In the Orthodox world, there are many icons of the Mother of God, which have exceptional features in healing and helping all those who apply. The icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is no exception, and is especially revered among Christians.

The Assumption, or the transition of the Virgin from the world of the living to our Lord and her son, is described in the Bible. According to legend, the Virgin Mary tirelessly prayed to the Lord for the end of her earthly life. During one of her prayers, the archangel Gabriel visited her and said that her earthly life was over and in three days she would find peace.

History of the icon

The unceasing prayers of the Theotokos exalted her. Her holiness and sincere concern for all those living on earth helped her ascend to the Kingdom of God and remain the patroness of people, the comforter of their sorrows and support in difficult moments of life. At the hour of her dormition, the house was illuminated by divine light, looking around the deathbed of the Virgin. In this light, Jesus himself appeared behind the Mother of God, surrounded by singing angels.

The end of the earthly life of the Mother of God is called Assumption because her death was not ordinary. The soul of the Virgin Mary ascended like Jesus into the Kingdom of Heaven, and her spirit still looks at the human race with humility and a desire to help.

Where is the image of the Virgin

The image can be found in almost every Orthodox church. The icon "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" is located in the temples of the same name in the cities: Vladimir, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Ryazan, Murom, Astrakhan, Moscow. The significance and miraculous properties of the icon cannot be underestimated, therefore, every year on August 28, believers offer prayers to the Mother of God with various requests.

Description of the icon

The icon depicts the Assumption (death) of the Mother of God. She is on her deathbed and surrounded by grieving apostles. At the top of the icon we see Jesus holding the soul of his Mother in his arms and surrounded by jubilant angels. They herald the transition of the Mother of God from earthly life to immortal life.

What helps the miraculous image

Prayers before the image instill confidence in believers, eradicate fear of the end of earthly life. Every Orthodox prays to the image, so that at the end of the path to find eternal life and get into the Kingdom of Heaven. The offering of prayers helps to heal the soul and body from all sorts of ailments and illnesses, strengthen oneself in the true Orthodox faith, gain firm support under one's feet and resist all kinds of temptations.

Prayer before the icon "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

“Holy Mother of God, save and save the servant of God (name). Protect from temptations on the path of life, save, Mati, from self-interest and strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ, the magnanimous and all-forgiving. Cover me with your cover from haters and ill-wishers, but forgive them their malice. Give me the strength to fight temptations and prevent the intrigues of the devil, turning me away from the Orthodox faith. Show your mercy on me and my family, save and protect us. Amen".

Days of celebration

The celebration takes place on August 28 (15). In the Orthodox Church, this holiday is considered one of the main twelfth holidays, and it is preceded by a two-week strict Assumption fast. During fasting, every Orthodox forgives his sins and strengthens in faith, freeing his soul and thoughts from negativity. On this day, everyone can visit a church or pray at the iconostasis at home, glorifying the transition of the Mother of God from earthly life to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Each icon of the Mother of God helps in strengthening faith, and gives strength to cope with all life's difficulties. The clergy urge believers to turn to the Higher Forces with daily prayers in order not only to strengthen themselves in faith, but also to overcome the fear of death, remembering the ascension of the Virgin. We wish you happiness and joy, and do not forget to press the buttons and

27.08.2017 06:11

Among the images of the Mother of God, the icon “Tenderness”, otherwise called Igorevskaya, is especially revered. Prayers before her can protect ...

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Iconography of the Feast in the Art of Byzantium and Ancient Russia

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is bright and joyful for every Christian. On the day of the blessed death of the Mother of God, all mankind found a Prayer Book and a Heavenly Intercessor, an Intercessor before the Lord. The meaning of this great celebration is determined by the church charter - this Mother of God holiday has not four ordinary days of afterfeast, but eight, the same number as one of the greatest master's holidays - Epiphany. The celebrated event is preceded by a strict fast, which, according to the degree of abstinence, ranks first after Great Lent.

Reliable information about the history of the feast of the Assumption begins only at the end of the 6th century. It is generally accepted that it was installed under the Byzantine emperor Mauritius (592-602). Apparently, until that time, the Assumption was a local, not a general church holiday in Constantinople. The growing veneration of the Mother of God, which the emerging heresies, including Nestorianism, could not shake, contributed to the establishment of the Dormition in the church calendar.

The Gospel says nothing about the earthly life of the Mother of God after the Ascension of the Savior. Church tradition has preserved information about Her last days. That is why the iconographic sources for the images of the Assumption in Byzantium, the Balkans and in Ancient Russia were the widespread apocryphal legends: “The word of John the Theologian on the Assumption of the Virgin”, “The word of John, Archbishop of Thessalonica”, as well as the oldest holiday word on the Assumption of the Jerusalem Patriarch Modest ( † 632), Words of Saints Andrew of Crete, Patriarch Herman of Constantinople, and three Words of Saint John of Damascus (all from the 8th century). The legends about the Dormition that have existed for a long time are not the same in their volume and differ in details.

The composition of the mature iconography of the Dormition belongs to the post-iconoclastic era. Two ivory plates date back to the end of the 10th century - for the setting of the Gospel of Emperor Otto III from the Bavarian Library in Munich and a plaquette from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (ill. 1). The general composition of the Assumption scene in both monuments will become traditional for the art of Byzantium and Ancient Russia. The Mother of God is depicted in the center on the bed, on either side of Her are the weeping apostles, behind the bed stands the Savior with the soul of the Mother of God, depicted as a swaddled baby. In some Balkan monuments (the frescoes of the Church of the Ascension in the Zica monastery, 1309-1316; the frescoes of the Church of the Virgin "Hodegetria" in the Pech Patriarchy, c. 1335), the soul of the Mother of God in shrouds will be depicted with wings.

