• Skip to main content

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, Toronto, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto,Orthodox Services English

English Orthodox Church in Toronto, English Language Christian Orthdox Services

  • Service Schedule
  • Announcements
    • Latest Announcements
      • 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the Mother of God Church in Calgary
      • Holy Pentecost 2025 – Hierarchical Liturgy with Metropolitan Gregory
      • Pascha 2025 – Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
      • Paschal Encyclical of Metropolitan Gregory 2025
    • Bishop’s visits and Encyclicals
      • Holy Pentecost 2025 – Hierarchical Liturgy with Metropolitan Gregory
      • Paschal Encyclical of Metropolitan Gregory 2025
      • 2024 Nativity Encyclical of Gregory Metropolitan of Boston and Toronto
      • Visit of His Eminence Gregory, Metropolitan of Boston and Toronto
      • Parish Feast 2023-Honouring our Patron Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
    • 2024 Announcements
      • 2024 Nativity Encyclical of Gregory Metropolitan of Boston and Toronto
      • Celebrating Saint Nicholas Feast and Holy Nativity
      • Celebrating the Upcoming Feast of Saint Nicholas
      • Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Instruction on the Divine Liturgy
      • Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul
      • Thou hast Ascended in Glory, O Christ our God!
      • Visit of His Eminence Gregory, Metropolitan of Boston and Toronto
      • In Memorium – the Ever-memorable Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto
    • 2023 and Earlier Announcements
      • Message from Fr. Anthony-Nativity of our Lord 2023
      • Parish Feast 2023-Honouring our Patron Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
      • O Lord, bless the Crown of this year! – Message from Father Anthony
  • Holy Orthodox Faith
  • Location
  • Our Diocese
  • Contact Us

Dormition of the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary

The Dormition of the Mother of God, and Ever-Virgin Mary

August 27, 2019 By The Deacon

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services English

“O Strange Wonder, great and marvellous! For the fount of life is laid within a sepulchre; a ladder to Heaven’s heights doth the small grave become.  Be glad, O Gethsemane, the sanctuary of her that gave birth to God.  Ye faithful, let us cry out, possessing as our commander great Gabriel: Maiden Full of Grace, rejoice thou, with thee is the Lord our God, Who abundantly granteth His great mercy to the world through thee.”

—From the Vespers of the Holy Dormition

Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Saviour was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.

With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But a certain Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus’ Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying “Rejoice” to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.

(The above text is taken from the Great Horologion, Copyright © 1997, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, all rights reserved.)

Filed Under: Feast Day Tagged With: Dormition of the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary

Copyright © 2025 · St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Inc. - 77 Craiglee Drive, Scarborough, ON, M1N 2N6, 647.748.7800

Do you have a question? Contact our Parish