On the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Assumption - what is it? Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When is the Assumption of the Theotokos celebrated?

There are quite a few holidays dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos in Orthodox Christianity. However, among them there is the main one - this is the Assumption. It is celebrated on August 28th.

The Assumption of the Virgin is included in the list of 12 most important Orthodox holidays. This day marks the end of the two-week Assumption Fast, dedicated to the Mother of God. The holiday of August 28 is associated with many folk traditions, will also accept church rules, which every believer should know about.

What is the Assumption of the Virgin

The full name of the holiday is the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. This is one of the twelve Orthodox holidays. The Twelfth Feasts are dogmatically closely connected with the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Theotokos and are divided into the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Theotokos (dedicated to Mother of God). Dormition - Mother of God holiday.

Holiday celebrated in Russian Orthodox Church August 28, new style (August 15, old style), established in memory of the death of the Mother of God. Christians are led to it by the two-week Assumption Fast, which is comparable in severity to Great Lent. Interestingly, the Assumption is the last twelfth holiday of the Orthodox church year(ending September 13, new style).

What can you eat on the Assumption of the Virgin

On August 28, on the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God, if it falls on Wednesday or Friday, you can eat fish. In this case, the conversation is postponed to the next day. But if the Dormition falls on other days of the week, then there is no fasting. In 2016, the feast of the Assumption is not a fast day.

Events of the Assumption of the Virgin

Everything that we know about the death of the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ is gleaned from Church Tradition. In the canonical texts, we will not read anything about how and under what circumstances the Mother of God departed to the Lord and was buried. Tradition is one of the sources of our doctrine, along with Holy Scripture.

We learn from the New Testament that the Savior, crucified on the cross, asked his closest disciple, the Apostle John the Theologian, to take care of Mary: Behold, your son. Then he says to the student: behold, your mother! And from that time on, this disciple took her to him” (Jn 19:26-27). After the crucifixion of Christ, the Mother of God, together with the disciples of her Son, remained in prayer and fasting. On the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (Pentecost), she also received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In written monuments, starting from the 4th century, we find references to how the Mother of God lived on. Most authors write that she was bodily raptured (that is, taken) from earth to heaven. It happened like this. Three days before her death, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God and announced the upcoming Assumption. At that time she was in Jerusalem. Everything happened exactly as the Archangel said. After the death of the Most Pure Virgin, the apostles buried her body in Gethsemane, in the same place where the parents of the Virgin and her husband, righteous Joseph, rested. Everyone was present at the ceremony, except for the Apostle Thomas. On the third day after the burial, Thomas wanted to see her coffin. The coffin was opened, but the body of the Virgin was no longer in it - only her shroud.

What can be done on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

For ancestors, this holiday coincided with the harvest, so the last sheaf was dressed up in a dress and worn with songs in the villages. This sheaf was called a dozhinka. After such processions, the sheaf had to be placed under the icon. And then they arranged a very big feast, at which they sang, danced, prepared beer and mead. The next day will be Nut Savior, so it is customary to collect nuts and prepare various winter preparations on the Most Pure.

Since this holiday is also the end of the Dormition Fast, that is, almost anything is possible. But it is better to exclude fatty and meat all the same. If the Assumption fell on Wednesday or Friday, then the breaking of the fast was postponed to the next day.

You can work at home and in the garden, make seams, ferment cabbage, and do housework. Some villagers believe that a little spikelet should be left on this day, as this will help increase the next year's harvest.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, signs

On August 28, the people celebrated the roasting, which meant the end of the harvest. At the beginning of the day, they tried to consecrate those fields where wheat and rye grew.

This holiday falls at the end of summer, so according to the weather conditions on this day, they judged what autumn would be like:

if a rainbow appears in the sky, autumn days will be warm;
if the weather on the Assumption is clear and sunny, then autumn will be rainy and cloudy;
a lot of cobwebs - early, frosty and little snowy winter;
if frosts come after the Assumption, then autumn will be very long;
watch how the water behaves. If you don’t worry, then the autumn will be windless, and there will be no snowstorms in winter;
if it is very foggy on the day of the Assumption, a large harvest of mushrooms should be expected, and the warm time will still please people a little;
frost on plants on August 28 promises a very short autumn season, and frosts will come very soon.

Dormition Holy Mother of God- a great holiday in Orthodoxy. It is dedicated to the representation (death) of the Mother of God and her ascension to heaven. Every year on August 28, Orthodox believers go to church to touch the origins. Why is it not necessary to mourn? Because death is just a transition to another world. The soul of the deceased, who led a righteous life, ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven for eternal life in happiness and peace.

So the Virgin Mary, having completed her earthly journey and having fulfilled her destiny, gave her soul to the Heavenly Father, Jesus. On the icons of the Dormition of the Blessed One, dedicated to this event, one can see angels and archangels next to the deathbed of the Mother of God and in the center - Her Son with a baby in her arms. The baby symbolizes the soul of the deceased Virgin Mary. After death, there is a rebirth for eternal life. Therefore, the holiday is joyful and bright. It signifies the victory of life over death.

The Most Pure Virgin met the Archangel Gabriel on her way to the Mount of Olives, where she often prayed. He held a palm branch in his hand. As we know, with this plant, the messengers of God brought good news to believers. This time the news was about an imminent death. The Mother of God learned that in 3 days she would ascend to heaven and meet her Son. Jesus will lift her up to the Kingdom of Heaven, where her mother will live forever.

Returning home, the Virgin Mary spoke about the fateful meeting. Then she wrote a will in which she indicated that she wanted to be buried in Gethsemane near her parents. Also, according to her will, her vestments went to poor servants who helped the Virgin Mary honestly and diligently for many years.

According to the old style, on the fifteenth of August, the Dormition of the Virgin was to take place. The history of the holiday says that at that time candles were lit in the temple, where the Mother of God lay on a bed decorated with flowers. In an instant, the space was flooded with light and all the heavenly powers appeared in it together with the Lord.

The Virgin Mary rejoiced, and Jesus embraced her, uttering words of approval. Then He took her soul.

The body of the Virgin Mary was placed in a tomb, the entrance to which was blocked with a huge stone. But after 3 days, the Apostle Thomas began to ask and beg to give him the opportunity to say goodbye to the Most Pure. Then the other apostles pushed away the stone and entered with Thomas into the cave. The greatest amazement froze on the faces of all those who came: only vestments lay on the bed, and Mary herself was not there. A pleasant herbal aroma hung in the cave.

What does the Assumption of the Mother of God mean

The feast of the Assumption has long been celebrated in churches with morning services, to which the Orthodox bring seeds of cereal crops for illumination. This happened after the night services, as soon as the sun rose.

The people called the Theotokos the Most Pure, the Lady. For this reason, the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin is called:

Mrs. day (Mrs.);
First Pure;
Easter of the Mother of God.

On this day, we believers found our intercessor in heaven. In grief and sorrow, in suffering and sorrow, we pray to the icons of the Mother of God with requests for mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. We ask for health and healing. And she helps all those who suffer, intercedes before the Lord for forgiveness and help for His lost children.

Icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary miraculous. This is the most powerful image in which they pray for health and help. This icon is endowed with the power to help worthily pass the earthly path and are not afraid of death.

Assumption of the Virgin - August 28

On the eve of the holiday, many doubt the date of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The answer is simple - August 28 every year is unchanged. It is on this day that the Dormition Fast ends (it lasted from August 14 to 28).

In the old days, this date was celebrated on the eighteenth of January. But the emperor Mauritius timed the Assumption of the Virgin to the Day of Victory over the Persians and moved the date to August 28.

All day the believers pray and rejoice. There is no place for sadness and sadness. After all, this day once again reminds us of the possibility of eternal life. This day gives one more hope for salvation. The Creator rewards righteous behavior. We are all his children. And we are all destined for eternal life. You just need to come to Him, accept Him, love Him.

our earthly path is only a stage before eternal life. You need to go through it with dignity, with love and faith. This is the path of learning, suffering and joy. Good deeds and pure thoughts affect eternal life. It will be for those who repent of their sins and come to Christ. He will take his children into the kingdom of heaven.

According to the Bible, death is the result of the fall of the first people. The disobedience shown by Adam and Eve led to their expulsion from paradise, where the Lord settled them forever. Now people were prepared for an earthly path of suffering in order to repent and be cleansed for eternal life.

What does "assumption" mean? This is death. But it can be overcome by opening your hearts to goodness, mercy and faith. And an example of this is the Resurrection of Christ and the Assumption of the Virgin.

Signs and traditions on the day of Assumption

This holiday is held in the family. Helping mothers and parents. They thank them for their care, pray to the icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
You can’t wear new clothes so that you don’t feel discomfort all year.
You can not swear and be in a bad mood.
It is forbidden to walk barefoot and pierce the ground with sharp objects, so as not to attract crop failure.
A leg injured on this day promises failure and obstacles.
Although the church clearly refers to the adherence of believers to rituals and superstitions. You can not believe in ridiculous beliefs. There is one faith: in our Lord.
A rainy day of dormition - to a dry autumn.
It is necessary to collect fruits and vegetables of a new crop, to make preparations for the winter. Salted cucumbers will be especially good.
Everyone prepares festive dishes for a family meal in honor of the holiday of the Assumption. They bake bread from the flour of the new harvest. A piece of loaf baked on the feast of the Assumption is placed next to the images and kept all year round. This bread has healing power.
They give alms and help the poor, finish the work they have started.
Young men who decide to marry go to matchmakers.

Congratulations to all believers bright holiday and wish peace, goodness and light in the soul and in life. Love and be loved. Live in harmony and happiness.

