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. There are many folk traditions associated with the holiday of August 28, signs and church rules that 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 the Mother of God). Dormition - Mother of God holiday.

The holiday, which is celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church on August 28 according to the new style (August 15 according to the 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 comparable in severity to Great Lent. Interestingly, the Assumption is the last twelfth holiday of the Orthodox church year (ending on September 13 according to the 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.

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August 28 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the twelve most important Orthodox holidays. He is greatly revered in the Orthodox world, as evidenced by the many Assumption churches, churches, and monasteries. Many believers do not quite understand the concept of "dormition". Therefore, the question will be further considered - what does the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary mean, what signs exist on this day and how to pray to the Virgin Mary correctly.

The mention of this holiday takes believers far into the past, to the 5th century. It was then that they began to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, but the name was somewhat different - “Memory of the Blessed”, and only the inhabitants of Syria celebrated this day.

Today this holiday is celebrated on the same day every year. And it falls on August 28th. This day is preceded by a short fast - Assumption (August 14 - August 28), but it is very strict and comes second in importance after Great Lent. During this fast, two more holidays are celebrated - Honey Savior (August 14) and Apple Savior (August 19).

The feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is also called the First Most Pure or Easter of the Theotokos. In churches on this day, flowers are presented to the icon depicting the deceased Mother of God and applied.

On the Most Pure, bread should be consecrated in the church. Such pastries will have truly healing properties. Losing or dropping such bread was a very bad omen.

According to tradition, on the feast of the Most Holy Theotokos, they arranged a clubbing. Believers gathered together, set the table, baked pies, and brewed mead. It was customary not to forget about the needy Orthodox believers.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the history of the holiday

According to legend, after Christ was crucified, the Blessed Virgin went every day to Golgotha ​​and prayed at the tomb of the Savior. On one of these days, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and informed her of her imminent death. This news was joyful for her, because her death meant a quick meeting with her son, so the last earthly days, and there were three of them, she lived, praying to the Lord, and urging others to do the same.

When the Blessed Virgin departed, the Savior appeared to her, surrounded by all his angels and archangels.

The body of the Virgin was buried in the ancestral tomb, where her parents and husband had already rested. The funeral was very solemn and seemed to be blocked off by a large wall from the outside world. Many tried to prevent the body from being buried, but they were punished for their efforts.

The tomb of the Blessed Virgin was closed tightly with a stone. Three days after the funeral, the Apostle Thomas came to Jerusalem. He did not have time for the procession and tearfully asked to open the grave in order to say goodbye to the Virgin. When the stone was moved away and they went inside the tomb, there was no body, there were only the robes of the Virgin.

All the apostles gathered together at a common table to celebrate the resurrection of the Blessed Virgin, and the Mother of God came to us, saying: “Rejoice! - I'm with you". Therefore, although dormition is death, this holiday must be celebrated. After all, the Blessed Virgin is next to all believers, and not only on this day.

Historically, it is on this day that priests conduct services in light blue robes. On this holiday, the most extensive service is held, which is not found on any other holy day.

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.

On this day, shoes were of particular importance, in which they walked all day. To rub a corn meant to acquire a long and difficult path to success. Therefore, they tried to put on old, worn-out shoes.

It was customary to send matchmakers to the Most Pure. It was from this day that engagements and wooing were carried out. After all, autumn is the time for weddings, and those who did not have time to find their mate were left alone until next year. On such an occasion, they said: “The impure one brings matchmakers - the Most Pure One has come.”

Also, Orthodox Christians celebrate this day the holiday of one of the main symbols of Ukraine - viburnum. This festival was only for girls, among whom competitions were held. The first to run to the bush and pick the berry should have been the first to be married. It was customary to decorate the whole yard with viburnum, it is a very strong amulet.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, what not to do

Since it follows before the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, it is very important not to sin on the 28th when you leave the fast. This means not to indulge in gluttony, which the Orthodox are very fond of doing at a magnificent feast.

• On this day, you can not do work either in the field, or in the garden, or in the garden, or in the house. It is considered a bad sign to stick a knife into the ground on this day. The next harvest will be bad.
• Believers say that on the day of the Dormition one should not walk barefoot on the ground. And then many diseases will attack. Also, do not offend close relatives and neighbors, scold them.
• On August 28, young girls should not cut their hair and throw it away. In this way, they can draw the tears of the Virgin Mary.
• It is not advisable to make a fire on this day, so as not to attract various misfortunes to the house.

The only thing they do on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to remove damage and various conspiracies.

On the day of the Most Pure, it was customary to preserve vegetables, especially cucumbers and tomatoes. Fresh vegetables were already departing, and preparations for the winter season had to be made. Also on this day they harvested in the garden: viburnum, pears and apples.

Prayers to the Virgin Mary

The bright holiday of the First Pure One must be combined with prayers. Prayers for the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos are aimed at mentioning the Virgin Mary, worshiping her and approaching the Mother of God. The main prayer is long enough and has the following text:

“O Most Holy Theotokos, Virgin, Lady, the highest angel and archangel, and the most honest of all creatures, angelic great surprise, prophetic lofty sermon, apostolic glorious praise, pretty adornment of the saints, strong affirmation of the martyrs, saving instruction of the monks, fasting inexhaustible abstinence, virgin purity and word, quiet joy of mothers, babies of wisdom and punishment, widows and orphans to nurses, naked robes, sick health, deliverance of captives, floating calmly on the sea, overwhelmed by a calm haven, wandering an easy mentor, traveling an easy transition, toiling for a good rest, in troubles that are an ambulance Intercessor, offended cover and refuge, hopeless hope, requiring an assistant, the poor inexhaustible wealth, sad perpetual consolation, hated loving humility, salvation of sinners and appropriation to God, the faithful of all a firm fence, invincible help and intercession.
By you, the Lady, we see the invisible, and we offer you a prayer, Madam, your sinful servants: O merciful and wonderful light of the intelligent Queen, who gave birth to the King Christ our God, the Life-Giver of all, glorified from heaven and praised from earth: an angelic mind, a luminous star , most holy, Queen of queens, mistress of all creatures, Divine Virgin, indecent Bride, the chamber of the Most Holy Spirit, the fiery throne of the invisible King, the heavenly bow, carried the Word of God, the fiery chariot, the rest of the living God, the ineffable composition of the Flesh of Christ: the nest of the Eagle of Heaven, the turtledove God-voiced, meek dove, quiet and gentle, mother of a child, abyss of mercy, opening up a cloud of God's wrath, immeasurable depth, ineffable secretly, an unknown miracle, not made by hands in the church of the one King of all ages, a fragrant censer, honest purple, Ornate porphyro, spiritual paradise, life-giving garden branch, a beautiful flower, heavenly joy that flourished for us, a bunch of our salvation, a bowl of the King of Heaven , in it, dissolve the wine of inexhaustible grace from the Holy Spirit, Intercessor of the law, conceived the true faith of Christ, an unshakable pillar, pernicious heretics, the sword of God's wrath on the God-opposing, demons intimidation, victory in battles, Christians of all unfalse custodian, and the world of all known salvation.

