“Your death, Agni, has become a passport to an eternal and better life, transferring you, O Pure One, from earthly life to the truly divine and unchanging one, so that you may see and rejoice in your Son and Lord.”
The Virgin Mary fell asleep and was taken up into heaven.
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Yes! And the Most Holy Theotokos fell asleep, just like all those who share in human nature. Even though she has already surpassed all incorporeal powers in glory and honor. “More honorable than the Cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim” and “superior to all created things” and as “possessing the second place in the Trinity,” according to the Church’s hymnology.
Saint John of Damascus, the great theologian and hymnographer of the Church, in his discourse on the Theotokos, presents her not only as accepting death but also as eager to meet Her Only-Begotten Son, and for this reason she implores Him to receive into His divine hands her soul, which is His “beloved.”
St. Damascene writes: “Into Your hands, my Son, I commit my spirit. Receive from me this soul, Your friend, whom You have kept blameless. To You, and not to the earth, I leave my body. Guard that body which You made Your dwelling, which You kept virginal even when You were born. Take me close to You, so that I too may dwell with You, You who are the root of my being. I hasten to come to You—to You, Who came and visited me, without being separated from Your Father.”
But, in a very affectionate and tender way, he also describes the reception of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s soul by her Son:
“Come, my blessed Mother, and rest. Arise, come close to Me, the virtuous one among women, for winter has passed, and the time has come to prune the branches. You are beautiful beside Me, and there is no blemish in You. The fragrance of Your myrrh surpasses all perfumes.”
Then, filled with wonder at Her ascension, he marvels and writes:
“Oh, how did heaven receive She who was vaster than the heavens! How did the tomb receive Her who received God! Yes, it received Her and contained Her, for She did not become wider than the heavens by Her physical form. For how could a body three cubits long, which remains ever the same, surpass the breadth and length of the heavens? But by divine grace, She surpassed every height and breadth, for the divine is beyond all comparison. O holy, wondrous, venerable, and worship-worthy shrine!”
Hellenism and Christianity from every corner of the earth flock to Her, imploring to be placed under Her protection and to celebrate Her Dormition and Her Assumption into heaven.
In Greece, in particular, Orthodox Greeks cast off all that is gloomy, “clothe” themselves in light, love, and optimism, and celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 15, which has aptly been named “the Easter of summer,” in a particularly emphatic way. Myriads of people venerate her holy icons with the deepest reverence, seek her intercession, place their hopes in her, pray, sing her praises, and rejoice. For her Dormition is not a mournful event, since the Virgin Mary “has passed over into life.”
They celebrate the end of her earthly life, which is immediately transformed into a joyful reunion. Life triumphs… “Death is no longer death. Death radiates eternity and immortality. Death is no longer a separation, but a union. It is not sorrow, but joy. It is not defeat, but victory. These are the things we celebrate on the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, as we foreshadow them, anticipate them, and enjoy them even now, at the dawn of the mystical and eternal Day,” according to Archpriest Alexander Schmemann, one of the great figures of 20th-century theology.
There is no mention of the Dormition of the Theotokos in the New Testament. We learn about it from the accounts of important Church Fathers, such as St. John the Theologian, Dionysius the Areopagite, Modestus of Jerusalem, Andrew of Crete, Germanus of Constantinople, John of Damascus, and others, as well as from the relevant troparia of the Church’s hymnography.
According to ecclesiastical tradition, she fell asleep in the house of John the Evangelist, where the mother of the God-Man was staying. After her eyes were closed, the Apostles carried her bier to the Garden of Gethsemane, where they buried her.
The Church’s love and commemoration focus on the essence and meaning of Her death, commemorating Her death through which Her Son, according to the Christian faith, overcame death, rose from the dead, and promised the final resurrection and the victory of immortal life.
On the Feast of the Dormition, the entire joyful mystery of this death is revealed and becomes a cause for joy, because the Virgin Mary is one of us. Death itself becomes triumphant life. Thus, on this feast day, there is neither sorrow, nor funeral laments, nor grief, but only light and life.
The Celebration and Fasting
Ecclesiastical hymnography is very rich in its descriptions of the Virgin Mary, but also full of praises and hymns addressed to Her.
The greatest eulogy to the Most Holy Theotokos, however, is the Akathist Hymn, the pinnacle of hymnography dedicated to the Mother of God, as it recounts the entire plan of salvation in a poetic and lyrical manner.
The titles of the Virgin Mary are numerous: Mary brought the Savior of mankind into the world, hence her title as the Virgin Mary and also as the Mother of God.
However, there is also a multitude of titles based on her attributes or gifts, on the location or manner in which her icon was found or where her church is situated, on the architectural style of her church, the iconographic style of her depiction, the age of her icon, her beauty and grace, the hymns in her honor, the time of year her feast is celebrated, and so on.
It is celebrated every year, according to the New Calendar, today, August 15, and on August 28 according to the Old Calendar (Old Calendarists).
In other Orthodox and Catholic countries around the world, Her Dormition is honored in a less emphatic manner; in most of these countries, August 15 is an official holiday, just as it is in Greece.
In fact, Protestant denominations consider the Dormition of the Theotokos a secondary feast, because it is not based on biblical references.