(Visited 7 222 times, 1 visits today)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the twelve most significant holidays after Easter in the Orthodox liturgical calendar. The memory of the Mother of God glorifies this day and it falls on August 28 in a new style, and on the 15th in the old way. Before the celebration of this holy day, the church commands all believers to fast from the 14th to the 27th of August in the name and following the example of the Most Holy Theotokos, who is in constant prayer and in the strictest fasting the days preceding Her Dormition.

Spiritual meaning and true meaning of the holiday.

It may seem absurd to many people to celebrate the day of the Assumption, i.e. death of the Mother of God, because for most of us death is associated only with heartache and longing, sorrow and the loss of the one whose life path ended forever.

Since ancient times to anyone common man it seemed that the phenomenon of death was the most incomprehensible and greatest of all the existing mysteries of being. Death at all times caused awe and fear in people, their complete confusion, panic and bewilderment.

However, deeply believing Orthodox Christians know and passionately believe that everything that exists in the Divine universe has acquired an unshakable and reliable vital basis forever and ever. It is not death that people need to be afraid of, but the image of that and the actions of those with which their earthly existence will be filled.

Thanks to such faith, every Christian perceives the phenomenon of death not as the complete completion of a person's life, but only as a difficult, but necessary test for eternal and true existence. In this regard, the Assumption of the Virgin causes joy among the Orthodox, because through death she received the opportunity to be with her Son again.

An atheist can do all his earthly life live under the yoke of the terrible expectation of his own death as a complete self-disintegration, while the Orthodox believer, even preparing for death, prepares only for a new life.

However, one should not assume that Christians rank death among the good and joyful phenomena. It, of course, is a direct violation and distortion of the order originally established in the human universe, the loss of which occurs due to the fall of man, his disobedience to the will of God and violation of the Law of God.

According to the dogmatic teaching of the Orthodox Church, God did not want people to die, they independently doomed themselves to it because of their spiritual weakness and indomitable flesh. But even in this case, our Savior showed unspeakable mercy and grace to man, He turned earthly death into a path to the eternal cohabitation of man with His Creator.

The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God has been established since ancient times. Mentions of him can be found in the writings of Blessed Jerome, Gregory and Augustine, as well as in the writings of the Bishop of Tours.

In the IV century, the Byzantine emperor Mauritius, in honor of his victory (August 15, 595) over the Persians, timed the celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to this day, defining this day and this event as one of the most important church holidays.

However, primarily in different places this holiday was celebrated at different times: in some places the celebration of the Holy Assumption took place in the month of January, and somewhere in August. For example, in the 7th century in the Roman Church in the West it was customary to celebrate on January 18 “the death of the Virgin Mary”, and at the same time, the 14th of August was determined as the day of “taking Her into the heavens of God”.

Only in the VII-IX centuries. the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin began to be celebrated on August 15 in most Western and Eastern Churches. The purpose of this holiday was nothing more than the glorification and preservation of the memory of the Mother of God, and of Her reunion with her Son through the Dormition.

The stichera on the Dormition of the Theotokos appeared in the 5th century; they were written by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Then, in the 8th century, two canons dedicated to this holiday appeared, created by Saints John of Damascus and Cosmas of Maium.

According to Holy Scripture, the Mother of God, after the death and Resurrection of the Savior of all, until the Great persecution of Christians, was in Jerusalem. Then She, accompanied by John the Theologian, moved to Ephesus. She often visited the righteous Lazarus, who lives in Cyprus, and Mount Athos, which she later blessed as a Destiny for preaching the word of the Gospel.

Shortly before her death, the Mother of God again arrived in Jerusalem, which she had previously abandoned. Here She constantly remained in prayer and most often visited the places associated with the most important life events of Her Divine Son.

On one of the days of Her stay on the Mount of Olives, the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her. He informed Her that in three days Her death would come, and She would leave the earth, ascending to heaven to Her Son. The Most Holy Theotokos shared what had happened with the Apostle John, who hastily announced the impending death of the Mother of God to the brother of the Lord, the Apostle James. He, in turn, is the entire Jerusalem Church, which subsequently preserved the tradition of the Assumption of the Virgin.

Before her death, the Mother of God bequeathed all her modest property to her widows - her servants. She ordered them to bury Herself next to Her righteous parents in Gethsemane after death.

On the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, practically all the apostles, wandering around the world preaching about the Word of God, gathered in Jerusalem to say goodbye to Her. Her departure was accompanied by an unspeakable light, at the appearance of which Christ Himself appeared before Her, surrounded by numerous angels. The Mother of God turned to Him with a prayer and a heartfelt request for the blessing of all those who honor Her memory. She also called in prayer to the Son To surround Her with the protection of God from the power of Satan and the ordeals of the air, and then, in joy and grace, she gave Her soul into the Lord's hands.

For three days and three nights the apostles stayed at the tomb of the Mother of God, singing psalms. And only on the third day did they receive perfect and complete consolation from the Great Image of the Mother of God and Her words, calling everyone to rejoice, for from now on She will be with everyone and all the days. After the Resurrection and a comforting saying, the body of the Mother of God left the earth and was raptured to heaven.

In this article we will talk about the Holiday Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.

What does the word "Assumption" mean?

"Assumption" is an obsolete word. Translated into modern Russian, it means "death, death".

What is the Assumption of the Virgin

Full name of the holiday Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. This is one of the twelve Orthodox holidays. The Twelfth Feasts are dogmatically closely connected with the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Theotokos and are divided into the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Theotokos (dedicated to the Mother of God). Dormition - the feast of the Theotokos.

The holiday, which is celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church on August 28, new style (August 15, old style), is established in memory of the death of the Mother of God. Christians are led to it by the two-week Assumption Fast, which is strictly comparable to Great Lent. Interestingly, the Dormition is the last twelfth holiday of the Orthodox church year (ending on September 13 in a new style).

When is the Assumption of the Theotokos celebrated?

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 28 in a new style. He has 1 day of prefeast and 9 days of afterfeast. Prefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the worship of which already includes prayers dedicated to the upcoming event being celebrated. Accordingly, the after-feast is the same days after the holiday.

What can you eat on the Assumption of the Virgin

On August 28, on the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God, if it falls on Wednesday or Friday, you can eat fish. In this case, the breaking of the fast is transferred to the next day. But if the Dormition falls on other days of the week, there is no topost. In 2016, the feast of the Assumption is a non-fasting day.

Events of the Assumption of the Virgin

From the New Testament, we learn that the Savior, crucified on the cross, asked his closest disciple, the Apostle John the Theologian, to take care of Mary: Seeing the mother and the disciple standing here, whom he loved, he says to His Mother: Woman! Behold, your son. Then he says to the student: behold, your mother! From that time on, this disciple took Eexebe (John 19:26–27). After the crucifixion of Christ, the Mother of God, together with the disciples of her Son, remained in prayer and hypostasis. On the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (Pentecost), she also received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In written monuments, starting from the 4th century, we find references to how the Mother of God lived on. Most authors write that she was bodily raptured (that is, taken) from earth to heaven. It happened like this. Three days before her death, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God and announced the upcoming Assumption. At the time she was in Jerusalem. Everything happened exactly as the Archangel said. After the death of the Most Pure Virgin, the apostles buried her body in Gethsemane, the same place where the parents of the Mother of God and her husband, the righteous Joseph, rested. The ceremony was attended by everyone except the Apostle Thomas. On the third day after the burial, Thomas wanted to see her coffin. The coffin was opened, but the body of the Mother of God was no longer there - only her shroud.

The history of the celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin

Reliable information about the history of the feast of the Assumption begins only at the end of the 6th century. Most church historians believe that the holiday was established under the Byzantine emperor Mauritius, who ruled from 592-602. Most likely, before that time, the Assumption was a local holiday in Constantinople, that is, a non-general church holiday.

Icon of the Assumption of the Virgin

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Beginning of the 13th century, Novgorod. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Traditionally, icon painters depict the Mother of God in the center of the image - she lies on her deathbed, on the other side of her are the weeping apostles. A little behind the bed stands the Savior with the soul of the Mother of God, depicted as a swaddled baby.

In the 11th century, an expanded version of the iconography of the Assumption, the so-called "cloudy type", spread. We can see it, for example, on a fresco from the church of Hagia Sophia in Ohrid in Macedonia. The upper part of such a composition depicts the apostles flying to the deathbed of the Mother of God on the clouds. The most ancient example of the “cloudy Assumption” in Russia is an icon from the beginning of the 13th century, which comes from the Tithes Monastery in Novgorod. At the top of the icon is a blue semicircular segment of the sky with golden stars and figures of angels carrying away the soul of the Mother of God. Now this image is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Often laying down the Mother of God, icon painters depict one or more burning candles, which symbolize prayer to God.

Church of the Dormition

The Feast of the Dormition is one day of fore-feast and 9 days of after-feast. Prefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the worship of which already includes prayers dedicated to the upcoming event being celebrated. Accordingly, the after-feast is the same days after the holiday.

The celebration of the holiday takes place on September 5 in a new style. The Dormition of the Mother of God is preceded by a two-week Assumption Fast. It runs from 14 to 27 August.

There is a special service for the burial of the Mother of God. It is performed in the likeness of the Matins service on Great Saturday; on time they read the 17th kathisma - "Blessed are the Immaculate". At present, the rite of the burial of the Mother of God can be seen in many cathedral and parish churches on the second or third day of the holiday. The service begins with an all-night vigil. With great doxology, the clergy of the temple come out to the shroud lying in the middle of the temple with the image of the Mother of God; incense to her, and then carries her around the temple. After that, all worshipers are anointed with oil (consecrated oil). And finally, litanies are read (a series of prayer petitions) and dismissal (blessing of those praying to leave the temple at the end of the service).

