Met. Tikhon (Mollard) on the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

Metropolitan Tikhon (Mollard) is the Archbishop of Washington, D.C. and Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). The following reflection was originally posted on OCA.org as part of an ongoing series of reflections titled "Reflections in Christ."

Today, we celebrate the death of the Mother of God, not because death is worth celebrating in and of itself, but because her Son has made death a passage-way to everlasting life. In particular, the Theotokos, according to St. Gregory Palamas, had done nothing worthy of the sentence of death, but she passed through death out of obedience and love for Jesus Christ, the most innocent Victim who suffered on the Cross for our sake. Just as He underwent the Passion so that He could intercede before the Father on our behalf, so His Mother, after her Dormition, has become for us the most powerful intercessor before her Son. Her maternal boldness toward Him and her maternal love for us mean that her prayers for the Christian people have potency unrivaled by those of any other. The feast of the Dormition reminds us that the Theotokos has passed beyond this world, is our steadfast protectress in joys and sorrows, by day and by night, all our life long. May we never fail daily to remember her, honor her, and ask for her supplications.

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