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His Holiness Patriarch Cyril for the first time celebrated Supplication before the act of preparing the Myrrh ( 14.04.2009 )

At April the 13th, at Monday of the Holy Week, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril, celebrated Supplication before the start of the act of preparing the Holy Myrrh, in the Little cathedral of Donski Stavropegial Monastery. The act of preparing the Holy Myrrh is to finish at Holy (Great) Thursday, by sanctification of the Holy Myrrh in St. Epiphany cathedral.

After the Supplication service, the Head of Church was answering the questions for the TV channel “Russia”, speaking about the Secret of Anointment, and the act of preparation of the Holy Myrrh: “Since man was baptised, the Secret of Anointment has been performed. This is the way of how the God’s Grace comes down to man. The spiritual connection between God and man is strengthened in such way, and man is no longer separated from God…”  

Only bishops were performing the Secret of Anointment in the early stages of the Holy Church, but as the number of faithful grew, this became impossible to do. So, with the bless of the bishop, priests started to practice the Secret of Anointment, identifying the sign of the Holy Cross with the Myrrh, at some parts of the body, and the Myrrh was always sanctified by the Head of the Church.”

Patriarch said: “We have started the preparation of the Holy Myrrh today. The Holy Myrrh consists of: oil, wine and various aromatic plants, which are well known to us even from the times of the Old Testament. All these ingredients will be cooked in a period of three days in a special pot, and on the day of Holy Thursday we will sanctify the Holy Myrrh, during the Divine Liturgy.”

The sanctification of the Myrrh is one of the acts in the Orthodox Church, which is taking place in the days of the Holy Week. According to our Tradition, only the Head of the Particular Local Church may perform this act, and such act is not obliged to be done every year, but is related to how much of the Holy Myrrh from the previous years has been spent.

The sanctified Holy Myrrh, with the Bless of the Head of Church is disposed to the eparchies and is to be used for servicing the Holy Secret of Baptism and sanctification of the orthodox churches. 

 

 

               

 

                         

Source: Патриархиа.ру