Homily on the Glorious Dormition of the All-Holy Theotokos
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"Let us praise the Virgin Mary.
The Gate of Heaven, the Glory of the World.
The Song of the Angels, the Beauty of the Faithful.
She was born of man, yet gave birth to God.
She was revealed as heaven, as the temple of the Godhead." (Dogmatikon, Tone 1)
The Gate of Heaven, the Glory of the World.
The Song of the Angels, the Beauty of the Faithful.
She was born of man, yet gave birth to God.
She was revealed as heaven, as the temple of the Godhead." (Dogmatikon, Tone 1)
Thus, the great church hymnographer, the gold-streaming Damascene, glorifies the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, Whose all-honorable Dormition we now solemnly commemorate and glorify. Let us, as if he were saying it, glorify with joy and reverence this Virgin and Mother, Who came from the human race and gave birth to God incarnate: for She was revealed as heaven, as the temple of the Godhead.
We now celebrate Her honorable repose. The predetermined end of Her long-suffering earthly life came, and She fell asleep for three days in the sleep of death which was at the same time life-bearing. At that time it could be said of Her: "The Virgin is not dead, but is asleep." Yes, She rested for three days, as did Christ God, Her Son, and on the third day She was resurrected and lifted up in glory to heaven to reign with Her Son. O most blessed fate! Oh, endless joy! Worthy and just.
For She, the Most Pure One, would only seem to rejoice on earth as if she had no sin, but She suffered all her life for Her only begotten Son, all her life she feared for Him, because of many enemies - kings, rulers, false scholars and soldiers - treacherous, flattering, envious, covetous people. But, finally, the earthly life of the God-man ended; after suffering and death, the Crucified One rose again: His eternal glory began. He also sat according to His humanity at the right hand of God the Father. But for His Mother the time of glory had not yet come. She was left to live on earth in the house of the Apostle John, adopted by Her, and to be a witness to the wonderful successes of the Christian faith and its all-saving power in believers. She died almost in old age. And how glorious was Her Dormition! With what light did Her most pure Face shine. What a wondrous, indescribable, incomparable fragrance there was from Her most pure, ever-virgin body, as Saint Dionysius the Areopagite writes, who was at Her burial! What sweet, angelic singing was heard by the faithful! How divinely inspired, especially by the Holy Hieromartyr Hierotheos, a disciple of the Apostles, did they glorify Her dormition! It was a glorious end of the Ever-Virgin's glorious earthly life!
Why does the Holy Church annually commemorate and celebrate the greatest events of the Christian world – the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, the Baptism, the Meeting of the Lord, the Entry into Jerusalem, Pascha, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Dormition of the Mother of God, etc.? In order to kindle and strengthen our faith, our Christian hope, our gratitude and love for God and the Mother of God, our Unashamed Intercessor before God. To remember and not forget our Heavenly Fatherland, and not to have a partiality for this life, only preparatory and instructive, temporary and transitional.
If there were no Christian feasts, then Christians would forget that they are precisely Christians called to the heavenly fatherland; they would not know why they live in the world, why they have been assigned to the Christian community or to the Church of God; what is the purpose of their life, why do they need to believe in Christ, and who is Christ? why should we believe in the Holy Scriptures? The Trinity and who is the Holy Trinity? Many ignorant people really do not know who is Christ, and who is the Trinity, and who is the Mother of God?
If there were no Christian feasts, then Christians would forget that they are precisely Christians called to the heavenly fatherland; they would not know why they live in the world, why they have been assigned to the Christian community or to the Church of God; what is the purpose of their life; why do they need to believe in Christ; and who is Christ? Why should we believe in the Holy Scriptures? Why believe in the Holy Trinity and who is the Holy Trinity? Many ignorant people really do not know who is Christ, and who is the Trinity, and who is the Mother of God?
They would not know why it is necessary to pray to God, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ! The feasts of the Church explain all this to the people, if they attend services, and they inform them about God's providence for us, teach us to love and thank God, to repent of our sins and always keep in mind the future life in heaven, which has no end, and to prepare for it, according to the words of the Apostle: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20).
And so let us celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God spiritually, diligently preparing ourselves for the transition from this temporary life, a life vanishing like a dream, to the future one, faithfully and firmly promised by the word of God to all faithful Christians.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us! Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.