At the beginning of the Dormition Fast, Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas published a message describing the history and characteristics of this fasting season, which he described as the “appropriate time to read the Supplicatory Canon to the Mother of God and fervently ask for her help and protection.”

His Eminence recalled that the Dormition Fast “was established by the Church to remind us of the chosen virtues of the Virgin Mary and the fasting with which she, according to Tradition, prepared for her transition to eternal life.”

The Origin of the Dormition Fast

Regarding the origins of this fasting period, the Romanian Metropolitan noted that “this fast was practised with rigour, in honour of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Dormition of the Mother of God, by the monks of Mount Athos, since the Mother of God is the protectress of the Holy Mount Athos.”

From a historical point of view, His Eminence explained, this is the newest of the four fasts, and “its origin probably dates back to the 5th century when the devotion to the Mother of God developed, with Christians fasting before the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God.”

The hierarch described the process of standardizing the Dormition Fast by Ecumenical Patriarch Loukas Chrysovergis in 1166.

“The date and duration of the fast were standardized throughout Orthodoxy in 1166 at the local council of Constantinople convened by Ecumenical Patriarch Loukas Chrysovergis, establishing the two weeks.”

“The ‘Great Typikon’ and ‘The Teaching on Fasts’ from the Great Horologion prescribe a strict fast, fasting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until the Ninth Hour, when dry food is consumed. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, cooked vegetables without oil are consumed, while oil and wine are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays. The only exception for fish is on August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord,” explained His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae.

Liturgical rule

The Metropolitan noted that “the special rule of this Fast consists of the daily reading, alternately, of the two Parakleses of the Mother of God.”

“In this service, we ask for the help and protection of the Mother of God in all the troubles and weaknesses of our lives. We call her the ‘ protection and shelter, treasure of cures, a fervent prayer, and wall most unshakable, protection of Christians unshamable.'”

Furthermore, the metropolitan noted that during the fast, “we affirm our faith in her intercessory prayer to her Son, a prayer meant to help all of us in distress. And we place our hope in her protection as the Mother of all Christians, especially those oppressed.”

Pastoral Exhortations

“The Dormition Fast is the appropriate time to read the Paraklesis of the Mother of God and fervently ask for her help and protection. Our world is troubled by war, and many Christians are persecuted.”

“My paternal exhortation is to use this fasting season for prayer to the Mother of God, asking for peace in the world, understanding among different religious communities, and wise thoughts for solving problems for all those responsible, the world’s leaders. In her Motherly love and great mercy, she will help and protect us!” added Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas.

Photography courtesy of the Basilica.ro Files