O ye Apostles from afar, being now gathered together, here in the vale of Gethsemane, give burial to my body, and Thou, my Son and God, receive now my spirit.
The Exapostilarion of the feast
Beloved believers!
Today the Heavenly tabernacle, the throne of the cherubim and the abode of the Son of God has ascended from the earth.
Today the Servant of the Lord, the Mother of our God, the Mother of all people, has fallen asleep.
Today the Holiest of those who were born on earth, the Most Blessed among the women and the Most Selfless Mother has departed the earth!
Today the purest eyes, which have seen so many mysteries and shed so many tears, have closed.
Today the tongue, most tireless in prayer, which so many times conversed with angels, named the Son of God and revealed ineffable mysteries, has stopped speaking.
Today the most innocent hands, the hands of the Virgin and Mother, which carefully carried Christ, raised up so often in prayer and blessed with so many miracles and mercies, have been folded on the breast.
Today the heart of the most perfect Mother, which contained so many mysteries, so many felicities and tears, so much jubilation from joy and pain from the piercing arrows, has stopped beating!
Today the face that covered the face of all mankind with mercy is covered with a shroud.
Today the One Who reconciled man in Christ with the Most Merciful God has reposed in peace.
Today the One Who gives rest to human hearts and souls has entered the place of Her rest.
Today the flower, the fairest of all those on earth, has been plucked.
Today a rose has lost all of its leaves; a lily—that of the Divine virginity—has been taken to Heaven.
Today the Mother of our God has been taken from us, the Intercessor for our salvation, the protecting veil of our souls, the inextinguishable candle, the ever-living Virgin, the unpurloinable treasure, the bush not consumed by fire, the fleece filled with the Holy Spirit.
Today the beauty of Nazareth, the wealth of the Church, the Protectress of Christians, the most mysterious Church, the ark of the Godhead, the sealed mansion, the door that cannot be opened by the human mind, the mountain that cannot be broken by the wisdom of the word, has been taken from us.
Today the home of God has been renewed; today the book written in letters of fire has been closed; today the vessel of the Holy Spirit, in which neither water, nor food, nor manna from Heaven was placed, but the fire of the Godhead Himself rested without burning or destroying, has been taken from the earth.
Today the Intercessor for Christians, the inspiration of the apostles, the good hope of priests, the Patroness of monks, the Nourisher of the poor, the Comforter of widows, the Receiver of wanderers, the Healer of the sick, the Crown of virgins, the Joy of infants and the Jubilation of mothers has fallen asleep in peace.
Today the Mother of God and the Mother of our souls, Who is forever the Mother, the Virgin and the Intercessor for all, has passed from earth to Paradise.
Peter praises Her with tears, Paul speaks about Her, the apostles sigh over Her repose, Jerusalem sobs over Her Dormition, little Nazareth laments, cripples and orphans, mothers, virgins and the poor of the earth weep. And at the same time, She is glorified by the angels in Heaven, honored by the cherubim and the seraphim, cherished by the powers from above, celebrated by Christians below on earth, and exalted by the Church with special prayers and hymns of praise. the
Knowing this, entire Creation of God has for twenty centuries zealously honored Mother of God as the purest, holiest and most valuable that it has. The flowers gave Her their beauty: the lilies, their fragrance, the roses, their petals, and basil, its incense. The birds offered Her their innocent singing, the Sun, its burning rays, the Moon, its tenderness, the firmament, its azure expanse, the forests, their silence, the mountains, their solitude, the valleys, the murmuring of their springs, the fields, scent of their flowers, and the sea, the roar of its waves.
Colors also added their splendor, and people, their gifts. Chanters, tuning their voices, have sung the most beautiful melodies to the Virgin Mary; artists, blending colors, adorned Her holy icons and churches with the most touching colors. Priests have offered Her the loftiest prayers, the most beautiful hymns, and the most magnificent services. For the most beautiful, the most elegant chants, the most valuable adornments, and the purest maiden and maternal Christian hearts remain so thanks to Her.
The Service of the Burial of the Mother of God
And it also becomes us not to miss the radiant feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Come, O Christian brothers, from everywhere, not to the village of Gethsemane, but to the church of Christ, to adorn the feast of our Sovereign Lady with humble words of praise and spiritual hymns.
Come, O zealous apostles, who are still laboring for the sake of the Gospel of Christ, so that we together may pay our last respects to the Mother of our God.
Come, O humble monks, so that we together can bring the Protectress of our souls to the grave.
Come, O worthy women, and you, O true mothers, who have sanctified your hands with childbirth and adorned your homes with children’s smiles, so that with one heart we can sing of the Dormition of the Most Holy Lady.
Come, too, O spotless virgins and all who live in holy purity, so that we may kiss with tears the One Who was a Mother and remained the Ever-Virgin.
