Dormition of the Theotokos

On August 15th we celebrate the fallen no asleep of the Most Holy Theotokos - The Dormition.

This feast commemorates the death, resurrection, and glorification of Christ's mother.

According to Orthodox Tradition, Mary died like all humanity, "falling asleep," so to speak, as the name of the feast indicates. She died as all people die, not "voluntarily" as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world.

To help us in our preparation of this feast, it is preceded by a two week fast.

For complete story of this feast use this link

There you will find information on the following.
• Preparations for Her Repose• Her Repose• Procession and Internment in Garden of Gethsemane• Translation of Her Body to Heaven
• Appearance to Apostles
• Hymns
• A Homily on the Dormition by Saint Gregory Palamas

Link to all articles on this blog about the dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

A Homily On The Dormition Of The Mother Of God

By Elder Thaddeus on Jan. 31,1998

I thank the Lord and the Most Holy Mother of God that He has willed to embellish this feast day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos through the angelic voices of the children who sang so beautifully. This reminds me of the days of my youth, before the war, when I was a monk in the holy Patriarchate of Pech, the Serbian Zion as some call it. The choir from Pech used to sing the responses at Holy Liturgy every feast day at the monastery. It was a mixed choir, very well organized, and the choir director was a remarkable person. I have heard many choirs from Belgrade and other places, but that choir from Pech was quite extraordinary. Today, when I said, "Blessed is the Kingdom …,” the children responded with "Amen." This reminded me of those days of my youth and it touched my heart.

When the chanting is as beautiful as this, we are freed from all our cares and our interest for earthly things and we ascend into eternity with the Lord, His angels, and the saints, where our true Fatherland and our Kingdom is. If our Fatherland were of this world, then we would live here in a state of well‑being, peace, and joy. However, this life for us Christians is, so to say, an epitimia. In this life we must prepare ourselves for life in the Heavenly Kingdom and we must attain Divine peace. No one can give us that peace; only God can give peace to created beings and to us if we seek Him and long for Him with all our heart and if we desire to become one with Him. He wants our souls to be united with Him, with His Divine will. He wants our entire being to become one with Him in order that we may feel the joy of living. We, on the other hand, get very involved in this material life and we have no time to think about our soul, about our inner peace. We are always shattering our inner peace.

We have many examples by which we can learn. The Lord gave us first of all the Most Holy Theotokos. It was His will that the Most Holy Theotokos remain with the holy Apostles to comfort and encourage them after His Resurrection and Ascension. One of the God‑bearing Fathers, a native of Athens, St. Dionysios the Areopagite, wished to see the Most Holy Mother of God. When he arrived in Jerusalem, they took him to the home of St. John the Theologian, where the Most Holy Theotokos lived. When he entered her chamber, he was at once free of all cares and worries and was overcome with ineffable joy and peace. This is how he describes his meeting with the Most Holy Theotokos: "Had I not learned in my Youth about the True God, for me the Most Holy Theotokos would have been God."

See what peace, stillness, and joy radiate from the Most Holy Theotokos! God has allowed peace and joy to radiate from every soul that is one with Him. Divine peace and joy emanate from such a person and we feel good in his presence. Do you see what the Kingdom of Heaven means? The Kingdom of God is… righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14: 17).

The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly,. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection for mankind. How many churches there are in the world that are dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God! How many healing springs where people are cured of their ailments have sprung up in places where the Most Holy Theotokos appeared and blessed those springs to heal both the sick and the healthy! She is constantly, by our side, and all too often we forget her.

You have seen that in this life anyone, even our closest of kin, can abandon us. We all have our weaknesses and often hurt the people closest to us. They can turn their backs on us because of our rudeness, or they can forgive us but still be hurt. But the Lord and His Most Holy Mother ... Oh, how many times have we insulted God and the Most Holy Theotokos, but when we repent and turn to them in our hearts, they forgive us everything, never remembering our sins and evil deeds!

You have already realized how unbelievably quickly life goes by. One does not notice this as much in one's youth, but when the years bear down upon us, we see that a lot of time has passed and that very little is left of this life. Where do we go when the end of our life comes? We know where we are going while we are still here, but what happens afterwards? Where are we going? Have we prepared for the Heavenly Kingdom, for our true homeland? Only the meek and those with pure hearts will enter it. Have we taken care to cleanse our heart while in this life, the heart that gives us such a hard time in this life? Have we said to ourselves, "Heart, you have caused me enough pain; humble yourself and be a patient, long‑suffering heart!"

