The Dormition - what is it? Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Looking at the church calendar on August 28, you can see this date highlighted in color. Having looked at the description, it is easy to find out that the day of the Assumption of the Virgin is celebrated, but what does the word "aspiration" mean? What is the death and resurrection of the soul? Perhaps, many do not know the answer to this, like the very history of the holiday. Let's try to figure this out together.

Church traditions

From the words of the Holy Scripture one can know that, after the ascension of her son Jesus Christ to heaven, the Mother of God remained in the care of St. John the Theologian.

Many church legends explain the Assumption in different ways, what is the resurrection of the soul, the birth of the celebration of death. The customs and rules for the celebration of the Assumption are not much covered in the scriptures, as are all the main points of the end of the earthly path of the Mother of God.

Also, from the entire sacred history of the New Testament, everyone knows how highly the Mother of God was honored among the apostles when she was with them in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, before us came very few manuscripts of that time. Basically, these creations were collected in the Holy Gospel and the New Testament.

Thanks to new archaeological devices, after numerous excavations in Jerusalem, the creations of St. John the Theologian were still found.

These documents mention the life of the Mother of God, show her Assumption, what is this event for the people and the whole history of that period.

In this apocrypha (a secret written history that did not enter the canon of the Bible) it is said that after the mass persecution of King Herod Agrippa against the Church, the Mother of God, together with John the Theologian, moved to the city of Ephesus for the time being.

When the persecution was stopped, the Mother of God returned to Jerusalem with John, where she settled in his house on Mount Zion.

History of the holiday

As the legend says, when one day the Mother of God went to the Mount of Olives to pray, she met there the archangel Gabriel, in whose hands was a branch of a paradise palm tree. He preached to the Virgin Mary that three days later she will be left in Heaven, the Lord will take her, her own mother, to the Kingdom of Heaven, in which she will be with him forever.

On her return to the house, the Mother of God told St. John about a meeting with the Archangel Gabriel and his future demise.

In her will, she asked to be buried in Gethsemane, next to her parents and her deceased, the righteous Joseph.

In addition, in the will it was indicated to give her two garments to the poor girls who served her with great affection and hard work.

Presentation of the Virgin Mary to the Lord

The very representation of the Most Holy Theotokos was to come on the 15th day of August in the third hour of the day. At this time, candles were lit in the temple, and Mary lay on a decorated beautiful bed. In an instant, a sea of light flooded the Temple, in which Jesus Christ himself appeared with angels, archangels and all heavenly powers, and he approached the Virgin Mary.

Seeing the Son, the Blessed Virgin joyfully told him, and the Lord received her with trembling and pride, and, having heard his approval, she gave the pure soul to her only Son.

According to church beliefs, after the death of the Mother of God, the apostles placed her body in a tomb and filled the entrance to it with a large stone. Three days after his death, the apostle Thomas joined them, who tearfully begged and prayed to give the chance to say goodbye to the Blessed Virgin Mary. At his request, the apostles rolled off a stone and entered with him into the cave, but what was their surprise when they found only the vesture of the Virgin, and she herself was not there, and from the cave came a pleasant fresh smell of herbs.

Celebration in the Temples

From ancient times it was introduced to celebrate this holiday with the morning service, on which the believers brought the seeds of cereals for lighting and blessing. It happened after a night service with sunrise.

In the people, the Most Holy Theotokos is called Mistress, and from this the Feast of the Dormition bears yet another name, Lady of the Day, Mistress. Among the people, the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin is called the Second Immaculate, and the Assumption of the Blessed is the First Immaculate.

Celebrated this holiday with a great feast, with home-made beer, sweet dishes and pies.

So, one of the great and last of the twelve feasts of the church calendar in August is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.

Spiritual significance of the celebration

Such a phenomenon as death always caused fear, hesitation, surprise and awe in the soul of every person.

On the way to eternal life, everyone needs to go through the path of learning, experience and joy in the ordinary worldly life. It is the righteousness of today's life, our actions and actions that influence the future eternal life in peace and happiness. This concept of death is the basis of the Christian faith.

If you remember the Holy Scripture, then death is not something noble, but, on the contrary, the process of the Fall, disobedience of the soul to the human will of God.

According to the teaching of the Church, the concept of death is the Assumption. What is death? And why is it needed? It is safe to say that our Creator did not want human death at all, but the people to themselves foretold it with constant fall and disobedience.

But even in such a situation, we are opening the gates to Paradise, where those who are still not violating the laws of God, who are constantly striving to do good and bring joy and help to those around them, will be located next to the Creator.

Celebrating the death of the Virgin Mary

On the icons, where the Dormition of the Virgin is depicted, Christ always stands near her bed, in whose hands a small figure of the infant symbolizes the soul of the deceased Virgin. This child figure is the prototype of the rebirth of the Soul after the death that her Son came to accept.

Historical background

In the letters, which refer to the liturgical practices of the Ancient Greek Church, the first references to the Assumption of the Virgin appeared at the end of the VI century.

The emperor of Mauritius, who was in power at that time, made this day general church. In most churches this day was celebrated on January 18, but according to some experts who study the writing of that period, it was Mauritius who transferred his celebration to August, the Victory Day over the Persians.

It falls just at the end of the Assumption fast, which lasted from 1 to 15 August in the old style and from 14 to 28 in the new style, and directly 28 - Assumption.

Preparatory period and the celebration itself

As stated earlier, the Feast of the Dormition begins with a very severe two-week fast. This is one of the four annual posts, and it is considered one of the most ancient and strict. Even fish can be tasted once for the entire post and on a certain day.

Clergymen hold a celebration in blue robes. The church liturgy begins with the evening and lasts all night, and from the very morning the Liturgy of the Assumption itself is served. On the third day, a shroud is displayed, symbolizing the vesture of the Virgin Mary, like the shroud of Christ. The only difference here is the image on it of the Mother of God lying in a coffin.

According to the custom of the Church, in the morning liturgy, before the burial of the shroud, praiseworthy prayers are read, kontakion and troparion are sung, followed by a solemn course with the shroud around the temple.

As can be seen from all that has been said, the significance of the holiday is very great. From his history, we can conclude that the righteous path of life is always rewarded by our Creator. All the incredible miracles of ascension give hope to every believer to find eternal life after death.

In all the prescribed canons and stichera of the holiday, the greatness and joy of the Assumption of the Virgin is emphasized. There is no place for grief and sorrow for death, but there is a great happiness of victory over it.

The whole day of August 28 (Assumption) people spend in prayer and joy, eating the prepared dishes at the family table after a long night liturgy