthodox churches.
On the photo: Russian Annunciation icon (Ustyug). State Tratyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia is conducting a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin on Lady Day.
The parishioners during the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin on Lady Day.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia conducting a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin on Lady Day.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia is releasing white pigeons into the sky, staying on the porch of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin, on the occasion of the Lady Day.
On Lady Day pigeons are released into the sky in many Orthodox cathedrals. On the photo: Metropolitan Feofan of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust, together with the children, is releasing pigeons into the sky on Lady Day.
Metropolitan Feofan of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust is blessing a child on Lady Day.
After the Divine service the parishioners are having a tea party and eating near the cathedral on Lady Day.
Photo: RIA Novosti
