Dormition and Assumption of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! It may seem a little late to be celebrating the Dormition given that the Orthodox following the Armenian, Gregorian/'New Julian,' Coptic, and Ethiopian have all celebrated it already (on 13, 14, 22, and 21/22 August respectively), but greetings with this beautiful feast regardless!

Today is called the Pascha of the Mother of God by some and the services mirror this in several ways, most notably with a funeral procession of the Mother of God's funeral shroud (painted, like the Lord's, with an icon of the sleeping Mother of God) during the festal Vigil. We celebrate the Mother of God, who has been brought over from death to life by her Son, Who allowed her to fall asleep to greater glorify Himself by resurrecting her and bringing her to dwell with Him in the fullness of His Kingdom.

More details on today's feast, as well as the fast which precedes it, can be found here and here. May the Queen of Heaven's protection and intercessions be with us all!

Of the icons pictured the first is a Byzantine-style icon of today's feast, which in the Byzantine Rite combines the celebration of her Dormition and Assumption on a single day, whilst the second is a Coptic-style icon showing the Assumption, which is the primary focus of the Alexandrian Rite's observance and which in the Ethiopian Rite falls a day after the observance of the Dormition.

Ecumenical Patriarch Celebrates Dormition at Sumela Monastery

Nearly a thousand pilgrims from Greece, Georgia, and Russia gathered at the Soumela Monastery in Pontus today to attend festal services celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople. The services are the second annual services permitted by the Turkish authorities at the Soumela Monastery on new style Dormition. More here.

Update (16/8/2011): There were also pilgrims from Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the USA, and other countries present at yesterday's services in Soumela, which were concelebrated by the ecumenical patriarch and Archbishop Demetrios of New York and two metropolitans of the Church of Greece, with Archbishop Panteleimon of Yaroslavl praying at the services.

During his homily Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Archbishop Panteleimon and expressed his hope that Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow would someday come to concelebrate the feast with him. More here.

Thousands Celebrate New Style Dormition on Tinos

Thousands of faithful gathered today on the Greek island of Tinos to celebrate the new style feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the presence of her wonderworking Tinos Icon of the Annunciation. The services were concelebrated by five metropolitans of the Church of Greece. In addition to the many clergy and faithful representatives of the Greek national and local governments were also present at the festal services. More (in Greek) here.

Festal Services with Armenian Orthodox Catholicos to be Broadcasted Live

On this year's commemoration of the Dormition and Assumption of the Mother of God according to the Armenian calendar (13 August) the festal Divine Liturgy celebrated by Catholicos Aram I (Keshishian) of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Cilicia will be broadcasted live on television. More details on the upcoming broadcast can be found here.

Romania Designates Dormition as a State Holiday

The Romanian government has added the date of new style Dormition, 15 August, as a national holiday in its labor code, which requires employers to either give their employees time off on full holidays or to pay them overtime. More here.