Dormition

Both the English and the Greek term figuratively refer to the anniversary of the death of the Virgin Mary. Only the feast of the Virgin Mary's Dormition will be dealt with here. The first clear evidence about this feast goes back to the years of the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (421). However; this evidence refers to a pre-existing feast of Mary's Dormition. At the beginning of the 5th century an Armenian Anthology, for example, called the 15th of August 'the day of Mary the Mother of God'. But feasts of this kind in both East and West were devoted to the memory of Mary in general, not particularly to her Dormition. Gradually, though, these feasts began to converge on the believed day of her death, August 15, perhaps as an indirect result of the erection at Gesthemane of a church in her honour that included in it her very grave, according to tradition. Extensive celebrations were taking place there and a great number of pilgrims gathered to pay homage to the Mother of God. By the end of the 6th century, the feast of the Dormition on August 15 had been established by custom and was also decreed by emperor Mauricius to be observed throughout the Byzantine empire. A little later, the same date was adopted in the West and became the pre-eminent feast in honour of the Virgin Mary. And at least since the 10th century, a 15-day fasting has been observed preceding the feast day of the Dormition. Also a series of hymns in her honour invoking her prayers in favour of the faithful, known as the Paracletic Canon, is being sung every evening during this 15-day period. It should be noted in this connection that the medieval invocation of the Holy Mary 'All-holy Mother of God, save us', has been substituted with, 'All Holy Mother of God pray for us', thus preserving the Orthodox teaching by which there can be only one Saviour; our Lord Jesus Christ.