Dormition - Ascension - Assumption
the Festival of the Ascension of St. Mary
Through the Paschal Journey of the Lord,
the Mother of God enters the dying of Christ,
for we are “baptized into the dying of Christ.”
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.
Through her full receptivity in synergy with the Divine,
she is assumed body and soul into Heaven.
As the New Eve, she manifests in her person
the destiny of the whole and entire Church of Christ.
Thus the Mother of God, in her ascension,
becomes a first witness to the Apostle's Creed regarding the Parousia and Eschaton.
Her journey in Christ confesses our faith in the Resurrection of the Lord,
and likewise confesses our faith in the resurrection of the body (of each and all the members of Christ's Body) and Life Everlasting.
In this same light of faith, the Oriental Orthodox Churches
name the Feast of 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,
this Marian Feast is an invitation for all of us
to encounter Christ, to embrace His life in the Spirit,
to become most Christ-like:
divinized through all the gifts of the Spirit
given to the Church in Pentecost.
Theosis - Divinization - Soteriology,
which altogether express
our Ecclesiology - Mariology - Pneumatology
and Christology:
Stomen Kalos, Stand in Beauty!
Click here then scroll down to see how the Miracle of Transfiguration illumines the Oriental Churches.
On the Dormition and Ascension of St. Mary the Mother of God
This Marian Feast invites usto 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 of Tender Mercy
written by KhouriaHeather
links to more on The Translation of the Theotokos
see the end of this post
Other Links to the Feast:
St. Mary Malankara Indian Orthodox Church’s Annual Assumption Day Parade
beginsn with the usual blowing of the kumbu horn, including the dancing of the koladi and the playing of chenda drums...
Patristic texts on Dormition, Balamand Monastery, Lebanon
See pdf texts on the Dormition by St. John of Damascus and St. Gregory
Balamand Monastery Icons of the Dormition with Iconography Commentaries
"Dormition of the Virgin":The events succeed one another under the same heaven. The apostles are transported on clouds towards Jerusalem to show reverence to the Mother of Life. In the center of the scene, Christ holds in his arms a swaddled newborn, an image of the immaculate soul of His Mother. Elsewhere in the same icon, the iconographer shows the Virgin being placed on a bier. The action culminates in glory: in the midst of a shining mandorla the Mother of Life is handing her sacred belt to Saint Thomas.
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.
Ecclesia Orans
and
Theologia Prima
FYI:
Iconographic Painting of "the Dormition" by el Greco, discovered in 1983
Through the Paschal Journey of the Lord,
the Mother of God enters the dying of Christ,
for we are “baptized into the dying of Christ.”
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.
Through her full receptivity in synergy with the Divine,
she is assumed body and soul into Heaven.
As the New Eve, she manifests in her person
the destiny of the whole and entire Church of Christ.
Thus the Mother of God, in her ascension,
becomes a first witness to the Apostle's Creed regarding the Parousia and Eschaton.
Her journey in Christ confesses our faith in the Resurrection of the Lord,
and likewise confesses our faith in the resurrection of the body (of each and all the members of Christ's Body) and Life Everlasting.
In this same light of faith, the Oriental Orthodox Churches
name the Feast of 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,
this Marian Feast is an invitation for all of us
to encounter Christ, to embrace His life in the Spirit,
to become most Christ-like:
divinized through all the gifts of the Spirit
given to the Church in Pentecost.
Read more on Salvation
in terms ofTheosis - Divinization - Soteriology,
which altogether express
our Ecclesiology - Mariology - Pneumatology
and Christology:
Stomen Kalos, Stand in Beauty!
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.
"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,
the living body of her ongoing Heavenly Life
in full, free, and final Communion with Christ in Glory:
and in the same the Spirit,
in the one Ecclesia Christi
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,
the living body of her ongoing Heavenly Life
in full, free, and final Communion with Christ in Glory:
and in the same the Spirit,
in the one Ecclesia Christi
This Marian Feast invites usto 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 of Tender Mercy
written by KhouriaHeather
links to more on The Translation of the Theotokos
see the end of this post
Other Links to the Feast:
“If you didn’t actually see this with your own eyes,
and some people around here haven’t,
you might think I was making it up,”
you might think I was making it up,”
said Christopher Bodkin, a local historian
and a former town councilman.
and a former town councilman.
“I mean it is so rococo, wonderful, Hindu-esque,
with the flower petals, the girls holding the decorative parasols
— everything but the elephants.”
Festal Procession, St. Mary's Malankara Indian Orthodox Church, Long Island, NY.
"Dormition of the Virgin":The events succeed one another under the same heaven. The apostles are transported on clouds towards Jerusalem to show reverence to the Mother of Life. In the center of the scene, Christ holds in his arms a swaddled newborn, an image of the immaculate soul of His Mother. Elsewhere in the same icon, the iconographer shows the Virgin being placed on a bier. The action culminates in glory: in the midst of a shining mandorla the Mother of Life is handing her sacred belt to Saint Thomas.
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
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:
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 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:
Ecclesia Orans
and
Theologia Prima
FYI:
posted by Fr. Michael Durka @ Monday, August 13, 2012
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