Dormition of the Mother of God
ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ The doors of caring do now open unto us, O most blessed Theotokos, So that hoping in you we shall not fail; Through you we may be delivered from adversities, For you are the salvation of the Christian faith. (Theotokion from the Service of the Small Paraklesis) Τhe Holy Scriptures tell us that when our Lord was dying on the Cross, He saw His mother and His disciple John and said to the Virgin Mary, "Woman, behold your son!" and to John, "Behold your mother!" (John 19:25-27). From that hour, the Apostle took care of the Theotokos in his own home. Along with the biblical reference in Acts 1:14 that confirms that the Virgin Mary was with the Holy Apostles on the day of Pentecost, the tradition of the Church holds that she remained in the home of the Apostle John in Jerusalem, continuing a ministry in word and deed. At the time of her death, the disciples of our Lord who were preaching throughout the world returned to Jerusalem to see the Theotokos. Except for