Transition to Life
Every time we celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God, it’s as if we’re having Easter – the Easter of the summer. Our Lady the Mother of God prepares Easter for us. A glorious crossing “from death to life”. A second Easter, holy spotless, life-giving for the human race, because today “the laws of nature are overcome”.
The Witness of the Most Holy Theotokos
On this day of our commemoration of the Feast of the Dormition, our hearts are filled with hope as we reflect on the holy repose and miraculous translation of the Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary. We have hope in Christ our Lord because the Theotokos offers us a superb witness of His power. Certainly, her calling to bear the Son of God was unique, but in all aspects of her life and death she offered a beautiful example of how the power and grace of God can transform us from death to life.
August: The month of the Most Holy Theotokos
Our Mother, the Church, is again inviting us to celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and Mother of our God. Events relating to the lives of the Saints are a cause for joy, sacred contemplation, and opportunities for prayer and the worship of God glorified in Trinity. The month of August is a remarkable one for the Orthodox Church, for during this month we celebrate two great and historic events.
A Strange Scene in the Icon of the Dormition
In many icons of the Dormition of the Theotokos, one can see a strange scene near the bottom: an angel invisibly cuts off the two hands of a certain man. What is the story behind this scene? Bewailing their separation from the Mother of God, the Apostles prepared to bury Her all-pure body. A solemn […]
Ecumenical Patriarch at Panagia Soumela in Trebizond, August 15,2012
Divine Liturgy, marking the Dormition of the Theotokos, was held at the historic Sümela Monastery in the northern province of Trabzon on Wednesday, ending with messages of peace. It is the third time that a religious service has been held at the monastery in the history of the Turkish Republic. Wednesday’s event saw much less […]
The Miraculous Icon of Panagia Soumela
According to church tradition the icon of Panagia Soumela took its name from the Monastery of Soumela in Pontos of Asia Minor. The name “Soumela” comes from “Stou Mela”, i.e. “at the mount Melas” and consequently signifies a particular locality in Pontos. The icon of Panagia that bears the name of this historic Monastery had […]
The Celebration of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Hong Kong
Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia celebrated the festal Divine Liturgy in honour of the great Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Luke in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening, August 14th. The Liturgy was attended by many faithful who at the end of the […]
Metropolitan Sotirios of Toronto on the Dormition of the Theotokos
Metropolitan Sotirios of Toronto on the Dormition of the Theotokos.
THE DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS
The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
THE FEAST OF THE DORMITION AT THE TOMB OF MARY IN GETHSEMANE
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 […]