The Falling Asleep of the Blessed Theotokos: The Summer Pascha

The Falling Asleep of the Blessed Theotokos: The Summer Pascha

Veneration for the Blessed Virgin Mary is deeply embedded in the Tradition of the Orthodox Faith, its theology, as well as our worship and devotion. Mary is praised in both Scripture and our liturgical hymns as being, “more honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious than the Seraphim.” She is referred to as the “Most Holy Theotokos (Greek for ‘bearer of God’) and Ever Blessed Mother of God; and as Fr. Alexander Schmemann wrote of her, “She is the example, not the exception” of obedience and humility to God’s will. 

Therefore, this particular feast of Her Dormition or “Falling Asleep,” is at once mystical, eschatological, and even paschal in nature. In fact, its resurrection theme parallels Christ’s and might even be considered the “Summer Pascha” since the Mother of God “passes over” from her earthly pilgrimage into life eternal.

So, as we honor Mary’s life through the glory of Her death, we are ever mindful that, as the theologian Vladimir Lossky wrote, She “resolves the tragedy of fallen humanity.”

Fr. John