In icon painting, the composition has been found since the 11th century (an icon from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai), and has been part of the festive epistyles since the end of the 11th century (Deesis, twelve apostles and twelve feasts from the same monastery).

The Dormition of the Mother of God, like the Resurrection of Christ, symbolized the trampling of death and the resurrection to the life of the next century. The images of the Assumption have a complex liturgical interpretation. Thus, the bed with the body of the Mother of God is visually likened to the throne in the temple, and the arrangement of the apostles in two groups, headed by Peter and Paul, on either side of it, is likened to their presence at the Eucharist and communion under two kinds. Christ behind the bed was the image of a bishop at a meal. The image in some monuments of the Apostle Peter with a censer in his hand indicated, perhaps, the incense of the holy gifts in the liturgy, and the image of the Apostle John, falling to the bed of the Virgin Mary, indicated a priest kissing the throne. Often in the scene of the Assumption, two or four bishops were depicted, along with the apostles, the coming of the Mother of God. These images of Saints Dionysius the Areopagite, Hierotheus, Timothy of Ephesus and James, brother of the Lord, who, according to legend, were present at the Dormition of the Mother of God, symbolized the communion by the bishop of the priests in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Angels flying in the scenes of the Assumption to Christ with covered hands, as if to receive holy gifts, seem to serve at the liturgy as deacons. According to tradition, the Assumption was depicted as an event taking place in the house of John the Theologian in Jerusalem - in the Zion Room, where the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles had previously taken place. The stage is usually surrounded by architectural structures.

From about the 11th century, an expanded version of the iconography of the Assumption, the so-called "cloud type", became widespread. In the upper part of the composition (for example, on a fresco from the Church of Hagia Sophia in Ohrid, Macedonia), the apostles are depicted flying to the bed of the Mother of God on the clouds. According to the "Word of John the Theologian", the apostles, whom the Blessed Virgin wished to see before Her death, were miraculously raptured by angels from different countries and brought to Jerusalem, and the apostles Andrew, Philip, Luke and Simon Thaddeus were awakened from the tombs.

The oldest example of the “cloudy Assumption” in Russia is an icon from the beginning of the 13th century, originating from the Novgorod Tithes Monastery (now in the State Tretyakov Gallery) (ill. 2). In the upper part of the icon there is a blue semicircular segment of the sky with golden stars and figures of angels carrying away the soul of the Mother of God. A rare and touching iconographic detail of this icon is the red shoes standing at the foot of the bed of the Mother of God. This is a symbol of Her leaving the earthly path.

Most often, one or more burning candles are depicted at the bed of the Virgin, symbolizing a prayer to the Lord. On the Pskov icon of the Assumption of the first quarter of the 14th century (ill. 3), a jug-stamna inserted into the bowl is depicted at the bedside - this is one of the poetic symbols of the Mother of God, found in Byzantine and Old Russian hymnography. The Blessed Virgin is likened to a golden stave with manna from heaven, made at the command of Moses. The closest iconographic analogy to the icon in question is the fresco of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration Monastery in Pskov (mid-12th century) (ill. 4). In both monuments, the general composition is repeated, the poses of the apostles, the scene is flanked by high chambers, inside which weeping Jerusalem wives are depicted. However, the apostles do not have halos on the icon, and the "glory" - the mandorla of Christ - is held by the angels surrounding it.

In the 15th century, icons of the Assumption were widely distributed in Russia depicting the miracle of cutting off the hands of an angel from the wicked Jew Avfoniya (Athonia, in some sources - Jethonia) in the foreground, in front of the bed. Perhaps the popularity of the plot at that time and in the 16th century was associated with the struggle against heretical movements. For the first time, this plot was recorded in the fresco of the Church of Panagia Mavriotissa in Kastoria (the turn of the 12th-13th centuries), and in ancient Russian art - in the frescoes of the Snetogorsky Monastery and the Church of the Assumption on Volotovo Field.

In Russian icons of the Assumption of the second half of the 15th century - from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (c. 1479), from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (1497, now in the Tretyakov Gallery), from the Assumption Cathedral in Dmitrov (end of the 15th century, now in the Andrei Rublev Museum) - a detailed iconographic scheme is presented. The apostles are depicted traveling on clouds, at the bed of the Mother of God - weeping Jerusalem wives, apostles and angels, in the foreground - the scene of cutting off the hands of Avfoniya. In the upper part of the icon, heaven is depicted, to which the Mother of God in “glory” is raised by angels. This detail is interpreted in the "Word on the Assumption" of St. Andrew of Crete: "The door of the heavenly gates has risen in order to receive into the kingdom of heaven ... the Heavenly Door of God." Examining the icon from the Assumption Cathedral (ill. 5), E. Ya. Ostashenko notes the drawing and color of the "glory" of the ascending Mother of God, which has no analogies in other monuments. Instead of the traditional blue hues, here the outer outlines of the "glory" consist of two shades of red, while the inner parts include a radiance with short rays. Apparently, the red color of the “glory” and the rays inside it are associated with a number of poetic images of the Mother of God, for example, with the image of the “Woman clothed in the sun” (Rev. 12: 1) and the image of the Church, which dressed itself as the “Sun of Truth - Christ”. A feature of the above-mentioned icon of the Assumption of 1497 from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is the depiction of the episode with the presentation of the Mother of God of her belt to the Apostle Thomas. According to one of the legends about the Assumption, Thomas arrived late, when the Mother of God was already ascending to heaven, and received a belt from Her hands. Joining the rest of the apostles, he told them about the meeting with the Mother of God, thereby testifying to Her ascension to heaven.