Stichera of the Dormition in the 5th century wrote Patriarch of Constantinople Anatoly. In the 8th century, Cosmas of Mayum and John of Damascus wrote two canons of this holiday.

Prayers of the Assumption of the Virgin

Troparion of the Dormition of the Theotokos

Thou didst preserve virginity at Christmas, did not leave the world in the ascension of the world, O Mother of God, thou didst repose to the belly, Mother of the life of the Belly, by Thy prayers deliver our souls from death.

Translation:

At the birth of Christ, you, Mother of God, preserved your virginity and did not leave the world in repose; You have passed eternal life, Mother of Life, with Your prayers you deliver our souls from death.

Kontakion of the Assumption of the Virgin

In prayers to the Unsleeping Mother of God and in representations, the immutable hope / coffin and mortification is unstoppable: like God, the Mother of the Life to the stomach, lay down in the womb of the ever-virgin.

Translation:

The Mother of God, in prayers untiring and in intercession, unchanging hope, the coffin and death were not kept, for she transferred Her to life, as the Mother of Life, Who settled into Her ever-virgin womb.

Magnification of the Assumption of the Virgin

We magnify Thee, Immaculate Mother of Christ our God, and gloriously glorify Thy Assumption.

Translation:

We magnify Thee, Immaculate Mother of Christ our God, and gloriously glorify Thy Assumption.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. Sermon on the Dormition of the Mother of God (August 28, 1981):

"We're celebrating today patronal feast our; we all stand before the one and only throne that exists: the throne on which our God sits; but, as it is said in the Holy Scriptures, the God of the saints rests: not only in the holy places, in the heart and vum purified by feat and grace, in the life and very flesh of the saints.

Today we celebrate the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy of All Saints - the Mother of God. She fell asleep with the sleep of the earth; but just as She was alive to the very depths of Her nature, so She remained alive: a living soul, ascended to the throne of God, alive and resurrected in Her body, to which She now has to pray. Truly She is the throne of grace; the Living God dwelt in her, in her womb he was, as on the throne of his glory. With what gratitude, with what amazement we think of Her: The Source of life, the Life-Giving Source, as the Church calls Her, glorifying Her water icon, the Life-Giving Source, the Mother of God, ends Her earthly life, surrounded by the trembling love of all.

But what does she leave us? Only one commandment and one marvelous example. The commandment is the words that She said to the servants in Cana of Galilee: To fulfill Christ, fulfill ... John fulfilled; the waters of ablution became the good wine of the Kingdom of God. She leaves this commandment to each of us: understand, each of us, the word of Christ, listen to it and not be only a listener, but fulfill it, so that everything earthly will become heavenly, eternal, transfigured and glorified ...

Jonah left us an example: it is said in the Gospel that every word about Christ and, of course, every word of Christ She put into Her heart as a treasure, as the most precious thing that She had ...

Let us learn to listen in such a way as they listen with all love and all reverence, to listen attentively to every word of the Savior. Much has been said in the gospel; the heart of each of us responds to one tone, another tone; otherwise, my or your heart responded - this is the word spoken by the Savior Christ to you personally ... And we must preserve this word as the path of life, as a point of contact between us and God, as a sign of our relationship and closeness with Him.

And if we live like this, listen like that, put together the word of Christ in our hearts like they sow seed on plowed land, then what Elizabeth said to the Mother of God when She came to us will be fulfilled over us: Blessed is she who believed, for everything that was said to You from the Lord will be fulfilled ... May it be it is isnami; may the Mother of God be our example; let us accept Her only commandment, and only then will the glorification of the Yeens in this holy temple, which is in Yeidan, be true, because then we will worship God in Her and through Her with spirit and truth. Amen."

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

For six centuries, bishops, metropolitans and patriarchs were elevated to the rank of bishops, metropolitans and patriarchs in the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, state acts were announced, prayer services were served before military campaigns and in honor of victories.

The first stone building of the cathedral was laid in 1326. This was done personally by the first Moscow Metropolitan Peter and prince Ivan Kalita. At the end of the 15th century Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich ordered the cathedral to be rebuilt; in 1479, the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti worked on this project.

The modern appearance of the cathedral was determined in the middle of the 17th century. It was then that the murals and iconostasis that have survived to this day were created. In front of the iconostasis are the prayer places of the king, the queen and the patriarch. Also in the XIV- XVII centuries The Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin was the tomb of the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

After the revolution of 1917, the temple became a museum. Divine services began to be held again in 1990.

Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir

The Cathedral of the Dormition in Vladimir was built in 1158–1160 at the behest of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky of Vladimir. Initially, the cathedral was built from white hewn stone; it was single-domed with small porches and towers at the western corners.

In 1185-1189, under Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, the vestibules and towers were dismantled and the high galleries were replaced. The cathedral was rebuilt, in particular, it became five-domed.

The painting of the cathedral has survived to the present day only in fragments. The murals of 1161 include the figures of the prophets between the columns of the northern gallery, the murals of 1189 include the figures of Artemy and Abraham in the southwestern corner of the ancient part of the cathedral.

In 1408, the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir was painted by the Monk Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny. Separate images of a large composition of the Last Judgment, which occupied the entire western part of the temple, and a few more frescoes have been preserved. It was for the iconostasis of this cathedral that the icon painters created the grandiose Deesis tier of the icon. holiday series which are now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Folk traditions of the celebration of the Assumption

The Orthodox feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos coincided with the time of the contraction. At this time of the year, the Russian peasants were busy harvesting. That is why in the people's minds, agricultural customs were superimposed on the church traditions of the Assumption.

The Eastern Slavs coincided with the Assumption of the so-called "Obzhinki". Obzhinki is a celebration of the harvest of bread. In addition, this day was called “Lady”, “Lady”, “Lady's day” - these words reflected the veneration of the Mother of God, whom believers address as the Lady, Lady.

The day following the Assumption - August 29 - was celebrated "Nut (or Bread) Savior". It was named so in honor of the tradition of collecting nuts at this time of summer. By the end of August, they also began to pick mushrooms, made vegetable and fruit preparations for winter. They tried to sow winter crops: “This winter, spend three days before Dormition and three after.”

"Nut, or Bread, Spas"

"Nut, or Bread, Savior" - this is how the simple Russian people called the holiday of the Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople miraculous image Lord Jesus Christ, which is celebrated on August 29 (new style). This holiday fell on the first day after the end of the Dormition Fast, that is, the next day after the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

"Nut (or Bread) Savior" was named so in honor of the tradition of collecting nuts at this time of summer and completing the harvest of bread.

Sermon on the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.Saint Theophan the Recluse:

“After the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, His Most Pure Mother lived for about fifteen years in Jerusalem, in the house of the holy Apostle John the Theologian, to whom the Lord Himself entrusted the cross. Behold, the time has come to move to the heavenly abode of His Son. When the Mother of God was praying on the Mount of Olives, the legend tells, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her, bringing a date branch, and announced Her death in three days.

The Pure One was overjoyed to hear such news, and began to prepare. On the eve of Her death, by the command of God, miraculously appeared in Jerusalem, except for the Apostle Thomas, all the apostles scattered for preaching throughout the world. They were witnesses of Emirnaya, quiet, holy and blessed death. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, glorified in heaven, surrounded by countless angels and righteous spirits, appeared to receive the soul of the Most Pure Mother, and exalted Enanhebo with His isoslav.

Thus ended her earthly life Holy Virgin Maria! With lighted lamps and the singing of psalms, the apostles carried the body of the Mother of God to Gethsemane, where Her parents and Joseph were buried. The unbelieving high priests and scribes, struck by the grandeur of the funeral procession and embittered by the honors given to the Mother of God, sent servants and warriors to disperse those who were seeing them off and burn the very body of the Mother of God.

The excited people and the warriors rushed to the Christians with fury, but they were stricken with blindness. At this time, the Jewish priest Athos passed by, who rushed to the grave with the intention of throwing it to the ground; no sooner had he touched the bed with his hands, when an angel cut off both his hands: the severed parts of them hung in the air, the ace Athos fell to the ground with a cry.

The Apostle Peter stopped the procession and said to Athos: "Make sure that Christ is the true God." Athos immediately confessed Christ as the true Messiah. The Apostle Peter ordered Athos to turn to the Mother of God with a heartfelt prayer and attach the remains of his hands to the parts that hung from the wodra. After doing this, the hands grew together and healed, instead of cutting off, only signs remained. The blinded people and the soldiers with remorse touched the codru and received sight not only of the body, but also of the soul, and all reverently joined the procession.

On the third day after the burial of the Mother of God, the Apostle Thomas, who was absent, by the will of God, arrived and wished to see Her tomb. According to his desire, the coffin was opened, but the bodies of the Mother of God were not found. In the evening of the same day, at the time of their meal, the apostles saw in the air the Most Holy Virgin in heaven, alive, with a multitude of angels. The Mother of God, standing and shining with ineffable glory, said to the apostles: “Rejoice! I am always with you" ; the apostles exclaimed: "Most Holy Theotokos, help us." This appearance of the Mother of God completely convinced the apostles, and through them the whole Church in Her resurrection. In imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who often visited the places that Her Son and God sanctified with the feet of His most pure feet, a custom arose among Christians to visit holy places.

Description of the holiday

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary It is celebrated on August 28 (New Style) and has 1 day of prefeast and 8 days of afterfeast.

