The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the 12 main Orthodox celebrations, the Mother of God holiday. In 2020, it is celebrated on August 28th. The full church name of the holiday is the Assumption of the Most Holy Lady of Our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary. It is dedicated to the memory of the death of the Mother of God. The word "assumption" does not symbolize the death of an ordinary person, but the ascension of the spirit and body to God.
The content of the article
history of the holiday
After the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven, the Blessed Mary remained in the care of the Apostle John. When King Herod began the persecution of Christians, the Mother of God and John settled in Ephesus. There she prayed daily and asked the Lord to take her to him as soon as possible. One day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and informed her that after three days her earthly life would end.
Before her death, the Virgin Mary wished to see all the apostles who preached Christianity in different cities. Her wish came true. The apostles gathered at the bed of the Virgin, on which she humbly accepted death. The coffin with the body of the Mother of God was buried in a cave. The apostles remained at its foot for another three days and prayed. The Apostle Thomas was late for the burial. He was allowed to open the entrance to the tomb and bow to the holy remains. There was no body in the cave. The apostles were convinced of the bodily ascension of the Mother of God into heaven.
Traditions and rituals of the holiday
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in the Orthodox Church with special solemnity. The holiday has 1 day of prefeast and 8 days of afterfeast. Priests wear blue clothes.
On the eve of the holiday, the Shroud is brought to the center of the temple, on which the face of the Mother of God is depicted. Then an all-night vigil is performed, during which stichera and canons are sung, proverbs are read, and the troparion to the Dormition of the Mother of God is performed. On the 2nd or 3rd day of the feast, in many cathedral and parish churches, the rite of the burial of the Mother of God is performed. During matins, at the great doxology, the clergy go to the Shroud of the Most Holy Theotokos located in the center of the temple and burn it. Then they carry her around the temple. After that, the clergy anoint the parishioners with consecrated oil (oil).
The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is preceded by a strict Assumption fast. On August 28, parishioners break their fast. The hostesses prepare festive dishes, which they treat to the family and the needy.
According to folk tradition, on August 28, people harvest vegetables and fruits and make preparations for the winter. In Rus', on this day, the guys got married.
What not to do on the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, you should not wear new or uncomfortable shoes, otherwise you will feel discomfort all year.
You can’t swear, offend your neighbors, refuse to help those in need, be rude and be in a bad mood.
In Rus', people compared the Mother of God with Mother Earth. On this holiday, it was forbidden to walk barefoot and stick sharp objects into the soil. These actions offended the land and caused crop failure.
Signs and beliefs on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rainy weather on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin portends a dry autumn.
- If the holiday coincides with the "Indian summer", then the winter will be frosty and with little snow.
- A girl who does not find a boyfriend before the Assumption will be unmarried until spring.
- Completing previously started business or helping a friend on this holiday is a good omen.
- If you rub or injure your leg on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then life's difficulties and failures are expected ahead.
After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and in his absence she lived in the house of his parents near the Mount of Olives. For the apostles and all believers, She was a consolation and edification. Talking with them, the Mother of God told about the miraculous events of the Annunciation, the seedless conception and the incorruptible birth of Christ from Her, His infancy and all earthly life. Like the apostles, She planted and established the Christian Church with Her presence, word and prayers. The reverence of the apostles for the Blessed Virgin was extraordinary. After receiving the Holy Spirit on the significant day of Pentecost, they stayed in Jerusalem for about 10 years, serving the salvation of the Jews and wanting to see and hear Divine words from Her more often. Many of those newly enlightened by faith even came from distant lands to Jerusalem to see and hear the Most Pure Theotokos.
During the persecution raised by Herod against the young Church of Christ (Acts 12, 1-3), the Blessed Virgin Mary, together with the Apostle John the Theologian, retired to Ephesus in the year 43, in which the lot fell to the Apostle John the Theologian to preach the Gospel. She was also in Cyprus at St. Lazarus the Four Days, who episcopated there, and on the Holy Mount Athos, about which, as St. Stephen the Holy Mountaineer says, the Mother of God prophetically said: I will be an Intercessor to this place and to God about it an Intercessor."
The reverence of ancient Christians for the Mother of God was so great that they preserved everything about Her life that they could only notice from Her words and deeds, and even conveyed to us about Her appearance.
