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[[Image:DormitionKoimesis (Chora, Constantinople).jpg|right|frame350px|thumb|The Dormition of the Theotokos]]The '''Dormition''' (Falling Asleep) of the [[Theotokos]] is one of the [[Great Feasts]] of the [[Orthodox Church]], celebrated on [[August 15]]. This feastThe Feast of the Dormition, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ's mother. It proclaims that Mary has been "assumed" by [[God]] into the heavenly kingdom of [[Christ]] in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.

The Orthodox feast of the Dormition is very similar to what [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] calls the ''Assumption of Mary''. According to Orthodox [[Tradition]], [[Theotokos|Mary]] died like all humanity, "falling asleep," so to speak, as the name of the feast indicates. She died as all people die, not "voluntarily" as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world. The feast was added to the Roman calendar in the seventh century as the ''Dormitio''. In the eighth century, the title was changed to the ''Assumptio'' (Assumption).

As with the [[Nativity of the Theotokos|nativity of the Virgin]] and the feast of her [[Presentation of the Theotokos|entrance to the temple]], there are no biblical or historical sources for this feast. The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary is without personal sins{{fact}}[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0804/_P1B.HTM], as well that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials, sufferings, and death of this world. She truly died and was raised up by her Son as the Mother of Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise. This life of paradise is prepared and promised to all who "hear the word of God and keep it." ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 11:27-28)

On the eve of the feast, [[Vespers]] is served and contains three [[Old Testament]] readings that have [[New Testament]] meaning. In [[Genesis]] 28:10-17, Jacob's Ladder which unites heaven and earth points to the union of God with men which is realized most fully and perfectly in Mary the bearer of God. "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" In [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 43:27-44:4, the vision of the temple with the door to the East perpetually closed and filled with the glory of the Lord, symbolizes Mary. And in [[Proverbs]] 9:1-11, Mary is also identified with the "house" which the [[Holy Wisdom|Divine Wisdom ]] has built for herself.

*[httphttps://wwwmyweb.rollins.edu/Foreign_Langaboguslawski/RussianRuspaint/assumpt.html The Assumption (Dormition) of the Virgin], a descriptive commentary of festal [[icon]]s*[httphttps://www.comeandseeiconsjohnsanidopoulos.com/festal2012/08/festala-strange-scene-in-icon-of-dormition.htm#phf13 Icons html A Strange Scene in the Icon of the Dormition of Mary]by John Sanidopoulos

*[http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/dormition/learn/ August 15: Feast of the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary] ([[GOARCH]])*[https://orthochristian.com/38894.html A Homily on the Dormition of Our Supremely Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary] by Saint [[Gregory Palamas]], Archbishop of [[Thessalonica]] *[https://oca.org/fs/sermons/sermon-on-the-dormition-of-the-most-holy-theotokos Sermon on the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos] by St [[John of Kronstadt]]*[https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08.vii.xlii.html The Account of St. John the Theologian of the Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of God]. from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8.*[http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/v2staff/FixedGreatFeasts.htm Fixed Great Feasts, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Calendar]*[http://www.canto.ru/calendar/day_en.php?date=28-8-2014 August 28, 2014: Orthodox Menologion Online, Orthodox Lithurgical Commonwealth]*[https://www.stathanasius.org/site/assets/files/5934/study_08_15_18.pdf THE FALLING ASLEEP OF MARY] The Role of Mary in the Early Church. Bible Study by Mark Kern c/o St. Athanasius Orthodox Church