The Quiet Dream of Righteous Annatranslated

On August 7, the Orthodox Church remembers the singing of Righteous Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. This holiday is dedicated to the end of the earthly life of the grandmother of Jesus Christ.

The word "dormition" means "quiet sleep." In the Orthodox tradition, death is understood as a new stage in a person’s life. The Lord rose from the dead and conquered death. He became the Forerunner, the Firstborn, who opened the way to eternal life for every believer. The Apostle Paul writes about our common fate: I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant of those who have died, lest you mourn like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who died in Jesus with Him... The Lord Himself, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-17). Therefore, now the dead are, as it were, like those who have fallen asleep, awaiting their awakening (i.e. resurrection) at the Second Coming of the Lord. Using this image, the Church, however, does not believe that those who died in the other world are in some kind of sleeping, unconscious state. This is evidenced by the varied help of the saints to those who ask...