The Dormition of St. Mary & Free Will of Mankind

-Fr. Jacob Anish Varghese, London.

“St. Mary is an image of the Christian goal- to become Christ-like in every thought, word and deed. As the Theotokos gave birth to Christ, every Christian is called to bring forth Christ in spirit and deed. Mary is the epitome of practical spirituality. In so doing, we imitate her practical spiritual life, including the purity and humility by which she formed her free will into perfect obedience to the Will of God.”

 – St.Maximus the Confessor.

The Dormition or the Assumption Feast (as more commonly known) of St. Mary is one of the Great Feasts of the Universal Orthodox Church- Eastern & Oriental. It commemorates the ‘sleeping’ or the ‘passing away’ of the Mother of God- the Theotokos.

Historical Background of the Feast of Dormition

There are no Biblical references to the Dormition of the Mother of God, but there are apostolic teachings and writings of the Early Fathers, which allude to this event. Already in the first century, the Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite wrote about Her “Falling-Asleep.” In the second century, the account of the bodily ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Heaven is found in the works of Meliton, Bishop of Sardis. In the fourth century, St Epiphanius of Cyprus refers to the tradition about the “Falling Asleep” of the Mother of God. In the fifth century, St Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, told the holy Byzantine Empress Pulcheria: “Although there is no account of the circumstances of Her death in Holy Scripture, we know about them from the most ancient and credible Tradition.” This tradition was gathered and expounded in the Church History of Nicephorus Callistus during the fourteenth century.

According to the Orthodox & Eastern Catholic tradition, Mary participated in the Feast of the Pentecost and spent the rest of her life serving and nurturing the nascent Church. She continued to inspire and encourage the disciples and believers till the age of 70. She was living with the Apostle John, obeying Jesus’ instruction while on the Cross. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read of how the St. Mary was the focal point of gathering for the disciples and the nascent Church (Acts 1. 13-14). Tradition tells us how Mary would go constantly to the Sepulchre of Our Lord to pray. On one such occasion, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her about her Repose from earthly life that would take place 3 days later. As a symbol of this message, she was given an olive branch. When she got back after prayer she shared this message with the others, including St. Joseph the Righteous. St. John of Damsacus writes of how the disciples and believers gathered from all parts of the world and of how St. John (the beloved disciple of Our Lord) tells them of the impending Dormition of the Most Holy Mother.

  

The sole exception was Thomas, who had been delayed. He is said to have arrived three days after her death and in a cloud above her tomb saw her body leaving to heaven, he asked her "Where are you going, O Holy One?" and then she took of her girdle and gave it to him and said "Receive this my friend" then she disappeared. Thomas was taken to his fellow Apostles and asked to see her grave so that he could bid her goodbye. Mary had been buried in Gethsemane, according to her request. When they arrived at the grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An apparition is said to have confirmed that Christ had taken her body to heaven after three days to be reunited with her soul.

Why do the Orthodox believe in the Dormition of Mary?

The terms Dormition and Assumption are sometimes used synonymously for the same event. But there are differences, which are to be noted in both these terms. The term Dormition comes from the Greek term ‘koimisis’ which means ‘sleeping’ or ‘falling asleep’ which is often a scriptural way of portraying death. The term Assumption is rather self- explanatory and tells only of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.

The Orthodox Church believes that Mary died a natural death and her soul was received by Jesus Christ and on the third day her body was resurrected and was taken up to Heaven. Orthodox theology teaches that the Theotokos has already undergone the bodily resurrection which all will experience at the Second coming, and stands in heaven in that glorified state which the other righteous ones will only enjoy after the Last Judgment.

While most Catholics believe as the Orthodox do, some of them believe that Mary was assumed bodily into heaven, without experiencing death. This ambiguity is not helped by the rather vague ‘ex cathedra’ teaching of Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic Constitution, Munificentissimus Deus (1950), which dogmatically defined the Assumption. This Papal declaration was made on the basis of the teaching of the Immaculate Conception in the papal decree of Pope Pius IX named ‘Ineffabilis Deus’ promulgated in 1854. While I do not want to get into the theological fallibility of the concept of Immaculate Conception, I do believe that this teaching cannot be extended to mean that St. Mary was assumed into heaven in bodily form, without experiencing death.

St. Severus of Antioch talks about the reality of the Death and Resurection of Christ saying that, ‘Without a preliminary death, how could the Resurrection have taken place?’ So this applies to Mary as well. To share in Christ’s Resurrection, she had to first share his death. The Mother is not superior to the Son who underwent death and Resurrection. Therefore, it is not in physical immortality that Mary proclaims the Resurrection of Christ, but, in dying and being exalted by her Son to the heights of heaven.