The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary St. Theophan the Recluse
Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
Schema-Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Archimandrite Raphael Karelin
priest Konstantin Parkhomenko
M. Barsov

After the Lord completed the salvation of the human race and His ascension to heaven, the most pure and blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mediator of our salvation, lived among the first Christians for quite a long time; She was filled with great spiritual joy, looking at the expansion of the church of Christ throughout the universe and at the spread to the ends of the earth of the glory of His Son and God; in these initial days of the life of the Christian Church, the Most Holy Theotokos saw with her own eyes the fulfillment of Her words that all generations would appease Her (), - Christians, everywhere glorifying Christ God, also appeased His Most Pure Mother, then still living on earth.

The Most Holy Mother of God, already full of days, drew near to her most honorable and glorious Assumption; She herself wanted to leave her body as soon as possible and enter to God. Her soul was always embraced by one unceasing desire to see the sweet face of His Son, Sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven (); burning for Him with an incomparably greater love than the Seraphim. The Mother of God, pouring out streams of tears from her holy eyes, warmly prayed to the Lord that He would take Her from this vale of weeping to the blessed abode on high. Living in the house of St. John the Theologian in Zion, She often retired from here to the Mount of Olives, the place where Her Son and Lord ascended into heaven; here in solitude she offered her fervent prayers to him. And then one day, during such a solitary prayer of the Mother of God on the Mount of Olives that the Lord would soon send her death and take her to heaven, the archangel Gabriel appeared before Her, who served the Most Holy Theotokos from the first days of Her childhood: he fed Her in the holy of holies, brought her the good news of the birth of the Son of God from her (), relentlessly guarded her throughout her life on earth. With a bright face, the heavenly messenger conveyed to the Most Holy Theotokos the joyful words of the Lord for Her that soon, after three days, She would depart to Christ God. Announcing the hour of death to the Blessed Virgin, the archangel told Her not to be embarrassed, but to accept his words with joy, for they call Her into immortal life to the eternal King of glory:

Your Son and our God, - said the archangel, - with archangels and angels, cherubim and seraphim, with all heavenly spirits and souls of the righteous, will receive You, His Mother, into the kingdom of heaven, so that You live and reign with Him for an endless time.

As a sign of the triumph of the Theotokos over death, that is, that bodily death will not have power over Her, just as spiritual death did not possess Her, and - that She, as if sleeping with death for a short time, will soon, as if waking up, rise and, driving away from Herself death, like slumber from the eyes, will see immortal glory and life in the light of the face of the Lord, where it will depart with joyful cries with spiritual joy, - as a sign of all this, the archangel handed over to the Blessed Virgin a branch of paradise: it was, shining with the light of heavenly grace, a branch from a date palm ; she was to be carried, as the archangel said, before the bed of the Mother of God, when Her most honorable and pure body would be carried for burial. The Blessed Mother of God was filled with unspeakable joy and spiritual delight, for what could be more joyful and pleasant for Her to live in heaven with Her Son and God and - bliss while contemplating His sweet face? Falling on her knees, she began to earnestly thank her Creator:

I was not worthy, - the Most Holy Theotokos prayed, - to receive You, Master, into My womb, if You Yourself had not had mercy on Me, Your servant; I have kept the treasure entrusted to Me, and therefore I have the boldness to ask You, King of glory, that You guard Me from the region of Gehenna: if heaven and angels tremble before You, then even more so a man created from dust, who does not have any merits other than those bestowed by Your goodness ; You, Lord and God, blessed forever.

The Most Pure Lady, at Her departure from this life, desired to see the holy Apostles, who had already departed with the gospel preaching throughout the universe; She also prayed to the Lord that at the hour of her death she would not see the prince of darkness and his terrible servants, but that her Son and God Himself, fulfilling His promise, would come and take Her soul into His holy hands. When our Lady, bending her knees, offered prayerful requests and thanksgivings to Her Creator on the Mount of Olives, Her prayer was accompanied by such a miraculous phenomenon: the olive trees that stood on the Mount of Olives, as if animated, bowed, together with the Mother of God: when the Mother of God bowed her knee, then the trees bent down; when She rose up, then they also straightened up again; the trees, like slaves, served the Theotokos, honoring the Mother of God.

At the end of the prayer, the Most Holy Theotokos returned home, and immediately everything shook from the presence of the invisible power of God that surrounded the Mother of God, and from the glory of the Lord, with which She was illuminated. Her face, and always shining with the grace of God more than the face of Moses, who once spoke with God at Sinai (), was enlightened with even more inexpressible glory. - The Blessed Lady began to prepare for Her death. First of all, She informed the beloved disciple of Christ, John, adopted by Her, and showed him a luminous branch of paradise, bequeathing to him precisely to carry it before Her bed; then the Blessed Virgin reported the same to the other members of the household who served Her. Then She ordered to fill Her chamber with fragrance, prepare and light as many lamps as possible in it, decorate both the chamber itself and the bed standing in it - in a word, arrange everything necessary for burial. Saint John the Theologian immediately sent to Saint James, the brother of the Lord and the first bishop of Jerusalem, as well as to all relatives and neighbors, announcing the imminent departure of the Mother of God, with the exact designation of the day. Saint James did not hesitate to inform all the Christians who lived not only in Jerusalem, but also in the surrounding cities and villages, so that with the Bishop of Jerusalem, all relatives and a great multitude of believers of both sexes gathered to the Most Holy Theotokos. The Most Pure Lady publicly told the audience the words spoken to Her by the archangel about Her resettlement to heaven and, in confirmation, she showed the branch of paradise received from Her evangelist, which, like a ray of sunshine, shone with the light of heavenly glory. Hearing from the lips of the Theotokos Herself the news of Her imminent death, the believers surrounding Her could not refrain from tears: the whole house was filled with weeping and sobs; everyone begged the merciful Lady, as the Mother of all, not to leave them orphans. But the Mother of God asked not to cry, but to rejoice at Her death, because, having become closer to God’s throne, looking face to face at Her Son and God and talking with Him mouth to mouth, She can, after death, with great boldness, beg Him for mercy and goodness; At the same time, the Blessed Mother of God promised not to leave orphans after Her departure, and not only them, but the whole world: She will visit the whole world, listening to its needs and helping the distressed. The consoling words of the Mother of God wiped away the tears of the weeping and comforted their sorrow. The Most Pure Lady then made a will regarding two of Her clothes, so that they would be given to two poor widows, who with zeal, receiving food from Her, served Her. The Mother of God bequeathed her most pure body to be buried in the Garden of Gethsemane lying on the Mount of Olives, not far from Jerusalem, where the tomb of Her righteous parents, Joachim and Anna, and Her Betrothed Saint Joseph was located; these tombs adjoined the valley of Jehoshaphat, which stretched between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, and was a common burial place for the poor inhabitants of Jerusalem.

During these dying orders of the Most Holy Theotokos, a noise was suddenly heard, in strength reminiscent of thunder, and the clouds surrounded the house of St. having placed in Zion before the doors of the house where the Mother of God lived. The Holy Apostles, seeing each other, rejoiced and at the same time were amazed, saying:

What is the reason the Lord has brought us together?

Saint John the Theologian came out to them and greeted them with joyful tears, informing them at the same time of the imminent repose of the Most Holy Theotokos. Then the holy Apostles understood that the Lord had gathered them from different ends of the universe to be present at the blessed death of His Most Pure Mother, so that they would honorably bury Her most pure body. The news of the imminent death of the Mother of God filled the hearts of the holy Apostles with great sorrow. Entering the inside of the house, they saw the Mother of God with a joyful face sitting on a bed; The holy Apostles greeted Her with the words:

Blessed are You from the Lord who created heaven and earth!

Peace be upon you, brethren, chosen by the Lord Himself! - answered the Most Pure Lady.

And then she asked:

How did you arrive here?

The Holy Apostles revealed to Her that each of them was caught up by the power of the Spirit of God from the place of his preaching and brought to Zion on a cloud. The Mother of God glorified God, who heard Her prayer and fulfilled Her heartfelt desire, to see the holy Apostles at His death.

The Lord,” She said, addressing them, “brought you here for the comfort of My soul, which, as mortal nature requires, will soon be separated from the body: the time predestined for Me by My Creator has already approached.

And in response to this, they said to Her with sadness:

During Your stay on earth, we, Lady, consoled ourselves, looking at You as our Lord and Teacher Himself, and now, being deprived of Your presence, how can we endure the heavy sorrow that has embraced our souls? But You are departing to the most peaceful abode at the will of Christ God, born by You, and we cannot but rejoice at the decision of God about You, although at the same time we cannot but mourn our orphanhood, for we will no longer see You, our Mother and Comforter.

At these words, the holy Apostles shed tears.

Do not cry, - the Most Holy Theotokos consoled them, and do not overshadow my joy, friends and disciples of Christ, with your sorrow - it is better to rejoice with Me, as I am going to My Son and God. Commit my body, which I myself have prepared for burial, to the earth in Gethsemane, and then return again to the preaching of the Gospel entrusted to you; But if the Lord wills, you will also see me after my departure.

During this conversation between the Mother of God and the holy Apostles, the vessel chosen by God, the holy Apostle Paul, also arrived: falling at the feet of the Most Holy Theotokos, he opened his mouth, praising and pleasing Her:

Rejoice, - said the holy Apostle, - Mother of Life and my preaching; If before the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ I could not enjoy seeing Him here on earth, then, looking now at You, I think that I see Him as it were.