According to a tradition based on the words of the Hieromartyrs Dionysius the Areopagite († October 3, 96) and Ignatius the God-bearer (+ December 20, 107), St. Ambrose of Milan wrote about the Mother of God in his work “On Virgins”: “She was a Virgin, not only in her body but also in soul, humble in heart, prudent in words, prudent, taciturn, lover of reading, industrious, chaste in speech. Her rule was not to offend anyone, to be well-disposed to everyone, to honor elders, not to envy equals, to avoid boasting, to be sensible, to love virtue. When even with the expression of her face did she offend her parents, when she was in disagreement with her relatives? When she was proud before a modest person, laughed at the weak, evaded the poor? She had nothing harsh in her eyes, nothing imprudent in words, nothing indecent in actions : her movements are modest, her tread is quiet, her voice is even; so Her bodily appearance was an expression of the soul, the personification of purity. She turned all Her days into fasting: she indulged in sleep only at the request of need, but even then, as Her body rested, She was awake in spirit, repeating in a dream what has been read, or contemplating the execution of proposed intentions, or devising new ones. She left the house only to go to church, and then accompanied by relatives. However, although She appeared outside Her house accompanied by others, She herself was the best guardian for Herself; others guarded only her body, and she guarded her own morals herself. " According to a legend preserved by the church historian Nicephorus Callistus (XIV century), the Mother of God "was of medium height or, as others say, somewhat more than average; golden hair; eyes quick, with pupils, as it were, the color of an olive; the eyebrows are arched and moderately black, the nose is oblong, the lips are flowering, full of sweet speeches; the face is neither round nor pointed, but somewhat oblong; her hands and fingers are long... In conversation with others, she maintained decency, did not laugh, did not get indignant, and especially did not get angry; completely artless, simple, she did not think about herself in the least and, far from effeminacy, she was distinguished by complete humility. As for the clothes she wore, She was content with their natural color, which even now proves Her sacred head covering. In short, in all Her actions, a special grace was revealed. "(Nicephorus Kallistos borrowed his description from St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, (+ May 12, 403); Letter to Theophilus about icons. The translation of the text of St. . M., 1868, September, p. 363).
The circumstances of the Assumption of the Mother of God are known in the Orthodox Church from the time of the apostles. In the 1st century, the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite wrote about Her Dormition. In the 2nd century, the legend of the bodily migration of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Heaven is found in the writings of Meliton, Bishop of Sardis. In the 4th century, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus points to the tradition of the Dormition of the Mother of God. In the 5th century Saint Juvenaly, Patriarch of Jerusalem, said to the holy noble Greek Empress Pulcheria: “Although there is no narration in Holy Scripture about the circumstances of Her death, however, we know about them from the most ancient and surest tradition.” This tradition is collected in detail and set forth in the church history of Nicephorus Callistus in the fourteenth century.
By the time of Her blessed Assumption, the Blessed Virgin Mary again arrived in Jerusalem. Her glory as the Mother of God has already spread over the earth and armed many envious and proud people against those who attempted on Her life; but God kept her from her enemies.
