Blessed Virgin Mary –  Final Days of Virgin Mary
Death, Place and Time: The passing away of Virgin Mariam is shrouded in mystery. The last reference we have about her in the bible is in the Acts of Apostles 1: 14. Virgin Mariam was seen in the company of the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Thereafter, the bible maintains a profound silence about her – where she lived, how she lived, how long she lived, how she met with her death. No account of any interaction with any person of the contemporary period is available. She had a normal death which passed unobserved perhaps because no formal common practice of commemorative rites had developed in the Church. No contemporary historical record relating to her death is also extant. The last place where Blessed Virgin Mariam resided was Jerusalem. The tradition of the Church is also that she passed away residing there. At any rate we may conclude that about the beginning of the fifth century there existed a fairly general tradition that Mary had died in Jerusalem & was buried in Gethsemane. There is no certain tradition as the year of Mary’s death. In the Orthodox Church tradition Virgin Mariam, passed away in 44 AD in her 59th year.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Desire to be with her beloved Son and God
The Theotokos had now reached an advanced age. Her desire to leave the body and go to be with her beloved Son and God.
The Mother of God had no fear of death, nor did she seek to avoid it. She knew that death had already been overcome by her Son and God. She had continued to live in the house of John the Evangelist on Mount Zion. She often went from there to the Mount of Olives to offer fervent prayers.

One day, when as the all-holy glorious mother of God and ever-virgin Mary according to her custom went unto the holy sepulcher of our Lord to burn incense, and bowed her holy knees, she besought Christ our God that was born of her to come and abide with her. As she was praying, the heavens were opened and the archangel Gabriel came down unto her and said: Hail, thou that did bear Christ our God: thy prayer has passed through the heavens unto Him, that was born of thee and has been accepted. Henceforth according to thy petition, thou shalt leave the world & come unto the heavenly places to thy Son, to the true life that hath no successor. “Thus says your Son, the days are near; I will take My Mother unto Me”. The Virgin heard these much-longed words, which she received with gladness.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  At the sepulcher of Christ
And when she had rested a little space, she sat up and she prayed, saying: My Lord Jesus Christ, who did vouchsafe of thine excellent goodness to be born of me, hear my voice and send unto me thine apostle John, that seeing him I may have the first fruits of joy; and send unto me also the rest of thine apostles, both them that have already come to dwell with Thee and them that are in this present world, in whatever land they may be, by Thy holy commandment, that I may behold them & bless Thy name that is greatly extolled, for I have confidence, Thou hear Thy handmaid in every thing.
On the message of the angel, she uttered the following prayer to God: “I would not have been worthy to receive Thee, O Lord, into my womb, unless Thou Thyself had mercy on me, Thy slave. I kept the treasure entrusted to me and, therefore, I have the boldness to ask Thee, O King of glory, protect me from the power of Gehenna”. The Theotokos also desired to behold the holy Apostles who were scattered throughout the world preaching the Gospel. Tradition says on a Friday. So, after 3 days – Sunday, she would be with Christ.

Blessed Virgin Mary – Nearing the end of her life on earth:
The death and the bodily Dormition of Blessed Virgin Mariam was widely believed in the universal Church since the fifth century A.D. Apocryphal literature on the subject also appeared and gained support among theologians and hierarchy. The origin of development of thought on the Dormition may be traced to a number of such legendary works in Coptic, Greek, Latin, Syriac and Arabic texts. In narrating the Dormition, especially, some documents are relied upon to bring home to the readers the original form.

St. John, the apostle in his (Greek) narrative has described in detail all the events connected with the Dormition of Virgin Mary from her usual visit to the sepulcher of Christ, the announcement of the angel of her impending departure to Paradise, consequent assembling of the Apostles, burial of her body, appearance of Christ, carrying of her soul by the angels to paradise, and eventual translation of her body to Paradise. All these stories may appear to have an element of myth in them. However, they are summarized below in the form of extracts from the document.