With the Apostle Paul were his close disciples Dionysius the Areopagite, Hierotheus and Timothy; the rest, from among the seventy, the Apostles, were also present - all were gathered by the Holy Spirit in order to be blessed with the blessing of the Most Pure Virgin Mary and, by their presence, contribute to the greater solemnity of Her burial. The Most Pure Lady of each of the holy Apostles called to Herself by name, praising faith and deeds in the gospel of Christ Jesus; to everyone she wished eternal bliss and prayed for the peace of the whole world.

The fifteenth day of the month of August arrived, and the blessed hour, expected by all, approached - it was the third hour of the day - the departure of the Most Holy Theotokos. Many lamps were kindled in the upper room; the holy Apostles offered praise to God; but the most immaculate Virgin reclined on a decorated bed, preparing for a blessed end and awaiting the coming to herself of her beloved Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible light of Divine glory shone in the upper room, darkening the lamps. Those to whom this vision was revealed were horrified. They saw that the roof of the chamber was open and the glory of the Lord was descending from heaven, - the King of glory Christ Himself with the darkness of angels and archangels, with all the heavenly powers, with the holy forefathers and prophets, who once foreshadowed the Most Holy Virgin, and with all the righteous souls approached the Most Pure His Mother. Seeing the approach of the Son, the Mother of God in great joy exclaimed the words of Her song:

- "My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoiced in God, My Savior, that He looked upon the humility of His Servant" ().

And rising from her bed, as if trying to go to meet her Son, she bowed to the Lord. He, approaching and lovingly looking at Her, said:

Come My Neighbor, come My Dove, come My precious treasure and enter into the abodes of eternal life.

The Mother of God, bowing, answered:

blessed your name O Lord of glory and my God, deigned to choose your humble servant to serve your sacrament; remember me, King of glory, in your eternal kingdom; You know that I loved You with all My heart and kept the treasure entrusted to Me, and now receive My spirit in peace and protect Me from all the wiles of the dark, satanic power.

The Lord consoled Her with loving words, urging her not to be afraid of the satanic power, which has already been defeated by Her; He lovingly urged Her to fearlessly pass from earth to heaven.

- "My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready"(), - the Blessed Virgin answered this.

And then, having uttered the words spoken by Her once, - "let it be to me according to your word"(), again lay down on the bed. Feeling indescribable joy at the sight of the bright face of Her Son and the Lord, the Mother of God, filled with spiritual delight from love for Him, gave Her most pure soul into the hands of the Lord; At the same time, She did not feel any pain, but seemed to fall asleep in a sweet dream: He Whom She conceived without violating virginity and gave birth without illness received Her soul from a pure body. And immediately a wondrous joy filled angelic singing, in which were heard, often repeated by angels, the words of Gabriel's greeting to the Blessed Virgin:

- "Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women" ().

With such solemn chants they saw off heavenly ranks the most holy soul of the Mother of God, in the arms of the Lord, coming to the heavenly cloisters. The Holy Apostles, who were rewarded with a vision, with touching eyes accompanied the Mother of God as once the Lord ascended from the Mount of Olives (); they stood for a long time, terrified and as if in oblivion. Having come to their senses, the disciples of Christ bowed to the Lord, who with glory lifted up the soul of His Mother to heaven, and with weeping surrounded the bed of the Mother of God. The face of the Blessed Virgin Mary shone like the sun, and from Her most pure body came a wondrous fragrance, the like of which cannot be found here on earth. All believers, reverently honoring the most pure body, kissed it with fear; a sanctifying power emanated from the honest relics of the Mother of God, filling the hearts of all who touched him with joy. Those who were sick received healing: the blind received their sight, the deaf were opened to hearing, the lame straightened up, demons were cast out - every disease completely disappeared from just touching the bed of the Mother of God.

Among these events that accompanied the death of the Mother of God, a solemn procession began with Her most honorable body for its burial: the holy Apostle Peter, together with the holy Apostles Paul and James, brother of God, standing at the head, raised together with other holy Apostles from among the twelve beds of the Most Holy Mother of God ; St. John the Theologian carried in front of him a branch of Paradise that emitted radiance. The rest of the believers with candles and censers walked nearby, surrounding the bed. Everyone sang the original prayers: the holy Apostle Peter began, and the others harmoniously sang after him the psalm of David: in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt(), adding an alleluia to each verse; under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, other solemn and thanksgiving prayers and psalms. The solemn procession with the most pure body of the Mother of God was heading from Zion through Jerusalem to Gethsemane. A cloudy circle appeared above the bed and those who were seeing them off, resembling a crown and illuminated by an unusually bright radiance. And in the clouds, loudly, filling the air, there was a wondrous angelic singing. This cloudy crown floated through the air over the bed of the Mother of God to the very place of burial; during all this time, the angelic singing did not stop. But the joyous procession - a weak human language cannot fully describe it - was suddenly interrupted. Many of the Jews who did not believe in Christ, hearing the unusual singing and seeing the solemn procession, left their homes and joined him: they also went out of town, marveling at the glory and honor that was given to the honorable body of the Mother of Jesus Christ. Upon learning of this, the bishops and scribes became very furious and sent servants and soldiers - having also persuaded many from the people - so that they would catch up with the procession and disperse its participants; at the same time, they ordered the disciples of Christ to be killed, and the body of the Mother of God to be burned. But when the crowd, obedient to the instigators, armed as if for battle, in a rage ran after those who accompanied the body of the Most Holy Theotokos and already began to overtake them, suddenly a cloudy circle, floating through the air, descended to the earth and, as if with a wall, surrounded both the holy Apostles and the rest of the Christians; the persecutors heard only singing, seeing no one behind the cloud. The holy angels, hovering invisibly over the body of the Mother of God and the Christians, struck the evil persecutors with blindness: some of them smashed their heads against the city walls; others felt them and, not knowing where to go, looked for guides. At this time, one Jewish priest, named Athos, happened to go on a journey: seeing the holy Apostles, the cloud, by God’s command, rose again for the greater glory of the Mother of God, and many Christians with candles and singing, surrounding the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary, Athos was filled with envy; the former malice towards our Lord flared up in him, and he said:

See what honor surrounds the body of the One Who gave birth to the flatterer who ruined the law of our fathers!

Being very strong, he ran with furious fury through the crowd of Christians to the bed in order to throw the body of our Most Pure Lady to the ground: when the impudent hands of the priest touched the bed, an invisible angel immediately cut them in the middle with the immaterial sword of God's vengeance, and they hung, not tearing themselves away from the bed , Athos himself fell to the ground, exclaiming:

Woe is me!

Realizing his sin, he began to repent and say to the holy Apostles:

Have mercy on me, servants of Christ!

The Holy Apostle Peter ordered those carrying the body of the Mother of God to stop and said to Athos:

Here you got what you wanted; know that God - the Lord of vengeance has revealed Himself (), and we cannot heal you from your wounds; this can only be done by our Lord Himself, against whom you unjustly rose up and seized and killed; but He will not want to give you healing until you believe in Him with all your heart and confess with your lips that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God.

Athos exclaimed:

I believe that He is the Savior of the world - Christ, foretold by the prophets; from the very beginning we saw that he is the Son of God, but, darkened by malicious envy, we did not want to openly acknowledge the greatness of God and put Him to innocent death; but by the power of His Divinity on the third day He resurrected, confounding all of us, His haters: we tried to conceal His Resurrection by bribing the guards, but could not do anything, since the fame of this spread everywhere.

When Athos said this, repenting of his sin, the holy Apostles and all the faithful rejoiced at the joy of the angels for the repentant sinner: the holy Apostle Peter commanded Athos to attach with faith the wounds of his truncated hands to those hanging on the bed, invoking the name of the Most Holy Theotokos. Athos did this, and immediately the severed hands joined their place; they became perfectly healthy; only the cut-off sign remained, like a red thread that surrounded the elbow. Athos fell before his bed, bowing to Christ, God, born of the Most Holy Theotokos, and pleasing His Most Pure Mother with many praises: he cited prophecies from Holy Scripture that testify both to Her and to Christ, and everyone was doubly surprised, seeing the miraculous healing of the truncated hands of Athos and hearing from him wise words with which he glorified the Lord Jesus and praised the Mother of God. Then Athos joined the holy Apostles, following with other Christians to Gethsemane for a bed. In the same way, those who were stricken with blindness, who, recognizing their sin, with repentance approached with guides to an honest bed and touched it with faith, received healing - they received insight not only of bodily, but also of spiritual eyes. Merciful Mother of all, Holy Lady ours, just as by her birth she brought joy to the whole universe, so in her sleep she did not want to sadden anyone: as the good Mother of the good King, She mercifully consoled her former enemies with her grace-filled gifts.

But then the holy Apostles with the whole multitude of Christians reached the Garden of Gethsemane; when they put up a bed with an honorable body, then again a cry arose among the Christians: everyone, being deprived of such a treasure, wept about their orphanhood; giving the last kiss, the Christians fell to the body of the Most Holy Theotokos and kissed it, shedding tears, so that only in the evening they could put the reverend body in the coffin; but even when a huge stone was already rolled to the tomb, the Christians did not leave it, held by love for the Mother of God. - The Holy Apostles stayed at the tomb of the Most Holy Theotokos, without leaving the Garden of Gethsemane, for three days, singing psalms day and night. And all this time, the wondrous singing of the heavenly armies was heard in the air, praising God and pleasing His most pure Mother.

