August 15: The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

This Thursday, a holy day of obligation, is the feast of the Dormition, or Falling Asleep, of the Mother of God.  Although not much is said about the life of the Theotokos in Holy Scripture, there is a lot said about her in the writings of the early church fathers, and so the story is passed along throughout the generations within the true Church.  I thought it would be helpful to share some of this information before the feast, so we could begin to prepare our families to celebrate it as richly as possible this Thursday.

Tradition tells us that after the descent of the Holy Spirit at the feast of Pentecost, the disciples remained in Jerusalem with Our Lady as their Mother.  Learning details from her concerning her own life, the annunciation, and the early life of Christ, they bonded as a new " church family" for about 10 years.  As the disciples departed to spread the Gospel to all the nations and the persecution of Christians began under King Herod, it became clear that Our Blessed Mother's life was in danger.  She then, along with St. John the Evangelist, fled to Ephesus in the year 43AD.   It is said by the first century martyr, Dionysius, that Our Lady often visited Jerusalem after her move to Ephesus and would often pray at the burial site of her Son, although it was quite dangerous for her to do so during the persecution.  It was during one of these vigils that the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and foretold to her the details of her Dormition.  She took to her bed, awaiting her departure and prayed fervently that St. John, whom she dearly loved, could be with her as she left the earth.  Mystically, and to his great surprise, he was transported by the Holy Spirit from Ephesus, to Jerusalem to be with her.  She further prayed for the other apostles to be with her, and mystically, and surprisingly, the apostles began to appear before her, along with St. Paul, Dionysius the Aeropagite, who rendered the account of this event, and the other friends and followers of Christ who had known her in life.  All were surprised to find themselves beside her sick bed and marveled at the fact that they had been gathered together so quickly.  Each one, in turn, paid their tearful respects and received words of wisdom and blessing from our Blessed Mother.  She prayed with them that their preaching might be successful and that the whole world would be converted to the truth. 

At 9 AM, with everyone present praying around her sick bed, a brilliant cloud appeared above them and they saw Christ Himself descend, along with a myriad of angels and the souls of all the patriarchs and prophets.  As she saw her Son coming for her, Our Lady began to pray the magnificat once again, as she did the first time He approached her and afterward, she joyfully fell asleep and joined Him.  All at once, the angels began to sing a joyful song, 

“Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou among women! For lo, the Queen, God’s Maiden comes, lift up the gates, and with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of Light; for through Her salvation has come to all the human race. It is impossible to gaze upon Her, and it is impossible to render Her due honor” 

At the time when she joined her Son, the body of the Theotokos had remained present to the apostles, but had begun to emit a sweet and beautiful fragrance. Everyone who approached it for veneration was consoled, and there were many healings among them. The apostles sorrowfully prepared to bury the body, according to their custom, and carried it in procession to its tomb at Gethsemane, with candles and incense.  As they processed, a circular cloud, like a crown, appeared to follow the body of Our Lady and the angels were heard to sing along with the mourners as they walked along.  Because of the persecution, there were many who were determined to upset the procession, and even to set the body on fire, because she was the mother of Jesus.  When the soldiers arrived to arrest them, however, they could only hear them singing, but could not see them.  Several were actually struck completely blind.  A Jewish priest named Anthonios, who intended to push the funeral bier and topple the body to the ground, found his hands cut off by the invisible sword of an angel.  Shocked, he repented, received healing, and joined the procession.  Later, he would become a most zealous convert.  

The apostles proceeded to place the body of Our Lady into a tomb and stand vigil there for three days.  Once again, it is said, that St. Thomas, by an act of God, was late in arriving to say farewell to Mary and was heartbroken.  He begged them to open the tomb so that he could pay his respects and venerate the body.  When they did so, she was not there. Only beautifully fragrant flowers remained in the place where the body had been lain.  They all rejoiced as they realized that she had been assumed bodily into heaven.  That evening, she would appear to them as they prepared for their evening meal, telling them she would be with them always.  They decided to set aside a portion of their bread for her, as they always did for the Savior, beginning a new custom which is observed at monasteries to this day.  

Today, we bring flowers to church to be blessed after the Divine Liturgy, in memory of those flowers found in the tomb of Our Lady.  It is customary to keep these flowers, once dried, to be burned at times of distress.  In our family, we like to make sachets from them to be placed between the mattresses of our beds, to keep away all the evil things that creep around in the darkness of night!  

First, we take a piece of linen, or cotton ( an old pillowcase or sheet works great) or a double layer of tulle, if you prefer, and cut it into a circle or square.  We then fill the center with a few Tablespoons of the dried (and cut-up) blessed flowers and gather the fabric around it, securing the top with a rubber band.  A decorative piece of ribbon can be tied around it, along with a tag explaining the contents and perhaps, the date.  

The Dormition feast is also my mother's birthday!  ( Happy Birthday Mom!)

The children and I are planning a celebration luncheon for her complete with flower themed sandwiches and cupcakes.  Even without a birthday celebration, this is a menu just perfect for an " after Liturgy Feast-Day Brunch". More on this soon!