Commemorated on August 15
The
Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary: After
the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the
Apostle John the Theologian, and during his journeys She lived at the
home of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. She was a source of
consolation and edification both for the Apostles and for all the
believers. Conversing with them, She told them about miraculous events:
the Annunciation, the seedless and undefiled Conception of Christ born
of Her, about His early childhood, and about His earthly life. Like the
Apostles, She helped plant and strengthen the Christian Church by Her
presence, Her discourse and Her prayers.
The reverence of the Apostles for the Most Holy Virgin was
extraordinary. After the receiving of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, the Apostles remained at Jerusalem for about ten years
attending to the salvation of the Jews, and wanting moreover to see the
Mother of God and hear Her holy discourse. Many of the newly-enlightened
in the Faith even came from faraway lands to Jerusalem, to see and to
hear the All-Pure Mother of God.
During the persecution initiated by King Herod against the young Church
of Christ (Acts 12:1-3), the Most Holy Virgin and the Apostle John the
Theologian withdrew to Ephesus in the year 43. The preaching of the
Gospel there had fallen by lot to the Apostle John the Theologian. The
Mother of God was on Cyprus with St Lazarus the Four-Days-Dead, where he
was bishop. She was also on Holy Mount Athos. St Stephen of the Holy
Mountain says that the Mother of God prophetically spoke of it: "Let
this place be my lot, given to me by my Son and my God. I will be the
Patroness of this place and intercede with God for it."
The respect of ancient Christians for the Mother of God was so great
that they preserved what they could about Her life, what they could take
note of concerning Her sayings and deeds, and they even passed down to
us a description of Her outward appearance.
According to Tradition, based on the words of the Hieromartyrs Dionysius
the Areopagite (October 3), Ignatius the God-Bearer (December 20), St
Ambrose of Milan (December 7) had occasion to write in his work "On
Virgins" concerning the Mother of God: "She was a Virgin not only in
body, but also in soul, humble of heart, circumspect in word, wise in
mind, not overly given to speaking, a lover of reading and of work, and
prudent in speech. Her rule of life was to offend no one, to intend good
for everyone, to respect the aged, not envy others, avoid bragging, be
healthy of mind, and to love virtue."
When did She ever hurl the least insult in the face of Her parents? When
was She at discord with Her kin? When did She ever puff up with pride
before a modest person, or laugh at the weak, or shun the destitute?
With Her there was nothing of glaring eyes, nothing of unseemly words,
nor of improper conduct. She was modest in the movement of Her body, Her
step was quiet, and Her voice straightforward; so that Her face was an
expression of soul. She was the personification of purity.
All Her days She was concerned with fasting: She slept only when
necessary, and even then, when Her body was at rest, She was still alert
in spirit, repeating in Her dreams what She had read, or the
implementation of proposed intentions, or those planned yet anew. She
was out of Her house only for church, and then only in the company of
relatives. Otherwise, She seldom appeared outside Her house in the
company of others, and She was Her own best overseer. Others could
protect Her only in body, but She Herself guarded Her character."
According to Tradition, that from the compiler of Church history
Nicephorus Callistus (fourteenth century), the Mother of God "was of
average stature, or as others suggest, slightly more than average; Her
hair golden in appearance; Her eyes bright with pupils like shiny
olives; Her eyebrows strong in character and moderately dark, Her nose
pronounced and Her mouth vibrant bespeaking sweet speech; Her face was
neither round nor angular, but somewhat oblong; the palm of Her hands
and fingers were longish...
In conversation with others She preserved decorum, neither becoming
silly nor agitated, and indeed especially never angry; without artifice,
and direct, She was not overly concerned about Herself, and far from
pampering Herself, She was distinctly full of humility. Regarding the
clothing which She wore, She was satisfied to have natural colors, which
even now is evidenced by Her holy head-covering. Suffice it to say, a
special grace attended all Her actions." (Nicephoros Callistus borrowed
his description from St Epiphanius of Cyprus (May 12), from the "Letter
to Theophilus Concerning Icons."
The circumstances of the Dormition of the Mother of God were known in
the Orthodox Church from apostolic times. Already in the first century,
the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite wrote about Her
"Falling-Asleep." In the second century, the account of the bodily
ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Heaven is found in the works of
Meliton, Bishop of Sardis. In the fourth century, St Epiphanius of
Cyprus refers to the tradition about the "Falling Asleep" of the Mother
of God. In the fifth century, St Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, told
the holy Byzantine Empress Pulcheria: "Although there is no account of
the circumstances of Her death in Holy Scripture, we know about them
from the most ancient and credible Tradition." This tradition was
gathered and expounded in the Church History of Nicephorus Callistus
during the fourteenth century.