Blessed Virgin Mary – Assembling of the Apostles
And as she prayed, John, came to her, for the Holy Spirit caught me up by a cloud from Ephesus and set me in the place where, mother of my Lord lay. And went unto her and gave glory to Him that was born of her and said: Hail, thou mother of my Lord, that didst bear Christ our God: rejoice for that thou depart out of this life with great glory. And John, said unto her: Our Lord and our God Jesus Christ comes, and thou behold Him according as He promised thee. And the holy mother of God answered and said to me: The Jews have worn that when mine end comes, they will burn my body. And I answered, said unto her: Thy holy & precious body shall not see corruption. And the Holy Ghost said to me: This voice which heard signifies the coming of thy brethren apostles & the holy powers which is to be: for to-day they are coming hither.

And there upon, I, John, fell to prayer, the Holy Ghost said unto the apostles: All of you together mount upon clouds from the ends of the world, gather yourselves together, because of the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, in a moment of time: Blessed Virgin Mary –  Prays for her Departure When the Virgin knelt and offered her petition and thanksgiving, her prayer was accompanied by a manifestation: the olive trees growing on the Mount of Olives bowed with her as they were animate. When the Theotokos knelt, the trees bent down; when she arose, the trees straightened themselves out again. Thus, even the trees revered and honoured the Mother of God, the Creator of all world.

After completing her prayer, the Theotokos returned home, prepared for her repose. She told the matter to the beloved disciple John, as his own mother. She ordered her bed room be decorated, & that incense & many lamps to be lit. She then changed clothes, put, all necessary preparations for her burial. St. John at once sent for St. James and also sent for all their relatives and neighbours, informing them of the imminent repose of the Mother of God. James, informed all the Christians, both in Jerusalem, in the surrounding towns/villages. A great multitude of the faithful gathered around the Theotokos. The whole house was filled with weeping and lamentation. The Theotokos, asked them not to weep for her, but to rejoice at her repose. These comforting words dried the tears and brought solace to their sorrow.

Blessed Virgin Mary – All Apostles Gather 
Peter from Rome, Paul from Tiberias, Thomas out of the inmost Indies, James from Jerusalem. Andrew the brother of Peter, and Philip, Luke and Simon the Canaanite, and Thaddaeus, which were fallen asleep, were raised up by the Holy Ghost out of their sepulchers; unto whom said the Holy Ghost: Think not that the resurrection is now: but for this cause are ye risen up out of your graves, that ye may go to salute for an honour and wonderful sign for the mother of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: for the day is come near of her departure and going to abide in heaven. And Mark, who was yet alive came also from Alexandria , and Others who were fallen asleep, were raised up by the Holy Ghost out of their sepulchers;

Concerning Thomas, it is written: Thomas also answered and said: I had also passed through the land of the Indians, and my preaching was increased in strength by the grace of Christ, and the son of the king’s sister by name Labdanes, was about to be sealed (baptized) by me in the palace, and suddenly the Holy Ghost saith unto me: Thou also, Thomas, go unto Jerusalem to salute the mother of thy Lord, for she maketh her removal unto heaven. And a cloud of light caught me up and set me with you.

Blessed Virgin Mary – Final Prayers and Healing Mission All these things spoke the apostles unto the holy mother of God, how and in what fashion they came. And she spread forth her hands unto heaven and prayed, saying: I worship and praise and glorify Thy name, which is greatly extolled, O Lord, because thou hast regarded the lowliness of thine handmaiden, and thou that art mighty hast magnified me, and behold all generations shall call me blessed…. And after the prayer…. there came a thunder from heaven and a terrible sound as of chariots… and a voice as of the Son of man was heard, and the Seraphim came round. All that were in Bethlehem & Nazareth beheld all the marvelous sights and went to Jerusalem and declared all the wonderful things that were come to pass.