She spent her days and nights in prayer. Often the Most Holy Theotokos came to the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord, burned incense here and knelt down. More than once, the Savior's enemies attempted to prevent her from visiting the holy place and asked the high priests for guards to guard the Savior's Tomb. But the Holy Virgin, not seen by anyone, continued to pray before him. On one of these visits to Golgotha, the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Her and announced Her imminent migration from this life to the Heavenly life, eternally blessed. As a pledge, the Archangel gave Her a palm branch. With heavenly news, the Mother of God returned to Bethlehem with three virgins who served Her (Sepphora, Evigaea and Zoila). Then She summoned the righteous Joseph of Arimathea and the disciples of the Lord, to whom she announced Her imminent Dormition. The Blessed Virgin also prayed that the Lord would send the Apostle John to Her. And the Holy Spirit snatched him up from Ephesus, placing him next to the place where the Mother of God reclined. After the prayer, the Blessed Virgin burned incense, and John heard a voice from Heaven, concluding Her prayer with the word "Amen." The Mother of God noticed that this voice means the imminent arrival of the apostles and the Holy Powers of the Bodiless. The apostles, whose number cannot be counted, flocked, says St. John of Damascus, like clouds and eagles, to serve the Mother of God. Seeing each other, the apostles rejoiced, but in bewilderment they asked each other: why did the Lord gather them in one place? Saint John the Theologian, greeting them with joyful tears, said that the time had come for the Mother of God to depart to the Lord. Entering the Mother of God, they saw Her sitting splendidly on the couch, filled with spiritual joy. The apostles greeted Her, and then told about their miraculous rapture from the place of the sermon. The Blessed Virgin, glorified God that He heard Her prayer and fulfilled the desire of Her heart, and began a conversation about Her impending death. During this conversation, the Apostle Paul also miraculously appeared with his disciples: Dionysius the Areopagite, the marvelous Hierotheus, the Divine Timothy and others from among the 70 apostles. All of them were gathered by the Holy Spirit so that they could be blessed with the blessings of the Most Pure Virgin Mary and arrange the burial of the Mother of the Lord more magnificently. She called each of them to Her by name, blessed and praised the faith and their labors in preaching the Gospel of Christ, wished each of them eternal bliss and prayed with them for peace and the well-being of the whole world.
The third hour arrived, when the Dormition of the Mother of God was to take place. Many candles were burning. The holy apostles with hymns surrounded the splendidly decorated bed, on which the Blessed Virgin Mary reclined. She prayed in anticipation of her departure and the coming of her longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone, before which the blazing candles faded. Those who saw were horrified. The top of the room, as it were, disappeared in the rays of the immense Light, and the King of Glory Himself, Christ, descended, surrounded by many Angels, Archangels and other Heavenly Forces with the righteous souls of the forefathers and prophets, who once foreshadowed the Blessed Virgin. Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God, My Savior, as if looking at the humility of His servant” - and, rising from the bed to meet the Lord, she bowed to Him. The Lord invited Her to the abodes of Eternal Life. Without any bodily suffering, as if in a pleasant dream, the Blessed Virgin gave up her soul into the hands of Her Son and God.
Then the joyful angelic singing began. Accompanying the pure soul of the God Bride with reverent fear as the Queen of Heaven, the Angels called out: "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed are You among women! salvation was a man. We cannot look at Nyuzhe, and we can’t pay the worthy honor to that one "(stichera of the holiday on" Lord, I cried "). The heavenly gates rose, meeting the soul of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Cherubim and Seraphim glorified Her with joy. The blessed face of the Mother of God shone with the glory of Divine virginity, and a fragrance poured from her body.
Marvelous was the life of the Most Pure Virgin, marvelous is Her Assumption, as the Holy Church sings: “The God of the universe will show on You, Queen, miracles that exceed the laws of nature. canon 1, canto 6, troparion 1). Kissing the most pure body with reverence and fear, the apostles were sanctified from it and filled with grace and spiritual joy. For greater glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos, the almighty power of God healed the sick, with faith and love, who touched the sacred bed. After mourning their separation from the Mother of God on earth, the apostles set about burying Her most pure body. The Holy Apostles Peter, Paul, James, with others from among the 12 Apostles, carried on their shoulders a bed on which the body of the Ever-Virgin lay. St. John the Theologian walked in front with a heavenly radiant branch, and other saints and many faithful accompanied the bed with candles and censers, singing sacred songs. This solemn procession began from Zion through all of Jerusalem to Gethsemane.