Along with the developed and detailed iconographic types discussed above, at the same time, a short version of the iconography of the Dormition was also widespread. Thus, in the Russian Museum there is a 15th-century Novgorod icon (ill. 6), which lacks images of angels flying on the clouds of the apostles and the traditional figures of the apostles at the bed of the Mother of God. The overall composition of the icon is distinguished by extreme laconicism - only the Savior Himself and two saints stand before the Mother of God. In the upper part of the icon are half-figures of St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen the Archdeacon. This is connected either with the consecration of the thrones of the church where the icon comes from, or with the desire of the customer of the icon to see the patron saints of his family on the image of the Assumption.

An interesting iconographic feature is the icon of the Assumption of the middle of the 16th century from the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve. If in all the monuments discussed above, Christ was most often depicted frontally, holding the soul of the Mother of God with both hands, then here He is presented in a spread, blessing the Mother of God lying on a bed with her right hand. This detail, apparently, appears in the "cloudy" version of the Assumption in the first half of the 16th century and was widely distributed in the 16th-17th centuries. Blessing the Mother of God the Savior is also represented on an icon of the 16th century from the collection of the Russian Museum (ill. 7). It also depicts the ascension of the Mother of God, sitting on a throne, to the open gates of paradise, behind which are visible angelic ranks, the Heavenly City (in the form of a cruciform tower) and several trees of paradise.

In the 16th century, the placement of the scene of the Assumption in the murals of temples is also associated with the paradisiacal symbolism. So, in the scenery of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and the Assumption Cathedral in Sviyazhsk, this plot is placed above the conch of the altar, which allows us to interpret this composition based on the idea of ​​the symbolism of the altar space as a heavenly, heavenly place.

In the 17th century, monumental temple icons of the Assumption appeared, accompanied by hallmarks, in which the “Legend of the Assumption” is illustrated. So, on the icon of 1658 from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the hallmarks depict the prayer of the Mother of God before her death, the farewell of the Mother of God with loved ones, the journey of the apostles, their conversation with the Mother of God and other scenes. The most detailed story about the Assumption of the Virgin ends with the image of the Mother of God on a bed in the middle of the Garden of Eden. The same story about the Assumption is contained in the hallmarks of the Assumption icon of the late 17th century from the Andrei Rublev Museum (ill. 8). In the last hallmark, the Mother of God, as in the traditional iconography of the Dormition, is depicted lying on a throne, behind and in front of it are two burning candles. Not only the apostles are standing at the bed of the Mother of God - in the lower right corner, bowing Old Testament righteous are depicted, among them the prophets David and Daniel can be noted. The presence of the Old Testament righteous at the Dormition of the Mother of God, as well as the prudent robber with a cross standing behind the bed of Mary, directly indicates that the event depicted on the icon does not take place on earth, but in heaven, or rather, in paradise. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the plot of the stigma in question is written on a white background. It was this color that from the very birth of Christian art symbolized paradise, as A. N. Ovchinnikov writes about this: “Any image on a white background should be understood as participation in paradise”

UNIAN will tell you when the Assumption of the Theotokos 2019, as it notes, why pray at the icon of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos.

History of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On August 28, the Orthodox Church commemorates the death (Assumption) of the Mother of God. But this holiday is not only sad because of the end of the life path of the Virgin, but also joyful - because she was reunited with her son Jesus Christ.

Three days before the death of Mary, the archangel Gabriel appeared and informed her of her imminent death. On this day, the apostles left the places of their preaching and gathered in Jerusalem to say goodbye to the Most Holy Theotokos and to carry out the burial of her most pure body.

Being around her bed, they were blinded by a bright light in which Christ himself appeared surrounded by angels and archangels. At that moment, the pure soul of the Virgin Mary, without suffering, as if in a dream, went to the Lord.

The Apostle Thomas did not have time for the burial of the Virgin, so after her assumption he was allowed to enter the cave-tomb. But there he did not find the body of the Virgin. This was explained by the fact that the Lord took the body of Mary to heaven.

Why is the holiday called Assumption

The word "assumption" means sleep. Many believers explain the meaning of the feast of the Assumption in that there is no final death and fear of it. That is, there is life on Earth in a physical body, as well as life after that.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin: traditions

The Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos coincides with the end of the strict Assumption Lent. On this day, you can start eating a variety of foods, but only if August 28 does not fall on Wednesday or Friday. If this is the case, you should wait another day.

According to tradition, on this day, believers go to church to honor the memory of the Most Holy Theotokos and pray at her icon.

Assumption begins with the preparation of various supplies for the winter. From that day on, they began to gather mushrooms and nuts for the winter in the forests.

It was also a good tradition for our ancestors to engage in salting cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables for the winter on the Dormition.

What do they pray for at the icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The icon "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" is considered very strong - in front of it they ask for the protection of children and adults from diseases and the evil eye, for help in making the right decision, in complex problematic issues. Also, it is this image that helps to worthily go through your earthly path and overcome the fear of death.

The icon "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" is considered very strong / grekomania.ru

Before this image, they pray for:

Her protection and patronage;

Healing from various ailments;

Releasing the fear of death;

Strengthening the Christian faith.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin: what not to do

On this church holiday it is forbidden:

Do housework - clean, wash, sew;

Pick up cutting objects, bread, for example, is broken by hand;

The image of the Mother of God has long been revered by Orthodox people after the icons of the Lord Jesus Christ. More than 700 variations of icons are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but, as it is said in the legend about Her life, there are as many images of the Virgin as there are stars in the sky.

