Bulgarian Orthodox church marks the Assumption of Mary

On 15th of August, the Bulgarian Orthodox church celebrates the Assumption of Virgin Mary.

The day, also known as the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God, is one of the twelve great feasts in the church calendar. Festive liturgies will be held in all temples across the country.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin or Great Mother of God is one of the greatest Christian holidays, celebrated equally by Orthodox, Catholics and other Christian denominations. This day is dedicated to the death of the Mother of God or her sleep. According to the legend, on this day the apostles gathered from the places where they preached to say goodbye to the Holy Mother of God and to bury her body.

According to the Holy Scriptures, this is the day on which the Mother of God, at the age of 64, leaves earthly life and goes to her son. Three days before her death, the Archangel Gabriel informs her that God had wished to take her to his kingdom so that he may reign with him forever. Her last wish was to see the Holy Apostles together.

Miraculously, they were transported to the doors of her home in Jerusalem. Three days later, Jesus Christ himself in heavenly glory, surrounded by angelic figures and saints, descended from heaven for the soul of the Holy Mother of God.

She was buried in a cave near Gethsemane and the entrance was closed with a stone. When they opened it a few days later for the late Apostle Thomas to bow before the saint, they found only her shroud.

Rising from the table, the apostles heard angelic singing and saw in the clouds the pure Mother of God, surrounded by angels, who said to them, "Rejoice, for I am with you all the days." In commemoration of her appearance before the apostles, the church decreed that a solemn liturgy be celebrated on this day and that "the raising of the bread" be performed.