Prayer, troparion, kontakion and magnification of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Troparion, tone 1
At Christmas you preserved your virginity, / at the Dormition you did not forsake the world, O Mother of God, / you reposed to the belly, Mother of the Being of the Belly: / and through your prayers you delivered our souls from death.
At the Nativity of Christ You preserved your virginity, at Your Dormition you did not leave the world, Mother of God: You passed on to life, since You are the Mother of Life, and through Your prayers You deliver our souls from death.
Kontakion, tone 2
In prayers, the never-sleeping Mother of God, / and in intercessions, the immutable / Hope of the grave and mortification cannot be restrained: / like the Mother of the Life to the life / put into the womb of the One Who Indwells / the ever-virgin one.
In the prayers of the never-sleeping Mother of God and the immutably reliable Intercessor, the grave and death did not hold back: You, as the Mother of Life, were brought to life by the One who dwelt in Your ever-virgin womb.
Greatness
We magnify You, / Most Immaculate / Mother of Christ our God, / and glorify / Your all-glorious Dormition.
Prayer
O Most Holy Theotokos, Virgin, Lady, the highest Angel and Archangel, and all the most honorable creatures, angelic great surprise, prophetic high sermon, apostolic glorious praise, fair adornment of saints, strong affirmation of martyrs, saving instruction for monks, inexhaustible abstinence for fasters, virgins of purity and word , mothers quiet joy, babies wisdom and punishment, widows and orphans to nurse, naked clothes, sick in health, deliverance of captives, floating on the sea in silence, overwhelmed by a calm haven, wandering an easy mentor, traveling an easy passage, toiling good rest, in the troubles of the present Intercessor , protection and refuge for the offended, hopeless hope, requiring help, inexhaustible wealth for the poor, constant consolation for the sad, loving humility for the hated, salvation for sinners and appropriation to God, firm protection for the faithful of all, invincible help and intercession. By You, the Lady, we see the invisible quickly, and we offer a prayer to You, O Lady, Your sinful servants: O most merciful and most wonderful light of the intelligent Queen, who gave birth to the King Christ our God, the Life-Giver of all, glorified by the heavenly and praised by the earthly: angelic mind, radiant star , most holy saint, Queen of queens, mistress of all creatures, Godly Maiden, undefiled Bride, chamber of the Most Holy Spirit, fiery throne of the invisible King, heavenly ark, carrying the Words of God, fiery chariot, chamber of the living God, ineffable composition of the Flesh of Christ: nest of the Heavenly Eagle, turtle dove God-voiced, meek dove, quiet and kind, child-loving mother, an abyss of mercy, opening the cloud of God's wrath, immeasurable depth, ineffable secret, unknown miracle, not made by hands to the church of the one King of all ages, fragrant censer, honest scarlet, God-woven purple, spiritual paradise, life-giving garden branch, a beautiful flower, heavenly joy that has blossomed for us, the cluster of our salvation, the cup of the Heavenly King, in which the wine of inexhaustible grace has dissolved from the Holy Spirit, Intercessor of the Law, the conception of the true faith of Christ, an unshakable pillar, destructive of heretics, the sword of God’s wrath against God’s opponents, intimidation of demons , victory in battle, the true guardian of all Christians, and the known salvation of the world. 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 monastery, and every monastery, and the city, and the country of the faithful, and people piously resorting and calling on Your holy name, from every adversity, destruction, famine, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, civil war, from every illness, and every situation: neither wounds, nor rebuke, nor pestilence, nor any righteous wrath of God Thy servants will diminish: but observe and save with Thy mercy, O Lady, praying for us, and grant us the beneficial dissolution of the air at the time of the fruitful offering: ease, uplift and have mercy, having mercy on the Lady, the Mother of God, in every misfortune and need that exists. Remember Thy servants, and do not despise our tears and sighs, and renew us with the goodness of Thy mercy, so that we may be comforted with thanksgiving in having found Thee Helper. Have mercy, O Most Pure Lady, on Thy weak people, our hope: gather those who are scattered, guide those who have gone astray to the right path, bring back those who have fallen away from the pious faith of their fathers, support old age, discipline the young, raise infants, and glorify those who glorify Thee, and preserve the Church of Thy Son greatly , and keep the days long. O merciful and most merciful Queen of heaven and earth, Ever-Virgin Mother of God! Through Your intercession, have mercy on our country and its Christ-loving inhabitants, and on all Orthodox Christians, who preserve them under the cover of Your mercy, protect us with Your honest robe: and pray from You, Who has become incarnate without the seed of Christ our God, that He may gird us with strength from above against all our visible and invisible enemies. , against foreigners and fellow tribesmen fighting against us and our Orthodox faith. Save and have mercy, O Lady, most holy patriarchs, metropolitans, right reverend archbishops and Orthodox bishops, priests and deacons, and all the church clergy, and all the faithful people bowing and praying before your honorable icon. Look upon everyone with the gaze of Your merciful intercession: Raise us from the depths of sin, and enlighten the eyes of the heart to the vision of salvation, be merciful to us here, and at the terrible judgment of Your Son, pray for us, having reposed in piety from this life, Your servants, in eternal life with Angels and Archangels, and with all the saints, rank, so that they may appear at the right hand of Your Son and God: and through Your prayer grant all Orthodox Christians to live with Christ, and to enjoy the joys of angels in their heavenly villages. For You are, Lady, the glory of heaven and the hope of earth, You are our hope, and the intercessor of all those who flow to You, and Your holy help of those asking: You are our warm prayer book for Your Son and our God: Your motherly prayer can do much to implore the Lord, and Through your intercession, we dare to approach the throne of grace of the Most Holy and Life-giving Mysteries even if we are unworthy. Moreover, the all-honorable image of Yours, and seeing the Almighty held by Your hand on the icon, we rejoice in our sins, falling down with tenderness, and kiss this love, hoping, Lady, with Your holy, God-pleasing prayers to reach heavenly endless life, and do not be ashamed to stand on the day of judgment at the right hand of Your Son and God ours, glorifying Him together with the Originless Father, and the Most Holy, Good, Life-Giving and Consubstantial Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
