“Magnify O my soul, the honourable Translation of the Mother of God from earth to heaven.”
Let us be happy, dear brothers and sisters that we belong to the Holy Orthodox Church, worthily and rightly glorifying the Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos on this eminent day out of all the days of the year with special solemnity.
The Holy Church solemnly glorifies the honorable Dormition or translation of the Mother of God from earth to heaven. A wonderful translation - she died without serious illness, peacefully. Her soul is taken up in the divine hands of Her Son and carried up into the heavenly abode, accompanied by the sweet singing of angels. And then, her most pure body is transferred by the apostles to Gethsemane where it is honorably buried, and on the third day it is resurrected and taken up to heaven. On the icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos is represented the life-bearing body of the Theotokos laying on a bier, surrounded by the apostles and hierarchs, and in the center of the icon the Lord holding in His hands the most pure soul of the Theotokos. The translation of the Mother of God is a paradigm of the translation in general of the souls of Christians to the other world.
We say that our dead have “fallen asleep” or “passed away.” What does this mean? This means that for the true Christian there is no death. Death was conquered by Christ on the cross. But there is a translation, i.e, a rearrangement of his condition, i.e. his soul is in another place, in another age, in another world beyond the grave, eternal, without end, that is what is meant by “falling asleep”. It is as if it were a temporary dream after which, by the voice of the Lord and the fearful yet wonderful trumpet of the Archangel, all the dead shall live and come forth each to his place: either to the resurrection of life or to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:29). This is what the Christian means by translation. We should be ready for this translation, for the day of the general resurrection and judgment, for this indescribable world event, recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
This preparation for the meeting of the heavenly King before the dread judgment seat, after death, is essentially the person’s preparation throughout the whole of his life. This preparation means a change in all his thoughts, and the moral change of all his being, so that the whole man would be pure and white as snow, washing clean everything that defiles the body and spirit, so that he is adorned with every virtue: repentance, meekness, humility, gentleness, simplicity, chastity, mercifulness, abstention, spiritual contemplation, and burning love for God and neighbor.
Our preparation for meeting the heavenly King, and for the inheritance of eternal life in heaven, should consist of these things. The heavenly King desires souls adorned with immutable virtue, souls prepared so that the Very Lord Himself could abide in them. Do not marvel that the Very Lord wants to live in us. In fact the human soul is more spacious than the heavens and the earth, for it exists in the image of God. And if one removes sins from the soul, the Lord of all will settle in it and will fill it with Himself. “We will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23), says the Lord about the souls who love Him.
Amen.
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GUIDED TOURS OF THE SAINT ATHANASIOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
Guided tours of our church will be led by Father Sasa, and will be perfect for those who want to learn as much about orthodox faith as they can learn about our beautiful church building. If you would like to book a tour for your group, please call Father Sasa at 251-233-3128, or email me frsasa@stathanasios.al.goarch.org
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Bible Study
Sunday, August 25th 11:45 a.m. The classes are designed to introduce the basic teachings of Orthodox Christianity through the Church Fathers using the Church Lectionary and History, which has its roots in Apostolic times.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Fr. Sasa at (251) 233-3128.
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Holy Confession
The sacrament of Holy Confession has always been a central part of an Orthodox Christian’s spiritual journey during our pilgrimage with the Lord in life. Orthodox Christians interested in participating in this Holy Sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation can meet with me by appointment. Please call me at 251-233-3128.
Additional information can be found about Holy Confession and the other sacraments of our Church on our web site at http://www.stathanasios.al.goarch.org/ourfaith/sacraments
+Fr Sasa Turkic
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