Healing Mission
And I saw also many signs come to pass, blind receiving sight, deaf hearing, lame walking, lepers cleansed, and them that were possessed of unclean spirits healed. And every one that was under any sickness or disease came and touched the wall where she lay, and cried Holy Mary, thou that didst bear Christ our God, have mercy on us. And forthwith they were cured. But the priests of the Jews together with their people were amazed at that which was done, and were taken with bitter (heavy) envy, and again with vain thoughts they gathered a council and advised themselves to send men against the holy mother of God and the holy apostles which were there at Bethlehem.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Breathes her last
With these heavenly tidings the Mother of God called the three girls attending Her (Sepphora, Abigail, and Jael). She summoned Righteous Joseph of Arimathea and other disciples of the Lord, and told them of Her impending Repose. The Theotokos then made a will concerning her two garments, She desired that they be given to two poor widows who had faithfully served her. With regard to her body, the Mother of God made her will be known that it should be buried on the Mount of Olives, not far from Jerusalem, in the garden of Gethsemane. Also were interred her parents, the righteous Joachim and Anna, and her spouse, Joseph.

The tombs lay in the Valley of Jehoshaphat between Jerusalem & Mount of Olives. While the Theotokos was making these arrangements, all of a sudden, a noise was heard, similar to a clap of thunder. A cloud encircled the home of John. God commanded the – angels had seized the Apostles, scattered to ends of the world & brought them on clouds to Jerusalem. All, except the Apostle Thomas, placed on Sion before the house where the Theotokos dwelt. Therefore, on seeing one another, the holy Apostles rejoiced, but at the same time they wondered, saying, “Why has the Lord gathered us together in this place?”

John informed them of the speedy departure of the Mother of God. It was the Lord’s day, and the fifteenth day of the month of August, when that blessed hour that all were awaiting drew near. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone forth, the blazing candles paled. All who it saw took fright. Descending from Heaven was Christ, the King of Glory, surrounded by hosts of Angels and Archangels and other Heavenly Powers, together with the souls of the Forefathers & Prophets, who had prophesied in ages past concerning the Most Holy Virgin Mary.

Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God My Savior, for He hath regarded the low estate of His Handmaiden” (Luke 1: 46-48) and rising from Her bed to meet the Lord. She bowed down to Him, and the Lord bid Her enter into Life Eternal. Without any bodily suffering, as though in a happy sleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary gave Her soul into the hands of Her Son and God. Then began a joyous angelic song. Accompanying the pure soul of the God-betrothed, with reverent awe for the Queen of Heaven, angels exclaimed: “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou among women! The Queen, God’s Maiden comes, lift up the gates, & with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of the Light; It is impossible to gaze upon Her. it is impossible to render Her due honor” “Lord, I Have Cried”. The Heavenly gates were raised, and meeting the soul of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Cherubim and the Seraphim glorified Her with joy. The face of the Mother of God was radiant with the glory of Divine virginity, and from Her body there came a sweet fragrance.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Laid to rest in Gethsemane
It was the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.). In the rooms, the lamps were burning. The holy Apostles were offering praise to God. They prayed, there was a thunder from heaven and there came a fearful voice as if of chariots; and behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of Man was heard. Raising herself from bed as if going to meet her Son, she worshipped the Lord. Then she said, “Ready is my heart, O God, ready is my heart”. The she repeated the words once said by her, “Be it unto me according to Thy word” [Lk 1: 38], and then lay down on the bed.

The holy Disciples surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her longed-for Son and Lord. With these words, the Theotokos, surrendered her soul into the hands of the Lord. At once there began wonderful and joyous angelic singing repeating the former words of Gabriel: Rejoice, thou who are full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed are thou among women” [Lk 1: 28]. Then a solemn procession carried the body of the Theotokos from Zion through Jerusalem to Gethsemane. The tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane was East of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley. Finally, the holy Apostles with all the multitude of Christians reached the Garden. When they laid down the bier with the body, the Christians began to weep.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  The Last Kiss
In giving the last kiss, the Christians fell down before the body of the Theotokos. Bewailing their separation from Mother of God, the Apostles prepared to bury Her all-pure body. The holy Apostles Peter, Paul, James and others of the Twelve Apostles carried the funeral bier upon their shoulders, and upon it lay the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary. St John the Theologian went at the head with the palm-branch from Paradise. Other faithful multitude accompanied funeral bier with candles, censers, singing sacred songs.