The Lord has said that we save our souls by patient long-suffering. We know that many misfortunes and sorrows come upon both the pious and the impious, both the righteous and the sinful. We all receive our share of misfortunes––this is a means of learning to accept everything in peace. On our own we have no strength, but God has strength. It is to Him that we must turn, deep down in our heart, and He will give us the strength to overcome all difficulties, for it is very important to rise above all those little things that take away our inner peace. We rarely pay any attention to this but allow the injustice that we come across everywhere in our lives to shatter our inner peace. Often we are the ones who do injustice to others. It may seem to us at the time that we are doing the right thing, but later it turns out that we were very wrong. We must learn to overcome all these little things with peace, united with the Lord, so that disquiet will not enter us from the outside, and so that we will always have our inner peace.

God is at the center of every persons life. He is in our heart whether we accept Him or not. He never separates Himself from us because He is the Giver of life Who gives life to every created being. We have buried Him with our worries and worldly cares, which destroy the peace within us, and that is why we have no peace or rest. No one on earth can give us unshakable inner peace. Money cannot give us peace, neither can fame, honor, a high-ranking position, nor even our closest friends and family. The only Giver of peace and life is the Lord. He gives peace, stillness, and joy to the angels and the saints, to us and to every created thing. Therefore we must repent and turn to the Lord.

What is repentance? Repentance is a change of one's way of life; it is discarding the old man and all of his evil habits and turning toward God, toward the Truth. Repentance means becoming quiet, peaceful, humble, and meek. Everyone knows that it is very pleasing to be in the company of a person who is meek, peaceful, and kind. A person who has no peace generates restlessness and radiates it all around, so that in the company of such a person we feel unsettled, and we too become restless. This is because we have not united with the Lord through unceasing prayer. We have peace when we are with the Lord and His Most Holy Mother; she is always here to help whenever we call upon her. In her we have unshakable support, which remains the same for all ages and which will not change. We cannot find this support anywhere else on earth, not even among our family members, let alone in things like riches, earthly power, and honor. We can be left without all these things, but the Lord and His Most Holy Mother will never leave us.

And so, my children, as we celebrate the great feast day of the Most Holy Theotokos, let us prepare ourselves for the heavenly life, let us teach our hearts to always long for God as the angels do, and for the Most Holy Theotokos, for she is our Intercessor and prays unceasingly for us weak ones before the throne of her Son. Whenever we turn to her in our hearts, she is always there to help. Countless are those on this earth whom she has comforted, and countless are the souls she has led from the depths of hades to the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us, therefore, learn to become accustomed to the Heavenly Kingdom while we are still in this life. The Heavenly Kingdom is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We need to humble our hearts, which take insults so deeply, and also our so‑called dignity, for we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven in pride, as when we take to heart each slander our neighbor casts. We must accept our lessons from everyday life, for each day brings us cares, worries, and insults. We must learn not to take insults to heart, for who knows what awaits us during the course of our earthly lives? God is merciful to us and has concealed our future from us. Otherwise, not one among us would be able to go on, knowing what the future holds for him. We must live through many misfortunes and sorrows in order to learn how to rise above all these problems that disturb our inner peace. We must learn to acquire the Divine peace and joy of the angels and saints, for the Kingdom of Heaven is acquired while we are still in this life.

In this life we are in heaven one moment and in hades the next. You can see this for yourself and learn from it. When our thoughts are quiet and kind, when we forgive every slander and insult, we have Divine peace, joy, and stillness! But when we become angry because of someone's unkind words, we are at once in hades! Everything collapses, and we lose all the joy of living that we had before. Can you see how terrible living in hades is? Here, in this life, we are given the chance to taste both the heavenly life and the life of hades. We should choose that which gives us peace, the Heavenly Kingdom. We all desire this, without any exceptions, whether our lives are good or bad. All people long for peace and goodness, for ineffable love that never changes, and only God is this kind of love. He alone is unchangeable. He is always the same, and He is the  basis of all things––preeminently of mankind. He is ever waiting for us to return to His embrace, but all we do is shy away from Him. He wants to give us peace and to comfort us so that we may experience the joy of living, but all we ever see are the cares and worries of this world.

