WHY ARE ALL THE LAVRAS ON THE TERRITORY OF UKRAINE CALLED IN HONOUR OF THE HOLY DORMITION?

About the special veneration of the Most Holy Theotokos by the Orthodox – Metropolitan Anthony (Packanich).

- Master, why is the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos one of the most beloved, the most important, after all the Mother of God died on this day, this day should be a day of mourning?

– First of all, from the point of view of the Orthodox belief, we should not consider the death of a person, and especially of the saints and the mother of God, as a bleak event. The Holy Apostle Paul sighed: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" (Phillippians 1:23), because for a true Christian, the goal of his life is union with Christ in His eternal Kingdom. Thus, death is not so much the end, the end of earthly life, as the birth for eternal life, life with Christ, Who by His death and His Resurrection defeated our mortality. Before the Resurrection of the Savior, death for a person was a kind of terrible outcome in Sheol – a gloomy, joyless place far from God, but thanks to the Sacrifice of Christ, death became the reunion of the human soul with its Creator.

Moreover, the special veneration of the feast of the Assumption is also connected with the fact that, as it is said in the troparion of the feast, the Most Holy Theotokos does not leave our world even after her Assumption, but prays even more for each of us, constantly standing before the Throne of Her Divine Son.

– There are three Lavras on the territory of Ukraine, and all of them are consecrated in honour of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Why?

– The birthplace of Russian monasticism is the Holy Mount Athos, which is traditionally called as the inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos, because exactly on Mount Athos the founder of the Russian monasticism Anthony Pechersky strived. The Reverend Anthony and his disciples received from the Holy Mountain not only the monastic rule, but also, above all, the special veneration of the Most Holy Virgin – as an assistant in monastic feats and labors. Exactly with this the widespread tradition of consecrating the Thrones of monastic churches in honor of the Ever-Virgin Mary is connected, and especially with her Assumption.

– Why do the Orthodox christians especially rely on the prayers of the Mother of God?

– We, as Orthodox Christians, especially rely on the prayers of the Mother of God, which protestants often fault us for. However, protestants do not want to understand one natural thing: any birth establishes a special spiritual connection between mother and child. This connection is unique and inimitable by the fact that it is based on affection and love. Jesus Christ is God. But, besides this, He is also a Human, the same as you and I, but without a sin. And by His humanity, He is in a special unique connection with His Mother, the Virgin Mary. And it is quite natural that this connection was not cut off, disappeared. It existed, exists and will exist forever. And we believe that by virtue of this connection of the Son and the Mother, She, as a true Mother, intercedes for each of us in the face of Her Son, and God hears our prayers addressed to Her.

Interviewed by Natalia Goroshkova

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