By a special dispensation of God, one of the Apostles, Saint Thomas, was not present at the glorious burial of the body of the Most Pure Theotokos; he only appeared in Gethsemane on the third day. The Holy Apostle Thomas greatly grieved and lamented that, like the other holy Apostles, he did not receive the last greeting and blessing of the Most Pure Theotokos; he also wept greatly because he alone did not see the Divine glory, the wondrous mysteries and works of God revealed during the Dormition and solemn burial of the Mother of God. The Holy Apostles, taking pity on him, decided to open the tomb so that Saint Thomas could see at least the dead body of the most blessed Mother of God, bow down to it and kiss it, and through this receive some relief from their sorrow and consolation in grief. But when the holy Apostles, having rolled away the stone, opened the coffin, they were horrified: the body of the Mother of God was not in the coffin, - only funeral sheets remained, spreading a wondrous fragrance; the holy Apostles stood in amazement, wondering what this meant! Kissing with tears and reverence the burial shroud left in the coffin, they prayed to the Lord that He would reveal to them where the body of the Most Holy Theotokos had disappeared? Toward evening they sat down to refresh themselves a little with food. During the meal, the holy Apostles had such a custom: they left one place among themselves unoccupied, laying on it in honor of Christ - as His part - a piece of bread. At the end of the meal, giving thanks, they took the aforementioned piece of bread, called the part of the Lord, and lifted it up, glorifying the great name of the Most Holy Trinity, then, after the words "Lord Jesus Christ, help us!" ate this piece as God's blessing. This is what the holy Apostles did not only when everyone was together, but also when everyone was away from each other. Now in Gethsemane, during the meal, they did not think about anything else and did not talk about why the most pure body of the Mother of God was not found in the tomb. And so, when, having finished the meal, the holy Apostles began to raise up a piece of bread set aside in honor of the Lord, glorifying Holy Trinity, suddenly heard angelic singing: raising their eyes, they saw the Most Pure Mother of God standing in the air, surrounded by many angels. She was illuminated by an inexpressible light and said to them:

Rejoice! - for I am with you all the days.

The Holy Apostles, filled with joy, instead of the usual "Lord Jesus Christ, help us," exclaimed:

Holy Mother of God, help us!

From that time on, both they themselves believed, and the Holy Church was taught to believe that the Most Pure Mother of God on the third day after the burial was resurrected by Her Son and taken with the body to heaven. Entering the tomb again, the holy Apostles took the left shroud to comfort the mourners and as unfalse evidence of the rise of the Mother of God from the tomb. It was not fitting for the tabernacle of life to be in the power of death and the creature that gave birth to the Creator to share the fate of corruption with the earthly creature. The legislator was the executor of the law given by Him - let sons honor their parents: He honored His immaculate Mother as Himself - as He Himself rose with glory on the third day and then ascended into heaven with pure flesh, so He raised His Mother with glory in the third day and took to Himself in the heavenly villages. Saint David also foretold this, saying: "Stand, O Lord, in the place of Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy might"(); His prophetic words came true at the resurrection of the Lord and the resurrection of His Mother by Him. - The empty coffin of the Mother of God carved in stone, like that of Her Son, has been preserved to this day and serves as an object of reverent veneration for the faithful.

The Lord, by His special consideration, slowed down the arrival of Saint Thomas by the day of the repose of the Most Pure Theotokos, so that the tomb would be opened for him, and the church, thus, was convinced of the resurrection of the Mother of God, just as earlier, through the unbelief of the same Apostle, she was convinced of the resurrection of Christ () . - Thus, the Assumption of Our Most Pure and Most Blessed Mother of God took place and - the burial of Her immaculate body, Her glorious resurrection and solemn assurance of Her taking to heaven with the flesh.

At the end of all these marvelous miracles and mysteries of God, the holy Apostles, again carried by a cloud, each returned to the country from which he had been taken during his preaching of the Gospel.

Saint Ambrose, speaking of the life of our Lady on earth, describes the wondrous spiritual qualities of the Most Holy Theotokos in this way:

She is a Virgin not only in flesh, but also in spirit: humble in heart and slow in speech; Her words are full of Divine wisdom; She is almost constantly in the reading of Holy Scripture and tireless in her labors; chaste in conversations, speaking with people as before God; She never offended anyone, wishing everyone well; no one, even the poor, not disdainful, not laughing at anyone, but everything that she saw, she covered with Her love; from her mouth never came a word that did not bring grace; in all her deeds she showed the image of the highest virginity. Her appearance was a reflection of inner perfection - goodness and gentleness.

So says Saint Ambrose. Description of the holiness of the soul and appearance We also meet the Mother of God at Epiphanius and Nicephorus:

In any case, she retained her venerable dignity and constancy; she spoke very little, only about the necessary and good, - Her words were sweet to the ear; She treated everyone with due respect; she had an appropriate conversation with each person, not laughing, not indignant, and especially not angry. Her height was average; complexion, like the color of a grain of wheat; hair is light blond and somewhat golden; glance quick, penetrating; eyes the color of an olive fruit; eyebrows slightly inclined, dark; nose is medium; lips like the color of a rose and sweet-spoken; the face is not quite round; hands and fingers oblong; there was no pride in her, simplicity in everything, without the slightest pretense; She was a stranger to any indulgence, showing, at the same time, an example of the highest humility. Her clothes were simple, without any artificial adornments, as the veil of Her head, which has survived to this day, speaks of this - in a word, Her Divine grace, penetrating Her, manifested itself in everything.

This is how Nicephorus and Epiphanius narrate about the spiritual and bodily image of the Most Holy Theotokos during Her life on earth.

Now, about the Mother of God, settled in heavenly abodes and standing at the right hand of the throne of God, only heavenly spirits, and the souls of the righteous, standing before the Mother of God and enjoying the sight of both God and the Most Pure Virgin, can tell; they can only tell us about her, as required by her holiness. We, glorifying the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God alone in the Trinity, glorify according to God and His Most Pure Mother, and to Her, from all generations glorified and blessed forever, we worship diligently.

About individual events in the life of the Most Holy Theotokos from the day of Her birth, it is written on Her deliberate feasts: on conception, birth, entry into the temple, the annunciation, as well as on the Nativity of Christ and the Meeting. And here, after the story of Her immortal Assumption, in addition to the story of Her life, we will tell you where and how our Lady lived after the Ascension of Christ.

The Holy Evangelist Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles that, after the Lord's departure into heaven, His disciples returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem; entering the upper room (where last supper Christ) "they were all with one accord in prayer and supplication, with some of the wives and Mary, the Mother of Jesus"(). After the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God was for His disciples the only consolation, joy in sorrow and a firm teacher of faith. For all the words and miraculous events that the Mother of God composed in Her heart (), starting from the joyful annunciation of Gabriel about the seedless conception and the incorruptible birth of Christ from the virgin womb and ending with the years of the Lord’s infancy and the time of life before baptism from John, She revealed all this disciples of his Son; as having abundant revelations from the Holy Spirit and being herself a witness of all the miraculous actions that took place in the life of Christ until the day the Lord appeared to the world, the Mother of God strengthened the faith of the holy Apostles with a detailed account of the life of the Savior before His baptism. All believers, staying in the aforementioned upper room, prayed tirelessly, preparing to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit promised by the Lord from the Father. And during the descent, - on the 11th day after the ascension of the Lord, - the Holy Spirit on the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues (), the Comforter () sent down from the Father () previously rested on the Most Pure Virgin, and until now was worthy of His temple, in which He abode relentlessly . The gifts of the Holy Spirit were poured out on the blessed Virgin in greater abundance than on the holy Apostles, just as a larger vessel can hold more water in itself, and the Most Pure Virgin, the vessel richest in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, because She is higher than the Apostles, prophets and all saints, as the Church calls out to Her: "Truly, You, Pure Virgin, are above all"; Therefore, She also contained the gifts of the Holy Spirit more than anyone else.

The Mother of God lived in the house of St. John the Theologian, located on the highest place in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion: from the very time when the Lord said from the cross of His Mother, pointing to the beloved disciple: "Woman! behold, your son", and to the student: "behold thy mother"(), John took the Blessed Virgin to himself and really served Her as his mother. - After the descent of the Holy Spirit, the holy Apostles did not immediately disperse throughout the universe with the preaching of the Gospel, but remained in Jerusalem for a long time, as is evident from the Acts of the Apostles. It is narrated here that, after the murder of the holy protomartyr Stephen (7:59-60), there came "a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem; and all, except the Apostles, were scattered in different places of Judea and Samaria" (); The disciples of Christ, protected by the power of God, stayed in Jerusalem for about ten years, counting from the time of the ascension of the Lord until the day when "King Herod lifted up his hands on some of those belonging to the church to do them harm"(). True, during the period of time described, the holy Apostles went away for a while to other countries, like Peter and John together to Samaria (), or Peter alone to Lydda, where he healed the paralyzed Aeneas, who had suffered for eight years (), and Joppa, where he resurrected the deceased Tabitha (), Caesarea, where he baptized Cornelius the centurion (ch. 10), and Antioch, where he founded the first throne of his bishopric; or, as James, the brother of John, went to Spain, but then they returned again to Jerusalem. At the beginning of their sermon, the holy Apostles wished to serve mainly the salvation of the people of Israel, at the same time affirming the first church in Jerusalem, which is the mother of all churches, as St. John of Damascus sings: for thou hast received the first remission of sins"; At the same time, they wished, as often as possible, to see the Mother of God and learn from Her. Honoring Her, as if the vicar of Christ, the holy Apostles looked at the most honorable and glorious face of the Mother of God, as the face of Christ Himself, and, listening to the blessed words of the Ever-Virgin, they were imbued with inexpressible spiritual joy, for the sweetness of Her words, forgetting the bitterness of troubles and misfortunes. Therefore, many of those who believed in Christ from distant lands came to Jerusalem to see the Mother of God and hear Her conversation filled with holy wisdom; that the glory of Christ and His Most Pure Mother, having spread to all ends of the universe, attracted many to Jerusalem to the Blessed Virgin, this is clearly seen from the message of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer to Saint John the Theologian of Antioch:

We, he writes, have many wives who want to see the Mother of Jesus; they are constantly seeking to find an opportunity to come to you and visit Her, to lay down at the breast that nourished the Lord Jesus, and to learn some secrets from Her. With us, She is glorified as the Mother of God and the Virgin, full of grace and virtue; It is reported about Her that She is joyful in troubles and persecutions, does not grieve in poverty and shortcomings, not only does not get angry at those who offend Her, but also does good to them; in joyful events, she is meek, merciful to the poor, helping them as much as she can; but to those who are at war with our faith, she opposes with firmness: she is the teacher of our new piety and all the faithful mentor for every good deed; especially loves the humble, and she herself is humble to all; all who see her praise her. And how humble She is when the Jewish lawyers and Pharisees laugh at Her! We were told by people worthy of complete trust that in Mary, the Mother of Jesus, human nature seems, because of Her holiness, united with angelic nature. All this arouses in us, who hear, an immeasurable desire to see the heavenly, - I will say this, - a wondrous and most holy miracle.