From the beginning of our lives, we have all sinned gravely. The Lord has warned us to be very careful lest we have a life of hardship and sorrow, and endure much pain until we humble ourselves and realize that we have sinned. For the Lord has said, Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Ex. 20:12). That is the law. The Lord showed us how to honor our parents by His own example when, as His suffering on the Cross was nearing an end, He entrusted His Most Holy Mother to His beloved disciple, John. He said to His Mother, Woman, behold thy son! (John 19:26). And to His disciple He said, Behold thy mother! (John 19:27).

(In the Aramaic tongue in which our Lord spoke, the word “woman" implies greater honor than the word "mother." Today it is difficult for us to understand how the Lord could have addressed His mother as "woman." Likewise, when the Lord was in Cana of Galilee, the Most Holy Theotokos turned to Him and said, They have no wine (John 2:3). And He said to Her, Woman, what is that between Me and thee? Mine hour is not yet come (John 2:4). In our language, when we say "woman" this has a somewhat disrespectful meaning, but when we say "mother" it is much more intimate and affectionate. But in the Aramaic tongue, the word "woman" is much more respectful.)

See how the Lord took care of His Mother in His last hour upon the earth! What do we do with our parents? God forbid that we should continue to treat our parents the way we do. Even from our childhood we do not honor our parents, but we want to live long and well. How can we live well if we have disobeyed this God-given law from our childhood? 'The law of this world, which is ever changing, punishes every violation against it. How then do we expect not to be punished for disobeying the Heavenly Law?––the Word of God, which never changes, but stays the same for all ages, for it is Spirit and Life.

We are the offspring of disobedient parents. When disobedience entered our forebears Adam and Eye, our nature suddenly changed. It became corrupt, foul smelling, prone to decay, and mortal. Death entered us. Before the Fall our forebears were immortal. Only God, our Creator, can bring us back to our original state, as He created us. It is for this reason that He Who is love came down to earth and was born of the Virgin as a child. It is for this reason that He lived for thirty‑three years among men. He wanted to teach us the truth and to show us that He is love. We need to look to the Lord, His Mother, the apostles and the saints as examples and renew our life. We must repent and leave behind our former way of life with all our bad habits, and we must strive to learn obedience. If anyone has hurt us––our parents, our brother or sister, a neighbor––then we must forgive them all from the heart, and when we have done so, the Lord will know. Our forgiveness must not be confined to words only. The Lord wants us to forgive from the heart. Our neighbor will then feel our forgiveness and no words will be necessary. The person will know in his heart that we have forgiven him.

How does a person know in his heart that he has been forgiven? People have thoughts. We are like a fine thought‑apparatus. We are connected to each other by our thoughts. When we think of a person, he immediately receives our thoughts. But since we are distracted and our thoughts are scattered, we cannot discern who it is that is sending us thoughts or the kind of thoughts he is sending us. On the other hand, the person who has peaceful thoughts, who is united with the Lord and whom the Lord has freed from distractions, this person knows exactly which thoughts are his own, which ones come from the enemy and which ones are from friends. Feelings and thoughts coming from the minds of our fellow men reach us. This is why I say to you that when we forgive from the heart, our neighbor can feel this and the burden that has been oppressing his soul is no more.

This is the way to learn about the heavenly life and to acquire inner peace. Let us turn to the Most Holy Theotokos in our hearts and ask her to intercede for us, that the Lord might give us strength and that He might number us among His angels and saints who glorify God throughout all eternity. Amen. 

Reference:  Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives, pp163 - 170

Feast of the Dormition (Koimisis or Falling Asleep) of Mary

Today is the feast Day of the Dormition of Mary. We have completed the story of this most mystical and wondrous event in our Church history as told in the book, The Life of the Virgin Mary.

Do not confuse this celebration with the Assumption of Mary into heaven which occurs three days after her death according to Church Tradition. The Dormition or Koimisis (falling asleep) of the Most Holy Theotokos recognizes the time when her soul was taken in the hands of her Son and her body was placed her tomb. Orthodox Christians emphasize her death to help us remember that she was of human nature like all of us. She died a human death and was assumed into heaven three days after her death. This is an area where there is some difference between the teaching of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church who celebrate her Assumption on this day. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Assumption is dogmatically defined, while in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Dormition is less dogmatically than liturgically and mystically defined.