Among Her famous faces, a special place is occupied by the icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God, which is venerated annually on August 28.

Description of the icon

In the middle of the icon is a deathbed, on which the body of the Most Holy Theotokos lies. It is covered with crimson cloth, which is not accidental. Crimson at all times was considered a symbol of the power of emperors, therefore, on the icon, this color indicates the royal dignity of the Queen of Heaven. The purple sandals worn on Her feet also have their own rationale - only eminent Byzantine emperors could wear such shoes.

The meaning of the crimson on the icon of the Assumption means that the power of the Mother of God is incomparably higher than that of the most powerful royal persons.

The bed of the Virgin is surrounded by the apostles, among them John and Peter. Peter holds a censer in his hands and fumigates the Most Pure Body with incense. John mourns the Mother of God, bending over Her body.

Often the icon depicts St. John of Damascus. It was he who sang the Queen of Heaven in his charitable works.

About other icons revered in Orthodoxy:

A candle burns in front of the bed, but on other compositions, instead of it, there is an image of a pair of severed wrists, and a sinner with severed hands stands near the bed. He is Athos, the one who in disbelief tried to overturn the bed, but he was miraculously stopped by the sword of an angel.

By the way, the angel himself with a raised sword is often depicted standing near Athos.

Next to the bed stands the Savior Himself. He is surrounded by a huge halo, announcing His Divine Glory. In His arms lies a baby in swaddling clothes. He is the soul of the Most Pure Virgin, whom Jesus will soon ascend to heavenly abodes. The angels surrounding the Creator rejoice, meeting the Queen of Heaven.

The Assumption event takes place in a room with many columns, arches and other architectural elements.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

History of the Dormition of the Virgin

Tradition says that from the moment of the crucifixion of her Son, Mary often came to Golgotha ​​and offered prayers to Heaven at the tomb of Jesus.

It happened that one day, during a prayer, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God and informed Her of her imminent death. The news for the grieving Mother was joyful and meant a quick meeting with her beloved Son. Therefore, the last days of her earthly life, the Blessed Virgin lived in unceasing prayer to the Lord, calling on all Orthodox Christians to follow her example.

Important. At the moment of the departure of the soul of the Most Pure Virgin, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to the deathbed of the Mother. He was surrounded by a host of heavenly angels and archangels.

The body of the Blessed Virgin was buried in the family tomb, next to her parents and husband. The burial ceremony itself was very solemn and was fenced off from the outside world by an invisible wall. And the infidels who tried to prevent the burial of the body were severely punished.

Mary's tomb was tightly closed with a huge stone. Three days after the funeral, the Apostle Thomas visited Jerusalem. He was eager to say goodbye to the Mother of God and attend Her burial, but he was too late. In tears, he begged Christians to open the grave in order to contemplate the Most Pure One for the last time.

But when the people moved the stone away and entered the tomb, a miracle was revealed to them - there was no body in it, and only Mary's funeral robe lay in its place. After all, the Lord Himself took the mother's soul into His hands, and together they ascended to Heaven.

On the same day, the apostles gathered at a common table to celebrate the resurrection and ascension of the Blessed Virgin. And then the Most Pure One herself appeared to them and proclaimed: “I am with you!”. And to this day, the Mother of God is invisibly next to every believer, protecting him and fulfilling heartfelt petitions.

On this day, festive services are celebrated in churches, the clergy put on blue vestments. With special solemnity, the feast of the Assumption is celebrated in Gethsemane, at the burial place of the Blessed Virgin.

About other Mother of God holidays:

The sacred shroud of the Mother of God, surrounded by burning candles, is kept in the monastery courtyard. Before her, from the beginning of the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, the service of prayers, akathists, liturgies and evening services begins.

At 2 o'clock in the morning before the day of the Dormition, the rector of the Gethsemane Metochion celebrates the Divine Liturgy, and at the end of it, a prayer service is read before the shroud. After that, she is solemnly transferred in procession to Gethsemane.

Members of the Russian clergy in Jerusalem annually participate in this event. The procession is always accompanied by a huge number of pilgrims from all over the world. The procession arrives in Gethsemane at sunrise, and a shroud is laid in the stone cave, where the Most Pure Body of the Mother of God used to lie.

On the morning of the day of the Assumption, the rite of the burial of the Virgin is performed. Bishops, monks, clerics and many Orthodox people go through the narrow streets of the holy city to Gethsemane.

The funeral procession sings the prayer canon to the Theotokos. On the celebration of the feast, the shroud is returned to Jerusalem in the same procession to its Gethsemane Compound.

Great meaning of the image

Important. The icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God marks the truth that death is not the end of a person's life, but a transition to the heavenly world.

The death of the Virgin is not the departure from the life of an ordinary person. The soul and body of the Most Pure Virgin went to Heaven to the Savior, and not to the damp earth.

On the lower part of the image, it is indicated to mankind that the path to Salvation lies through sorrows, after which Eternity awaits each righteous person, where the Blessed Virgin Mary was the first of the people to ascend. Therefore, it is recommended to read the icon of the Assumption from the bottom up in order to correctly interpret what awaits a righteous Christian after bodily death.

Holy Help from Heaven

Prayer before the image helps believers overcome the fear of death, because it describes a vivid example of what awaits each of us with faithful observance of the rules of church life.

• The Mother of God prays before Her Son for every person, helping to recover even from the most serious ailments;
• She guides the lost souls on the true path, so that after death every person could be in the Kingdom of Heaven;
• Mary helps to get rid of misfortunes, grants peace of mind, helps in business, protects on the way.

