On 15 August, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, also called Great Saint Mary. Falling Asleep of the Mother of God is the oldest feast dedicated to Saint Virgin Mary.
On the occasion of this feast, the Patriarch of Romania was in the middle of the community of Christiana Monastery of Bucharest. The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church delivered a sermon in which he spoke about today’s feast and about the holy life of the Mother of God.
The feast of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God has its origin in the Holy Tradition of the Church
The Patriarch of Romania showed that the time of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God is not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, but in the Holy Tradition, and emphasised the fact that the body of the Mother of God has not been rotted, but moved to heaven.
“The Holy Scriptures do not say anything about the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, but we learn about this Holy Tradition of the Church which is the vivid memory of the Holy Church, and the tradition of the Church is included in the religious service of the Feast of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God and so, it is said that three days before her death, Christ, our Lord, sent an angel to announce the Mother of God that in three days she would come to her Son and she enjoyed the news that she would move from this life to the not decayed life, to the heavenly life. First of all, she climbed the Olives Mount, prayed, and thanked God for this life on the earth and for her passage to the eternal life. Then, she went home, gave her clothes away to the poor and widows, prepared everything for funerals, lay down on the bed, prayed and said farewell, blessed those around, and passed away. Then, just like in a wonder, the Apostles from the other end of the world where they were preaching the Gospel of Christ were brought through the power of the Holy Spirit, like on clouds, says Tradition, and came to the funerals of the Mother of God singing mourning songs, took her body and buried it at Gethsemane. Saint Thomas the Apostle came three days later to the grave of the Mother of God to open and venerate it, but he found only the shroud, cover and girdle she had put on. Thus, they all realized that the Mother of God has not remained to rot, but was wonderfully raised to heaven, not by her own force as Christ, the Lord, but was moved to heaven surrounded by angels and full of life”, His Beatitude said.
The Mother of God passes through death, and does not remain in death, but is raised to Heaven
At the same time, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church emphasised the fact that the Mother of God, just like any human, passes through death, but does not remain in death, because Christ, our Lord, raises her to heaven due to His love for her. “The books of rite, in our service dedicated to this feast do not speak either of the resurrection of the Mother of God or of her raising to heaven not to be mistaken with the Ascension of Jesus Christ, our Lord, to heaven, but of the movement of the Mother of God to the eternal life, because she is the Mother of God, of Christ, the Source of Life and joy. This movement is celebrated at the same time with the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God. Thus, the Mother of God passes through death like any human, but she does not remain in death, because her Eternal Son raises her to heaven out of His love for her. The sintagm your “movement to heaven” which appears rather often in the prayer to the Mother of God shows us a change of her state of existence, because she changed her earthly life with the heavenly life. This is why the troparion of the feast is focused in a rather precise theological way on the mystery and beauty of the feast: “You kept virginity in birth, you have not left the world when falling asleep. You moved to life, having been the Mother of life, and save our souls with your payers”.
Icon of the Mother of God
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel explained those present the iconographic representation of the Mother of God: “The movement to heaven of the Mother of God in her body is a great mystery. First of all, as the icon of the Falling Asleep shows us how Christ, our Lord, takes her soul to heaven, soul symbolised here by a child wrapped in a white blanket and soon after her soul is raised to heaven by Christ, the Lord, her body is raised too. (…) When looking at the icon of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God we see the Mother of God on the catafalque and her soul on the left side of Jesus Christ, our Lord, near His heart. Jesus Christ, the Lord, points to her with His right hand. The same as Christ, the Lord, was held on the left arm of the Mother of God when He was a child in the world, and the Mother of God was showing Him to the world saying “Do whatever He tells you to”, as we have seen at the wedding in Cana Galilee, so does Christ, the Lord, hold her soul on His left arm, near His heart, and shows her to the angels in heaven as the One who is most honoured than the Cherubim and greater than the Seraphim. We see here the love of the Son for His mother as an answer to the love of the mother for her Son when He was on the earth. (…) Therefore, here we see the mystery of the Church, namely those who had Christ in their souls in this world and announced Him to the world through prayer, their deeds and through the Holy Sacraments will be shown to the angels in heaven, to the Father in heaven and to the Holy Spirit because Christ, the Lord, said: Whoever confesses Me in this world I will confess him/her to the Father in Heaven.
The Mother of God is the protector of the entire Church
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania showed that the Mother of God is undefeated prayerful and protector of the entire Church: “The Mother of God is fast helper, is, as our religious chants call her, undefeated prayerful, namely never refused by her Son. She is the protector of the widows, of the poor, the comfort of the grieved ones, love with lowliness for those whom nobody loves, the protector of the children, of the family, of the nuns and monks from monasteries, protector of the clergy, because her Son is the High Priest, Jesus Christ. Thus, she is the protector of the hierarchs, priests, deacons, the protector of the entire Church and a Merciful Mother who knows, sees and feels what every home and every human life needs”.
“On this day of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, of her moving in her body away from us we must thank the Mother of God, as well as all those who venerate her and bear her name and especially those who fulfil with lowliness the will of her Son, according to the shortest sermon that the Mother of God said: “Do everything He tells you to”, His Beatitude also said.
The Patriarch of Romania offered a blessing cross for the Holy Altar, as a sign of appreciation for the activity of this monastery, and several books of rite and a few pastoral books of spiritual benefit, for the monastery library. The Homage Diploma of the Brancovean Saints Martyrs and the medal of the Eucharistic Year and of the Brancovean Saints Martyrs were offered for the monastery.
To end with, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church visited the Social Settlement for aged persons supervised by Christiana Monastery.
Christiana Monastery has kept particles of the relics of Saint Pious Antipa from Calapodesti since 2002 who has been celebrated in the Romanian Orthodox Church as saint since 1992.
