Encyclical of Archbishop Apostolos for the Dormition of the Theotokos (2026)translated

ARCHDIOCESE CIRCULAR

ON THE FESTIVAL OF THE DROPPING AND TRANSITION OF THE OUR MOTHER OF GOD

To His Holiness the Bishop, the Holy Clergy, the Monastic Orders, the Lords of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Ladies of the Benevolent Brotherhood and the pious staff of the Holy Archdiocese of Canada

Dear Fathers in Christ and blessed children of the Church,

The feast of the Dormition and Transfiguration of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the leading theological festivals of the Church and, at the same time, an event of profound theological significance. The Church sees in the Dormition of the Virgin Mary not only the end of the earthly course of a holy man, but the eschatological manifestation of the destiny of human nature within the grace of God.

The Virgin is the person in whom human freedom offers itself completely to the divine calling. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be born unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1, 38) is humanity's "yes" to God and, at the same time, the beginning of the mystery of the Incarnation. In its person, the Church considers human nature not as a reality autonomous from God, but as a nature destined for communion with the Creator...