Deposition of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople

Life

In the time of Emperor Leo the Great (458–471), Empress Verina, and Patriarch Gennadius, two noblemen of Constantinople, Galbius and Candidus, journeyed through the Holy Land to venerate the holy sites there. In Nazareth they lodged in the home of a certain Jewish maiden, who kept in a secret chamber the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. Many sick and afflicted persons had received healing from their sufferings through prayer and the touch of that robe. Galbius and Candidus took this holy relic and brought it to Constantinople, and reported it to the emperor and the patriarch. This occasioned great joy in the imperial city. The robe was solemnly transferred and deposited in the Church of Blachernae. (This church had been built by Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria on the shore of an inlet called the Blachernae, named after a certain Scythian commander, Blachernus, who had been slain there.) And in commemoration of the deposition of the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Church of Blachernae, this feast was established.

From the Hymn of Praise

To the Most Pure Virgin we bow down in prayerAnd through her we seek the grace of God.In eternal glory she shines resplendentAnd intercedes for us before Christ the Lord.