Metropolitan Filaret will perform divine services in honor of the Annunciation in Minsk and Vitebsk

April 6, Minsk / Vladimir Vasilkov - BELTA /. Tomorrow, Orthodox Christians of Belarus and other countries will celebrate one of the greatest holidays - the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. This evening and tomorrow morning, on the occasion of the celebration, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, will perform divine services in Minsk and Vitebsk, the secretary of the Patriarchal Exarch, Archpriest Nikolai Korzhich, told a BELTA correspondent. Today at 6:00 PM, Vladyka Filaret will begin the All-Night Vigil at the Annunciation Church in the capital (on Partizansky Avenue). Tomorrow at 10:00 AM, he will lead the Divine Liturgy in the ancient Annunciation Church of Vitebsk. The Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the most important events in Christianity. In the ancient Church, this holiday was considered second in importance only to Easter. On this day, according to Christian dogma, the Incarnation of God occurred - the Almighty Creator in the image of a human infant entered His creation - the material world. Humanity had been waiting for the coming of the Savior for centuries, and the moment of the ineffable conception of the God-man became possible when a Virgin of the greatest holiness and purity, worthy of giving birth to the Messiah, was found in the world - Mary of Nazareth. At the festive divine service on this day, Orthodox Christians sing in churches: "Today is the beginning of our salvation, the manifestation of the mystery foreordained from the beginning of time. The Son of God becomes the son of a virgin, and this good news is proclaimed by the Archangel Gabriel. And together with him, we also exclaim: Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you!".-0-