“O all-merciful Lady, Virgin, Lady, Mother of God, hear us praying to You and show Your mercy on Your people, pray to Your Son to deliver us from all evil, and save our abode, and every abode, and city, and the country of the faithful, and people piously resorting and calling on Your holy name, from every misfortune, destruction, famine, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, internecine strife, from every disease, and every situation: yes, neither wounds, nor banning, nor pestilence, nor any righteous anger Thy servants will be humbled: but keep and save by Thy mercy, Lady, praying for us, and grant us the beneficial goodness of the air at the time of the fruitful offering: make it easier, restore and have mercy, having mercy on the Lady, the Mother of God, in every misfortune and need of being.
Remember Thy servants, and do not despise our tears and sighs and renew us with the goodness of Your mercy, so that with thanksgiving we are comforted by having found Thee Helper. Have mercy, the Most Pure Lady, on Your weak people, our hope: gather the scattered ones, guide those who have gone astray on the right path, return the packs of those who have fallen away from the pious fatherly faith, support old age, punish the young, raise babies, and glorify the glorifying You, rather observe the Church of Your Son , and keep in the longitude of the days.”

“O merciful and merciful Queen of heaven and earth, Mother of God Ever-Virgin! Through Your intercession, have mercy on our country and its Christ-loving inhabitants, and all Orthodox Christians, keeping them under the cover of Your mercy, protect them with Your honest robe: and pray from You, incarnated without the seed of Christ our God, may gird us from above with power on all our visible and invisible enemies , against foreigners and fellow tribesmen who are fighting against us and against our Orthodox faith.
Save and have mercy, Madam, most holy patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops of the Orthodox, priests and deacons, and all the parish of the church, and all the faithful people bowing and praying before your honest icon. Look upon all with the contemplation of Your merciful intercession: Raise us up from the depths of sin, and enlighten the eyes of the heart with the vision of salvation, be merciful to us here, and at the terrible judgment of Your Son, beg for us, reposed in piety from the life of this life of Your servant, in eternal life with Angels and Archangels, and with all the saints, may they appear at the right hand of Your Son and God: and by Your prayer, make all Orthodox Christians live with Christ, and enjoy the joys of angels in heavenly villages. Thou art, Mistress, the glory of heaven and the hope of the earthly, You are our hope, and the intercessor of all those who flow to You, and Your holy help for those who ask: You are our warm prayer house to Your Son and our God: Your motherly prayer can do a lot for the supplication of the Lord, and By your intercession to the throne of grace of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries, we dare to approach even unworthy.
The same is your all-honorable image, and by your hand holding the Almighty, seeing on the icon, we rejoice in sinners, falling down with tenderness, and with this love we kiss, hoping, Madam, with Your holy God-pleasing prayers to reach heavenly endless life, and shamefully stand on the day of judgment at the right hand of Your Son and God ours, glorifying Him together with the Beginningless Father, and the Most Holy, Good, Life-Giving and Consubstantial Spirit, forever and ever. Amen"

Prayer on this day to the Mother of God is obligatory for those who worship the Virgin Mary, and who consciously fasted during the Dormition Fast. This will help to get closer to the Blessed Virgin and spiritually enriched.

Thus, outlining what the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos means , we can confidently say that death should not be perceived as a tragedy. Christ the Savior, after his crucifixion, took all the sins at his own expense, and all who die after that do not die, but fall asleep (fall asleep), thus passing into the eternal kingdom. Therefore, it is customary to celebrate the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, observing certain rules and traditions.

The Lord is always with you!

You will also be interested in watching a video about the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Assumption of the Virgin. Icon / Pravmir

August ends with two important religious holidays at once - this is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary-2018 and.

In today's material, we have collected the most important things to know about the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin.

Assumption of the Virgin-2018: date

The date of the holiday does not change from year to year - it is August 28th. At the same time, the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos is 1 day of fore-feast and 9 days of after-feast.

Just finished the day before.

How to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: what they ask for

On this day, believers will ask the Most Holy Theotokos for help and intercession. Before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos they also pray:

• about getting rid of the fear of physical death;
• about the strengthening of faith;
• in illnesses.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: signs

There are many signs associated with the holiday. In particular, it is believed that after the Assumption, the Indian summer begins - but it is already time to prepare for autumn. By this time, the summer harvest was already over, as was the main harvest. But they began to collect mushrooms and nuts, storing them for the winter.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary-2018: what not to do

On the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos it is impossible:

• work both at home and in the garden - read more in our material;
• walk barefoot on the Assumption;
• wearing old or uncomfortable shoes;
• pick up piercing and cutting objects;
• spread the fire;
• quarrel and swear;
• wish someone harm;
• On August 28, young girls were forbidden to cut their hair and then throw it away.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary-2018: congratulations

To you on the day of the Mother of God of the Assumption

I want to sincerely wish from my heart

To heavenly blessing

Always accompany you in everything.

May the Virgin of the Most Holy Prayer be the strength

Will protect you from all adversity.

So that there is much joy in life,

That which the heart longs for and calls for!

Today, on the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, I want to sincerely wish you to always appreciate everything that you have in your life, do not waste time on insults and stupid quarrels with loved ones, cherish every moment of happiness and joy, give your heart the opportunity to sincerely love and hope. May the life path of the Mother of God and holy prayers warm and fill the souls with grace.

Congratulations on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

Great heavenly and earthly Lady,

Virgin Mary Holy Mother of Christ,

From those centuries and now devoted to God.

May the angels of heaven bring us love,

With a heavenly prayer they will save from Satan,

Pray Virgin Mary for health and happiness,

Drive away all troubles, drive away bad weather.

From the bottom of my heart I congratulate everyone on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary! May the joy and grace of the holiday not leave our souls for as long as possible!

Holy Mother of God,

We don't forget about you

We pray and praise

We often remember in church.

Holy Mother of God,

We only beg for love

And we rely on strength

We conjure by Christ God.

Holy Mother of God,

We wish you all the best, love,

You will help, we know for sure

We expect a miracle of happiness.

With the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary! May the Blessed Virgin Mary protect and save you and your loved ones from adversity. May warmth, love and understanding always reign in your home.

28th, in the month of August,

We will gather in honor of the Mother of God,

Feast of the Dormition and Ascension,

To the son Jesus of spiritual zeal.

Sinless, beloved, pure virgin,

Looks at us from the azure sky,

Pray and ask her

To live this holiday in love.

More congratulations in our material.

Historical content

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, who everywhere glorified Christ God, also appeased His Most Pure Mother, who then still lived on earth.

The Most Holy Theotokos approached Her most honorable and glorious Assumption already full of days; 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 when 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 bowed as if animated, 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 needy. 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 to her most pure body that it 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. placing in Zion in front of the door of the house where the Mother of God dwelt. 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 to comfort 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 the sight of 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 each one 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 tens of angels and archangels, with all the heavenly powers, with the holy forefathers and prophets who once foreshadowed the Blessed 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 be Thy name, O Lord of glory and My God, who deigned to choose Thy humble servant to serve Thy 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 angelic singing, filled with joy, began, in which were heard, often repeated by the 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 hymns, the heavenly ranks escorted the most holy soul of the Mother of God, in the hands 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 were also sung. 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 over 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 ground 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, for the greater glory of the Mother of God rose again, and a multitude of 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; we saw from the very beginning 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 He, by the power of His Divinity, rose on the third day, 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 with faith to attach 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; there was only a cut-off sign, 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. The merciful Mother of all, our Most Holy Lady, 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 revered 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 burial 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, placing 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 erect a particle of bread set aside in honor of the Lord, glorifying the Most Holy Trinity, they 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 her 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 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 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 disdaining, 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. The description of the holiness of the soul and appearance of the Mother of God is also found in 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, which penetrated 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.