At the time of Her blessed Falling Asleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary was
again at Jerusalem. Her fame as the Mother of God had already spread
throughout the land and had aroused many of the envious and the spiteful
against Her. They wanted to make attempts on Her life; but God
preserved Her from enemies.
Day and night She spent her time in prayer. The Most Holy Theotokos went
often to the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord, and here She offered up fervent
prayer. More than once, enemies of the Savior sought to hinder Her from
visiting her holy place, and they asked the High Priest for a guard to
watch over the Grave of the Lord. The Holy Virgin continued to pray
right in front of them, yet unseen by anyone.
In one such visit to Golgotha, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her and
announced Her approaching departure from this life to eternal life. In
pledge of this, the Archangel gave Her a palm branch. With these
heavenly tidings the Mother of God returned to Bethlehem with the three
girls attending Her (Sepphora, Abigail, and Jael). She summoned
Righteous Joseph of Arimathea and other disciples of the Lord, and told
them of Her impending Repose.
The Most Holy Virgin prayed also that the Lord would have the Apostle
John come to Her. The Holy Spirit transported him from Ephesus, setting
him in that very place where the Mother of God lay. After the prayer,
the Most Holy Virgin offered incense, and John heard a voice from
Heaven, closing Her prayer with the word "Amen." The Mother of God took
it that the voice meant the speedy arrival of the Apostles and the
Disciples and the holy Bodiless Powers.
The faithful, whose number by then was impossible to count, gathered
together, says St John of Damascus, like clouds and eagles, to listen
to the Mother of God. Seeing one another, the Disciples rejoiced, but in
their confusion they asked each other why the Lord had gathered them
together in one place. St John the Theologian, greeting them with tears
of joy, said that the time of the Virgin's repose was at hand.
Going in to the Mother of God, they beheld Her lying upon the bed, and
filled with spiritual joy. The Disciples greeted Her, and then they told
her how they had been carried miraculously from their places of
preaching. The Most Holy Virgin Mary glorified God, because He had heard
Her prayer and fulfilled Her heart's desire, and She began speaking
about Her imminent end.
During this conversation the Apostle Paul also appeared in a miraculous
manner together with his disciples Dionysius the Areopagite, St
Hierotheus, St Timothy and others of the Seventy Apostles. The Holy
Spirit had gathered them all together so that they might be granted the
blessing of the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and more fittingly to see to the
burial of the Mother of the Lord. She called each of them to Herself by
name, She blessed them and extolled them for their faith and the
hardships they endured in preaching the Gospel of Christ. To each She
wished eternal bliss, and prayed with them for the peace and welfare of
the whole world.
Then came the third hour (9 A.M.), when the Dormition of the Mother of
God was to occur. A number of candles were burning. The holy Disciples
surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She
prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her
longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine
Glory shone forth, before which the blazing candles paled in comparison.
All who it saw took fright. Descending from Heaven was Christ, the King
of Glory, surrounded by hosts of Angels and Archangels and other
Heavenly Powers, together with the souls of the Forefathers and the
Prophets, who had prophesied in ages past concerning the Most Holy
Virgin Mary.
Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: "My soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God My Savior, for He hath regarded
the low estate of His Handmaiden" (Luke 1:46-48) and, rising from Her
bed to meet the Lord, She bowed down to Him, and the Lord bid Her enter
into Life Eternal. Without any bodily suffering, as though in a happy
sleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary gave Her soul into the hands of Her Son
and God.
Then began a joyous angelic song. Accompanying the pure soul of the
God-betrothed and with reverent awe for the Queen of Heaven, the angels
exclaimed: "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou
among women! For lo, the Queen, God's Maiden comes, lift up the gates,
and with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of Light; for through
Her salvation has come to all the human race. It is impossible to gaze
upon Her, and it is impossible to render Her due honor" (Stikherion on
"Lord, I Have Cried"). The Heavenly gates were raised, and meeting the
soul of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Cherubim and the Seraphim
glorified Her with joy. The face of the Mother of God was radiant with
the glory of Divine virginity, and from Her body there came a sweet
fragrance.
Miraculous was the life of the All-Pure Virgin, and wondrous was Her
Repose, as the Holy Church sings: "In Thee, O Queen, the God of all hath
given thee as thy portion the things that are above nature. Just as in
the Birth-Giving He did preserve Thine virginity, so also in the grave
He did preserve Thy body from decay" (Canon 1, Ode 6, Troparion 1).
Kissing the all-pure body with reverence and in awe, the Disciples in
turn were blessed by it and filled with grace and spiritual joy. Through
the great glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos, the almighty power
of God healed the sick, who with faith and love touched the holy bed.
Bewailing their separation from the Mother of God, the Apostles prepared
to bury Her all-pure body. The holy Apostles Peter, Paul, James and
others of the Twelve Apostles carried the funeral bier upon their
shoulders, and upon it lay the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary. St John the
Theologian went at the head with the resplendent palm-branch from
Paradise. The other saints and a multitude of the faithful accompanied
the funeral bier with candles and censers, singing sacred songs. This
solemn procession went from Sion through Jerusalem to the Garden of
Gethsemane.
