Holy Icons of the Feast of the Dormition (Koimisis) of the Theotokos

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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HOLY ICONS OF THE FEAST OF THE DORMITION (KOIMISIS) OF THE THEOTOKOS

Holy icons of the Feast of the Dormition (koimisis) of the Mother of God depict Christ in Glory, surrounded by a mandoria, looking at the body of His Mother stretched on a litter, which is a richly draped bier. The Virgin is clad in her red blued garments. We see Christ holding, in His arms, a small figure of a child clothed in white and crowned with a halo; it is the all-luminous soul of Mary, represented as a newborn infant, that He has just taken to Himself.

By the end of the 11th century, the Dormition (Koimisis) scene had begun to appear in representations of the Orthodox Church cycle of feasts, which adorn the walls and vaults of Byzantine churches. Some of the earliest wall paintings of this feast may be seen above the entrance of the Monastery of Daphne and the Perivlepto of Mystra, which date from the 14th century. As in the Monastery of Chora (Kariye Djami), the holy icon usually took its place on the west wall of the nave above the entrance door. A in so much of Christian art, the iconography of the Dormition is based upon literary sources, of which the most important in the Greek Apocryphal text of the 4th and 5th century, entitled, The Discourse of Saint John the Theologian Concerning the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God.

The Queen goes to dwell with her Son and to rule with Him forever.

It is noteworthy that the zealous pastor, Saint Gregory of Tours (538-594 A.D.), in his Book of Miracles, testifies to his belief in the Dormition of the Virgin--the first of its kind in the West. "Finally when Blessed Mary having completed the course of this life, and was to be called from the world, all the Apostles gathered to her house from the different regions.

Our Lady's role in heaven, as it was on earth, is intercessory. The Kontakion Hymn of the feast, today, speaks of her as an unfailing hope and mediation. "The grave and death could not hold the Theotokos, who is ceaseless in her intercessions and an unfailing unto life, by Him Who dwelt in her ever-virgin womb."

The custom of the "Panagia"

The Virgin also appeared to the holy Apostles after her repose, as did her Son. After the Ascension of our Lord, whenever the Apostles shared a meal together, it was their custom to leave a place at their table for the Master Christ.

Now after her bodily disappearance from the tomb, it was toward evening and they sat down to refresh themselves with a little food. As was their custom, they would cut a cube of bread and place it at the head of the table as Christ's portion. And when they finished the meal and offering thanks, they would elevate this portion, proclaiming, "Great is the name of the Holy Trinity! O Lord Jesus Christ, help us!" And each would partake of a small piece thereof as a blessing. This custom continued not only when they were together but even when they were far from one another.

At this particular meal, however, they spoke and thought of nothing but of the Virgin's empty tomb. Now when they had finished eating and had come to the conclusion of their prayers, they again followed their custom of lifting up the portion of bread put aside to honor the Lord and glorify the Trinity. Suddenly, they heard Angels singing. Raising their eyes, they beheld standing, in the air, the Theotokos, who was surrounded by a multitude of Angels. She was suffered with an ineffable Light, and said to the Apostles, "Rejoice, for I am with you all the days of your lives! Indeed, she is not only with her Son's Apostles, but she is also with all the faithful and devout Orthodox Christians of all the ages.

Upon seeing her, they were filled with joy and were crying aloud, "All-Holy Mother of God, save us!" This is what they exclaimed instead of the usual, "Lord Jesus Christ, help us!" Thus they were all convinced that the Mother of God, like her Son, had risen on the third day and had been translated bodily (metastasis) into the heavens. Ever since then, a piece of bread has also been set aside in her name, hence the appellation, Panagia, or All-Holy (one). Following this scene, the Apostles returned to the tomb. Desiring a precious keepsake, they took the shroud for the consolation of the sorrowful and as authentic evidence of her rising from the tomb. Thus, they were convicted that the Mother of Life, although she died, yet the rose-like her Son to eternal life; and that her body, having been raised, was lifted up to heaven by Jesus, her Son and the Savior of our souls. 

Thus, is the pure Virgin, vanquished were the laws of nature. Her virginity was prepared in birth-giving, and life was united with death. And remaining a virgin after giving birth, and alive after death, she prays unceasingly, as Our Mother, for her inheritance. Then, Peter, in fervent faith and abundant tears, exclaimed:

"Rejoice, Mother of the Creator, ascending to the world on high! Rejoice, thou who was taken above the heavens, being more spacious than heaven! Rejoice, thou who hast brought gladness unto the heavenly hosts with thy passage above! Rejoice! thou who art received into the most splendid Jerusalem on high..."

Then the same cloud, by which the Apostles had been brought, carried them back each to his own place. Thus, they were "witnesses not only to the ascension of the Savior but also to the translation of her who gave Him birth." Each Apostle then continued preaching and telling the great things of God, and praising our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rejoice, thou whose incorruptible body is glorified together with the soul!

From that time, the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church affirms the bodily translation (metastasis) of the Theotokos into the heavens on the third day after her burial. We observe two things from this occurrence, that it was not fitting that the Mother of Life should remain in the tomb and partake of corruption; and that the Lawgiver proved a doer of the law that children should honor their parents.

Saint John of Damascus, in his second sermon, sums up this momentous day: "Today the spotless Virgin, untouched by earthly affections, and all heavenly in her thoughts, was not dissolved on earth, but truly entering heaven, dwells in the heavenly tabernacles. Who would be wrong to call her heaven? She meets death without fear, who conceived death's destroyer, if indeed we may call her holy and vivifying departure by the name of death...As the Mother of the Living God, she goes through death to Him. For if God said, 'Behold, Adam hath become as one of Us, to know good and evil; and now lest at any time he should stretch for his hand and take of the tree of the life and eat, even he will live unto the age (Genesis 3:22),' how shall she, who received the Life Himself, without beginning or end, or finite vicissitudes, not live forever? ...Then Adam and Eve, our first parents, opened their lips to exclaim 'Thou blessed daughter of ours, who has removed the penalty of our disobedience! Thou, inheriting from us a mortal body, hast won us immortality...Thou hast restored us to our former state. We had shut the door of Paradise; thou didst find entrance to the tree of life. Death is become the passage to immortality, o thou truly blessed one!' (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George