Orthodox Church celebrates Virgin Mary’s Dormition Day

Orthodox Church on Friday celebrates the Dormition day of Virgin Mary.

The Feast of the Dormition was preceded by a two-week fast that started on August 14.

As church teaches the Lord informed Virgin Mary on her dormition day by Archangel Gabriel, who appeared to her while praying on the Mount of Olives.

The Archangel told her that after three days she would fall asleep. To testify this, he gave a branch of a date tree planted in heaven, which shone with divine grace. It had to be brought to her grave. On the desire of the Virgin Mary, the Lord gathered the holy apostles, who had gone to preach, on her Dormition day to say goodbye to the Mother of God.

The Lord also heard the request of Virgin Mary not to see the horrors of hell, and her soul ascended to Heaven by the hand of the Lord himself.

The Holy Mother of God was buried by the apostles in the tomb of Gethsemane. Apostle Thomas was not present at this process. On the third day, the apostles rolled a boulder for her and discovered that the Lord had raised the Virgin Mary into heaven. That is why the Church calls the death of the Virgin Mary the Dormition.