The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary’s fate is, the destiny of all those of “low estate” whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary’s child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

The importance of St. Mary in Orthodox Christianity

For 2000 years, the Church has held St. Mary in the highest esteem and seeks her intercession. The Orthodox Church honors and venerates the Virgin Mary as "more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious without compare than the Seraphim.........." Her name is mentioned in every service, and her intercession before the throne of God is asked. She is given the title of "Theotokos" (Greek for "Birth-giver-of-God), as well as "Mother of God". She has a definite role in Orthodox Christianity, and can in no way be considered an instrument, which, once used, was laid aside and forgotten. This honor is accorded to her on various accounts; primarily, her obedience and submission to the will of God. St. Mary’s life was in perfect communion with God. As a young girl, she did not question the Angel Gabriel, when he told her that she would bear a child. We can understand the magnitude and importance of this submission when we consider the Jewish societal norms of the time. A virgin who bore a child out of wedlock would be condemned to death; and knowing that possibility, Mary accepted the will of God without considering the repercussions. Mary’s relationship with God was not a onetime event or a passing phase. On the contrary, her life itself was in accordance with His will. And it is due to this communion that the Church seeks her intercession and makes her an ideal model for all Christians to follow. St. Maximus the Confessor says that, “St. Mary is an image of the Christian goal- to become Christ-like in every thought, word and deed. As the Theotokos gave birth to Christ, every Christian is called to bring forth Christ in spirit and deed. Mary is the epitome of practical spirituality. In so doing, we imitate her practical spiritual life, including the purity and humility by which she formed her free will into perfect obedience to the Will of God.

The life of St. Mary and the Free Will of Mankind

Every man is created in the image and the likeness of God and has the gift of free will. There is no concept of pre- destination in Orthodox Theology. God in his nature as Creator has foreknowledge of what the future holds for every individual, but he does not predestine any one’s action. So man is free to choose between good and evil. When the Angel Gabriel brought the message of God to Mary, there was no compulsion on her to accept it. At no point did the Angel compel her, but left it to her free will to accept her commission or not.

Even after the Birth of Jesus, Mary applied her free will and chose to live in accordance with the Will of God. Even while seeing her own son being tortured and crucified, she still remained in absolute obedience to the Will of God. Her will was perfectly synchronized with the Will of God. Even we who commemorate the life and the Dormition of the Mother of God are called to understand the will of God and tune ourselves in accordance with it. 

St. Ambrose of Milan writes concerning the Mother of God in his treatise ‘On Virgins’ (377 A.D). He writes, ““She was a Virgin not only in body, but also in soul, humble of heart, circumspect in word, wise in mind, not overly given to speaking, a lover of reading and of work, and prudent in speech. Her rule of life was to offend no one, to intend good for everyone, to respect the aged, not envy others, avoid bragging, be healthy of mind, and to love virtue.” He also describes the Mother of God as ‘the personification of purity’. It is this exercise of her free will to choose the way of prayer and chastity that sets her as a role model for us to follow.

When St. Paul calls us the ‘ambassadors of Christ’ he means that we ought to carry the message of Jesus to the places we go and to the people we interact with. A good and earnest ambassador has no other message except that of his President. And that is the role that every Christian is called to. We are called to be proponents of a just and equitable society. A society that is free from discrimination on any count. And that is what the freedom fighters and the architects of the Indian Constitution dreamt of. But it is indeed sad to see that we are irresponsible in using our political and social freedom. A glance at any newspaper will reveal the plethora of social evils and political malaises that plague the Indian society today. We as Christians are not just waiting in hope for the ‘eternal life to come’. Yes, that is our everlasting hope, but we need to prepare ourselves in this world first. ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ is our daily prayer and that is what every Christian should strive for. A true Christian cannot turn a blind eye to the social evils prevailing in society. We cannot ignore the people who are in need of comfort and essentials. St. Mary recognized the need of the wedding banquet at Cana and pleaded to Christ on their behalf. Every Christian who commemorates this great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God should therefore intercede to Christ our Lord on behalf of those in need. St. Mary’s life also reminds us that we need to implement the Will of God in our daily life and not leave it as an option to be exercised only while in Church on a Sunday morning.

May the Blessed Mother of God intercede for our souls to Christ Our Lord so that we might choose the good in our thoughts, words and action.