"Unlike the Resurrection of Christ, the mysterious character of her death, burial, resurrection and ascension were not the subject of apostolic teachings, or at least there are no extant epistles; yet it has been revealed to the inner consciousness of the Church. Inaccessible to the view of those outside the Church, the glory of the Theotokos' Dormition can be contemplated only in the inner light of Tradition. The glorification of the Virgin-Mother is a result of the voluntary condescension of the Son who is incarnate of tier and made "Son of Man", capable of dying. The Mother of God is now established beyond the general Resurrection and the Last Judgment, having passed from death to life, from time to eternity, from terrestrial condition to celestial beatitude. Hence, the feast of August 15th is a second mysterious Pascha, since the Church celebrates, before the end of time, the secret first-fruits of its eschatological consummation. "

O marvelous wonder! The source of life is laid in the tomb, and the tomb itself becomes a ladder to heaven. Thy glory is full of majesty, shining with grace in divine brightness.

(Ouspensky and Lossky, The Meaning of Icons, p 213)

Credit and Much Thanks

I would like to give credit to the Sisterhood at the Holy Apostles Convent for the work they have done to compile the lives of the saints for English speaking people. The material included on this series on the Dormition of Mary comes from their work. I have taken the liberty to condense some of what they have written and have omitted much of what they have included to make for a smooth presentation in the Blog. They have just completed the 12th volume of the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church which is the most comprehensive collection of the stories of the Saints of the Church in English. They are available at the following link and their purchase is well worth the investment. Each volume is over 1000 pages and contain many icons as well. The price is only $55 for each volume. You will never exhaust the joy you will gain from the continual reading from these books. In addition they have some specialized books such as The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Theotokos which contains all the material on the Virgin Mary.

Holy Apostles Convent Bookstore

There are two more aspects of this story that need to be told, her assumption into heaven and her appearance to the Apostles which will follow in the next couple of posting.

(The icon shown above is a mosaic from the Monastery Chora in Istanbul.)

The Garden of Gethsemane, The Sacred Abode of the Theotokos

The tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane was east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley. Finally, the holy Apostles with all the multitude of the Christians reached the Garden. When they laid down the bier with the most precious body, again the Christians began to weep.

All bewailed their orphanhood at the loss of such a treasure. In giving the last kiss, the Christians fell down before the body of the Theotokos. Kissing it, they shed copious tears, so that only towards evening could the most honorable body be placed in the new tomb.

(The Assumption, Holy Trinity Monastery)

Her sacred relics were laid with the greatest honor, while chanting and weeping took place. When the Apostles stepped before her bier to bid her farewell, each according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they uttered psalms of triumph and thanksgiving and chanted prayers.

(The Great Synaxaristes)

More pictures got to Sacred destinations web site

Remarkably, the Garden of Gethsemane still contains dozens of ancient olive trees that date to approximately 2,000-years-old!

Life of The Virgin Mary p 476

Saint Gregory Palamas on the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

Saint Gregory Palamas writes,

her "death was also life-bearing, translating her into a celestial and immortal life." And that her falling asleep was "a joyful event and festivity for the entire world. It not only renewed the memory of her wondrous deeds, but also added the novel delivery from faraway nations of the sacred Apostles to her most holy burial." We learn also that the Apostles and hierarchs composed their God-revealing hymns and encomia. "The presence of the angelic choirs was standing by, aiding and presiding. Together with the Apostles, the incorporeals went on before, followed after, assisting, opposing, defending and being defended. Both celestial and terrestrial beings labored and chanted together to their uttermost with them who also venerated her life -originating and God-receiving body; for she is the healing and saving remedy of our race and the majesty of all creation. But they (the angelic hosts) strove against and opposed with a concealed hand those Jews who fought against God by rising up against and attacking that body. Nonetheless, the Son of the Ever-Virgin and Lord of Sabaoth was present Himself. Into His hands she commended her God-bearing spirit, through which and with which its yoke-fellow, her body, was translated into the celestial regions, as was meet."”

Saint Gregory Palamas writes:

"Today we celebrate her holy Dormition or translation to another life. While being 'a little lower than the angels' (referring to her mortality), by her proximity to the God of all ... she has ascended higher than the angels and the archangels and all the hosts that are found beyond them."

In accordance with the hymnography of the Church, the gates of heaven were lifted, and the angels sang. Open wide the gates and receive above the world the Mother of the everlasting Light.

