Orthodox Sermons & Articles

Years passed by, and one day, when She prayed on the mount of Olives, Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her and said that after three days She would passed away. She accepted this message with joy and humility. According to the Angelic message, the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, has passed away in the night before the 15th of August (Old Style). That was about 48th year of Christianity.

As we know from the Holy Tradition, all Apostles, except Thomas, were miraculously gathered to Jerusalem from every place. This miracle compelled the disciples to think about the reason of their gathering. When they had heard about the coming Assumption of the Virgin Mary, they came to Her and cried. But the Theotokos reassured them saying that She will never forget Her people and all Christians. Now She will be closer to Her Son Jesus Christ and will ask mercies for all who believe n Him and love Him. After that, She has fallen asleep peacefully. 

Jesus Christ Himself came to take the soul of His Mother into Heaven. A solemn procession was formed to carry Her body to the grave. The Heavenly Powers were seized with dread when they escorted the body of the Mother of God. Some icons of the Feast show an unbeliever trying to disrupt the procession and his hands are cut off but attach to the stretcher. Only after he has repented and has prayed to the Virgin Mary, he has been healed. From that time he began to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and in Mary as His all-pure Mother.

By God’s providence Apostle Thomas reached Jerusalem only on the third day after the burial. Naturally he was very upset to be late. Seeing his condition the other apostles took him to St. Mary’s grave to console him. Thomas asked to open the grave for him that he could see the Theotokos’ body. When the grave was opened, all present discovered that the body was not in the tomb. According to the Holy Tradition, Her body was taken up into Heaven. In the evening of that day, when the Apostles gathered in the name of the Lord, the Holy Virgin Mary appeared to them, saying: “Rejoice, I am with you all days.” 

Holy Virgin Mary is our Mother too. We remember that when Jesus was dying for the world on the Cross, he said to His beloved apostle John: “She is your Mother” and to Her: “He is Your son.” From that time, according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, all Christ’s followers or Christians had become the sons and daughters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus had entrusted all of us in Her hands. As the children of our All-Pure Mother we can ask Her for help when we are in need. And it is not our merit but the gift from God. Jesus Christ always listens to Her prayers and petitions for us sinners. He loves His Mother and He wants to fulfill Her requests. It is why we should always ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for us. In this reason, the Theotokos is our protector and we have to remember it.

Some people ask, why is the Virgin Mary so important for us and why is She such an important part of liturgical services? We know that every Orthodox service includes prayers to the Mother of God. But why?

The Theotokos is important in the Christian faith, first and above all, because She is the “Birth-Giver of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” It was She who gave the human nature to Christ, as His Mother. In this She contributed to the incarnation of Christ, that is one of the most important aspects of His work of salvation. Further, She is the first and chief Saint of the Church. It was Her purity and goodness that drew the Grace of God to choose Her to become the Mother of the Lord. Further, just as She did at the wedding at Cana, the Theotokos always points to Christ, saying “Do what He says” (John 2:1-12), that is, She is a perpetual witness to the need for the Christian to follow Christ. Further, She always prays for us, so in worship we ask Her intercessions before the throne of the Lord. As you can see, the Theotokos is included in worship of the Church so prominently precisely because She is so prominent in drama of salvation. She Herself prophesied Her place in the Church when She said, following the Annunciation, “...behold henceforth all generations will call Me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

So, dear brothers and sisters, we glorify the Ever Virgin Mary because God wants us to do so, and because we believe so. We celebrate today’s feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Mother of God, because on this day She became our Heavenly protector before the dread throne of God. May the merciful God through the prayers of His Mother bless all Christians and all of you who celebrate this feast. Amen.