The Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is a radiant and joyful celebration for every Christian. On the day of the blessed repose of the Mother of God, all humanity received an Intercessor and Heavenly Protectress, an Advocate before the Lord. The Dormition of the Mother of God, like the Resurrection of Christ, symbolizes the trampling down of death and the rising to life in the age to come.
As early as the second century, the account of the Most Holy Virgin Mary being taken up bodily into heaven was preserved in the writings of Melito of Sardis. In the fourth century, the tradition of the Dormition of the Mother of God is also referenced by St. Epiphanius of Cyprus. You can read more about the iconography of the Dormition of the Theotokos in an upcoming translation the article by Svetlana Lipatova, “The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos: Iconography of the Feast in the Art of Byzantium and Ancient Rus.”