At his first movement over the most pure body of the Mother of God and all those who accompanied Her, a vast and luminous cloudy circle suddenly appeared, like a crown, and the face of an Angel joined the face of the apostles. The singing of the Heavenly Forces was heard, glorifying the Mother of God, which echoed the earthly voices. This circle with Heavenly singers and radiance moved through the air and accompanied the procession to the very place of burial. The unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, struck by the extraordinary grandeur of the funeral procession and embittered by the honors given to the Mother of Jesus, reported this to the chief priests and scribes. Burning with envy and vengeance for everything that reminded them of Christ, they sent their servants to disperse those who accompanied them, and burn the very body of the Mother of God. The excited people and the soldiers with fury rushed at the Christians, but the cloudy crown, which accompanied the procession through the air, descended to the ground and, as it were, protected it with a wall. The pursuers heard footsteps and singing, but they did not see any of the escorts. Many of them were stricken with blindness. The Jewish priest Affonia, out of envy and hatred for the Mother of Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to overturn the bed on which the body of the Blessed Virgin lay, but the Angel of God invisibly cut off his hands, which touched the tomb. Seeing such a miracle, Affonia repented and with faith confessed the greatness of the Mother of God. He received healing and joined the host of those who accompanied the body of the Mother of God, becoming a zealous follower of Christ. When the procession reached Gethsemane, there, with weeping and sobbing, the last kissing of the most pure body began. Only in the evening could the holy apostles put him in a coffin and close the entrance to the cave with a large stone. For three days they did not leave the place of burial, performing incessant prayers and psalmody. According to the wise judgment of God, the Apostle Thomas was not destined to be present at the burial of the Mother of the Lord. Arriving on the third day in Gethsemane, he fell down with bitter tears before the tomb cave and loudly expressed regret that he had not received the last blessing of the Mother of God and farewell to Her. The apostles, in heartfelt pity for him, decided to open the cave and bring him consolation - to bow to the holy remains of the Ever-Virgin. But, having opened the coffin, they found in it only Her funeral shrouds and thus became convinced of the miraculous ascension of the Blessed Virgin with her body into Heaven.
In the evening of the same day, when the apostles gathered in the house to strengthen themselves with food, the Mother of God Herself appeared to them and said: "Rejoice! I am with you - all the days." This delighted the apostles and all who were with them so much that they raised the part of the bread supplied for the meal in memory of the Savior ("part of the Lord") and exclaimed: "Most Holy Theotokos, help us." (This marked the beginning of the rite of offering a panagia - the custom of offering a piece of bread in honor of the Mother of God, which is still kept in monasteries.)
The belt of the Mother of God, Her holy clothes, kept with reverence and divided into parts on the face of the earth, worked and work miracles. Her numerous icons pour out currents of healings and signs everywhere, and Her holy body, taken to Heaven, testifies to our future stay with him. It is not left to the accidental changes of the transient world, but is incomparably more exalted by the glorious ascension to Heaven.
The Feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated with special solemnity in Gethsemane, at the place of Her burial. Nowhere does the heart grieve so much at separation from the Mother of God, and nowhere does it rejoice so much, convinced of Her intercession for the world.
The Holy City of Jerusalem is separated from the Mount of Olives (Olive) by the Kidron Valley or Jehoshaphat. At the foot of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane, whose olive trees still bear fruit.
Holy Godfather Joachim reposed as an 80-year-old elder a few years after the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin. Saint Anna, left a widow, moved from Nazareth to Jerusalem and lived near the temple. In Jerusalem, she acquired two estates: the first at the Gethsemane gate, and the second - in the valley of Jehoshaphat. In the second estate, she arranged a crypt for the deceased members of the family, where she was buried along with Joachim. There, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Savior often prayed with His disciples.
The most pure body of the Mother of God was buried in the family cemetery. From the very burial of Her Christians reverently honored the coffin of the Mother of God and built a temple on that place. Precious shrouds were kept in the temple, with which the most pure and fragrant body was twisted.
The Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem Juvenaly (420-458) confirmed before Emperor Marcian (450-457) the authenticity of the legend about the miraculous ascension of the Mother of God into Heaven and sent to his wife, Saint Pulcheria (+ 453; Comm. 10 September), the funeral sheets of the Mother of God, which he took from her tomb. Saint Pulcheria laid these shrouds in the Blachernae church.
Evidence has been preserved that at the end of the 7th century, there was an upper church above the underground church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, from the high bell tower of which the dome of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord was visible. There are no traces of this church today. In the 9th century, a monastery was built near the underground Gethsemane temple, in which more than 30 monks labored.
The temple was subjected to great destruction in 1009 from the persecutor of holy places Hakim. Significant changes, traces of which remain to this day, were made by the crusaders in 1130. In the 11th-12th centuries, a part of the carved stone, on which the Savior prayed on the night of His Tradition, disappeared from Jerusalem. This part of the stone until the VI century was in the Gethsemane Basilica.