In addition to praying in the church, you can order a prayer service before the icon, after writing notes with the names of those people for whom you need to pray.

The notes themselves should be submitted to the church shop before the start of the prayer service. Names should be written in Orthodox spelling and in the genitive case, they should answer the question “who?”, For example: about the health of Mary, Demetrius, Julia, Sergius.

Important. The Church prays only for people baptized in the Orthodox faith, i.е. for those over whom the Sacrament of Baptism was performed.

The Mother of God is all-forgiving and is the Heavenly helper to all living things!

Prayer before the image of the Assumption should be done with understanding and sincere faith in the fulfillment of what is asked for. The request must come from the very depths of the heart, just as a child calls for the help of his mother. In this case, the Mother of God will not hesitate to help Her lost child in trouble.

Watch a video about the Assumption of the Virgin

history of the holiday

Information about the last years of the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos can be gleaned from a number of apocrypha and some pious traditions.

The events of the Dormition and burial of the Virgin are known from such sources as the “Legend of the Assumption of the Virgin” by Pseudo-John the Theologian (mid-5th century), “On the Exodus of the Virgin Mary” by Pseudo-Meliton of Sardis (not earlier than the 4th century), the work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite , "Word of John, Archbishop of Thessalonica". One of these apocrypha is placed in the "History of the Church" by Nicephorus Xanthopoulos. The history of the emergence of the feast of the Dormition is also described by St. John of Damascus in the work “The Second Laudable Oration on the Dormition of the Mother of God”, which quotes the words of the Bishop of Jerusalem, Juvenaly. All of the listed apocrypha are rather late works (5th-6th centuries) and differ from each other in content.

Most researchers agree that the Virgin Mary lived on earth for 72 years and died around the year 57 AD.

By the time of Her Assumption, the Mother of God lived in Jerusalem, visiting Golgotha ​​and the Holy Sepulcher for prayers. Once, during a prayer, the archangel Gabriel appeared to her, saying that in three days she would go to Christ God. Calming Mary to be ready for this hour, the archangel announced to Her: “... Your Son and our God with archangels and angels, cherubim and seraphim, with all heavenly spirits and souls of the righteous, will receive You, His Mother, into the kingdom of heaven, that You may live and reign with Him for an endless time." To commemorate his words, the archangel gave the Theotokos a branch of the tree of paradise, instructing her to carry Her in front of the tomb of the Virgin at burial.

Before her death, the Mother of God wanted to gather at Her bed the apostles, who by that time were preaching the Christian faith in different countries. Through the prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Holy Spirit miraculously, according to legend, - on the clouds, gathered the apostles from different parts of the earth so that they could bow to the Blessed Virgin before Her Dormition.

Seeing the apostles, the Mother of God joyfully gave Her soul into the hands of the Lord. Here is how St. Dimitry of Rostov describes the last moments of the Mother of God: “Suddenly, in the upper room, the inexpressible light of Divine glory shone, darkening the lamps. Those to whom this vision was revealed were horrified. They saw that the roof of the upper room was open and the glory of the Lord was descending from heaven - the King of glory Himself, Christ, with the darkness of angels and archangels, with all the heavenly powers, with the holy forefathers and prophets, who once foreshadowed the Blessed Virgin, and with all the righteous souls approached to His Most Pure Mother."

The apostles buried the Mother of God in the tomb of Her parents, the righteous Joachim and Anna, in which the ashes of Her husband, Joseph the Betrothed, rested, at the very foot of the Mount of Olives, or the Mount of Olives, near the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ so loved to talk with the disciples and where He was taken by the Jews .

Tradition keeps the story of how the Jewish priest Athos, who was passing by, tried to overturn the bed with the body of the Virgin Mary, but immediately his hands were cut off by an unknown force. After the deep repentance of Athos, his hands became whole again with divine power, and he himself accepted the Christian faith.

According to the apocrypha, the Apostle Thomas was the only one of the disciples of Christ who did not have time for the funeral of the Virgin (he came to Jerusalem on the third day after the burial). Then the apostles brought him to the tomb so that he could also bow to the body of the Mother of God. As St. Demetrius of Rostov narrates, “when the holy Apostles, having rolled away the stone, opened the coffin, they were horrified: the body of the Mother of God was not in the coffin, - only funeral sheets were left, spreading a wondrous fragrance; the holy Apostles stood in amazement, wondering what this meant! Kissing with tears and reverence the burial shroud left in the coffin, they prayed to the Lord that He would reveal to them where the body of the Most Holy Theotokos had disappeared.

On the evening of the same day, when the apostles all gathered together at a meal, and the apostle Peter, raising, as usual, an ukruh in memory of Christ, said: “Great is the name of the Holy Trinity,” the disciples of Christ saw the Most Holy Theotokos in the air, surrounded by angels. The Mother of God blessed the apostles with the words “Rejoice! I am with you all the days until the end of time.” The Blessed Virgin extended her maternal blessing through the apostles and to all believing Christians until the very last times.

Establishment of a holiday

Until the 4th century, the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos was not celebrated among Christians as a church holiday. The final approval of the church celebration of the Assumption in all parts of the Christian world took place only around the 8th century. The day of celebration of the Assumption on August 15/28, according to the "History of the Church" by Nicephorus Callist Xanthopulus, was established by Emperor Mauritius, who issued a special edict (second half of the 6th century).