Saint Gregory’s homily on the Dormition of the Theotokos

Jewish Priest Athonios

The Jewish Priest Athonios

“At that time, a Jewish priest called Athonios (some texts give his name as Jephonias) was out on the road. When the cloud had lifted by the command of God, he beheld the holy Apostles and a multitude of Christians who, with lights, were chanting about the bier of the Mother of Jesus. No tongue of clay could adequately describe the joyful procession. But Athonios was filled with envy and had a storm of disbelieving thoughts assail him. Then with great malice in his heart, he blurted out, "Look, what honor surrounds the body of her who bore the impostor Who destroyed the law of our fathers!

Being a strong man by nature, he rushed with mad fury through the crowd of Christians and, running up towards the bier, he attempted to cast the Virgin's body to the ground. When the audacious hands of the priest barely touched the couch, an invisible angel at once struck them off at the elbows with the immaterial sword of divine vengeance. Thus, Athonios' hands clung fast to the bed, while he collapsed to the earth wailing, "Woe is me!" The Jews that beheld this sight of their priest, then cried out, "Verily, He that was brought forth by thee is the true God, 0 Mother of God, Ever-Virgin Mary."

Acknowledging his sin, Athonios repented and turned to the holy Apostles and said, "Have mercy on me, servants of Christ!" The pre-eminent Apostle Peter then ordered the procession to stop. He then said to Athonios, "Now thou hast received thy just fruits. Know that 'the Lord is the God of vengeance; the God of vengeance hath spoken openly' [Ps. 93:1], and, thus, we cannot heal thee of thy wounds. Only our Lord Himself can do this, Whom you had unjustly rose up against, seized and killed. Even He will not bestow healing upon thee till thou wilt believe in Him with all thy heart and confess with thy mouth that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God."

Then Athonios cried aloud, "I believe that He is the Saviour of the world foretold by the prophets--He is the Christ. From the very first we saw that He was the Son of God but, being darkened by malicious envy, we did not acknowledge the greatness of God openly, but delivered Him to death, though He was guiltless. But by the power of His divinity He arose on the third day, putting us all to shame. We attempted to conceal His resurrection by bribing the soldiers, but we could do nothing, as the glory of the Resurrection was manifest and spread abroad.

When Athonios uttered this confession and repented of his sin, the holy Apostles and all the faithful rejoiced with the joy of the angels over a penitent sinner. The holy Apostle Peter then ordered Athonios to put the wounds of his severed arms to the limbs hanging on the bier. He then told him to call upon the most holy Mother of God with faith. Athonios did as he was instructed and, at once, the severed arms were joined at the mark where they had been severed; only a red line remained about his elbows.

Athonios then fell down before the bier, and worshipped Christ God Who was born of the Virgin Mary. He then blessed with many praises His immaculate Mother. Then Athonios began to recite prophesies from Holy Scripture that testified both to the Virgin Mary and to Christ. Therefore, all were doubly amazed at beholding Athonios' miraculous healing and hearing from him the wise words with which he glorified the Lord Jesus and praised the Mother of God. Athonios then joined the procession, following behind the bed with the other Christians to Gethsemane. He was later baptized.

Some, who were part of the rushing mob that were struck with blindness, also acknowledged their sin and penitently approached the honorable bier and touched it with faith. When the Apostle touched their faces with the heavenly palm branch,108 they regained their bodily sight together with the eyes of their soul. Thus, the merciful Mother of all, our most holy Lady, as by her birth she had given joy to the whole world, so at her falling asleep she did not wish to sadden anyone. As the good Mother of the good King, she mercifully consoled even them that were her enemies with gracious gifts. 109

The initiates and eyewitnesses of the Word then continued to hear the angels singing lofty hymns. They, too, desirous to give honor pleasing to God, cried aloud, Rejoice, thou who didst swiftly avenge the evil boldness of the Jew. Rejoice, thou who did grant healing to the same. Rejoice, thou who didst turn the unbelief of Athonios into belief. Rejoice, thou who didst receive his faithful confession.

Life of The Virgin Mary 469-472

Funeral Procession of Theotokos

The Procession

After the death of the Theotokos her body had to be transported from the home of saint John to the place of her tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The Apostles bore her bier aloft on their shoulders. Leading were Satin John the Theologian and Saint Peter followed by Saint Paul and Saint James. The other apostles followed. Saint John carried the palm branch that came from paradise that the angel had given the Theotokos when he announced her coming repose. The rest of the faithful surrounded the bier with light and censers all singing the funeral prayers.

