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Dear Parishioners,
For us Orthodox Christians, the month of August is a sacred month,
a month that brings with it a feeling of intensified reverence.
It is the month of the Blessed Theotokos, the “more honorable than
the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim”.
For on the fifteenth of August, our Orthodox Church celebrates the
most solemn and joyous of feasts related to the Mother of God,
namely, her falling asleep.
A two-week fasting period precedes the celebration of this feast,
and special prayer services (Paraklesis) are held regularly.
Orthodox Christians are invited to attend these services and to
participate in the fast. This is a most opportune time to think of
our own coming “falling asleep” in Christ. It is a good time to
repeat the petition of the Divine Liturgy: “A Christian end to our
life, painless, blameless, and peaceful; and a good defense before
the dread judgment of Christ, let us ask of the Lord”.
As Orthodox Christians, we believe that the Virgin Mary, the
Theotokos is leading us in our prayers to her Son. Her whole life
and purpose are simply to bring us to Him. In the words of the
Orthodox theologian, N. Nissiotis: “As shown in the icon, Mary is
never alone, but always with Christ. Thus prayer to her is the
prayer of the Church with her to the incarnate Son. One should
rather see in Mary the first and fullest of the Saints, leading them
in a continuous intercession to her son. The worshipping church is
not praying to the “Theotokos”, but praying with her to God. She is
the animating power, the leader of this continuous intercession of
the community of Saints to the Trinitarian God”.
In commemorating her saints, the Church observes not the day of
their birth, but rather the day of their death. The reason for
this, of course, is our belief that the day of death is our real
birthday. It marks our entry into the real sphere of existence,
namely, eternal and incorruptible life. And so it is for this
reason that on the 15th of August we observe the falling asleep of
the Mother of God. We observe this feast joyfully because our
Lord’s Resurrection has shown us that death is not the end but the
beginning of life.
“All human generations bless you, O Mother of God. The laws of
nature were by passed in you for your birth-giving left you a virgin
and your death became the herald of our life. O you who remained a
virgin after having given birth, and alive after having died, O
Mother of God, deign always to save our inheritance” (Hirmos).
Have a blessed Dekapentavgousto.
With Love in Christ
Fr.
Anargyros |