The event of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was glorified by the canons of St. Kozma Mayumsky and St. John of Damascus in the 8th century, and the stichera of the feast were written in the 5th century by Patriarch Anatoly of Constantinople. Since ancient times, the holiday is preceded by fasting, which was approved in the XII century. at the Council of Constantinople under Patriarch Luke. The celebration of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos was always held with special solemnity in Gethsemane at the place of Her burial, where a temple was erected, in which the funeral shrouds of the Virgin were kept. In the IV century. the sacred cover was transferred to the Blachernae church.

In monasteries and some churches, for the sake of a special celebration of the holiday, a special service is performed for the burial of the Mother of God. This service is known from manuscripts of the 15th century and is performed in the likeness of the Matins service on Great Saturday. In the 16th century, this service was very common in the Russian Church, but in the 19th century it was almost forgotten and was performed only in a few places. At present, the rite of burial of the Mother of God is performed in many cathedral and parish churches on the second or third day of the holiday. The divine service begins with an all-night vigil, at the great doxology the clergy go to the shroud with the image of the Virgin lying in the middle of the temple; it is burned incense, and then the shroud is encircled around the temple. After this, the believers are anointed with oil, litanies are read, and dismissal.

In Orthodoxy, the holiday is one of the twelve holidays and lasts 9 days - from August 15/28 to August 23/September 5. The holiday is preceded by a two-week Assumption Fast from August 1/14 to August 14/27, which is the strictest after Great Lent.

The spiritual meaning of the holiday

The Church calls the death of the Mother of God the Assumption, and not death, therefore the usual human death, when the body returns to the earth, and the spirit to God, did not touch the Graceful One: for Christmas is virgin, and the belly betroths death: after the birth of the Virgin, and after death she is alive, you always save, O Mother of God, your inheritance"(irmos 9 songs of the canon).

The feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also called the "Second Easter".

This name is a testament to the fact that the Assumption of the Mother of God, like the Resurrection of Christ, is saving for the entire human race as the trampling of death and the resurrection to the life of the next century. Like the ascended Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos in Her appearance to the apostles promised to be with the human race “all the days until the end of the age.”

Iconography

The composition of the iconography of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary belongs to the post-iconoclastic era. Two ivory plates date back to the end of the 10th century - the setting of the Gospel of Emperor Otto III from the Bavarian Library in Munich and a plaquette from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The general composition of the Assumption scene in both monuments will become traditional for the art of Byzantium and Ancient Russia. The Mother of God is depicted in the center on the bed, on either side of Her are the weeping apostles, behind the bed stands the Savior with the soul of the Mother of God, depicted as a swaddled baby.

Some of the earliest surviving wall-paintings of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin belong to the X-XI centuries. The painting of the Assumption Church in Ateni (Georgia) dates back to the beginning of the 10th century. On this early monument, in addition to the apostles, at the bed of the Mother of God, saints are depicted, who, according to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, were present at the Dormition. These are James of Jerusalem, brother of the Lord, Dionysius the Areopagite, Hierotheus of Athens and Timothy of Edessa.

A fresco from a cave church in Göreme (Cappadocia, Turkey), dating from the 11th century, testifies to an already well-established composition. In the center, on a purple bed decorated with gold carvings with a white ornamented cover, the reposed Mother of God is depicted. Behind the bed is Christ, who received the soul of His Mother in the form of a swaddled baby. The Lord extends Her to one of the two angels, who must lift Her up to the heavenly abodes. On both sides of the bed are the apostles, whose figures have been preserved in fragments. On the left in front of the bed - the Apostle Peter, who burns incense, on the right, the Apostle Paul falls at the feet of the Virgin Mary, behind the bed, John the Theologian clung to the very headboard.

During the 10th - 11th centuries, the compositional scheme of the Assumption practically did not change. Only some details are added to it, such as, for example, architectural scenes in the background, indicating the historical place where the Assumption event took place - the upper room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In the window niches of buildings, virgins and wives of Jerusalem are often depicted, to whom, according to the "Word of John, Archbishop of Thessalonica", the Apostle Peter addressed with a sermon.

Sometimes the soul of the Mother of God is depicted not in the arms of Christ, but in the covered hands of an angel carrying Her to paradise. If there is enough free space for the image (as, for example, in the painting of the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Sopochany monastery), then the artist places a whole host of heavenly forces hovering around the figure of the Savior above the bed of the Mother of God.

At the end of the 13th - the first half of the 14th century, the term "cloudy Assumption" became widespread. In this iconographic version, the apostles miraculously raptured from different countries are depicted not only at the bedside, but also in the upper part of the composition flying on clouds to Jerusalem. In Russia, such an image is first found on an icon of the early 13th century from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Tithes Monastery near Novgorod.

On the temple icon from the Pskov Church of the Assumption "on Paromenye" ​​(first quarter of the 14th century), in front of the bed of the Mother of God, instead of the traditional candle, a complex-shaped vessel is depicted. The jug-stamna inserted into the cup reminds here of the ancient prototype of the Mother of God - the golden stave with manna, which was stored in the ark of the covenant. On this Pskov icon, the figure of Christ is inscribed in a dark blue mandorla, which appears in the iconography of the Dormition no earlier than the end of the 12th century.

At the turn of the 12th - 13th centuries, the iconography of the Assumption was supplemented by a plot with the cutting off of the hands of Athos, depicted in the foreground of the composition in front of the bed of the Mother of God. At the same time, the figures of Athos and the angel cutting off his hands are deliberately reduced as minor elements of the composition. For the first time this plot was recorded in the fresco of the Church of Panagia Mavriotissa in Kastoria (the turn of the XII-XIII centuries), and in Russia the episode with the “Miracle of cutting off the hands of Athos” appears in the paintings of the Cathedral of the Snetogorsky Monastery (1313), the Church of the Assumption on the Volotovo Field (1360- years), the Church of Theodore Stratilat on the Rucha (circa 1380) and is present on many icons of the 15th-16th centuries.