Hovering over the bier and accompanying the procession there appeared a circular cloud reminiscent of a crown which shone with a bright radiance. In the hearing of all, there resounded ceaseless angelic singing from out of the cloud that filled the air. Saint Theophanes the Poet (+1381) incites us to honor her with these words: Come, let us crown the Church with song, as the ark of God goes to her rest.

There were many in Jerusalem who did not believe in Christ and when they herd the chanting they gathered to follow this grand procession. They were astonished at the glory and honor that was given to the most honorable body of the Theotokos. When the priests got word of this they were angry and filled with hatred. They began to stir up many people and sent the temple slaves and soldiers to disrupt the procession. They were ordered to slay the disciples of Christ and to burn the body of Mary because they believed that the nation of Jews was ruined by this woman.

As this unruly mod of trouble makers approached the procession the cloud above the procession descended and provided a wall of protection for the mourners. Those pursuing to disrupt the procession only heard the chanting and could not see anything behind the cloud. Then the holy angels, invisibly hovering over the sacred relics and the Christians, struck the malicious persecutors with blindness.

Blind, the persecutors began to began to strike each other and ram into walls along the route. They quickly became disorganized.

Again God worked a miracle in relation to the infant Church and the most Holy Mother of God.

See Life of the Virgin Mary pp 467-468

The Parting of the Soul of the Theotokos

Date: August 15th

Time: 9:00am

Place: Home of Saint John in Jerusalem

The room was lit with numerous oil lamps. The Apostles were gathered around her praising God. The Theotokos was in bed preparing herself for the time when Her Son would come to her.

She stretched her hands to heaven and prayed.
“I adore, praise and glorify Thy much to be praised name, O Lord, because thou hast looked upon the lowliness of Thine handmaiden, and because Thou that art mighty hast done great things for me; and , behold, all generations shall call me blessed (Lk 1:48)."

After this prayer, she said to the Apostles,

“Cast incense and pray, because Christ is at hand, sitting on a throne of Cherubim.”

When they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven and there came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of Man was heard.

Then there shone in the room an effable light of divine glory which dimmed the lamps. Those that were granted this vision were awestruck. Many saw the roof of the apartment open and the glory of the Lord descending from heaven. It was Christ the King of glory with hosts of angels and archangels, and all the heavenly powers. Also with them were the holy fathers and prophets who prophesied or old concerning the pure Virgin and all the righteous souls, approached His immaculate Mother.

At the sight of the approach of her Son, the Theotokos cried with great joy unto her Son, “My Soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). And behold a stream of light came upon the virgin because of the presence of her Son, and all the powers of the heavens fell down and adored Him. He then said, “Mary.” And she answered, “Here am I , Lord.”

She rose on her bed as if to greet Him. He said lovingly, “Arise, come my beloved, My fair one, My dove (Song 2:10). Arise from the dead with authority, because Thou are My Mother. Arise and come to My Kingdom, for Thou art the Queen of all. Arise to receive My divine glory, O My sweet Mother. Arise and come unto Me, My fair dove, for thou art escorted by Me angelic hosts. take up thy soul on they virginal, incorrupt and divine body that thou mayest soar to the heights of heaven, and go through My spiritual hierarchies, and come unto Me, that thou might sit at My right hand, in order to enjoy the throne of thy Kingdom which is prepared for thee since the foundation of the world. Gird thyself with the glorious and gold-embroidered royal garment of thy virtues. Adorn thyself with the luminous glory of thy divine blessedness. Arise, come My beloved, My fair one, My dove; yea, come” (Song 2:13).

Bowing the Mother of God replied, “Blessed is Thy name, O Lord of glory and my God, Who was pleased to choose thy humble handmaid for the service of Thy mystery. Remember me, O King of glory, in Thy eternal Kingdom. Thou knowest that I have loved Thee with all my heart and have kept the treasure entrusted to me. And now receive my soul in peace and defend me from all the snares of the dark power of Satan.”

The Lord remained by her and said,

“Behold, presently thy soul will be translated to the heavens, to the treasures of My Father in exceeding brightness, where there is peace and joy of the holy angels, and many other things. thy right hand upon me, O lord, and bless me.”

Then the Lord stretched forth his undefiled right hand and blessed His Mother.

She took His hand and kissed it, saying,

“I adore this right hand, which created the heaven and the earth and I call upon thy much to be praised name Christ, O God, the King of the ages, the Only-Begotten of the Father, to receive Thine handmaid, O thou Who didst deign to be brought forth by me, in a low estate, to save the race of men through thine ineffable dispensation; do Thou bestow thine aid upon everyone calling upon, or praying, or naming the name of thine handmaid.”

