The Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God

The scene

The icon depicts the Dormition of the Mother of God — her falling asleep and passing from this world. The Virgin Mary lies on the bier at the centre, surrounded by the apostles, who were gathered miraculously from the ends of the earth to bid farewell to the mother of their Lord.

Christ and His mother’s soul

Christ stands at the centre behind the bier, encircled by light, holding in His arms a small child wrapped in white: the pure soul of His mother, whom He receives into His hands. Here the Nativity is reversed — she who once held the infant Jesus is now held by her Lord, carried as a child into the new life.

The apostles and the Church

Around the bier stand the apostles, holy bishops and the women of Jerusalem — the whole Church gathered around the one who became its mother. The censers, candles and reverent stillness proclaim that this farewell is not an end but a passage into life.

A falling asleep, not a death

According to Orthodox teaching, her passing is called not “death” but “dormition,” a falling asleep. She tasted death as all people do, yet her Son, who conquered death, took her to Himself. The Church teaches that she fell asleep and was buried, and was then translated in the body into glory, becoming the first-fruits of those who follow Christ and inherit His resurrection.

Hope for every believer

In the Dormition the believer finds his own hope: what was fulfilled in her is that to which we are all called. She is an icon of the Church and of redeemed humanity, inviting us to live our own death as a falling asleep in Christ, in the hope of the resurrection.