The Dormition of the Mother of God: the End of the Path to the Holy of Holies
The Mother of God reached the end of her earthly life.
For quite a long time (and even today), the life of the Mother of God remained in the shadow: the gaze of ancient Christians was focused only on Christ, although
since the apostolic times, the Church honored the memory of holy martyrs, who
testified about their faith in the Resurrected Messiah with their own blood. Only
when some people began to talk ill about Virgin Mary, diminishing Her dignity and
hence diminishing the dignity of Christ, the Christians set their sights on the Blessed
Virgin.
The credible ancient story about the last days of the
earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos was carefully preserved by the Church
of Jerusalem. Later that very story became the general tradition for all the other
Churches.
According to the tradition, the Mother of God spent the
last days of Her life in Jerusalem. She often visited the holy for
every Christian’s heart places, which reminded Her of Her Divine Son. Archangel
Gabriel announced Her about the day of Her great decease, and the whole
Christian community of Jerusalem was waiting for that day to come. By the
Divine Will, all the holy apostles were miraculously gathered in Jerusalem on
the day of Mary’s death so that they could accompany Her to the place of Her
burial. As the tradition states, when the apostles stood near the bed of the
Mother of God, Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to them surrounded by His holy
angels, and the Mother of God gave Her soul to the hands of Her Son.
What lesson can we take from the great Dormition of
the Mother of God? Indeed, Christ took the soul His Mother in His hands and, as
many Orthodox Christians believe and many holy fathers state, thus He revived Her and
took to His Kingdom. But what about us? What is coming for us? Ordeals, the
meeting with bright and dark angels? No, if only we live a pious life,
preserving God’s commandments in our hearts. No, if only we become the salt of
the earth, the good leaven of Christ and the sons of light who walk in the true
light of Christ. No, if only we preserve untarnished robe of truth, in which we
got covered after the Sacrament of Baptism – the robe that proves we all are
forgiven by Christ, and that our former royal and priestly image is
restored now: “For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
No, we will not die and neither we will be given in the enemy's hands, if only it is possible to say about us that we “washed our
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). If we
often partake of Christ’s Supper, with humility partake of the Holy Eucharist, if
we bring God the sacrifice of our praise and partake of His Blood and Body, then
we will not be trampled by the evil one because Christ will accept us and
comfort us all.
Let us be brave in our Christian life. Let us hope in
Living God, asking the Mother of God for Her prayers and help, for She never
leaves us without Her protection and never stops praying for Christians. Let us be filled with faith, hope and love, and thus praise the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – the Coessential and Inseparable Trinity.
The word
of St. Andrew of Crete:
“This is the
final goal of the covenants God has made with us; this is the revelation of the
hidden depths of God's incomprehensibility. This is the realization intended
before all the ages; this is the crown of God's oracles, the inexplicable,
supremely unknowable will of him who had cared for humanity since before
creation began. This is the first-fruit of God's communion with his creation,
of His identification as Maker of all things, with what He has made. This is
the concrete, personal pledge of God's reconciliation with humanity, the
surpassing beauty of God's sculpture, the perfectly-drawn portrait of the
divine model. This is the first step to all ascent, to all contemplation; the
holy tabernacle of him who made the world; the vessel that received the
inexhaustible wisdom of God; the inviolate treasury of life. This is the spring
of divine radiance, which can never be drunk dry; the impregnable stronghold,
raised so high over all of us in its purity that it can never be conquered by
passion. Through this woman [the Theotokos], the pledge of our salvation has
been made and kept, in that this marvelous creature has both reach the limits
of our lot and has paid the common debt proper to our nature. And if not all
the features of her life were the same as ours, that is due simply to her
nearness to God.”
Reflections in the Holy Church Tradition:
Kontakion — Tone 2
Neither the
tomb, nor death could hold the Theotokos, Who is constant in prayer and our firm
hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, She was translated to
life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb.
End of the last part.
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about the Dormition of the Mother of God. Check what you know about this feast
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