What is Dormition of the Mother of God?
The Dormition of the Mother of God, or Falling Asleep of the Theotokos, is one of the twelve great feasts of the Orthodox year and the last of them in the church year, which begins on 1 September. It commemorates the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her being taken up to her son. Icons of the feast show the apostles gathered around Mary on her deathbed and Christ holding her soul as a small child. The Dormition corresponds to the Catholic Assumption, which falls on the same date.
The feast is preceded by a strict fast from 1 to 14 August. In Greece it is one of the most important holidays of the summer, with pilgrimages to the church of Panagia Evangelistria on the island of Tinos and to many other shrines, and village festivals called panigyria. In Romania it is Sfânta Maria Mare, and people named Maria or Marian celebrate their name day. Many monasteries hold large pilgrimages on the day.
Why it is observed
The feast began in Jerusalem and by the fifth and sixth centuries was widely kept in the East. Several sources say that the Byzantine Emperor Maurice (582 to 602) set 15 August as the date for the whole empire, since it had been observed on different days. The details of Mary's death are not in the New Testament and come from later apocryphal accounts. The Orthodox emphasis is on her falling asleep and being received by Christ, while the Catholic Church speaks of the Assumption and defined it as dogma only in 1950. The fast before the feast was established in the seventh century and had taken its present form of fourteen days from 1 August by the tenth century.
How the date is set
The Dormition is fixed on 15 August in the church calendar. Orthodox churches that use the Revised Julian calendar, including those of Greece, Cyprus and Romania, keep it on 15 August, while churches on the Julian calendar keep it on 15 August Julian, which is 28 August in the civil calendar.
How it is observed
The Dormition is a public holiday on 15 August in Greece, Cyprus and Romania. In Georgia, which keeps the Julian calendar, the feast falls on 28 August (Mariamoba). Shops, banks and offices are closed, and in Greece the August holiday is the peak of domestic tourism, with ferries and roads crowded and festivals on many islands. Where the date coincides with Catholic Assumption Day, the holiday is shared with Italy, France and other Catholic countries. In 2027 15 August is a Sunday. It is worth booking transport and accommodation well ahead, particularly in Greece. Pay and substitute days depend on the country and the contract.
Sources
Cyprus
Greece
Romania