But, despite the destruction and changes, the overall original cruciform plan of the temple has been preserved. At the entrance to the temple, four marble columns stand on the sides of the iron doors. To enter the temple, one has to descend a staircase of 48 steps. On the 23rd step on the right side there is a chapel in honor of the holy Fathers of God Joachim and Anna with their tomb, and opposite, on the left side - the chapel of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed with his tomb. The right aisle belongs to the Orthodox Church, and the left - to the Armenian-Gregorian (since 1814).
The Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God has the following dimensions: 48 arshins long, 8 arshins wide. Earlier in the temple, in addition to doors, there were windows. The whole temple is decorated with many lamps and offerings. Two small entrances lead to the tomb of the Mother of God: they enter through the western doors, and exit through the northern ones. The tomb of the Most Pure is covered with precious curtains. The burial bed of the Mother of God is carved from stone in the image of ancient Jewish tombs and is very similar to the Holy Sepulcher. Behind the tomb is the altar of the temple, in which the Divine Liturgy is celebrated daily in Greek.
Olive trees on the eastern and northern sides of the temple were acquired by the Orthodox from the Turks in the 7th-8th centuries. The Catholics acquired olive trees on the east and south sides in 1803, and the Armenian Gregorians on the west side in 1821.
On August 12, in Little Gethsemane at 2 a.m., the rector of the Gethsemane Church celebrates the Divine Liturgy. At the end of the Liturgy at 4 o'clock in the morning, the rector, in full vestments, performs a short prayer before the light shroud, lays it on his hands and solemnly carries it all the way to the church in Gethsemane, where the holy tomb of the Mother of God is located. All members of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, headed by the head of the Mission, annually participate in the transfer of the holy shroud, called the "litany".
The rite of the burial of the Mother of God in Gethsemane begins, according to custom, on the morning of August 14th. A multitude of people, led by bishops and clerics, set off from the Jerusalem Patriarchate (near the Church of the Resurrection of Christ) on a sad journey. The funeral procession moves along the narrow streets of the Holy City to Gethsemane. In the forefront of the procession they carry the icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the way, the pilgrims meet the icon, kiss the face of the Most Pure One and bring children of different ages to the icon. The clergy are followed in two rows by monks and nuns of the Holy City: Greeks, Romanians, Arabs, Russians. The procession, lasting about two hours, ends with a paraklis in the Gethsemane temple. In front of the throne, behind the tomb of the Mother of God, a hill is being built, on which the Shroud of the Most Holy Theotokos rests in fragrant flowers and myrtle, covered with precious shrouds.
"O wondrous miracle! The Source of Life is supposed to be in the coffin, and the ladder to Heaven is the coffin ..." - here, at the tomb of the Most Pure One, these words pierce with their original meaning and sadness dissolves with joy: "Blessed, rejoice, the Lord is with you, give peace with you great mercy!"
Numerous pilgrims, venerating the icon of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, bend down under it, according to ancient custom.
On the day the holiday is given away (August 23), a solemn procession is again performed. On the way back, the holy shroud of the Most Holy Theotokos is carried by the clergy, headed by the rector-archimandrite of Gethsemane.
Icons of Sophia, the Wisdom of God
(Novgorod) .
The miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Sophia - the Wisdom of God" is found in many churches in Russia and comes down to two types: Kyiv and Novgorod.
The first icon of "Sophia - the Wisdom of God" appeared in Novgorod in the 15th century, although the first church in Rus', consecrated in her honor, was built in 989 in Novgorod, and the next - in 1037 - in Kiev.
The central figure of the icon is the Almighty in the form of a winged Fiery Angel, who sits on a golden throne supported by seven pillars. He is dressed in royal clothes (podir) and girded with a precious belt, on his head is a royal crown. In his right hand he holds a scepter with a cross at the top, and with his left he presses a scroll to his chest. On the sides are depicted the Mother of God with the Divine Infant and St. John the Baptist with a scroll on which is read: "I testify." Above the Angel's head is Christ the Savior blessing, even higher is a golden throne with an open book on it - a symbol of the Divine presence. On both sides of the throne are three kneeling angels.
The fact that the Fiery Angel is Christ can be judged from the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: “... we preach Christ crucified ... Christ, God's power and God's wisdom ... in Jesus Christ, who became wisdom for us from God...” (1 Corinthians 1:23–24:30).
