Dormition of the Mother of God 

“The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God ends the church year. For the Romanians coming in Canada at the beginning of the 20th century the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God was very important, becoming the patron feast of the first parishes founded here.

We see the importance of the Mother of God for the Christian tradition from the fact that the 3rd Ecumenical Council deals with the definition of the way in which the Mother of God is understood and honored. She is called Theotokos, meaning Mother of God. It does not give birth to the divinity but gives birth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, according to the flesh who is a divine person in two natures - human and divine - united in a way incomprehensible to the human mind.

Today's Gospel does not speak directly of the Mother of God but of sisters Martha and Mary and the need to listen to God's word. It wants to emphasize precisely this great quality of the Mother of God as obedient and fulfilling the word of God. God’s plan is also fulfilled because of the word of the Virgin who says, ‘Be me according to your word!’ It represents the whole of humanity that through her enters into obedience beyond the human understanding but because of this acquire a new understanding of the divine plan of man’s salvation. She succeeds with the help of the grace of God, by her purity and faith, to put above all the absolute power and sovereignty of God above human knowledge.

The Virgin Mary becomes the image of the Church because she receives the Savior Jesus Christ, the Word of God, in her bosom as in a temple, as in a church. The church is the place where the community gathers to pray and encounter God and spend time in His presence.

The Virgin Mary is also the image of the human person who explores the word of God (the dialogue with the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation) and receives it by faith beyond the simple human understanding and which bears fruit. The Virgin Mary, like any human person who receives the word of God in faith, discovers a higher rationality and understanding that brings her closer and unites her with God. The Virgin Mary, according to the acceptance she gives by listening to the divine word, receives a more profound understanding of her role in the plan of salvation, but she also unites with God by receiving the Word of God in her womb from where He takes human nature. The Son of God is received in the bosom of the Virgin like in a Church. She will show the world her Savior by giving birth to Him.

On the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, we honor her reception in heaven by Her Son.”

+Ioan Casian

Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God at St. Peter and Paul Parish in Kitchener - 2020