Metropolitan Nicolae: Dormition of the Mother of God is ‘the feast of our hope’

“The Dormition of the Mother of God is also the feast of our hope,” Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas said on Thursday in a  pastoral message for the feast.

His Eminence explained that the Church does not regard this moment as one of despair, but as a testimony to the victory of life: “The Mother of God falls asleep, but death cannot hold her.”

“At the centre of today’s feast stands a tomb, yet the Church does not call us to sorrow, but to joy. The Apostles are gathered around the body of the Mother of God, yet the feast’s hymns speak of life. A separation takes place, yet the Church proclaims a reunion.”

Metropolitan Nicolae recalled that, following the Resurrection of Christ, death can no longer be regarded as the ultimate end of human existence: “Christ Himself called death sleep. Before raising the daughter of Jairus, He says: She is not dead, but sleeping.”

“The Holy Fathers who spoke about the Dormition of the Mother of God did not try to conceal the reality of death. On the contrary, it was precisely in her death that they saw the power of Christ’s Resurrection revealed.”

The holy and living Ark His Eminence highlighted the unique place of the Mother of…