The Christian Church established the celebration of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers on November 8 (according to the old calendar), even before the First Ecumenical Council. The feast takes place in November—the ninth month from March (considered the start of the year in ancient times)—symbolising the nine ranks of angelic hosts. The eighth day of the month points to the future Synaxis of all the Heavenly Hosts on the Day of the Last Judgment, which the holy fathers call the “Eighth Day.” After this age, the “eighth day” will dawn, and then “the Son of Man will come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him” (Matt. 25:31).

The veneration of the bodiless servants of God in our lands is evident from the fact that in Kyivan Rus’, there was no city without a church or chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael. In Kyiv, the Archangel Cathedral was built immediately after the adoption of Christianity, and many examples of angelic interventions were revealed in the capital city.

One of the chapels of the Great Church of the Lavra was also consecrated in honour of the Archangel Michael. Thus, it is perhaps no coincidence that on the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers in 1998, the cornerstone was laid for restoring the Dormition Cathedral.

The solemn services for this great Lavra celebration were held in the Church of St. Agapitus of the Caves. The All-Night Vigil with a festal litiya, and on the feast day itself, the Divine Liturgy, was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Pryluky, the chairman of the Synodal Information and Educational Department of the UOC.

After the solemn services, the magnification was sung, and a prayer was read before the festal icon.

Video recordings of the services in the Church of St. Agapitus of the Caves are available via the following links: the All-Night Vigil and the Liturgy.

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