On 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 Christ's Last Supper was), "they were all with one accord in prayer and supplication, with some women 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 () had previously rested on the Most Pure Virgin, and until now was a temple worthy of His, in which He remained 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 St. Ignatius the God-bearer to St. John the Theologian of Antioch:

With us, he writes, there are 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 strengthened, 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 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 urged her to send praise to her Son and God.

But Herod’s persecution befell the Church: he killed James, the brother of John, who had 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, St. 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 letter to the clergy of Constantinople from the fathers of the third ecumenical council, which met 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: 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 there as a bishop, 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 the 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 so that She could 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 greatly revered this place, 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 of Her, and showed great reverence to Her Who gave birth to 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, by the providence of God, 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 manifested 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 vine 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 rises 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 doubtless - 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 have recognized Her as the true God and would have honored Her with the worship befitting only God alone, if my newly enlightened soul had not retained 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 leader of the invincible, who mercifully showed me such a great beneficence.

From this epistle of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, we clearly see what divine grace illuminated the face of our Most Pure Lady during Her life on earth and how the 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 the 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 Assumption 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 received Her, - Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Canons and Akathists

Canto 1

Irmos: Embellished with Divine glory, sacred and glorious, Virgin, Thy memory is all gathered to the joy of the faithful, the beginning Mariama, from the face and timbrel, singing to Thy Only Begotten: gloriously glorified.

May the immaterial rank of the heavenly escort to Zion Your Divine body, suddenly the apostle has flowed down from the end, the Theotokos, You stand before Abie, with them, Pure, Your honest, Virgin, we glorify your memory.

Thou hast taken victorious honors to nature, Pure One, having given birth to God, both of which, being like Your Creator and Son, obey natural law more than nature. You died the same, rise with the Son, eternal.

Canto 3

Irmos: Creator and content of all God's Wisdom and Strength, affirm the unbending, immovable Church, O Christ, Thou alone is Holy, rest in the saints.

Thy wife is mortal, but more than nature and the Mother of God, having seen, the All-Immaculate, glorious apostles, I terribly touch my hands with glory, shedding light, as if seeing a God-pleasing Village.

Grasp the hand of the vexatious daring, with the truncation of the court inflicted, God will keep the honor of the animated Kivot, the glory of the Divine, in Nemzha the Word was flesh.

Sedalen

Canto 4

Irmos: The speeches of the prophets and fortune-telling will manifest the incarnation from Your Virgin, Christ: the radiance of Your brilliance will come out in the light of tongues, and the abyss will proclaim to You with joy: glory to Your power, Lover of mankind.

You see, people, and wonder: the mountain, holy and clear to God in the heavenly abodes, will soar above, the earthly heaven is inhabited in the heavenly and incorruptible village.

Your everlasting life and better death is your transience, Pure, from temporary to Divine, truly and irrevocably transforming You, Pure, in the joy of the Son to see Your and the Lord.

Taking hold of the doors of Heaven, and the angels rushing, and Christ of His virginity to the Mother of the vessel is received; The Cherubim lifted Thee up with joy, but the Seraphim are glorified, rejoicing.

Canto 5

Irmos: Let us confess God and the unspeakable goodness of Thy virtues, O Christ: from the Eternal Glory, the Co-eternal and Hypostatic Radiance, from the virgin womb, incarnated in darkness and canopy, Thou hast shone forth the Sun.

As if on a cloud, Virgo, wear the apostolic face, to Zion from the end to serve You, the Light Cloud, gathering: from the Unholy Highest God to those who are in darkness and canopy, the Righteous rise of the Sun.

The trumpets of acceptance of God by the tongues of theological men cry out most graciously to the Mother of God, the original proclaiming song by the Spirit: Rejoice, incorruptible Source of God, life-giving and saving incarnation to all.

Canto 6

Irmos: Sea abyssal whales inner fire - a three-day Your burial is a prefiguration, even Jonah the prophet appeared. Bo is saved, as if he had been sent, unharmed, crying out: I will devour Thee with a voice of praise, Lord.

The King of all God gives you even above nature: in the Nativity, save the Virgin, so keep the body incorruptible in the tomb and glorify with Divine repose, honor to you, like the Son of the Mother, bestowing.

Truly Thee, as if the candle of the immaterial Light was bright, the golden censer of Divine Coal, instilled in the Holy of Holies, a pen and a rod, a divinely written tablet, a holy ark, a meal of the Word of life, Virgin, Thy Nativity.

Kontakion, tone 2

Ikos

Canto 7

Irmos: The Divine desire resists cold fury and fire, the fire is more watering, but laughing at fury, with the divinely inspired verbal venerable three-pronged forefinger of the Musikian organ in the midst of the flame: glorified of the fathers and our God, blessed be Thou.

The God-made tablets of Moses, written by the Divine Spirit, crush with rage, but this Lord Who gave birth unharmed into Heaven, save the houses now inside. Playing with her, we cry to Christ: glorified of the fathers and our God, blessed be you.

In cymbals - clean lips, but in Musik - with a bright heart, a good-voiced trumpet - with high thought, the Virgin and the Pure on the deliberate chosen day of repose, with active splashing hands, crying out: glorified of the fathers and our God, blessed be thou.

Gather together, people of God's wisdom: For the glory of God, the village is being transferred from Zion to a heavenly dwelling, where the voice of the celebrating is pure, the voice of unspeakable joy, and in the joy of those crying out to Christ: glorified of the fathers and our God, blessed be Thou.

Canto 8

Irmos: The flame, irrigating the reverend, but scorching the wicked, the almighty angel of God showed the youth, the life-giving source made the Mother of God, the aphids of death and the belly I sing to those who sing: We will sing the One Creator, deliverance, and exalt for all ages.

All the multitude of Theologians in Zion follow the sacred Divine Ark: Where are you going now, Tabernacle, calling, the Living God? Do not stop contemplating the faith of those who sing: We sing the only Creator, deliverance, and exalt for all ages.

As if, raising your hand, proceed, All-blameless, hand, in the image of God you wore the flesh, with boldness, like Mati, you said to the Born: even Me gave you, save forever, crying out to You: We sing to the One Creator, deliverance, and exalt to all eyelids.

Canto 9

Irmos: Nature's statutes are conquered in Thee, Pure Virgin: for Christmas is virgin and the belly betroths death; after the birth of the Virgin and after death is alive, you always save, Mother of God, your inheritance.

I marvel at the Angelic forces, in Zion, looking at their Lord, carrying a woman’s soul with the hands of the one who bears them, proclaiming with perfect purity to the Son-born: come, Pure One, be glorified with the Son and God.

The apostolic face of Your God-pleasing body is tidy, with fear seeing and a great voice broadcasting: Ascending to Heavenly houses to the Son, save Your legacy, Mother of God.

Svetilen

(Three times)

Canto 1

Irmos: I will open my mouth, and the Spirit will be filled;

Virgin maidens, with Mariamia the prophetess, now exclaim the original song: the Virgin is more and one Mother of God to the acceptance of Heaven.

