Greek Orthodoxy - Mother of Life

On August 15 Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Failing Asleep of the Theotokos (Koimesis or Dormition). Highlighted by the Fast of the Dekapentavgoustos (August 1-14), this great feast honors the Virgin Mary through whom the mystery of the incarnation took place.

According to tradition, the burial of the Theotokos took place in the village of Gethsemane. just before her death, all the Apostles miraculously gathered from the corners of the world to bid farewell to Mary. People and angels joined the solemn procession and sang her praises. But soon after her burial the tomb was discovered empty, a sign that her body had been "assumed" (taken up) into heaven. This is why the feast is sometimes called "Assumption," a tradition which the hymns celebrate but which the Church has never affirmed as a dogmatic teaching.

As we commemorate the death of the Theotokos, we marvel at the paradox of the failing asleep of the one who, by giving birth to Christ, was the Mother of Life. In the words of one of the hymns:

O marvel! The fountain of life is laid in a tomb; the grave becomes a means of ascent to heaven! Rejoice, Gethsemane, holy chamber of the Mother of God! As for us, the faithful, let us cry out with Gabriel, the chief of the angels: "Hail, O woman full of grace, the Lord is with you, the Lord who, because of you, bestows great mercy upon the world."