This solemn procession went from Sion through Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane. Kissing, they shed  tears, & only towards evening the body was placed in a new tomb. Her relics were laid with the greatest honour; while chanting and weeping took place. The Apostles stepped before her bier, bid her farewell, each according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uttered psalms of triumph, thanksgiving & chanted prayers. The Orthodox marked this feast as the Koimesis (Dormition) of the Theotokos. We “venerate” her and show her great honor, do not “worship” the Virgin Mary. Not, like the Latins, who believe that the Theotokos was born without sin (RC – Immaculate Conception or that she is a co-redemptor with Christ.

We believe that the Virgin Mary is an image of the Christian, becoming Christ-like, Theosis. Theotokos gave birth to Christ in a bodily way, but we bear Christ in a spiritual way. We imitate her practical spiritual life, the purity and humility by which she formed her free will into perfect obedience to Will of God.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Breathes her last
Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone forth, the blazing candles paled. All who it saw took fright. Descending from Heaven was Christ, the King of Glory, surrounded by hosts of Angels and Archangels and other Heavenly Powers, together with the souls of the Forefathers & Prophets, who had prophesied in ages past concerning the Most Holy Virgin Mary. Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God My Savior, for He hath regarded the low estate of His Handmaiden” (Luke 1: 46-48) and rising from Her bed to meet the Lord.

She bowed down to Him, and the Lord bid Her enter into Life Eternal. Without any bodily suffering, as though in a happy sleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary gave Her soul into the hands of Her Son and God. Then began a joyous angelic song. Accompanying the pure soul of the God-betrothed, with reverent awe for the Queen of Heaven, angels exclaimed: “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou among women! The Queen, God’s Maiden comes, lift up the gates, & with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of the Light;

It is impossible to gaze upon Her. it is impossible to render Her due honor” “Lord, I Have Cried”. The Heavenly gates were raised, and meeting the soul of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Cherubim and the Seraphim glorified Her with joy. The face of the Mother of God was radiant with the glory of Divine virginity, and from Her body there came a sweet fragrance.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Laid to rest in Gethsemane
It was the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.). In the rooms, the lamps were burning. The holy Apostles were offering praise to God. They prayed, there was a thunder from heaven and there came a fearful voice as if of chariots; and behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of Man was heard. Raising herself from bed as if going to meet her Son, she worshipped the Lord. Then she said, “Ready is my heart, O God, ready is my heart”. The she repeated the words once said by her, “Be it unto me according to Thy word” [Lk 1: 38], and then lay down on the bed.

The holy Disciples surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her longed-for Son and Lord. With these words, the Theotokos, surrendered her soul into the hands of the Lord. At once there began wonderful and joyous angelic singing repeating the former words of Gabriel: Rejoice, thou who are full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed are thou among women” [Lk 1:28]. Then a solemn procession carried the body of the Theotokos from Zion through Jerusalem to Gethsemane. The tomb in the Garden of Gethsemane was East of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley. Finally, the holy Apostles with all the multitude of Christians reached the Garden. When they laid down the bier with the body, the Christians began to weep.

In giving the last kiss, the Christians fell down before the body of the Theotokos. Bewailing their separation from Mother of God, the Apostles prepared to bury Her all-pure body. The holy Apostles Peter, Paul, James and others of the Twelve Apostles carried the funeral bier upon their shoulders, and upon it lay the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary. St John the Theologian went in front with the palm-branch from Paradise. Other faithful multitude accompanied funeral bier with candles, censers, singing sacred songs.

This solemn procession went from Sion through Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane. Kissing, they shed  tears, & only towards evening the body was placed in a new tomb. Her relics were laid with the greatest honour; while chanting and weeping took place. The Apostles stepped before her bier, bid her farewell, each according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uttered psalms of triumph, thanksgiving & chanted prayers. The Orthodox marked this feast as the Koimesis (Dormition) of the Theotokos. We “venerate” her and show her great honor, do not “worship” the Virgin Mary. We believe that the Virgin Mary is an image of the Christian, becoming Christ-like, Theosis. Theotokos gave birth to Christ in a bodily way, but we bear Christ in a spiritual way. We imitate her practical spiritual life, the purity and humility by which she formed her free will into perfect obedience to Will of God.