It is worthy, as if animated by Thee Heaven, the Heavenly, Most Pure, Divine villages, and appeared, lightly decorated, as the Bride, the All-Immaculate, to the King and God.

Canto 3

Irmos: Your hymnologists, Mother of God, the living and unenviable Source, spiritually affirm the face of your copulation, in the Divine memory of Your crowns of glory.

Produced from the dead loins, like nature, Pure, let the procession, having given birth to the living Life, to the Divine and Hypostatic Life passed away.

The face of the Theologians from the end, but from above the Angel of the multitude to Zion went with an all-powerful wave, worthily, Mistress, serving Your burial.

Sedalen

Let us bless Thee, give birth to all, Virgin Mary, in Thee, the Incomprehensible Christ our God will be accommodated. Blessed are we and we, the intercession of Thy property: day and night pray for us and give birth to Christianity, your prayers are affirmed. To those, singing, we cry to Thee: Rejoice, O Gracious One, the Lord is with Thee.

Canto 4

Irmos: The unsearchable Council of God, hedgehog from the Virgin of the Incarnation to You, the Most High, the prophet Habakkuk seeing, calling: glory to Your power, Lord.

It was a miracle to see the Heaven of all the King animated, earthly excrement transient, how wonderful your deeds are! Glory to Your power, Lord.

Asche and incomprehensible Seya Fruit, Imzhe the heavens were, the burial is pleasing to the will, as if dead; what kind of burial will the unskillfully born one reject?

In Your repose, Mother of God, Your most spacious body and the God-pleasing angelic host are covered with sacred wings with trepidation and joy.

Canto 5

Irmos: Terrified of all about Your honest Assumption: You are more, Unsophisticated Virgin, from the earth you have passed away to an eternal abode and to endless life, to all who sing of Thee, giving salvation.

May the trumpets of the theologians sound this day, may the tongue of the many-talked human now praise, may the air resound, shining with immeasurable light, may the Angels sing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.

The vessel is better chosen, we are all surprised by the singing of Thee, the Virgin, is the source, the whole is consecrated to God, is pleasing to everyone, and this is truly manifest, to the Mother of God of All-Place.

Canto 6

Irmos: This divine and all-honorable feast, God of Wisdom, Mother of God, come, let us clap our hands, we glorify the God who was born from Her.

Life ascended from Thee, without destroying the keys of virginity; What more pure and life-giving Thy body of the temptation of death was involved?

Formerly a temple of life, thou hast improved the everlasting life: by death, thou hast passed to the stomach, even though Life has given birth to the incarnate.

Kontakion, tone 2

In prayers to the Unsleeping Mother of God and in intercession, the immutable hope of the coffin and mortification cannot be held back: as if Mother’s Belly to the stomach, put it into the womb of the ever-virgin Indwelling.

Ikos

Protect my thoughts, my Christ, for I dare to sing the Wall of the world, Thy Pure Mother, strengthen me on the pillar and in heavy thoughts intercede for me, for you who call and ask with faith fulfill prayers. Thou grant me, therefore, a tongue that is brought forth and a thought that is not shameful: every radiance of radiance is sent down from Thee, O Light-Giver, indwelt in the ever-virgin womb.

Canto 7

Irmos: Do not serve the creature of God's Wisdom, more than the Creator, but, the fiery rebuke is masculinely correct, rejoicing, singing: the venerable Lord and God of the fathers, blessed be Thou.

Young men and virgins, honoring the memory of the Virgin and the Mother of God, elders, and monks, king and judge, sing: our father, Lord and God, blessed art thou.

Let the heavenly mountains sound with a spiritual trumpet, let the hills rejoice, and let the divine apostles play: the Queen reposes to the Son, reigning with Him.

All-sacred repose of Thy Divine and Incorruptible Mother of the supreme powers of the Highest, combine ranks, rejoice with those on earth who sing to You: God, blessed be Thou.

Canto 8

Irmos: The youths of the pious in the cave Nativity of the Theotokos saved is, then squalidly formed, now active, lifts up the whole universe to sing to You: Sing to the Lord, deeds, and exalt Him to all ages.

Thy Memory, Pure Virgin, Beginnings, and Powers, and Forces, Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Cherubim and fearful Seraphim; but the human race - we sing and exalt for all ages.

Even strangely dwelling, the Mother of God, in Your pure womb, incarnate, This, the all-sacred spirit of Your reception, rest in Yourself, like a debtor Son. The same we sing to Thee, Virgin, and exalt Thee forever.

Oh, higher than the mind of the miracles of the Ever-Virgin and the Mother of God! Move into the coffin, showing paradise. He is coming today, rejoicing, we sing: Sing to the Lord, works, and exalt Him to all ages.

Canto 9

Irmos: Let every earthly one leap, Enlighten with the Spirit, let the nature triumph of the incorporeal minds, honoring the sacred repose of the Mother of God, and let it cry out: Rejoice, Blessed Mother of God, Pure Ever-Virgin.

Come to Zion, to the Divine and fat Mountain of the living God, let us rejoice, the Mother of God beholding: to the best and Divine canopy, like the Mother, this in the Holy of Holies, Christ transcend.

Come, believers, let us approach the tomb of the Mother of God and embrace, hearts and lips, eyes and face, purely touching and drawing healing unenviable gifts from the ever-flowing source.

Receive from us the original song, Mother of the living God, and Thy luminous and Divine autumn grace, victorious army, Christ-loving people - peace, abandonment - giving salvation to those who sing and souls.

Svetilen

Apostles, having copulated here from the end, in Gethsemane, bury my body, and you, Son and my God, receive my spirit. (Three times)

Kondak 1

Chosen from all generations of God-her Ma-te-ri and Tsaritsa, ascending from the earth to Ne-be-si, b-go-go-vey singing about pre- we honor your Dormition, we bring your servants, God-begotten. But you, as if having trouble over death, free yourself from all of us death-bearing troubles, but call Thee:

Ikos 1

An angel was sent to the pre-peaceful Her exaltation and appearance to Her Son and God, shining brightly about Her and standing , zo-vy ta-ko-vaya:

Rejoice, pre-joy-van-naya Mati Tsa-reva;

Rejoice, Heavenly Queen, Mother of God and the Lord, Ne-be-be-se and earth.

Rejoice, fore-reading the pre-greatness of the coming to Thee of Thy Son and God;

Rejoice, rise-of-a-person-of-the-we-we-e-e-e-th to the Son from the procession.

Rejoice, chosen from all generations by God;

Rejoice, holy style of the Word of God.

Rejoice, pro-roches-of-th-pro-re-fulfillment;

Rejoice, most honorable Apostle's crown.

Rejoice, holy adornment and good priest;

Rejoice, ruler of fertilizer and power.

Rejoice, God-wise monks ascending to the Kingdom of Heaven;

Rejoice, opening the gates of paradise to the Christian race, bless you forever.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 2

Seeing the Apostle's face, with all-strong ma-but-veni-em from the end of the earth to the cloud-workshop before the most-honest-nomu Thy-e-mu, Pre-not-by- fateful, to the Dormition, priest-but-on-the-chief: Di-o-nisiy - not-heavenly mystic, Hiero-fey marvelous and Ti-mo-fey with the God-stucco honor of the priesthood in praise of God: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 2

Reasonable all creation, the oldest chi-no-na-chalia angelic pri-and-dosha with its Tsar, Even in His life-in-the-first-hand, the soul of Mate-re His-her nice; Peter, warm in faith, with many tears to Her from-re-che, calling:

Rejoice, to the pre-peaceful, Mother Creator of the world, ascending;

Rejoice, to the pre-heavenly ones, pro-early-early heavens, earth-scha-I-sya.

