5th century
Deposition of the Robe of the Theotokos
A feast marking the deposition of the Theotokos's robe at the church of Blachernae under Emperor Leo I.
Biography
At the church of the Theotokos at Blachernae, built by Empress Pulcheria, the swaddling clothes of the Virgin Mary had long been kept, sent there by Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. Under Emperor Leo I, two noblemen, Galbius and Candidus, brought her actual robe from Palestine, and the emperor placed it in a golden reliquary in the same church.
The event was established as a separate feast on 2 July, and the robe remained at Blachernae for centuries until the church was destroyed by fire. Tradition ties the feast to the wider honour the Church gives to relics of the Theotokos, as a reminder of her virtuous life.