St. John the Theologian in his Revelation describes the Son of Man “... clothed in a robe and girded around his chest with a golden sash... and His eyes are like a fiery flame; ... and His feet ... as fiery in a furnace” (Rev. 1:13-15).
This wooden icon in a gilded silver riza is a copy from the Emperor Justinian's Sophia Icon of Constantinople and dates back to the construction of the Novgorod Cathedral.
This image became famous for numerous miracles. According to legend, before her in 1542 a woman who suffered from an eye disease was healed, as it is written in the Novgorod Chronicle: "The wisdom of God forgave her wife, her eyes were sick." The image of St. Sophia is an expression of the power and action of the Wisdom of God, and therefore it is presented in a fiery form.
All numerous lists of the icon of "Sophia - the Wisdom of God" have as their prototype mainly either Kyiv or Novgorod icons. The celebration of the Kyiv icon takes place on September 8, and the Novgorod one on August 15.
Revered icons of the Assumption of the Mother of God: Kiev-Pechersk
(1073), Bakhchisarai, Ovinovskaya(1425), Pskov-Pechersk
(1472), Semigorodnaya(XV) and Pyukhtitskaya(XVI) .
Mozdok(XIII) , Atskurskaya(I) , Tsilkanskaya(IV) , Blachernae(Cargo.) , Vladimir-Rostov(XII) , Gaenatskaya(XIII) , Chukhlomskaya(XIV) Surdega(1530), Tupichevskaya(XVII) icons of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
Rev. Macarius the Roman, Abbot, and St. Khariton.
Novoshmch. Rev. Andrei (Volyansky).
St. Christos of Ioannina(Greek) .
St. Stephen, Elder of Vyatka (1890).
Novomch. Priest Pavel Szhayko and Pres. John Grabovitsky in Poland(1943)
.
The great church holiday - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is celebrated by all Catholics, Christians and believers. When is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in 2017? Assumption, as in those years, falls on August 28. On this significant day, all people honor the memory of the great woman - the Blessed Virgin Mary, or as she is also called - the Virgin Mary. Despite the fact that the word "assumption" means "death", it is customary to celebrate with a smile on your face and in a good mood. Indeed, according to old beliefs, the Most Holy Theotokos did not die, but was reunited with the Lord in heaven.
About the church holiday
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 2017 is no different from the celebration of those years. It is considered the twelfth, especially important, church holiday. This is the last big holiday after Easter. On this day, a great fast ends, and people celebrate it with numerous delicious dishes on the tables, thereby honoring and thanking the Most Holy Theotokos for everything.
Be sure to go to church or to the temple in the morning and bow before the icon of the Mother of God. Thank for everything, put a candle for the repose of her soul, and then you can ask her for help. Someone asks for the recovery of children, someone for a fruitful harvest, or happiness in family life. Many believe that the Most Holy Theotokos will undoubtedly hear all prayers and will certainly help everyone who repented of their committed sins and let bright intentions into their souls.
A big church holiday has a certain meaning. He tells people that people should not be afraid of death, but meet it calmly and with dignity. After all, when dying, the soul of a person is reunited with the Lord and goes to a wonderful place where there is no lie and enmity. God protects everyone and gives the souls of the dead a second life in heaven.
On the eve of the celebration of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, all the clergy dress in light blue robes, thus showing their reunion with heaven. They bow before the Queen of Heaven and the Lord, showing their faith and obedience. On this day, it is believed that the Virgin Mary covers everyone with an invisible veil, giving her blessing.
History of the origin of the Virgin Mary
Her life on Earth was amazing from a very young age. She became the chosen one of God for the birth of the great Savior - Jesus Christ. The Lord saw in her a pure soul, not defiled by self-interest and evil intent, believing that it was she who should give Jesus life.
As a little girl, with the blessing of the Lord, she entered the Temple in Jerusalem. She was received with honors, and she began to enter many secret rooms of the temple, where ancient relics were kept. Only one person could enter such rooms - the priest. It was allowed to enter the rooms only after the rite of purification and after praying for all the people.
At her young age, the Virgin Mary was accustomed to hard work, engaged in needlework and joyfully taught prayers. She considered the temple the best place on Earth where one could unite with God and share their thoughts. She grew up as an unspoiled child with a pure and bright soul. She was always kind and merciful to people. She learned not to break the laws of God and praised him.