Rejoice, thou who sanctified the four-part verse by Thy resurrection;

Rejoice, heavenly rise-ve-se-living-by-your-give-we-e-e.

Rejoice, in Jerus-sa-lim Gorniy, the most-to-red, accepted;

Rejoice, thou who hast-joyfully entered into your-not-your-temples.

Rejoice, He-ru-vim and Se-ra-fim to the Queen;

Rejoice, Ar-khange-lov Vla-dychi-tse.

Rejoice, run away the faithful and rescue;

Rejoice, Thy-e-mu-to-stand help and protection.

Rejoice, about the whole world, Christians to God Ho-data-i-tse;

Rejoice, blessings of all kinds

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 3

The power of the Most High is re-hit from In-dia Fo-mu, for some reason of the will of God, I will not be better for him in the most-honest Assumption of God-mother, and before- put the living-in-the-receiver-mu of Her coffin, even, Pre-place-shu-yu-sya with-nick-vide-ty, cheers-me-not-hay on Ne-be-sa with the body and, vero -vav, about this voz-pi: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 3

Having a student in mind, as if God were looking at him, he didn’t want to lead God-mother-re with others together, being about the deathless of Her Assumption, this one in piyashe to Her:

Rejoice, having received from the earth the hand of Thy Son;

Rejoice, thou who has ascended to the most high, wait for His glory.

Rejoice, guide from all the chi-but-on-chali angels in the Mountain;

Rejoice, lifting-May of He-ru-vima to the Heavenly and Heavenly Heavens.

Rejoice;

Rejoice, from all Heavenly citizens surrounded and blessed.

Rejoice, Earthly Heaven, to the Higher-high village;

Rejoice, Holy Table of the Lord, who ascended from the earth into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rejoice, our intercession and strong intercession;

Rejoice, sinner

Rejoice, Queen Christ and according to God, Na-hope of the Heavenly Kingdom;

Rejoice, Mother of Life, and according to the Lord we have the hope of eternal life.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 4

A storm inside having Af-phony in-the-mice-lazy of the unfaithful and in vain the God-bearing-mi Apostles of the God-mother-re Most-honest Body all-honestly un-hay to the grave, co-op -verification of the aspirant; out-of-the-way, when, with a blind-eyed laziness, his hand is taken away to one-ru with-lep-lena hanging-ste, by faith, the Mother of God, in-veda-she, in-piya to God: Al-li-luia .

Ikos 4

Hearing the mysteries and self-viewers of the Word of the Angels, singing the most high songs at the burial of the God-pleasing body of God to Mat-re, and give honor ho-heavier pleasing to God, sweat-right now, according to singing, saying:

Rejoice, thou who didst receive the good news of Thy presence in the Heavenly Kingdom;

Rejoice, thou who received the joy of heaven from the good of Gav-riel.

Rejoice, most-honest he-ru-vimsky multitude of enlightened ones;

Rejoice, glorious se-ra-fimskoe nature re-joy-vav-shay.

Rejoice, pro-ob-ra-zo-bathroom from the patriarchs;

Rejoice, pre-exalted from the prophets.

Rejoice, evil insolence of Af-foni-e-woo soon from-avenging-shay;

Rejoice, you who gave healing to a man.

Rejoice, you who converted into faith Af-foni-e-into non-belief;

Rejoice, thou who didst receive the knowledge faithfully.

Rejoice, ascending to Ne-be-si love and faith to those who have;

Rejoice, thou who saveth by faith call upon thy name.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 5

God-flowing stars, Apostles of the saints, in the under-heaven times-sowing for the sake of the gospel, raise-up-the-women on the cloud-workshop, according to the wide-ro-te air , to the burial of the Mother of the Lord, Yuzhe stumps and songs of the leader, with In-substantial cries-we-wahu: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 5

Seeing God, the seers of their own Vladyka, in the hands of the Mother, they received His soul, and the Lord-yes That-go-ra-zu-mevshe, nose-love of the songs of the blessings of the sing-sing of Yu:

Rejoice, Tsaritsa, over all the Kingdom-th-who-who-beared;

Rejoice, and Sa-ma ru-kama of His son-new-ma but-simaya.

Rejoice, royal scepter in Christ's right hand;

Rejoice, in Noah's hand is a branch of a dove.

Rejoice, rod of Aarons, who has hibernated non-corruption;

Rejoice, krine not-fading-yes-my, pro-blooming without-death.

Rejoice, God-from-da-da-vida tsev-nice Bo-go-breath-but-vein;

Rejoice, prophecy of his rise to the word, psalm-tyryu and harp of the most-to-red.

Rejoice, soulful saint of the Lord, raise the ki-vote;

Rejoice, in the Lord's Day, resurrected our lives.

Rejoice, tabernacle, overshadowed by He-ru-vims;

Rejoice, Holy of Holies, from Se-ra-fimov g-gole-may.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 6

The prophets of God-bearing the Apostle, after the procession to the pre-peaceful Mother of God in the general se-denium of the usual meal was the former and the offering of part of the bread in the Name of the Lord below, above, but beyond, above God-born, the Queen, who came with the light-bearing angels, in vain and, having heard peace from the Son and God -she, exclaim about this: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 6

Raise the Sun of Truth to us, Christ God from Your most pure lodges, by the will and blessings of the pro-knowledge through the Apostles, the world is enlightened and You, God-mother, from generation to generation pro-lavi. In the same way, we all appease Thee, drinking Thee:

Rejoice, Blessed One from all generations forever and ever;

Rejoice, b-go-u-t-rob and Merci-vaya for man-lo-eye.

Rejoice, teaching-to-nothing-face the promise of fulfilling;

Rejoice, Thy son-to-be from Thy Son and God, who gave peace to that.

Rejoice, all-sweet sight of saints;

Rejoice, most-beautiful mothers and virgins of saints, all-be-all-bearing joy.

Rejoice, living the heavenly village of the righteous;

Rejoice, Thou who visits all in the glory of the heavenly beings.

Rejoice, the beginning of a che-lo-veches-ka-spa-senation;

Rejoice, fulfillment of all good wishes.

Rejoice, according to God, the Tsar of the kingdom-of-those, God-born Queen;

Rejoice, according to the Lord of the rulers, our Lord, Lord and Lord.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 7

Whoever wants all with faith, enter into Your holy temple, God-begotten, save you forever and glorify Thee from all the misfortunes and troubles of your God; to the same and blessed faithful people, who bless Thee, in trouble for the opposition, grant and all for the salvation of the request, give us, yes, we pray about this -be and sing to God: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 7

A new for-a-creation, appear to us, Thy Lord, Thy-fight, God-born. You are an akin to thinking about us to He-mu, honestly re-reading Your most-honest Assumption, p-and-mi-si-tse-vaya You-be-drinking:

Rejoice, Mother of God, chosen from the earth;

Rejoice, higher than the earthly and Heavenly.