In another epistle, the same Saint Ignatius the God-bearer writes again to Saint John the Theologian:

If an opportunity opens up, I think to come to you in order to see the faithful gathered in Jerusalem, and especially the Mother of Jesus: they say about Her that She is honest, friendly and arouses surprise in everyone, and everyone wants to see Her; and who does not want to see the Virgin and converse with her who gave birth to the true God?

From these epistles of St. Ignatius to John the Theologian, one can easily understand with what strong desire the saints strove to see the animated shrine of God, Mary the Most Pure Virgin, and those who were able to see considered themselves the happiest. Truly blessed are the eyes of those who have seen Her according to Christ the Savior, and blessed are the ears of those who have been honored to hear from Her most honorable lips Her words reviving to spiritual life! What joy and grace they received!

For this, the Lord left His Most Pure Mother on earth, so that by Her presence, guidance, teachings and warm prayers to the Son and God, the warring church would multiply and be affirmed, and grow to the boldness to lay down her life for the Lord. The Mother of God strengthened everyone, consoled everyone with joy in the Holy Spirit, and prayed for everyone. When the holy Apostles were imprisoned, the Mother of God prayed for them with a tender heart, and an angel was sent to them by the Lord, who at night opened the doors of the dungeon and brought them out (). When the holy Protomartyr Stephen was led to his death, the Mother of God followed him from afar, and when they began to stone Saint Stephen () in the valley of Jehoshaphat, at the Kidron stream, She, along with John the Theologian, stood in the distance on one hill, from there she looked at his death and fervently prayed to God that the Lord would strengthen the sufferer and take the soul into His hands. When "Saul tormented the church"(), persecuting the believers, the Mother of God prayed to the Lord for him with such warm tears that she turned him from a predatory wolf into a meek lamb, from an enemy into an Apostle, from a persecutor into a disciple and teacher of the universe. And what blessings did the primordial church not receive from the Most Pure Theotokos, like a baby from its mother? What grace has not been drawn from this inexhaustible source? It was not without Her cares and grace-filled influence that the church was brought up and brought to a manly age - it became so strong that even the gates of hell cannot overcome it (); which the Mother of God herself rejoiced, according to the word of David, like a mother rejoicing about children (). She saw that the church children were constantly multiplying: so already at the beginning, through the preaching of the holy Apostle Peter, 3000 (), then 5000 (), and then more and more. The Holy Apostles, returning from preaching the Gospel to Jerusalem, also told the Most Holy Theotokos about the spread of the Church of Christ throughout the universe. The success of the Christian sermon filled her with spiritual joy and prompted her to send praise to her Son and God.

But Herod’s persecution befell the Church: he killed James, the brother of John, who returned from Spain, with a sword, and then detained Peter and put him in prison with the intention of putting him to a similar death (), then, after the miraculous release of St. Peter from the bonds of prison through an angel, it came the need for the Apostles themselves to leave Jerusalem in order to avoid the fierce persecution of the Jews; they dispersed throughout the universe, casting lots, to whom and which of them the country falls for preaching. But before dispersing, the holy Apostles drew up a creed in order to preach everywhere in harmony and plant the holy faith in Christ. Each retired to his lot; in Jerusalem only one brother of God, Saint James, was left, appointed by the Lord himself to the bishops of Jerusalem. Avoiding persecution, Saint John the Theologian also withdrew, together with the Mother of God, by whom he was adopted: they left Jerusalem, yielding to fierce persecution and torment, until the anger of the Jews weakened: but, in order not to waste time in vain, the Mother of God and the holy Evangelist John went to Ephesus, where the lot fell to the Theologian. This sojourn of the Most Pure Mother of God with St. John in Ephesus is clearly confirmed by the following: there is a message to the clergy of Constantinople from the Fathers of the Third ecumenical council who sat in Ephesus against Nestorius; in this epistle there is such a place: “The founder of the evil heresy, Nestorius, called (for judgment) by the holy fathers and bishops of the cathedral in Ephesus, where St. John the Theologian and the Holy Virgin, the Mother of God Mary once dwelt, did not dare to come to them, being convicted by his evil conscience and excommunicating himself; therefore, after being called three times, he is condemned by the righteous judgment of the holy council and deposed from the priesthood. From these words about the stay of the Mother of God with the Evangelist John in Ephesus, it is clear that the Blessed Virgin, together with the beloved disciple of Christ, indeed, after leaving Jerusalem, spent some time in Ephesus. And not only Ephesus, but also other cities and countries, enlightened by the light of Christ's teachings, the Mother of God visited: tradition says that She was in Antioch with Saint Ignatius the God-bearer, to whom she sent a notice of Her journey before Her visit: "I will come with John, so that see you and your flock." They also say that the Most Holy Theotokos was on the island of Cyprus at the four-day Lazarus, who was serving as a bishop there, and on Mount Athos. Stefan, a monk from Svyatogorsk, writes about this.

After the ascension into heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ, the holy Apostles, together with the Mother of God, dwelt inseparably in Zion; here they were waiting for the Comforter, as the Lord commanded them, who commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they received the promised Holy Spirit (). The disciples of Christ cast lots as to which of them and which particular country would be given to preach the Gospel of God; The Holy Mother of God said:

And I want to take part in the preaching of the gospel and I want to cast my lot with you to get the country that God will indicate.

According to the word of the Mother of God, the holy Apostles with reverence and fear cast lots, and the Iberian land fell to Her by lot. The Most Pure Theotokos accepted Her lot with joy and immediately, after the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of fiery tongues, she wanted to go to the Iberian country, but an angel of God said to Her:

Now do not leave Jerusalem, but stay here until the time - the country that fell to You will be enlightened in last days and Your dominion will be established there; After some time, You will have the work of evangelism in the land where God will direct You.

And the Most Pure Mother of God stayed in Jerusalem for quite a long time.

The four-day-old Lazarus lived on the island of Cyprus; here he was ordained a bishop by the holy Apostle Barnabas. He greatly desired to see the Most Pure Mother of our Lord, whom he had not seen for a long time, but did not dare to come to Jerusalem for fear of the Jews. Having learned this, the Mother of God wrote a message to Lazarus: here She consoled him and ordered a ship to be sent for Her to visit him in Cyprus; but the Most Holy Virgin herself did not order for Her sake to come to Jerusalem. Having read the epistle, Lazarus was exceedingly overjoyed, at the same time marveling at the humility of the Mother of God; without delay, he sent a ship for her along with a response message. The Blessed Mother of God entered the ship, together with her beloved disciple of Christ, John, and with the others who reverently accompanied them, and all sailed to Cyprus. But a contrary wind suddenly rose and drove the ship into the harbor, located near Mount Athos; this was that short-term work of evangelism, about which the angel spoke to the Mother of God. The entire Mount Athos was overflowing with idols: there was a large temple and the sanctuary of Apollo, and in this place divination, sorcery and other demonic acts were performed. All pagans revered this place very much, as chosen by the gods; people from all over the universe flocked here to worship, and here they received answers from fortune-tellers to their questions. And when the ship entered the pier, on which the Most Holy Theotokos was, all the idols immediately cried out:

All deceived by Apollo, descend from the mountain at Clement’s Quay to meet Mary, the Mother of the great God Jesus (thus the demons, who were in idols against their will, compelled by the power of God, proclaimed the truth, like those who once cried out to the Lord in the country of the Gergesins: "what have you to do with us, Jesus, the Son of God? You came here before the time to torment us"().

Hearing all this, the people marveled, and hurried to the seashore to the aforementioned pier; seeing the ship and the Mother of God, they met Her with honor and asked in their assembly:

What kind of God (You) gave birth to? And what is his name?

The Most Holy Theotokos, opening Her divine lips, proclaimed to the people everything in detail about Christ Jesus. All, having fallen to the ground, bowed down to the God who was born from Her and showed great respect to the One who bore Him; having believed, they were baptized, for the Mother of God performed many miracles here. After baptism, She appointed as a newly enlightened chief and teacher one of those who accompanied Her on the ship, and, rejoicing in spirit, she said:

This place shall be my inheritance, given to me by my Son and my God.

After these words, the Most Holy Theotokos blessed the people, saying again:

May the grace of God be in this place and on those who live here, who with faith and reverence keep the commandments of the Son and My God - they will have everything necessary for life in abundance without hard work; they will be given heavenly life, and until the end of the age the mercy of my Son will not depart from this place; I will be an Intercessor to this place and a warm Intercessor for it before God.