Upon hearing this the Apostles went to her feet and venerated her…. She rose and blessed the Apostles with her hand and gave gory to God…. Feeling unspeakable joy at the sight of the radiant face of her Son and Lord, the Theotokos, filled with spiritual rapture out of love for Him, surrendered her pure soul into the hands of the Lord. And the Lord stretched forth His undefiled hands and received her holy and blameless soul. She felt no pain whatsoever, but it was as if she had fallen into a sweet sleep. Whom He conceived without destroying her virginity and bore without pain, now received her soul from her pure body….

At once there began joyous angelic singing repeating the words of Gabriel; “Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed are thou among women” (Lk 1:28).

The face of the Theotokos shone like the sun and a splendid and sweet perfume emitted from her most pure body; it was a scent that is impossible to find here on earth. With piety and fear, the holy Apostles kissed the most pure body and were sanctified by contact with it.

Hymn from Matins Louds

“At a divine command the chief Apostles hastened from the ends of the earth to bury thee, and when the beheld thee taken up from earth to heaven they shouted with joy the words of Gabriel, and cried unto thee,”Rejoice, thou bearer of the divinity: Rejoice, thou who alone by thy childbirth hast brought together earthly things an things on high.”

The Life of the virgin Mary the Theotokos pp 461-465

A Parable given by the Theotokos

After the Apostles, having been gathered miraculously at Mary’s deathbed, expressed their sorrow and concerns about her leaving them, she told them a parable.

"My beloved children, hearken to my brief words and small instruction, for this I wish and seek. My children, do you see this world? It is a festival. God is as a king, and you, His servants, are the merchants of my beloved Son. Now listen to this parable: There was a great and powerful king who had two servants. The king then heard that there was a great fair where there would be very many goods and products that would bring great gain. Therefore, the king summoned these two servants and said, "Make great haste to go into this country where the festival is being held and, for one month, do business. If any of you delay, he will lose his life!" Straightway, the two servants took money and went to the fair. However, one of them was senseless and foolish; he purchased items that were useless to the king, such as houses, shops and fields. All these things the king had no need of, nor would they bring him any gain. Moreover, the undiscerning servant delayed in returning because it took time to sow the fields, and to refurbish and complete the shops and the houses, because they were in disarray. Thus it took him about three to four months to return to the king. Now the other servant was prudent and purchased precious stones, and returned punctually to the king. The king honored and glorified this servant, for he found him trustworthy. As for the other servant, an order was issued that he be executed as one who was an enemy of the king.

"The same situation is also before you, O Apostles of my Son. My beloved Son has sent you as merchants into the world of deceived mankind, to win those souls who will hearken to His name. Whichever of you, 0 my friends and children, is a friend of thy Teacher and my Son, He will honor in His Kingdom. Those that will not obey the commands of the Teacher, he knows what he will suffer. On account of this, my beloved children, go and preach. Enlighten and guide those of the world that are led astray, and gain them and direct them to the Kingdom of my Son.

"Always have love and peace among you, and rejoice and be glad for great will be your reward in the Kingdom of the heavens. And, though, my friends, I go to the Kingdom of my Son and God, I am ever with you, and I will strengthen and comfort you in your afflictions."

This and other things the all-holy Mother of God spoke to the Apostles to encourage them to carry on the work they had already begun assuring them she would still be available to support their efforts.

From the Great Synaxaristes, Dormition of the Theotokos

pp 458-459 in Life of the Virgin Mary

Apostles Gathered Miraculously and the Theotokos Again Explains her Role as Mediatress.

At the time Mary was making all the arrangements for her repose, suddenly there was a loud noise like thunder and a heavy cloud hovered over the home of Saint John. By the command of God all the Apostles were seized from different places in the world and brought on this cloud to Jerusalem. All but Thomas were miraculously placed at the doorstep of Mary. As we know from other stories in Scripture this kind of gathering up was not an unique happening. Sometimes its hard to accept such stories but if God could create the universe then nothing is impossible in His eyes. Think of the miracle of the virgin birth, or the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. With faith everything is possible. So it is best not to close your mind or heart to such potential happenings and place our faith in the all -powerful God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This event is recorded in the writings of many of the Church Fathers.