According to the laws of those times, she was married, while still a young girl, to the widower Joseph, who had two children from his first marriage. Joseph treated his new wife with respect, so he fulfilled her desire to live in celibacy. For her, he became the guardian and patron of her innocence and purity. The Most Holy Theotokos entered the family of a poor carpenter.
Birth of son Jesus
The most joyful and significant moment in the life of Mary was the birth of Jesus Christ. She became the mother of the incarnated Savior.
The Most Holy Theotokos always supported Jesus in all his affairs. She helped him, accompanied him wherever he went, protected and loved. Jesus performed the first miracle at a feast for the poor, turning water into delicious wine. The Virgin Mary carefully concealed the possibilities of her son and kept a vow of silence. But one day, she prayed to her son, asking to help poor people. Christ bestowed His mercy on people.
A woman with a kind and pure soul had to go through many more trials. The earthly lords began to persecute the mother and child in order to defend their rule. They were afraid that Jesus would take power away from them. The Virgin Mary and her son had no choice but to run. They went to Egypt, wandering in poverty and hunger.
But there is no comparison of these troubles worse than the pain that she still had to endure - the day of the execution of Jesus Christ. He was crucified on a cross in the middle of the crowd, who, with all their anger and hatred, demanded execution. Maria, with pain in her heart, swore that she would devote the rest of her life to the Lord, prayers and helping people.
After the execution of Christ, she becomes the Mother of God for the apostles and preaches with them in different places. Shares with them the dangers that lie in wait for them, shares a meal, goes on difficult trips. Churches all over the world knew about her and with admiration blessed her for all her good deeds. The Virgin Mary was modest and radiated love and mercy to all people.
Death of the Blessed Virgin
In the last years of her life, the Apostle John protected the Mother of God. She often asked the Lord to take her to heaven to be reunited with her son. One fine day the Lord heard her prayers and sent the Archangel Gabriel to her land. He informed her that her suffering would end in three days and she would go to heaven. Maria was happy to meet her family soon. She realized that death should not be feared, because she will go to the Kingdom of Heaven, where there will be eternal life. While waiting for her departure, she asked to gather all 12 apostles in order to say goodbye to them.
Before her death, the Most Holy Theotokos promised not to leave anyone, to hear the prayers of people and to help everyone who needs it. She asked to transfer her body to Gethsemane, where Jesus spent the last hours of his life. Three days after the funeral, the apostles looked into the cave and were stunned by what they saw. There was no body of the Virgin Mary, only the tissues in which she was buried remained. A miracle happened at the evening meal, the Virgin Mary appeared, surrounded by angels, saying that she would always be next to everyone.
Since then, Dormition has been celebrated with joy and sadness, because on the one hand the Virgin Mary died, and on the other hand, she found life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
When does Dormition Fast begin?
To cleanse the soul and heart before the holiday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2017, you should pay special attention to. What date does it start? In 2017, the post falls on August 14 and ends on August 27. These days you should not eat livestock, but give preference to vegetables, fruits, grains. By fasting, a person cleanses his soul from evil intentions and anger.
What date should you go to church? The service in the church takes place on the night of August 27 and ends on the morning of August 28. At this time, prayers are read, sins are forgiven, icons are worshiped. After the service, they ask the Mother of God for help and beg forgiveness for their sins.
The Assumption of the Mother of God is of great importance in the life of every person. You should not arrange quarrels on this day, do cleaning, or be in a bad mood. You need to let goodness into your heart, smile and rejoice. After all, the Virgin Mary has always been a kind woman and, no matter what, went to heaven with a smile on her face and kindness in her heart to every person.
On August 28, Orthodox believers celebrate the holiday - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2017. On this day, the Assumption Fast ends in honor of the transition of the Virgin from one life to another. tells about the history and main traditions of the holiday.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2017: holiday traditions
According to church legend, the Mother of God knew exactly the time of her death and prepared for this day with prayer and fasting. Subsequently, the fast was called Assumption, and every year all believers adhere to it, paying tribute to the Virgin Mary.
According to legend, on this day the apostles gathered in Jerusalem to perform the rite of burial of the Virgin Mary.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: holiday traditions
On this day, be sure to attend the liturgical service in the church, as well as light a candle.
