Procession of the Precious Wood of the Cross

The Dormition fast begins not with a prohibition but with a cross: on this day it is carried out of the sanctuary into the middle of the church, by the same rite as at the Exaltation. In Russian usage the day is called the Honey Saviour.

The feast came from Constantinople. "Because of the sicknesses that very often came in August, an ancient custom took hold in Constantinople of carrying the Precious Wood of the Cross along the roads and streets, to sanctify those places and to turn sickness away. On the eve it was brought out of the imperial treasury and laid on the holy table of the Great Church. From this day until the Dormition of the Theotokos it was carried in procession through the whole city and then offered to the people for veneration."

The Baptism of Rus

In the Russian Church this celebration merged with the remembrance of the Baptism of Rus. The date is preserved in sixteenth-century chronicles: "The great prince Vladimir of Kiev and all Rus were baptised on the first of August." The same day also keeps the feast of the All-Merciful Saviour and the Theotokos, in memory of the victory granted in 1164 to Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky.

The Honey Saviour

On this day honey of the new harvest is brought to church. Blessing it is not a rite for its own sake but thanksgiving to God for the gifts of nature and the fruit of one's labour: a person offers God the first of his work and then eats of it with prayer. By tradition the first honeycomb went to the poor and to wanderers — "for a good deed", so that the year might be generous. The Church warns at the same time against the superstition that blessed honey has healing or protective power of itself.

How it is kept

14 August (1 August old style). The cross is brought into the middle of the church for veneration and the lesser blessing of water is served. The Dormition fast begins on this day and runs until 28 August; in strictness the rule likens it to Great Lent, and fish is allowed once, at the Transfiguration.

Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting to the Orthodox victory over adversaries, and preserving Your commonwealth by Your Cross.