Rejoice, He-ru-vim and Se-ra-fimov, h-re-exalted;

Rejoice, the face of the teaching cloud to the grave of thee, the share of the purchase.

Rejoice, Fo-mu, according to Thy grave, by the power of God, before-putting it out of the row;

Rejoice, having assured Thy in Heaven with the flesh, transcendence.

Rejoice, beautifully decorated with all the good-children;

Rejoice, more beautiful than the sons of human beings, the Son is honored with His own.

Rejoice, like a phoenix, pro-blooming in the resurrected flesh;

Rejoice, like a cedar in the heavenly Lebanon, mind-knife-sha-ya.

Rejoice, tree of life, planted in the middle of paradise above;

Rejoice, fore-thought exalted in the Mountain from the flood of death.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 8

It is strange in the highest leading You, the Chosen One, like the sun, the Lord, inside the heavenly, not-before-thought-beauty-honeycombs and not-from-re-chenny goodness - mouth, touchingly to the Son and God, I hold His hand-mother, which ascended and over-joyfully-but bowed-shu-shu-sya life-on-the-first of His right hand, about this not -be-stand in-drink: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 8

All the former go-re, taken to Heaven and, leaving no earthly ones, God-mother, ru-kama Sy-novni-ma but-sima, in not-for-ho-dimaya inside, in this city is all-luminous and more-to-red, Jeru-sa-lim above, He-ru-vimy stands with all heavenly powers, where he hears these singing:

Rejoice, Ey-holy soul in the highest all-bright Zion is all-lying;

Rejoice, Even the incorruptible body there with the soul is glorified.

Rejoice, having entered the capital city of Sa-ma-go All-hold-live-la;

Rejoice, ascending to the pre-red paradise of the Most High Na-sa-child-la.

Rejoice, hay-free city, founded from all-luminous stones;

Rejoice, introduced into the fence, costing the howls of the powers above.

Rejoice, above Heaven for the goodness of God taken;

Rejoice, more honorable than all non-material minds.

Rejoice, bringing to Your Son and God the prayer of the faithful;

Rejoice, and Sa-ma does not stop at the Holy Table of Your Son and God, praying for everyone.

Rejoice, Standing before God, saving the world;

Rejoice, For-feet, to the Christian family from God, yes-ro-bathroom.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 9

Every angelic nature exalts Thee, O God-kind, but give birth to all of us, Mother of God, we glorify and honor Your most honorable Assumption, Queen: For the sake of the earth, for the sake of the heavenly, they buy together, according to singing to God: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 9

Ve-tiystva of God-said prophetic speeches now we see about You, having come true-I-sya, God-begotten, as if I were truly God in the flesh of the ro-di-la thou US. The same sacrament-to-ve-se-God's faith, we-drink:

Rejoice, for-the-horse and the prophets, the main-perfection;

Rejoice, star-to-Jacob-la, Ba-laam pro-ro-ko-bath.

Rejoice, od-re of the Tsar of the Great, prophesied by So-lo-mon;

Rejoice, ru-no, irrigated by Jesus, re-bathed by Gideon.

Rejoice, Un-opaque Ku-pee-no, for-but-for-falsely-foreseeable;

Rejoice, O Holy One, the husband of desire provided.

Rejoice, heavenly flattery, Jacob-fore-move-May;

Rejoice, the door that is not passed through, Ezekiel foreseeable.

Rejoice, the sun of the village of Christ, the psalm-singer before-appearing;

Rejoice, sacrament, a lot of pro-rocks about-on-re-cheated.

Rejoice, prophetic voice of all, foretold about Thee, bringing the end;

Rejoice, thou who didst the whole of the Highest scrutiny for the salvation of the world.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 10

Save the world, God of all, the Lord from the earth, Your kind from brother to Mother Se-be and, for the sake of us being a man-lo-age, ascend, from nowhere descend, to Ne- be-si from the earth, and You-be with So-battle rise-ve-de to abide in eternal glory and co-kingdom with So-battle, who doesn’t have the end , The same, like God, hears from everyone: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 10

Step on the faithful, God-born Virgin, and intercession for all who come to You, for You-be-be-se and the earth are Yours, from Te- passed through the flesh, Most Pure, in spirit and body in the Heavenly You, pre-se-li, for the nearest intercession of all, and even invite them to teach:

Rejoice, city of the Tsar of the Great-face of the top of the Heavenly Mountain;

Rejoice, ste-but and in-rove, not hiding from our coming.

Rejoice, faithful to the enemy in your own way;

Rejoice, fleeing Hagaran invasions.

Rejoice, good faith, do not move my preservation;

Rejoice, heresy-to-the-th-of-the-half-of-the-co-re-rhenium.

Rejoice, joy and peace existing in the world;

Rejoice, all-killer-of-hell-on-right.

Rejoice, warriors-things on the flesh, we are whole-wise from a row wedding;

Rejoice, torment-no-thing-of-movements all-honest glorification.

Rejoice, good work-home Ho-data-and-tse blessed repose;

Rejoice, ye who bless those who grieve, Giver of eternal joy.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 11

Singing all God-spiritual-but-very songs does not draw from us to the praise of the all-honorable Dormition of Thy-e-th, All-praised Vladychi-tse, Tsarina Bo- dear, but diligently, we bring you, like Ma-te-ri the Tsar of all, our humble prayer, with Heaven-heavens chinmi singing to the One-mu worthy pro-glorifying God to You: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 11

The light-receiving candle of the truth-on-the-go Light to those who exist on earth, appear to us, enlighten the souls and honor Your all-honest repose to God -still-but-mu-on-stand-lying, let's sing Ti si-tse-vaya:

Rejoice, sve-sche not-ugh-simaya fire-not-material-on-go;

Rejoice, for-re not-for-ho-dim Light of no-ve-black.

Rejoice, lu-no, from the Sun the truth about-whether-hundred-was;

Rejoice, light-stay, shining in the darkness.

Rejoice, luminary, placed above him on the candlestick;

Rejoice, radiate life, from the grave into the light of the day.

Rejoice, Mother of the Light of the smart, blessed souls of the enlightening;

Rejoice, Mother of all God, who consoles embittered souls.

Rejoice, those who trust in Thee, life-in-that-not-ashamed gift;

Rejoice, standing by God to them and to Your servant on the Su-de-Son of Thy-e-go-th at His right hand.

Rejoice, O Preb-la-wife, for bless us and we, who are the help of Thy ima-we;

Rejoice, most-blessed-of-the-word to generation and generation, as the Lord is with You, and You are with us.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 12

Bless-give you-with-to-the-centre glory, on no-be-seh yes-ro-bathroom of God-mother, honorably se-deni-em the odes-nuyu of Her Son and God seeing the minds of the mountains, lifting up the Yu of the Pre-stand and the Power, surrounding the Na-chala and the Power, with-pa-dosha the terrible He-ru-vimi, Se-ra-fimi and the Dominion, with Ar-khange- ly and angels drinking: Al-li-luia.

Ikos 12

We sing of all your honorable Assumption, we praise all to the most heavenly ascension of yours, Queen of God-mother. You sanctify, pray and save all who sing to You with love:

Rejoice, having cleansed the earth with your clean feet;

Rejoice, having sanctified the air-spirit, let us-go-give-em to the Ne-be-si.