This difference is particularly evident in Germany, where the Feast of the Assumption is an official holiday only in the Catholic states of Saarland and Bavaria.
According to Orthodox tradition, a period of fasting is observed for this feast, a practice established in the 7th century. Originally, it was divided into two periods: one before the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior and one before the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. In the 10th century, they were combined into a single fast lasting 14 days, beginning on August 1.
During this fast, one abstains from oil except on Saturdays and Sundays, while on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior, the abstinence from fish is lifted. On the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, all restrictions are lifted, unless the feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday, in which case only the ban on fish is lifted.
The much-celebrated festivities
On Tinos, where the largest pilgrimage takes place, the celebration of the Virgin Mary was established by a Royal Decree of 1836 to last eight days and continue until the “nine days of the Virgin Mary,” on August 23, when, in a moving atmosphere, hymns and praises are sung before the epitaph and the icon.
At the same time, the Greeks on the island also honor those who perished when the Italians torpedoed and sank the “Elli” in the harbor on the feast day of the Virgin Mary.
At Panagia Soumela, a symbol of the Pontic faith, the icon of the Virgin Mary—a work by the Evangelist Luke— the cross of Emperor Manuel Komnenos, and the sacred Gospel of Father Christophoros, also a gift from Emperor David Komnenos.
There, on the slopes of Mount Vermio, thousands of pilgrims, as well as representatives of Federations and Pontic Associations from Greece and abroad, will participate again this year in the sacred services and cultural events.
On Paros, the feast of Panagia Ekatontapyliani is celebrated. Her church, known by two names—“Katapoliani” and “Ekatontapyliani”—is located in the island’s capital, Parikia.
According to tradition, Katapoliani has ninety-nine visible doors, while the hundredth is closed and cannot be seen. This door “will appear and open when the Greeks take Constantinople.”
Other legends refer to Saint Helen who, on her way to the Holy Land to find the True Cross, arrived in Paros and prayed at a small church located at the site of Ekatontapyliani.
During her prayer, she made a vow that if she found the Holy Cross, she would build a large church on that site. Her prayer was answered. She found the Holy Cross and, fulfilling her vow, erected the magnificent church of Ekatontapyliani, which, however, was largely destroyed, most likely by fire, and was rebuilt during the reign of Justinian in the mid-6th century.
It is also rumored that Saint Helen’s vow was fulfilled by her son, Saint Constantine, Emperor of Byzantium, since she herself did not live to see it completed.
In Kozani, the celebration of the Assumption on August 15 at the historic Monastery of the Virgin Mary in Mikrokastro, in the municipality of Voio, where every year thousands of the faithful venerate the icon of the Virgin Mary, which dates back to 1603, although recent research dates it to the 13th century. Believers from all over Greece visit the monastery to venerate Her icon.
Worth mentioning is the custom of the “Siatista horsemen,” which attracts thousands of visitors, as horsemen from Siatista and the surrounding area visit the monastery on their festively decorated horses. The festival has its roots in the period of Ottoman rule, when it served as an opportunity for the enslaved to demonstrate their bravery and their longing for freedom, and it has been described as a festival of bravery and daring.
On the island of Papadiamantis, Skiathos, beginning on the evening of the eve of the feast, the procession of the Epitaphios of the Virgin Mary takes place to the moving melody of the Hymns to the Theotokos, sung in unison by all the people of Skiathos.
On the island of Orthodoxy, Patmos, home to the historic Monastery of the Apocalypse, the Epitaph is carried by the monks through the island’s narrow streets, while the bells ring ceaselessly.
In the Zagorochoria, famous throughout Greece for their August 15th festivals, the celebrations commemorating the Dormition of the Virgin Mary last three days and provide an opportunity for a lively feast featuring traditional Epirus folk dances.
On Thasos, in the village of Panagia, after the procession of the icon—accompanied by a large band— the faithful gather in the church courtyard, where they sit down to a festive meal featuring potatoes, rice, and beef stew.
On Lesbos, Panagia Agiasotissa hosts one of the most beautiful festivals in the Eastern Aegean. Many pilgrims set out from the city of Mytilene and walk a full 25 kilometers to reach the churchyard, where they spend the night. In the picturesque town of Agiasos, one can experience the full atmosphere of an authentic island festival.
On Karpathos, an island in the Dodecanese, the Virgin Mary of Olympus is celebrated in the most devout manner. Here, the services are deeply connected to the mourning for the Virgin Mary who “has departed.” The highlight of the celebration is the traditional Kato Choro, which begins with the men moving in a steady, slow-moving rhythm and a solemn mood. They are followed by the women, dressed in their traditional festive costumes of stunning beauty.
In Kefalonia, near the village of Markopoulo, the “snakes of the Virgin Mary” attract thousands of pilgrims every year, who come to witness this unique phenomenon with their own eyes. Every August 15, small, harmless snakes appear on the dome of the church.
According to legend, these are the nuns of an old monastery that once stood in the area; to avoid falling into the hands of pirates, they begged the Virgin Mary to transform them into snakes.
“Most Holy Mother of God, save us.”
Source: APE-MPE
