Dormition of the Mother of God

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	THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD The Orthodox revere the Mother of God (Theotokos) above any other saint in the Church. She always stands on Christ’s right hand side in each church Iconostasion, and an enormous icon of her with the Christ child dominates the space above the altar. Through her, the Virgin Mary, Christ proves His humanity. Four of the church’s twelve great feast days are devoted to her, of which The Dormition is the most significant. Two weeks of fasting and special prayer services precede August 15 when the faithful crowd the church to honor her and remember her feast day. People commonly refer to the day as “Tis Panayias (“Panayia’s feast day). During this time, August 1-15, Parasklisis are held. A paraklists is a service of supplication and prayer. The Orthodox church traditionally holds one every evening during the first two weeks of August, except Saturdays, the feast day of he Transfiguration (August 6) and on the eve of the Dormition when a vesper service is held instead. The Small Paradlisis, shorter than the Great Paraklisis exprsses the troubles of the soul surrounded by sin and asks for help in being restored both physically and spiritually to original health and beauty. The Great Paraklisis prays for society in general, including the captured city of Constantinople, calling on the Mother of God, the protector of the city, to free her from the enemy. The Small and Great Paraklisis alternate evenings. Our Church, St. Nicholas, will hold services on August 2^nd , 4^th, 9^th, and 11^th , and August 14^th at 7:00 p.m. List the names of the living who you will like Father Stelios to commemorate at the evening paraklists services. A form is on the next page, or you can pick up a form at Church in the Narthex. Excerpts taken from “A Guide To Greek Traditions And Customs In America”