The depiction of the episode with the Mother of God presenting her belt to the Apostle Thomas, as can be seen on the icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery of 1497, can also be counted among the secondary plots of the composition of the Assumption. According to one of the legends about the Assumption, the Apostle Thomas, who did not have time for the funeral of the Mother of God, witnessed Her ascension to heaven and received a belt from Her hands. Joining the rest of the apostles, he told them about the meeting with the Mother of God, thus testifying to Her bodily ascension.

In the 17th century, large-scale icons of the Dormition appeared with stamps, in which the “Legend of the Dormition” is illustrated. So, on the icon of 1658 from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the hallmarks depict the prayer of the Mother of God before her death, the farewell of the Mother of God with loved ones, the journey of the apostles, their conversation with the Mother of God and other scenes. The most detailed story about the Assumption of the Virgin ends with the image of the Mother of God on a bed in the middle of the Garden of Eden.

A similar story about the Assumption is written on the hallmarks of the Assumption icon of the late 17th century from the Andrei Rublev Museum. In the last stigma of this image, not only the apostles are coming to the bed of the Mother of God - in the lower right corner are depicted bowing Old Testament righteous, among whom are the prophets David and Daniel, and behind the bed of Mary is written the figure of a prudent robber with a cross, indicating that the event depicted on the icon is taking place not on earth, but in heaven. In this regard, the fact that the plot of the stigma under consideration is written on a white background is especially noteworthy. It was this color that from the very birth of Christian art symbolized paradise (A. N. Ovchinnikov: “Any image on a white background should be understood as communion with paradise”).

In talking about the iconography of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is also important to note that many of the pictorial elements that make up this composition have a hidden liturgical meaning. Thus, the bed with the body of the Mother of God is undoubtedly likened to the throne in the temple, and the arrangement of the apostles in two groups, headed by Peter and Paul, on either side of it, is likened to their presence at the Eucharist and communion under two kinds. Christ behind the bed is the image of a bishop at a meal. The image in some monuments of the Apostle Peter with a censer in his hand indicates the incense of the holy gifts in the liturgy, and the image of the Apostle John, falling to the bed of the Virgin Mary, indicates a priest kissing the throne. The images of the four saints, who, according to legend, were present at the Assumption of the Mother of God, symbolize the communion by the bishop of the priests in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The angels flying in the scenes of the Assumption to Christ with covered hands, as for receiving holy gifts, are images of deacons.

Miraculous and revered icons

Among the numerous miraculous and locally venerated images of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a number of the most famous icons can be distinguished.

One of the oldest miraculous icons of the Assumption of the Mother of God was painted in 1147 and is now in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery. She is known for miraculously saving the city of Pskov in 1581 during the invasion of the Polish king Stefan Batory, and also in 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

The icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Kiev-Pechersk) is one of the oldest revealed icons of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to legend, the Mother of God Herself handed this icon to four Byzantine architects, who in 1075 brought the icon to St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. The icon was glorified by many miracles. Its iconographic feature is the Gospel, standing in front of the bed of the Mother of God.

The icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God (Ovinovskaya) became famous in 1425 in the Kostroma province.

The icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Pskov-Pechersk), together with the image "Tenderness" in 1581, showed a miracle during the siege of Pskov by the Polish king Stefan Batory. The chronicle recorded the first healing from the image in 1473.

The icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God (Pyukhtitskaya) appeared in the 16th century on Estonian soil. She was found by simple shepherds at the roots of an oak after the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos at a holy spring.

The icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God (Seven-city) was painted by the Monk Dionysius Glushitsky, the founder of the Glushitsky monastery, located in the Kadnikovsky district of the Vologda province. It is believed that from the monastery he founded, this icon of the Mother of God was transferred by some hermits to a distance of 20 miles from the monastery, to the impenetrable forests beyond the Dvintsa River to the Semigrad volost.

The icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God (Dalmatian) is named after the monk Dalmat, the founder of the Assumption Dalmatov Monastery in the Perm province.

Notes

1. The feast in honor of the Dormition of the Theotokos originally had the name "Memory of the Blessed". It was under this name that it began to be celebrated in Syria in the 5th century. In the 6th century, the name of the holiday was changed to "The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God."

2. Until the 13th century, in Byzantine art, the soul of the Mother of God, lifted up by angels, was depicted as a baby in white swaddling clothes. The first Byzantine monument, where the ascended soul of the Mother of God is depicted not as a baby, but as an adult Virgin, was the Golden Gates of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in Suzdal (1230). This image allowed some researchers to believe that in this case, not only the ascension of the soul of the Virgin to heavenly glory, which happened immediately after separation from the body, but her bodily resurrection by Christ after burial, is represented.

3. A rare iconographic detail of the Novgorod icon are red shoes standing on the foot in front of the bed of the Mother of God, which in this context may be an image of leaving the earthly path. It is known that, according to the ceremonial adopted in the Roman Empire, only persons of royal blood could wear red shoes, including the Mother of God as descended from the family of King David. Also interesting features of the icon are two tall candlesticks with candles standing behind the bed.

4. A lit candle is written in front of the bed of the Mother of God at the own direction of the Mother of God, who wished that a candle burned in the upper room (according to the presentation of John of Thessalonica).