Having said this, the Mother of God again blessed the people and, entering together with John and those who accompanied Her into the ship, sailed to Cyprus. She found Lazar in great sorrow, since the journey of the Most Holy Theotokos was too long, and he was afraid that there might be a slowdown from the storm: he was not aware of the events that, according to God's providence, took place on Mount Athos. By her arrival, the Mother of God changed his sorrow into joy; as a gift to him She brought the omophorion and the bands that She herself had made for him; She told him everything that happened in Jerusalem and on Mount Athos. And they sent thanks to God for everything. Having stayed in Cyprus for a short time, having thus consoled the Christians of the Cypriot church and blessed them, the Mother of God boarded a ship and sailed to Jerusalem. (Before here, Stefan, monk of Svyatogorsk).

Having visited the aforementioned countries, the Blessed Virgin Mary again settled in Jerusalem in the house of the holy Evangelist John; the all-powerful right hand of God kept Her from the envious wiles of the God-killing synagogue, which never ceased to be at enmity against the Son of God and those who believe in Him. Of course, the embittered Jews would not have left the Mother of Jesus alive and would have destroyed Her in any way: but the special care of God overshadowed the animate Kivot of God, so that the hand of the infidels would not touch it. Once Her Son, Christ our God, after a sermon in the Nazareth synagogue, when the Jews filled with rage led Him to the top of the mountain in order to throw him down from there, passed unscathed among them: although the Jews saw Him, they could not lay their hands on and even touch Him because the power of God threw them back and kept them in such a position, since the time of the suffering of the Son of God had not yet come (); The Lord revealed the same thing over His Most Pure Matter, holding back the intrigues planned by the Jews and ruining their council against Her: very often the Jews tried to seize the Mother of God and, having tortured, kill, but could not do anything. In the midst of such strong hatred and enmity, the Most Pure Virgin lived in Jerusalem like a sheep among wolves and like a krine among thorns, often repeating the words of her forefather David, which really came true over Her: “The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of life.” mine: whom shall I be afraid of? If evildoers, adversaries and my enemies come upon me to devour my flesh, they themselves will stumble and fall. If an army takes up arms against me, my heart will not be afraid; if war arises against me, and then I will hope" (), for You, My Son and God, are with Me. - Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted to Christ by the holy Apostle Paul in Athens and relentlessly accompanied him for three years, visited the Most Holy Theotokos to worship Her. He strongly desired to see the Mother of God and, therefore, three years after his conversion, with the blessing of his teacher, the holy Apostle Paul, he came to Jerusalem: seeing the Most Pure Mother of God, he was filled with great spiritual joy. In his epistle to the holy Apostle Paul, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite describes his visit to the Mother of God in this way.

For me, our great leader, it was undeniable - I speak as before God - that apart from the Most High God there can be nothing so full of divine power and wondrous grace, and yet it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend that I saw a good-looking and surpassing in holiness all heavenly angels the Most Holy Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ; this was given to me by the grace of God and the honor of the face of the apostle, as well as the inscrutable goodness and mercy of the most merciful Virgin. I again confess before the omnipotence of God, before the grace of the Savior and before the great glory of the Virgin, His Mother, that when I was with John, the first among the evangelists and prophets, who, living according to the flesh, shines like the sun in heaven, I was led to the good-looking and Most Pure Virgin then a great divine radiance enveloped me from the outside, enlightening my soul; at the same time, I felt such a wonderful fragrance that my spirit and body were hardly able to endure this manifestation of glory and the prelude to eternal bliss; from the glory and her divine grace my heart and my spirit fainted. I testify by God, who lived in the most honorable maiden's womb, that I would recognize Her as the true God and honor Her with the worship that is fitting only for God alone, if my newly enlightened soul did not preserve in itself your divine instructions and laws: no honor and glory of people glorified God, cannot be compared with the bliss that I experienced, unworthy, at that time rewarded; this time was for me the time of the greatest bliss. I thank my most exalted and most gracious God, the divine Virgin, great among the Apostles John, and also you, the adornment of the church and the head of the invincible, who mercifully showed me such a great beneficence.

From this message of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, we clearly see what divine grace shone on the face of our Most Pure Lady during Her life on earth and how souls were enlightened and what spiritual joy filled the hearts of those who saw Her in the flesh. Newly enlightened people of both sexes flocked to her in multitudes and from everywhere; as a true Mother, She accepted everyone equally without partiality, pouring out the bounties of Her grace to everyone, giving healing to the sick, weak health, sad consolation, and to all, without exception, affirmation in faith, steadfastness in hope and divine joy in love, and correction to sinners.

During her life in the house of St. John, the Blessed Virgin often visited those places that her beloved Son and God sanctified with the feet of His feet and the shedding of His blood. So She visited Bethlehem, where, having unspeakably observed Her virginity, Christ God was born from Her, but especially often the Mother of God came to the places where our Lord suffered by the will. Motherly love prompted Her to shed abundant tears here, and She said:

Here my beloved Son was scourged, here he was crowned with thorns, here he walked, carrying a cross, here he was crucified.

At the tomb, the Mother of God was filled with inexpressible joy and exclaimed with joyful tears:

And here He was buried, and on the third day He rose again with glory.

In addition to this, the following is reported. Some Jewish haters reported to the bishops and scribes that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, goes every day to Golgotha and at the tomb where Her Son Jesus was laid, kneels, cries and burns incense; then they set up guards that would not allow any of the Christians to pass this place. From this we see that already at that time a pious custom began to visit holy places by faithful Christians and here to worship Christ God, who suffered for us by will: the first example in this regard was given by the Theotokos Herself, Who was followed by other holy women and men. So, from the bishops and scribes, full of malice and murder, guards were placed, who were ordered not to allow anyone to the tomb of Jesus, and to kill His Mother. But God blinded the guards, so that they could not see the coming to the tomb of Christ Jesus His Mother. And when the most blessed Virgin, faithful to Her custom, came to the tomb, the guards could not see either Her or those who were with Her. After a long time, they left the tomb and assured the bishops and scribes with an oath that they did not see anyone who would come to the tomb of Jesus. The Most Holy Theotokos also often went to the Mount of Olives, from where our Lord ascended to heaven: kneeling down, She kissed the feet imprinted on the stone from the feet of Christ. With strong tears, the Mother of God prayed at the same time that the Lord would take Her to Himself: of course, She was incomparably more than the holy Apostle Paul, had "the desire to resolve and be with Christ"(), and often repeated the words of David: "when I come and appear before God! My tears were bread for me day and night"(), when shall I see my beloved Son? when shall I come to Him who sits at the right hand of God the Father? () when shall I stand before the throne of His glory? When will I be satisfied with His sight? Oh, sweet Son and My God! Time pity Zion(cf.), - time to have mercy on Me, Your Mother, who is still grieving, not seeing Your face, in the sad vale of this world; bring out of the body, as from a dungeon, My soul; as a deer strives for a water source, so My soul strives for You, O God, to enjoy when Your glory appears to Me (). The Most Pure Virgin sometimes remained on the Mount of Olives for quite a long time: at the foot of the mountain was the Garden of Gethsemane and a small property of Zebedee, inherited by St. John the Theologian. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord, before His free passion, prayed to a bloody sweat, falling on His knees and His face before the Heavenly Father (). Here in this very place, His Most Pure Mother also offered up Her warm prayers, also falling on her knees and face and pouring tears on the ground; here She was comforted by the Lord through His angel, who informed Her of Her imminent repose into heaven. According to the testimony of Georgy Kedrin, a Greek historian, the Most Holy Theotokos before her death, Her angel appeared twice: the first time fifteen days before the Assumption, and the second three days; from an angel the Mother of God received a heavenly date branch, which the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian carried before Her bedside. Some, such as the Bishop of Sardis Meliton, report that the beloved disciple of Christ, before the Dormition of the Mother of God, retired to Ephesus and from there, like the other Apostles, but only before them, was caught up in a cloud and brought to the burial of the Mother of God. However, others, such as Metaphrastus and Sophronius, assert without any hesitation that St. John the Theologian never separated from the God-blessed Mother, Whom he was adopted by, but, like a true son, served Her, giving shelter in his house until Her very death. Only occasionally, for a very short time, did he visit the surrounding areas (as we saw above from the Acts of the Apostles: so St. John the Theologian, together with the Apostle Peter, was in Samaria), but he did this with the consent and blessing of the Mother of God Herself and immediately returned to Ney to Jerusalem; and until his return, the Most Pure Mother of God was served by Saint James, the brother of God, who never left his episcopacy - Jerusalem. If, however, we agree with those who say that John the Theologian, like the other holy Apostles, was caught up by a cloud, then, without a doubt, from the area closest to Jerusalem.

The solemn celebration of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 15 is established in the reign of the pious king of Greek Mauritius. - Joyfully celebrating the all-glorious repose of the Mother of God from earth to heaven, let us give glory to Him Who was born of Her and to heaven with glory who received Her, - Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Sermon of St. Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky). Word on the day of the Assumption of the Mother of God.

Sermon of St. Philaret of Moscow. Word on the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Sermon by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary- the last twelfth fixed feast of the church year (August 1528). It is preceded by a two-week post. It is known from the New Testament that the Mother of the Lord occupied an honorable place among the Apostles (Acts 1:14). She lived in the house of John (John 19:27) in Jerusalem. The events of her subsequent life are unknown. Some traditions connect the end of Her earthly journey with Ephesus, where John moved, others point to Gethsemane. And here and there there are temples dedicated to U. The earliest apocrypha, which tells about U., is written on behalf of John the Theologian ...

Troparion of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin: the obvious incredible.