The Dormition of the Theotokos
Categories: hymns, feast-days
Date: 14 August 2010 08:12:28
Troparion - Tone 1:
In giving birth you preserved your virginity,
In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos.
You were translated to life, O Mother of Life,
And by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death.
Kontakion - Tone 2:
Neither the tomb, nor death could hold the Theotokos,
Who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions.
For being the Mother of Life,
She was translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb.
Tomorrow [15th] is the The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos, one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church. As Fr Thomas Hopko writes in his series of books on the Orthodox Faith [available on the web here], '...there are no biblical or historical sources for this feast. The Tradition of the Church is that Mary died as all people die, not "voluntarily" as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world.' He also writes a wonderful explanation of the meaning of this feast as well as a part of the doctrine of Mary within the Orthodox Church:Thus, the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is the celebration of the fact that all men are "highly exalted" in the blessedness of the victorious Christ, and that this high exaltation has already been accomplished in Mary the Theotokos. The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary's fate is, the destiny of all those of "low estate" whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary's child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.As with all the Great Feasts, today is the Forefeast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, which has its own hymns; here is one of them: In faith, O you people, leap for joy while clapping your hands; and gather in gladness on this day with longing and shout in radiant jubilance. For the Theotokos comes nigh to departing from the earth unto the heights; and we glorify her with glory as the Mother of God in our unceasing hymns. A blessed Feast to all!