Church celebrates Myrrh-bearing Women Sunday

Icon of the Myrrh-bearing Women. Photo: open sources

On Sunday, May 4, 2025, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women – a special feast dedicated to the women who followed Christ. This movable feast is observed on the second Sunday after Pascha (Easter).

The Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women is considered a celebration for every Orthodox Christian woman – a kind of Orthodox Women's Day. The myrrh-bearers were those women who, out of love for the Savior Jesus Christ, welcomed Him into their homes and later followed Him to Golgotha, the place of His crucifixion. They witnessed His suffering on the Cross. It was they who first came to the Tomb of the Lord and proclaimed to the world the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Among the myrrh-bearing women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, Martha and Mary, Susanna, Joanna, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and others.

On this day, name days are celebrated by those whose names coincide with those of the myrrh-bearing women: Mary, Martha, Joanna, Susanna, and Salome.

Nevertheless, it is customary on this day to congratulate and present flowers to all the women close to us: mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and friends. It is believed that on this day, they are all name-day celebrants.

The feast reminds the faithful of the faithfulness, selflessness, and love shown by the myrrh-bearing women toward their Teacher, and calls us to honor and cherish all women who bring care and love into the world.

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