What is the Dormition of the Virgin Mary
The Dormition of the Mother of God reveals to us one of the miracles performed by the Lord after His Ascension into heaven. We know about the life of the Mother of God after this event only from the apocrypha (ancient religious texts not included in the canon of Holy Scripture). And also according to legends dating back to the 1st - 8th centuries. The Dormition is the blessed death of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Orthodox icon)
Holiday events
When the days of the earthly life of the Mother of God came to an end, she returned from the places (Athos, Cyprus, Ephesus) where she preached the Gospel message to Jerusalem. The Mother of God had many enemies and envious people. They sought, if not to kill, then to imprison her, but God protected Her. She spent days and nights in prayer. She often went to the Holy Sepulcher, lit lamps there and prayed. The haters of the Mother of God decided to prevent Her from doing this. The High Priest placed guards around the Tomb. But the Mother of God still came there - the Lord hid Her from the eyes of the soldiers.
One day, while praying to the Mother of God, the Archangel Gabriel appeared and announced Her imminent death. Hearing this, the Mother of God began to pray to the Son that He would allow her to say goodbye to the apostles. And the Lord transferred his disciples, who dispersed across the earth in different directions preaching, to the house of the Most Holy Theotokos. Only Thomas was not with the apostles that day.
For three hours the apostles said goodbye to the Virgin Mary, and finally She bestowed her blessing on them. After this time, the candles in the room suddenly dimmed and a divine radiance spread around the Mother of God. The Lord descended from heaven with angels and some Old Testament prophets, took the soul of the Mother of God and took Her to heaven.
The solemn funeral procession to the burial place outraged the enemies of Jesus and His Most Pure Mother. They wanted to kill the apostles and destroy the body of the Mother of God, but the Lord separated the procession with an invisible wall. The angry residents of the city and their servants heard the singing. However, neither the disciples of Christ nor the bed of the Mother of God were seen. So the procession reached Gethsemane, where the Most Pure Mother of God was buried.
Three days later, the Apostle Thomas arrived in Jerusalem. He was very sad that he did not have time to say goodbye to the Mother of God, so he decided to venerate Her holy body. But, approaching the tomb, the apostle saw that it was empty. The body of the Virgin Mary disappeared, leaving only fragrant clothes in the tomb.
History and meaning of the holiday
Like other feasts of the Mother of God, the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary entered church life only in the region of the 7th - 9th centuries. It is curious that even the memory of the martyrs began to be celebrated earlier. This was probably due to the fact that they died in front of other Christians. While the Mother of God remained an inaccessible quantity. The emergence and spread of the Mother of God holidays was facilitated by the Nestorian heresy (which arose in the 5th century), which defamed the memory of the Mother of God. In order to protect the good name of the Mother of God and give her due respect, Christians decided to especially celebrate events related to Her life.
Initially, the Nativity of the Mother of God and the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary were celebrated on the same day. But closer to the 8th century, the dates of the celebrations were divided. The exact date of the holiday changed frequently. In the 7th century, holidays were celebrated in the Coptic Church on January 16, in the Armenian Church on August 15. The Roman Church celebrated the Dormition on January 18, and the Ascension of the Virgin Mary’s soul into heaven on August 14. In the 8th century, the holiday was fixed on August 15. And the Byzantine emperor Mauritius made it common to the church in gratitude for his victory over the Persians.
Now we celebrate the Dormition on August 28 according to the new style (15 according to the old style). Just like the Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian and some other Orthodox Churches. The Old Believers adhere to the same tradition. The Catholic Church celebrates August 15th.
Features of worship and celebration
The holiday is preceded by a two-week Assumption Fast, which in severity is second only to Lent. In addition to the usual bans, a ban on fish and vegetable oil is added. The Assumption Fast is the only fast dedicated to the Mother of God. It symbolizes the grief of family members before the death of the mother. The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated by the entire Church as one family, so preparations for the event are appropriate.
At the evening celebration, the same proverbs (passages from Old Testament texts related to the holiday) are read as at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lithium is served and the consecration of the loaves takes place. At key places of the service, the troparion and kontakion of the holiday are sung, and two holiday canons are also read. At the Liturgy, the troparion and kontakion of the holiday are sung, as well as the tribute to the Assumption: “The rules of nature are conquered.”
The peculiarity of both the holiday and strict fasting is that they are based not on the Gospel tradition, but on much later evidence. And the basis for the beginning of their celebration was the reverence that Christians felt before the Virgin Mary. This happened with virtually no interference in traditions on the part of church hierarchs. The Mother of God was always revered, and the feast of Her blessed Dormition was widespread and celebrated until the 8th century. But at the same time he was not recognized by the entirety of the Universal Church.