Rejoice, you ascended to the Heavenly circle;

Rejoice, all the goodness of the non-verbal company that sees.

Rejoice, in glory sitting at the throne of Thy Son and God;

Rejoice, eternal kingdom with the Son and God.

Rejoice, beauty in the right hand of the Lord, decorating those who bless Thee of all heavenly ones;

Rejoice, o-joy-van-naya on the act of all the earthly on Thee.

Rejoice, embodied in the sun, shining with grace and glory of all the universe;

Rejoice, you who promised to keep and save those who call You all in the under-heaven.

Rejoice, from the Christian ancestry of the Mother of God, honored and named God-parent;

Rejoice, from the east of the sun to the west, the best and rightest of all the blessed glory of May.

Rejoice, O-joy-van-naya, in Thy Dormition, who does not leave us.

Kondak 13

O All-petaya Mother Without-death-on-go Tsar No-be-se and earth, Christ-hundred of our God, living even after death, the present offering about everything - by Your honest Dormition, receive from us, in this life and in our mortal Dormition from all misfortune, troubles and torment from Bavi and the Heavenly Kingdom, Tsaritsa, save us, oh Those who drink: Al-li-luia.

(This kontakion is chi-ta-et-sya three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)

Prayer for the Dormition of the Pre-holy God-parents

O Most Holy Mother of God Virgin, Vladychi-tse, the highest Angel and Ar-angel and all creatures Most honest, angelic great surprise, pro-roche-kai you -juicy sermon, apostolic pres-lava-praise, holy-lei from-row decoration, martyrs strong affirmation, monks-spa-site-noe on- becoming, fasting, not-out-of-not-might-holding, virginity-y-ing pure and glorious, ma-te-rei quiet fun, babies wisely and on-punishment, widows and orphans Feeder-no-tse, on-gi robes, ailing health, captives from-in-leniation, floating on the sea -but, trained by a non-turbulent camp, wandering, not-difficult On-staff, traversing-those-who-who-are-easily passing, toiling-giving good in the world, in the troubles of the existing ambulance For-the-feet, offended-by-the-ditch and running away, not-hoping-on-the-action, requiring Helpful, sad consolation, in-visible loving humility, sinners kov-salvation and appropriation to God, right-of-the-faithful of all, a solid fence, incomparable help and stepping-off! That-fight to us, Vladychi-tse, We-not-seeing-we see quickly, and You-be pray-boo-bear, Lord-for-the-same, sins of Thy servants: O Pre-merciful-sti-vaya and the Most Wonderful Light of the Clever Tsarina, giving birth to Tsar Christ Christ, our God, Life-giver of all, from the heavenly glory-May and from the earthly praise, angelic mind, light-dawn star-to, saints Most holy, Lord of all creatures, God-stucco Maiden, Not-bad Not-vesto, pa-lato Spirit of the Pre-holy, fiery Pre-table Do not-see-ma-th Tsar, not-heavenly ki-vote, but the power of the Word of God, fire-not-different-forest-nice, in the temple of the Living God, not-from-the-re-formation of the flesh of Christ, nest-up to Or-la Ne-hell-go, Gorli-tse God-gog-smooth, Go-lu- Bice is meek, quiet and not-malicious, Mati is cha-to-loving, kind-stay abyss, unleashing a cloud of God’s wrath, not-from-measure-deep-be-but , not-from-the-re-secret, not-my-my-miracle, not-made-by-hands Church of the One Tsar of all ages, blessed ka-dilo , honest bag-rya-nice, Bo-got-kannaya pore-firo, spiritual paradise, life-of-the-nose garden branch, color pre-to-red, pro-blooming us heavenly ve-selie, a bunch of our salvation, the cup of the Tsar of the Heavens, in it, it is growing from the Holy Spirit, vi-but not-is-cher-paem-go-go- give, Ho-data-and-tse for-the-horse, the beginning of the true faith of Christ, the not-for-le-beamed pillar, the sword of the fury of God on god-against, frenzy of intimidation, in braneh in flight, christian of all non-false guardian-of-no-tse and the world of all-of-the-known spa-senation! O All-merciful Lord, Virgin Vladychi-tse, God-bearer, hear us praying to Thee, and show Thy mercy on Thy people , could it be His Son from ba-ve-ti-sya to us from all evil and save our abode and every abode, and city, and the country of the faithful, and people, blah -th-honestly running and calling on Your holy name, from all misfortune, destruction, famine, coward, flood, fire, sword, on - processions of foreign tribes and inter-communal wars, from any disease and any situation, but neither wounds, nor pre-supplement, nor the sea, nor any righteous with the wrath of God, they will diminish Your servants. But with-observe-give and save by Your mercy, Lord, pray for us, and the beneficial blessing of the air of the spirit in time is fruitful grant us the th offering. Make it easy, raise it up and have mercy, Pre-merciful Vladychi-tse, God-bear-bearing, in every trouble and need of existence. For-me-not your servant and do not despise the tears and air-breathing of ours, and indulge us with the goodness of Your mercy, but with the goodness-yes-reni- let us console ourselves, learn about Thee in the power. Soo-lo-angry, O Lord, the Most-pure, against Your not-powerful people, Our hope. Sow-be-ri, for-stray on the right path, put from-fallen from the blessed fatherland faith packs re-vra-ti, old age support, young bra-zu-mi, babies, rise and pray, glorifying Thee, from the row - the Church of the Son of Thy companions and keep in the long-go- that day. O Merciful and Pre-merciful Tsaritsa No-be-se and earth, God-begotten Pres-but-virgin! By Thy intercession, have mercy on our country and its army and all the right-wing Christians, keeping them under the shelter of Thy mercy, by Thy robe, honor for - shchi-ty and mo-whether from You incarnated-go-sya without the seed of Christ, our God, may he gird us from above with power on all you see-we and not-see-my enemies- gi our. Save and have mercy, Lord, the Great Lord of the Din and Our Father (name), Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, re-holy mit-ro-po-lita, arch-hi-bisco-py and bishop-py of the right-east, ie- the rhei and the deacons, and all the parish of the church, and the entire my-our rank, and all the right-to-faithful people, worshiping and praying before your honorable icon. Look upon all of us with mercifulness on your steps, lift us from the depths of sin and illumine the eyes of gray - good to the sight of salvation, have mercy on us, be here and on the Terrible Su-de of Your Son, have you prayed for us, put-shi-i-sya in the good-honor from live be-a-thing thy servant in eternal life with angel-ly and Ar-khange-ly and with all the saints honor, but at the right of the Son of thy-e-God they will stand, and I - with Thy lithuania, grant all the right-eternal Christians to live with Christ and the joy of the angels in the Heavenly villages of laziness, wait for them. You are, O Lord, the glory of Heaven and the hope of the earthly, You are our Hope and For-the-step of all those who come to You and Your holy help pro-those. You are our warm baby to Your Son and our God. Your Mother's prayer can do a lot at the pleading of the Vladyka, and by Your pre-departure to the Throne of the blessing of the Most Holy and Life-giving His Mysteries, stu-party der-loan, and even not-to-stand. The same, all-honest image of Yours and by Your hand hold-down -yes, and kiss this love, hopefully, Lord, with your saints, God-pleasant prayers, come-ti and do not be ashamed to stand on the day of judgment at the right hand of Your Son and our God, glorifying Him in marriage with the Beginningless Father and the Most Holy, Blessed, Living in the creative and One-existing Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

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Quote of the Day

Love for God and love for our neighbor enter our souls only through prayer!