Blessed Virgin Mary –  Palm Branch at the funeral – The probable time and the story of Palm-branch:
In the second year after Christ having overcome death had ascended into heaven, upon a certain day, Mary fervent with desire of Christ betook herself alone into the refuge of her dwelling to weep. And lo, an angel shining in a garment of great brightness stood before her, greeting her: “Hail thou blessed of the Lord, receive the greeting of Him that granted salvation to Jacob. Behold, said he, this palm-branch. I have brought it to thee from the paradise of the Lord, and thou shalt cause it to be carried before thy bier on the third day when thou shalt be taken up out of the body. For behold Thy Son with the thrones and the angels and all the powers of heaven awaited thee.” Then therefore the apostles laid the holy body upon a bier and said: Who shall bear the palm before her bier? Then John said to Peter: “Thou who art before us in the apostleship ought to bear this palm before her bed. Peter answered to John: Thou only of us art virgin chosen of the Lord, and has found such favour that thou didst lie on his breast: and he when he hung for our salvation on the tree of the cross committed her unto thee with His own mouth. Thou ought to carry this palm; let us take up the body to bear it unto the place of the sepulcher”. Then Peter lifted up the head of the body and began to sing: And with him the other apostles bore the body of the blessed Mary. John carried the palm of light before the bier. And the rest of the apostles sang with exceeding sweet voices!

Blessed Virgin Mary –  The funeral
With the start of the procession there suddenly appeared over the all-pure body of the Mother of God and all those accompanying Her a resplendent circular cloud, like a crown. There was heard the singing of the Heavenly Powers, glorifying the Mother of God, which echoed that of the worldly voices. This circle of Heavenly singers & radiance accompanied the procession to the place of burial. Unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, taken aback by the extraordinarily grand funeral procession, vexed at the honor accorded to Mother of Jesus, complained to High Priest/scribes. The Jewish priest Anthonios, out of spite and hatred for the Mother of Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to topple the funeral bier on which lay the body of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, but an angel of God invisibly cut off his hands, which had touched the bier. Seeing a wonder, Athonios repented and with faith confessed the majesty of the Mother of God. He received healing, joined the crowd accompanying the body of the Mother of God, and became a zealous follower of Christ. When the procession reached the Garden of Gethsemane, then amidst the weeping and the wailing began the last kiss to the all-pure body. Only towards evening were the Apostles able to place it in the tomb and seal the entrance to the cave with a large stone. For three days, they did not depart the place of burial, praying & chanting Psalms.

Through the wise providence of God, the Apostle Thomas was not to be present at the burial of the Mother of God. Arriving late on the third day at Gethsemane, he lay down at the tomb and with bitter tears asked that l he might be permitted to look once more upon the Mother of God and bid her farewell. The Apostles out of heartfelt pity for him decided to open the grave and permit him the comfort of venerating the holy relics of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Having opened the grave, they found in it only the grave wrappings and were thus convinced of the bodily ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.

The Virgin, The Virtuous Woman and Loving Mother
In her daily life, the Virgin Mary lived the life that good, virtuous women usually led. In her life Solomon’s verse was fulfilled “who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (Prov. 31: 10). The Orthodox Churches has indeed accepted the doctrine concerning the Virgin Mariam’s translation to heaven that on the third day of her burial, the holy Mother, being incorruptible, was risen, and having been guarded by the angelic hosts, was ascended to heaven and sat upon the throne of glory at the right of Son and God. The Church observes fifteen days fasting beginning on August 1 in honour of the Repose and translation to heaven of Blessed Virgin Mariam.

THE INDIAN ORTHODOX TRADITION – Repose – Shoonoyo (Vaangippu) The (Oriental) Indian Orthodox Church too follows the same tradition that the Blessed Virgin Mariam had a normal death and that she was buried by the disciples in Jerusalem. Her departure from this world is believed but not the concept of her assumption. Her death is expressed as Repose (Falling Asleep) and her departing from this world as Shoonoyo in Syriac and Vaangippu in Malayalam. Shoonoyo means change, migration, departure, removal. ~ Dormition