Dormition Translation Assumption: the Ascension of St. Mary

On the Dormition and Ascension of St. Mary the Mother of God

The Oriental Orthodox Churches name the dormition of the God-bearer as
"The Festival of the Ascension of St. Mary,"
a symbol of the life and pilgrimage of the Church itself.

Roman Catholics prefer to emphasize "the Assumption" of the Theotokos into Glory, the Byzantine Churhes focus on "the Falling Asleep in Christ, the Dormition" of the Theotokos. The entire Church Tradition bears witness to the Mystery of "the Translation" of the Theotokos: the body of her life, the body of her life-history, her life in Communion with Christ in the Spirit in the one Ecclesia Christi

This Marian Feast invites us
to encounter Christ,
to embrace fully and in all Finality the life of CHrist in the Spirit ~
such that we become wholly Christ-like: we are to become "divinized in Christ" through all the gifts of the Spirit given to the Church in Pentecost, and continuing now in the Church, in the light and life and love of the very same Spirit!

Theotokos
written by Heather Durka

for link to more on
The Translation of the Theotokos
see the end of this post

Other Links to the Feast:
2010 NYTimes slideshow
Festal Procession, St. Mary's Malankara Indian Orthodox Church, Long Island, NY.

Dormition Icon and text, University of Balamand, Lebanon

See pdf texts on the Dormition by St. John of Damascus and St. Gregory Palamas

Early Fathers on the Feast of the Dormition and Ascension

John the Theologian: The Dormition of the Holy Theotokos
Melito of Sardis: The Passing of Blessed Mary
Joseph of Arimathea: The Passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Cyril of Jerusalem: Homily on the Dormition
Evodius of Rome: Homily on the Dormition
Theodosius of Alexandria: Homily on the Dormition
John of Damascus: Homilies on the Dormition of the Virgin

Coptic image of The Dormition:

Scroll down for scene inside "The Church of the Holy Virgin" at Syrian Monastery, Egypt.

EXCERPT: The mid-seventh century...Egypt saw a blossoming of... iconographic programs, often covering more ancient works. This was no more true than in the monasteries of the Wadi Natrun. The Wadi and its importance to Coptic Christians dates back to the 4th century AD with the arrival of St. Macarius the Great ~

Read more:

The Monastery of St. Macarius (Deir Abu Magar)

Unique to Egypt and her Monastery Mosaics and Icons
In the monasteries of the Wadi Natrun...an Annunciation mosaic icon was discovered in the Church of the Holy Virgin which had been covered over by a scene depicting ascension in about 1225. The annunciation image could have been created as early as about 710 AD, when Syrians purchased the monastery. This remarkable work is not only inspiring because of its grand style, but also its rich iconography. It depicts the Holy Virgin, seated on a throne, listening to the archangel's message. She is surrounded by four prophets, consisting of Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, holding scrolls with Coptic inscriptions. In the background is the town of Nazareth. This theme is unique to Egypt.

The Icon of the Dormition of St. Ephrem
shows the Mystery of St. Mary's Dormition as a prototype
of all the members of the Body of Christ...
As the Lord said to the beloved disciple, "Behold your mother"
-- so too to Ephrem and all the baptized faithful.

Another side of this Feast in the Spirit on August 15
as
The Translation of the God-Bearer :
The Spirit carries Mary within
the entire entitas of her life and her ongoing fiat
into the Heavenly Liturgy:

the Annunciation: March 25
Ecclesia Orans
and
Theologia Prima

FYI:

Iconographic Painting of "the Dormition" by el Greco, discovered in 1983