Harvest ended on the Dormition. In honor of the holiday, it was customary to bake pies and gather guests in the house.
There is a sign that on this day it is easy for young girls to find a betrothed with whom she will spend her whole life. Traditionally, on the Assumption, the guys went to woo those whom they would like to marry.
On the Dormition of the Theotokos, people went to church to bless the ears and seeds, and then they baked bread, which they distributed to the poor and needy.
Also on this day, the housewives began to make preparations for the winter.
What does holiday mean
The Virgin Mary, who gave birth after the immaculate conception of the Son of God, was famous during the years of her life for her extraordinary hard work and meekness - she never turned with a reproach to the Almighty about the fate destined for her. By marrying a poor carpenter, because God commanded so, the girl saved herself for a higher purpose, despite numerous temptations. The woman also calmly endured the reproaches of her husband for infidelity, when the pregnancy became noticeable to everyone around.
After the birth of a son, the family was subjected to all kinds of persecution, as the prophets pointed out to the rulers about the danger of the baby for the rulers of that time. Mary made a lot of efforts to save Jesus and raise him to adulthood, to the time when the Son of God revealed his possibilities to the world and showed a large number of miracles to confirm his divine essence.
For every mother, the death of her child is a grief that cannot be compared with anything. The holy woman endured with dignity all the suffering that fell to her lot. After the death of her only child on the cross, she went with the apostles, continuing the work begun by the Son of God.
The Virgin Mary knew about her death in advance, so she bequeathed to everyone not to grieve, but to rejoice on the day of her death. According to biblical legends, on the eve of the Assumption, she was in a particularly high spirits, anticipating an early meeting with her beloved and dear people.
The Holy Scripture tells that after the death of Mary, all the pilgrims who came to see the holy woman on her last journey received healing from all diseases. And even evil people, who persecuted the Mother of God during their lifetime, immediately recovered after repentance. At night, the Body disappeared, and in the morning the Woman appeared to the apostles, as if woven from sunlight, accompanied by angels, and ordered her to rejoice in her happiness - at last she was reunited with Jesus Christ.
folk wisdom
Signs on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been collected over the centuries, embodying the connection between natural phenomena and human activity:
After the holiday, "Indian summer" begins. If the weather is clear and warm on Assumption, it will be cool until September 11;
If on this day there is a rainbow in the sky - autumn will be warm, lingering;
When frost appears on the night of the Assumption, an early and cold winter should be expected;
If there are a lot of cobwebs on this particular day, there will be severe frosts during a snowless winter;
When there is heavy fog on a holiday in the morning, which dissipates only in the afternoon, a strong harvest should be expected.
In tsarist times, before the Assumption, it was necessary to marry - after the holiday, the Meat Eater began, which was used for weddings. It was believed that a young man who had not received the consent of his beloved to marry before that time would not marry this year.
According to all the canons - both ecclesiastical and secular, it was necessary to collect the main harvest for the Dormition. That is why traditionally August 28 was celebrated in the villages as a harvest festival. Even the Soviet government, so that the people would not rebel, allowed them to arrange "Obzhinki" on this occasion in collective farms and state farms.
Rules for this day
Naturally, you should meet the morning in fasting and prayer, go to church and light a candle. You can’t do everything on the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos that is associated with great physical exertion:
Carry out carpentry and locksmith work;
engage in farming;
Nail something or cut and saw;
You can’t make a fire and cook food, it’s also forbidden to cut bread - it is believed that you need to break it with your hands so as not to attract all sorts of misfortunes to the house;
Religious traditions forbid unmarried women and girls to visit a hairdressing salon on this day - cutting hair on the Assumption causes the tears of the Virgin Mary;
You can only put on new, comfortable shoes in the Dormition - according to all signs, the corn rubbed during the trip to matins in the Dormition will attract difficulties and problems into the life of a believer.
Swearing, swearing, uttered on August 28 is considered a particularly serious sin. On this occasion, all Orthodox clergy read sermons in churches, warning parishioners and instructing them on the true path.
The language was given to man to say a prayer and glorify God, and not for angry phrases and insults to his neighbor. Therefore, the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos should be held in meek fun, which has nothing to do with social gatherings and parties.
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