Come all, O small and great, young and old, simple and learned, let us try to adorn the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God with all that is the best, holiest and purest that we have in our souls.
Gather together, both ye with burning hearts and ye with lukewarm hearts. Both well-fed and hungry, sit down at the same table. Both those who have fasted and those who have not been able to fast during the Dormition Fast, taste of the joint spiritual feast. Both the comforted and the sorrowful, the grateful and the suffering, those who have joy in their souls and those who have tears in their eyes—come all to pray together, extol and celebrate the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
May none of the Church’s children be absent: neither slave, nor free, nor small, nor great, nor sinful, nor worthy. But offer our Sovereign Lady the best and most valuable gifts. Not gold, nor silver, nor pearls, nor expensive vestments, nor painted faces, nor hearts full of self-exaltation. Offer Her instead hearts full of virtues, souls overcome by the love of Christ, thoughts clothed in the robe of humility and protected by sacred prayer, inspired eyes adorned with tears, hands sanctified by alms, embraces blessed with the birth of children, tongues gifted with spiritual hymns, bodies adorned with spotless virginity and pure Christian faces. For these are our ornaments.
Add to this the living faith that possesses you, the love that guides you, the zeal for salvation, the joy of the heart, sincerity, compunction, and warmth of the Holy Spirit. Let each one of us bring something. And let him who has nothing to embellish the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God offer Her if only a small prayer, a bow, a kind word, or, at the very least, let him bring a flower to Her icon, and this tiny gift can do more than two widow’s mites.
Beloved believers!
For over twelve hours now the bells have been announcing the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the doors of the church are open and it is packed with believers, and touching Funeral songs, along with prayers and hymns of praise, resound from the choir. But in order for us to always receive the help and intercession of the Most Holy Sovereign Lady Theotokos, Who prays perpetually for us to the Most Holy Trinity, this is not enough. We must follow, to the best of our ability, the example of Her life. Otherwise our prayers will be useless, our hymns will not receive a response, words of praise will be in vain, and bouquets of flowers that we place caringly at the icon of the Mother of God will be meaningless.
And we know that in all circumstances of his life a human being needs intermediaries who would support him, encourage him and put in a word about him somewhere. There have been moments when need made each one of us knock at the doors of those who can do us good. You know what trembling we feel, with what difficulty we walk up the steps of the house, with what agitation we knock on the door, with what impatience we wait for an answer from inside, and if the door is opened to us, how hesitatingly we cross the threshold and begin to express the pain of our hearts. But we often leave without obtaining what we came for. But if we had a friend who would intercede for us at this door and with this heart, then we would be rid of many tears and perspiration and our petitions would be fulfilled much faster!
The Shroud from the Tomb of the Mother of God
It is the same in Christian life. We cannot follow Christ, we cannot share in the joy of His glory beyond the grave without having intercessors who would pray for us, speak for us and knock at the door of God's mercy for us. And these intercessors are all the saints in Heaven, beginning with our Sovereign Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Thus, in order to receive Her all-powerful help in troubles, illnesses, sorrows, and various temptations, we must follow the example of Her life with great reverence. The Mother of God is the true model of humility, prayer, mercy, chastity, obedience, love, and maternal selflessness. Let us imitate the Mother of our Lord in all things. Pray as zealously as possible, never be out of the church and live in love and peace with all people without distinction. Do not shun beggars, never refuse childbirth, keep chastity and purity like the most beautiful flowers. Avoid hatred, revenge, courts and quarrels all your lives; do not break down in illnesses; do not get lost when in temptation; do not grumble when in poverty; lying on your deathbeds, do not despair, but, praying unceasingly, ask for mercy and help from the Mother of God. While in good health, visit the suffering; when you are sated with bread, do not forget about the poor of Christ. Having peace in your souls and in your homes, reconcile those who quarrel, calm those who are restless, and you will receive a great reward in Heaven through the intercession of our Sovereign Lady.
In addition, do not forget that we have a locked door before us, which, whether we like it or not, we will have to unlock one day. This is the door of death. And God alone knows what is in store for us beyond it. But if we imitate the pure life of our Protectress, we will have Her intercession in that terrible hour too, and thus we will go beyond the threshold of this life with great hope and peace in our souls.
Having listened to these exhortations, go back home, to where your close ones are waiting for you, where the joy and tears of life, suffering and family trials await you, where there are a hoe, a spinning wheel, or a pen, with the help of which you earn your daily bread, and do not forget about the example of the life of the Mother of God and the counsels of the Church.
And to express our gratitude to our Sovereign Lady let us begin to perform good deeds from this very day. Let us start with holy prayer, which the Mother of God loved so much. While going back home, let each one of us on the way perform a small prayer in our minds to our Protectress, according to our zeal and strength—an Akathist, or a prayer service, or a hymn of praise, or just say these words several times: “Rejoice, thou who even in thy Dormition dost not forsake us!”
Amen.