Troparion, tone 1

In the Nativity you preserved your virginity, / in the Assumption of the world you did not leave the Mother of God; / Thou hast reposed to the stomach, / Mother of the life of the Belly, / and by Thy prayers you deliver our soul from the death.

Kontakion, tone 2

In prayers, the unsleeping Mother of God / and in intercessions the immutable Hope / the coffin and the mortification cannot be held back: / like the Mother of the Belly / put to the stomach // Into the ever-virgin womb.

magnificence

We magnify Thee, / Immaculate Mother of Christ our God, / and glorify the all-glorious / / Thy Assumption.

Prayer

O Most Holy Theotokos Virgin, Lady, the highest angel and archangel and all creatures, the most honest, angelic great surprise, prophetic high sermon, apostolic glorious praise, pretty adornment of saints, strong affirmation of martyrs, saving instruction of monks, fasting abstinence, virginal purity and glory, mothers quiet joy, babies of wisdom and punishment, widows and orphans to the Nurse, naked robes, sick health, captives deliverance, floating on the sea quietly, overwhelmed by a calm haven, wandering an easy Instructor, traveling an easy passage, laboring good rest, in troubles, an ambulance Intercessor, offended Cover and refuge, hopeless hope, demanding a Helper, sad eternal consolation, hated loving humility, salvation of sinners and appropriation to God, the faithful of all, a solid fence, invincible help and intercession! By you, we, the Lady, see the Invisible, and we offer you a prayer, Madam, your sinful servants: O Merciful and Wonderful Light of the clever Queen, who gave birth to the King Christ, our God, the Life-Giver of all, glorified from heaven and praised from earth, angelic mind, luminous the star, the Most Holy Saints, the Mistress of all creatures, the Divine Virgin, the Indecent Bride, the chamber of the Most Holy Spirit, the fiery Throne of the Invisible King, the heavenly casket, carried the Word of God, the fiery chariot, the rest of the Living God, the ineffable composition of the flesh of Christ, the nest of the Eagle of Heaven, the God-voiced turtledove, The dove is meek, quiet and gentle, Mother is a child-loving, merciful abyss, unfolding a cloud of God's wrath, immeasurable depth, inexpressible secretly, an unknown miracle, not opened by hands to the Church of the One King of all ages, a fragrant censer, honest to purple, Ornate porphyro, spiritual paradise, life-giving garden branch, a beautiful flower, heavenly joy that flourished for us, a bunch of our salvation, a bowl of the King of Heaven, in it dissolve from the Holy Spirit the wine of inexhaustible grace, the intercessor of the law, the conception of the true faith of Christ, an unshakable pillar, the sword of God's wrath on the ungodly, demons intimidation, victory in battles, Christians of all unfalse Guardian and the world of all known salvation! O All-Merciful Lady, Virgin Lady, Mother of God, hear us praying to You, and show Your mercy on Your people, pray to Your Son to get rid of all evil and save our monastery and every monastery, and the city, and the country of the faithful, and people, piously resorting and calling on Your holy name, from every misfortune, destruction, famine, cowardly, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners and civil strife about wounds and, from every disease and every situation, but neither wounds, nor prohibition, nor pestilence, nor any Your servants will be humbled by the righteous wrath of God. But observe and save by Your mercy, Madam, praying for us, and grant us a beneficial dissolution of the air during the fruitful offering. Relieve, restore and have mercy, Merciful to the Lady, Mother of God, in every misfortune and need of being. Remember Thy servants and do not despise the tears and sighs from ours, and renew us with the goodness of Your mercy, but with thanksgiving we are comforted, having found Thy Helper. Have mercy, the Most Pure Lady, on Your weak people, Our Hope. Gather the scattered ones, guide those who have gone astray on the right path, return the packs of those who have fallen away from the pious fatherly faith, support old age, enlighten the young, raise babies and glorify the glorifying Thee, rather, keep the Church of Your Son and preserve the long days. O Merciful and Merciful Queen of Heaven and Earth, Mother of God Ever-Virgin! By Thy intercession, have mercy on our country and its army and all Orthodox Christians, keeping them under the shelter of Thy mercy, protect with Thy honest robe and pray from Thee incarnated without the seed of Christ, our God, may He gird us from above with power on all our visible and invisible enemies. Save and have mercy, Madam, on our Great Lord and Father Alexy, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Grace metropolitans, archbishops and bishops of the Orthodox, priests and deacons, and all the parish of the Church, and the entire monastic rank, and all the faithful people who worship and praying before your honest icon. Look upon all of us with the contemplation of Your merciful intercession, raise us up from the depths of sin and enlighten the eyes of the heart with the sight of salvation, be merciful to us here and at the Last Judgment of Your Son, beg for us, reposed in piety from this life of Your servant in eternal life with Angels and Archangels and with all the saints, may they appear at the right hand of your Son of God, and by your prayer make all Orthodox Christians live with Christ and enjoy the joys of angels in heavenly villages. Thou art, Mistress, the glory of Heaven and the hope of the earthly, You are our Hope and Intercessor of all those who flow to You and Your holy help of those who ask. You are our warm Prayer to Your Son and our God. Your Maternal Prayer can do much for the supplication of the Lord, and by Your intercession to the Throne of Grace of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries, we dare to approach, even if we are unworthy. Seeing the same all-honourable image of Yours and by Your hand holding the Almighty on the icon, we rejoice, sinners, falling down with tenderness, and with this love we kiss, hoping, Madam, with Your holy God-pleasing prayers to reach Heavenly endless life and shamelessly stand on the day of judgment at the right hand of Your Son and our God , glorifying Him together with the Beginningless Father and the Most Holy, Good, Life-Giving and Consubstantial Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.