Saint Cosmos (7th-8th c.) writes,

“carried to Zion as it were upon a swift cloud, the company of the Apostles assembled from the ends of the earth to minister to thee, O Virgin”

Saint John of Damascus (7th c.) writes,

“ It was right that the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word should see the Dormition of His Mother according to the flesh, even the final mystery concerning her: hence, they might be witnesses not only to the Ascension of the Savior but also to the translation of her who gave Him birth. Assembled from all parts by divine power, they came to Zion, and sped on her way to heaven the Virgin who is higher than the cherubim.”

The Apostles rejoiced when they saw each other and wondered why the Lord had gathered them in this place. Saint John met them and told them about the imminent departure of the Theotokos. This news of her imminent departure brought sorrow to their hearts. They entered the room where the Theotokos lay on her bed and they saw that she had a joyful appearance. They greeted her, “Blessed is the Lord who made heaven and earth!” She replied, “Peace to you, brethren, chosen by the Lord Himself.” She then inquired about how they were able to get there and they explained how the Holy Spirit had brought them there. She marveled how they had come from such distant places. Then the Apostle Paul arrived and he praised her saying “Rejoice, Mother of my life and my preaching! Gazing on you now, I think that I see your Son. Then came Paul’s disciples, St. Dionysios the Areopagite, St. Heirotheos, Apostle Timothy along with others including the rest of the Seventy Apostles.

The Mother of God called each of them by name and praised their faith and work in preaching about Jesus Christ. She wished each of them eternal beatitude and prayed for the peace of the whole world. She told them what the angel had told her and about the Palm branch that was given to her by the angel.

She told them, “The Lord has brought you here for the consolation of my soul which , as our mortal nature demands, is soon to be separated from the body. Already the time appointed by my Creator draws nigh.”

They soworwfully replied, “During your life on earth we were consoled by looking on you as on our Lord himself. But now deprived of your presence, how can we bear the sorrow that fills our souls? But now by the will of Him who was born of you, Christ God, you are going away to the heavenly home and it is imposssible for us not to rejoice at God’s decision regarding you. At the same time we cannot refrain from weeping that we are to left like orphans as we will no longer ba able to see you, our Mother and comforter.”

Notice the important role Mary played in the life of the early church. The APostles said that she "consoled them like the Lord Himself. The feeling of being a "orphan" is surely an exclamation of the loss they would experience in their separation from her.

Mary replied to them “Watch and pray with me, that when the Lord comes to receive my soul, He will find you watching.” They all promised and prayed the whole night with psalms and chants.

The beloved disciple John then spoke emphasizing the important role she played in the church.

My Lady Mother of God and my Mother, they beloved Son had left you as a consolation; and now you shall leave us? In all the world what will we humble Apostles have to console us? Who will teach and and guide us? What here on earth will encourage us if you leave us?

Hearing this Mary wept. She said,

“ So not Sorrow, my children, for you make me sad when I see you cry so. Although I will be going to my Son, O friends of my Son, I will not be apart from you, nor from those who call on me. No, I shall be an intercessor and mediatress for all the Christians before my beloved Son. Therefore do not weep. Do not darken my joy by your sorrow and mourning. Rather rejoice with me, for I am going to my Son and God. My body that I have prepared for burial put in the earth in Gethsemane. Afterwords return to the preaching of the Gospel assigned to you. If the Lord will, you will see me after my departure.

Life of the Virgin Mary pp 453-454

Again she explains her role would continue to be an important one even after her death. She told them that she will be an intercessor and mediatress for all Christians. She encouraged them to continue the important work they had already begun. She how central she was to them? This was a big loss for the Apostles but she assured them again and again that she would be able to help in a different way after her death.

A Matins Hymn

“When the translation of thy most pure tabernacle was being prepared, the Apostles surrounded thy deathbed and look upon thee with dread. And as they gazed at thy body, they were filled with awe. In tears, Peter cried aloud to thee: “O undefiled Virgin, I see thee who art the life of all mankind lying here outstretched, and I am struck with wonder: for He Who is the delight of the future life make His dwelling in thee. Pray the, fervently to thy Son and God to save the city from harm.”

Saint Gregory Palamas writes,

“The precepts and encouragements which she gave to God’s heralds (the Apostles) were sent throughout the whole world. thus she herself was both a support and comfort while she was both heard and seen among men. She labored with the rest in every way for the preaching of the Gospel. In such ways, she led a most strenuous manner of life proclaimed in mind and speech.”

(Homily 37 On the Dormition)