With the start of the procession there suddenly appeared over the
all-pure body of the Mother of God and all those accompanying Her a
resplendent circular cloud, like a crown. There was heard the singing of
the Heavenly Powers, glorifying the Mother of God, which echoed that of
the worldly voices. This circle of Heavenly singers and radiance
accompanied the procession to the very place of burial.
Unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, taken aback by the extraordinarily
grand funeral procession and vexed at the honor accorded the Mother of
Jesus, complained of this to the High Priest and scribes. Burning with
envy and vengefulness toward everything that reminded them of Christ,
they sent out their own servants to disrupt the procession and to set
the body of the Mother of God afire.
An angry crowd and soldiers set off against the Christians, but the
circular cloud accompanying the procession descended and surrounded them
like a wall. The pursuers heard the footsteps and the singing, but
could not see any of those accompanying the procession. Indeed, many of
them were struck blind.
The Jewish priest Athonios, out of spite and hatred for the Mother of
Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to topple the funeral bier on which lay the
body of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, but an angel of God invisibly cut off
his hands, which had touched the bier. Seeing such a wonder, Athonios
repented and with faith confessed the majesty of the Mother of God. He
received healing and joined the crowd accompanying the body of the
Mother of God, and he became a zealous follower of Christ.
When the procession reached the Garden of Gethsemane, then amidst the
weeping and the wailing began the last kiss to the all-pure body. Only
towards evening were the Apostles able to place it in the tomb and seal
the entrance to the cave with a large stone.
For three days they did not depart from the place of burial, praying and
chanting Psalms. Through the wise providence of God, the Apostle Thomas
was not to be present at the burial of the Mother of God. Arriving late
on the third day at Gethsemane, he lay down at the tomb and with bitter
tears asked that l he might be permitted to look once more upon the
Mother of God and bid her farewell. The Apostles out of heartfelt pity
for him decided to open the grave and permit him the comfort of
venerating the holy relics of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Having opened the
grave, they found in it only the grave wrappings and were thus convinced
of the bodily ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Heaven.
On the evening of the same day, when the Apostles had gathered at a
house to strengthen themselves with food, the Mother of God appeared to
them and said: "Rejoice! I am with you all the days of your lives." This
so gladdened the Apostles and everyone with them, that they took a
portion of the bread, set aside at the meal in memory of the Savior
("the Lord's Portion"), and they exclaimed : "Most Holy Theotokos, save
us". (This marks the beginning of the rite of offering up the "Panagia"
("All-Holy"), a portion of bread in honor of the Mother of God, which is
done at monasteries to the present day).
The sash of the Mother of God, and Her holy garb, preserved with
reverence and distributed over the face of the earth in pieces, have
worked miracles both in the past and at present. Her numerous icons
everywhere pour forth signs and healings, and Her holy body, taken up to
Heaven, bears witness to our own future life there. Her body was not
left to the vicissitudes of the transitory world, but was incomparably
exalted by its glorious ascent to Heaven.
The Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated with
special solemnity at Gethsemane, the place of Her burial. Nowhere else
is there such sorrow of heart at the separation from the Mother of God,
and nowhere else such joy, because of Her intercession for the world.
The holy city of Jerusalem is separated from the Mount of Olives by the
valley of Kedron on Josaphat. At the foot of the Mount of Olives is the
Garden of Gethsemane, where olive trees bear fruit even now.
The holy Ancestor-of-God Joachim had himself reposed at 80 years of age,
several years after the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the
Temple (November 21). St Anna, having been left a widow, moved from
Nazareth to Jerusalem, and lived near the Temple. At Jerusalem she
bought two pieces of property: the first at the gates of Gethsemane, and
the second in the valley of Josaphat. At the second locale she built a
tomb for the members of her family, and where also she herself was
buried with Joachim. It was there in the Garden of Gethsemane that the
Savior often prayed with His disciples.
The most-pure body of the Mother of God was buried in the family tomb.
Christians honored the sepulchre of the Mother of God, and they built a
church on this spot. Within the church was preserved the precious
funeral cloth, which covered Her all-pure and fragrant body.
The holy Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem (420-458) testified before the
emperor Marcian (450-457) as to the authenticity of the tradition about
the miraculous ascent of the Mother of God to Heaven, and he sent to the
empress, St Pulcheria (September 10), the grave wrappings of the Mother
of God from Her tomb. St Pulcheria then placed these grave-wrappings
within the Blachernae church.