Elder Cleopas (Ilie)

Photo of the day

August 28, 2018: Assumption of the Virgin
The full name of the holiday is the Assumption of the Most Holy Lady of Our Mother of God 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

The full name of the holiday is 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 - Mother of God holiday.

The holiday, which is celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church on August 28 according to the new style (August 15 according to the 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 comparable in severity to Great Lent. Interestingly, the Assumption is the last twelfth holiday of the Orthodox church year (ending on September 13 according to the 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 according to the new style. He has 1 day of prefeast and 9 days of afterfeast. Prefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the divine services of which already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, the afterfeast 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 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.

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 student standing here, whom he loved, he says to his Mother: Woman! Behold, your son. Then he says to the student: behold, your mother! And from that time on, this disciple took her to him(John 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.

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, until that time, the Assumption was a local holiday in Constantinople, that is, not a general church holiday.

Icon of the Assumption of the Virgin

Traditionally, icon painters depict the Mother of God in the center of the image - she lies on her deathbed, on either side of her are 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, in a fresco from the church of Hagia Sophia in Ohrid in Macedonia. In the upper part of such a composition, the apostles are depicted 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 Novgorod Tithes Monastery. In the upper part of the icon there 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, icon painters depict one or more burning candles near the bed of the Virgin, which symbolize prayer to God.

Church of the Dormition

The Feast of the Assumption has one day of forefeast and 9 days of afterfeast. Prefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the divine services of which already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, the afterfeast is the same days after the holiday.

The celebration of the holiday takes place on September 5 according to the new style. And 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; during it, they read the 17th kathisma - "Blessed are the Immaculate." Currently, 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. At the 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 dismissed (the blessing of those praying to leave the temple at the end of the service).

The Stichera of the Dormition was written by Patriarch Anatoly of Constantinople in the 5th century. And in the 8th century, Cosmas of Mayumsky and John of Damascus wrote two canons of this holiday.

Prayers of the Assumption of the Virgin

Troparion of the Dormition of the Theotokos

In the Nativity you preserved virginity, in the Assumption of the world you did not leave the Mother of God, you reposed to the stomach, Mother of the Life of the Life, and with Your prayers you deliver our souls from death.

Translation:

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

Kontakion of the Assumption of the Virgin
voice 2:

In prayers to the Unsleeping Mother of God and in intercession, the immutable hope / coffin and mortification cannot be restrained: as if the Mother’s Belly to the stomach, put it into the womb of the ever-virgin.

Translation:

The Mother of God, tireless in prayers and unchanging hope in intercessions, the coffin and mortification did not hold back, for she transferred Her to life, as the Mother of Life, Who dwelled in 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 You, Immaculate Mother of Christ our God, and gloriously glorify Your Dormition.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh: Sermon on the Dormition of the Mother of God

Today we celebrate our patronal feast; 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, God rests in the saints: not only in holy places, but in the heart and mind of those who are cleansed by feat and grace, in the life and in the very flesh of the saints.

And today we celebrate the day of the Assumption 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 stands and prays for us. Truly She is the throne of grace; The Living God dwelt in Her, He was in Her womb, as on the throne of His glory. And 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 in one of the icons, the Life-Giving Source, the Mother of God, ends Her earthly life, surrounded by the tremulous love of all.

But what does she leave us? Only one commandment and one marvelous example. Commandment - those words that She said to the servants in Cana of Galilee: Whatever Christ says, do it ... And they did; and 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 do not be only a listener, but fulfill it, and then everything earthly will become heavenly, eternal, transfigured and glorified ...

And She left us an example: it is said about Her 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 also learn to listen in the same way as one listens with all love and all reverence, to listen attentively to every word of the Savior. The Gospel says a lot; but the heart of each of us responds first to one thing, then to another; and what my or your heart responded to is the word spoken by the Savior Christ to you and me 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 kinship and closeness with Him.

And if we live like this, listen like that, put 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 her will be fulfilled over us: Blessed is she who believed, for everything will be fulfilled, what was said to you from the Lord ... May it be with us; may the Mother of God be our example; Let us accept Her only commandment, and only then will the glorification of Her by us in this holy temple, which is given to Her in her dwelling, be true, because then we will worship God in Her and through Her both in spirit and in truth. Amen.

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

In the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, for six centuries, bishops, metropolitans and patriarchs were elevated to the rank, 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 by 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, queen and patriarch. Also in the XIV - XVII centuries, the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin was the burial place of the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

After the revolution of 1917, the temple became a museum. Worship services began again in 1990.

Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir

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

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

The painting of the cathedral has survived to this day only in fragments. The painting of 1161 includes the figures of the prophets between the columns in the northern gallery, the painting of 1189 includes 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 St. 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 several more frescoes have been preserved. It was for the iconostasis of this cathedral that the icon painters created a grandiose deesis tier and icons of the festive row, 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 in time with the harvest. At this time of the year, the Russian peasants were busy harvesting. That is why, in the popular mind, agricultural customs were superimposed on the church traditions of the Assumption.

Among the Eastern Slavs, the so-called "Obzhinki" were timed to coincide with the Dormition. Obzhinki - the feast of the harvest of bread. In addition, this day was called "Lady", "Lady", "Lady's Day" - these words reflected the veneration of the Virgin, to whom believers refer as the Lady, Lady.

The next day after the Dormition - August 29 - they celebrated the “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, and made vegetable and fruit preparations for the winter. They tried to sow winter crops: "This winter is three days before the Dormition and three after."

« Nut, or Bread, Savior "

"Nut, or Bread, Savior" - this is how the simple Russian people called the feast of the Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image Not Made by Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is celebrated on August 29 (according to the new style). This holiday fell on the first day after the end of the Dormition Fast, that is, the 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 Her from the Cross. The time has come for her to move to the heavenly abode of her 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 Most Pure One was overjoyed to hear such news, and began to prepare. By the day of Her repose, at 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 Her peaceful, quiet, holy and blissful death. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in heavenly glory, surrounded by countless angels and righteous spirits, appeared to receive the soul of His Most Pure Mother and with glory lifted Her up to heaven.

This is how the Most Holy Virgin Mary ended her earthly life! With lit 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 soldiers to disperse the mourners and burn the very body of the Mother of God.

The excited people and warriors rushed at the Christians with fury, but were stricken with blindness. At this time, the Jewish priest Athos passed by, who rushed to the tomb with the intention of throwing it to the ground; but as soon as he touched the bed with his hands, an angel cut off both his hands: their severed parts hung by the bed, and Athos himself 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 fervent prayer and attach the remains of the hands to the parts hanging by the bed. By doing this, the hands grew together and healed, and only signs remained at the cut-off site. The blinded people and the soldiers repentantly touched the bed 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 coffin. At his request, the coffin was opened, but the body of the Mother of God was not found in it. On the evening of the same day, during their meal, the apostles saw in the air the Most Holy Virgin in heaven, alive, with many angels. Standing and indescribably radiant with glory, the Mother of God 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, of 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.

Screensaver: Jaime Serra. Assumption of the Virgin (detail). 1361-1362