Accounts have been preserved, that at the end of the seventh century a
church had been built atop the underground church of the Dormition of
the Most Holy Theotokos, and that from its high bell-tower could be seen
the dome of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. Traces of this
church are no longer to be seen. And in the ninth century near the
subterranean Gethsemane church a monastery was built, in which more than
30 monks struggled.
Great destruction was done the Church in the year 1009 by the despoiler
of the holy places, Hakim. Radical changes, the traces of which remain
at present, also took place under the crusaders in the year 1130. During
the eleventh to twelfth centuries the piece of excavated stone, at
which the Savior had prayed on the night of His betrayal disappeared
from Jerusalem. This piece of stone had been in the Gethsemane basilica
from the sixth century.
But in spite of the destruction and the changes, the overall original
cruciform (cross-shaped) plan of the church has been preserved. At the
entrance to the church along the sides of the iron gates stand four
marble columns. To enter the church, it is necessary to go down a
stairway of 48 steps. At the 23rd step on the right side is a chapel in
honor of the holy Ancestors-of-God Joachim and Anna together with their
graves, and on the left side opposite, the chapel of St Joseph the
Betrothed with his grave. The right chapel belongs to the Orthodox
Church, and the left to the Armenian Church (since 1814).
The church of the Dormition of the Theotokos has the following
dimensions: in length it is 48 arshin, and in breadth 8 arshin [1 arshin
= 28 inches]. At an earlier time the church had also windows beside the
doors. The whole temple was adorned with a multitude of lampadas and
offerings. Two small entrances lead into the burial-chamber of the
Mother of God. One enters through the western doors, and exits at the
northern doors. The burial-chamber of the All-Pure Virgin Mary is veiled
with precious curtains. The burial place was hewn out of stone in the
manner of the ancient Jewish graves and is very similar to the Sepulchre
of the Lord. Beyond the burial-chamber is the altar of the church, in
which Divine Liturgy is celebrated each day in the Greek language.
The olive woods on the eastern and northern sides of the temple was
acquired from the Turks by the Orthodox during the seventh and eighth
centuries. The Catholics acquired the olive woods on the east and south
sides in 1803, and the Armenians on the west side in 1821.
On August 12, at Little Gethsemane, at the second hour of the night, the
head of the Gethsemane church celebrates Divine Liturgy. With the end
of Liturgy, at the fourth hour of the morning, he serves a short
Molieben before the resplendent burial shroud, lifts it in his hands and
solemnly carries it beyond the church to Gethsemane proper where the
holy sepulchre of the Mother of God is situated. All the members of the
Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, with the head of the Mission
presiding, participate each year in the procession (called the
"Litania") with the holy burial shroud of the Mother of God..
The rite of the Burial of the Mother of God at Gethsemane begins
customarily on the morning of August 14. A multitude of people with
hierarchs and clergy at the head set off from the Jerusalem Patriarchate
(nearby the Church of the Resurrection of Christ) in sorrowful
procession. Along the narrow alley-ways of the Holy City the funeral
procession makes its way to Gethsemane. Toward the front of the
procession an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is
carried. Along the way, pilgrims meet the icon, kissing the image of the
All-Pure Virgin Mary and lift children of various ages to the icon.
After the clergy, in two rows walk the black-robed monks and nuns of the
Holy City: Greeks, Roumanians, Arabs, Russians. The procession, going
along for about two hours, concludes with Lamentations at the Gethsemane
church. In front the altar, beyond the burial chamber of the Mother of
God, is a raised-up spot, upon which rests the burial shroud of the Most
Holy Mother of God among fragrant flowers and myrtle, with precious
coverings.
"O marvelous wonder! The Fount of Life is placed in the grave, and the
grave doth become the ladder to Heaven..." Here at the grave of the
All-Pure Virgin, these words strike deep with their original sense and
grief is dispelled by joy: "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee,
granting the world, through Thee, great mercy!"
Numerous pilgrims, having kissed the icon of the Dormition of the Most
Holy Theotokos, following an ancient custom, then stoop down and go
beneath it.
On the day of the Leave-taking of the feast (August 23), another solemn
procession is made. On the return path, the holy burial shroud is
carried by clergy led by the Archimandrite of Gethsemane.
There is an article in the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate", 1979,
No. 3 regarding the rite of the litany and Feast of the Dormition of the
Mother of God in the Holy Land.
Today flowers are blessed in church, and people keep them in their
homes. During times of family strife or illness, the flower petals are
placed in the censer with the incense, and the whole house is censed.
See the Prayer at the Sanctification of any Fragrant Herbage.
TROPARION-TONE 1
In giving birth you preserved your virginity,
In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos.
You were translated to life, O Mother of Life,
And by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death.
KONTAKION-TONE 2
Neither the tomb, nor death could hold the Theotokos,
Who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions.
For being the Mother of Life,
She was translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb.
SOURCE:
SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2010(with 2009's link here also and further, 2008's, even 2007!