Prayer served the Mother of God as a means of constant communion with Her Son. Her entire life was filled with unceasing prayer. She spent entire days, entire nights, praying in the vineyard of Gethsemane, and who can tell what insights illuminated Her great soul during these hours of prayer, what message the heart of Christ imparted to the heart of Mary, meekly languishing in separation from Her Divine Son?
One can guess what the Mother of God's prayer was about. She likely prayed for the flourishing of Christianity, for those churches of believers who, under the influence of the apostles' preaching as they traveled the world, were founded in various countries. But most likely, She prayed most of all to be quickly freed from the bonds of the flesh and ascend to the sweet vision and eternal standing before Her Divine Son.
One day, while the Mother of God was praying, the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Her, his face radiant with joy. He had been the Virgin's servant since her childhood, her nourisher in the "Holy of Holies," the herald of God's incarnation through her, and her constant guardian throughout her life. The Archangel brought her the joyful news from the Lord of her imminent death, which, he said, would occur in three days.
According to other traditions, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God twice before her death: once fifteen days before her Dormition, and again three days before. On this final occasion, the Archangel presented the Virgin with a date branch from Paradise. On the Mount of Olives, not far from the summit from which Christ ascended to heaven, pilgrims and travelers are still shown the spot where the Mother of God received the good news of her approaching Dormition from the heavenly messenger.
The Archangel told the Most Pure Virgin not to be dismayed by the news he brought, but to receive it with joy, for She was passing on to immortal life, to stand forever before the immortal King of Glory. He said: "Your Son and our God awaits you, with the archangels and angels, with the cherubim and seraphim, with all the heavenly spirits and the souls of the righteous. And He will take you, His Mother, to the heavenly kingdom, that you may live and reign with Him forever and ever."
The Most Holy Virgin was destined to triumph over death. Just as spiritual death proved powerless over Her, so too could physical death not prevail over Her. Having briefly fallen asleep in death, as if in a slumber, She was soon to rise from death, as from a dream, and, shaking the deathly slumber from Her eyes like a drowsy slumber, She would behold immortal life and glory in the light of the Lord's countenance.
As a sign of all this, the Archangel bringing the Good News gave the Most Holy Virgin a heavenly sprout. It was a branch of a date tree, shining with the light of heavenly grace. This branch was to be carried before the Mother of God's bier during the funeral procession to the tomb of Her most honorable and pure body.
What could be more joyful for the Mother of God than to dwell in heaven with her God and Son and always enjoy the sight of His divine face? Therefore, at the Archangel's good news, great joy descended upon her heart. She bowed to the ground and with all her strength gave thanks to her Creator, saying: "I would not have been worthy, Master, to receive you into my womb, had you not had mercy on your servant. But I have preserved the treasure you entrusted to me. And for this reason, I pray to you, King of glory, that the realm of Gehenna may not harm me. Heaven and angels always tremble before you: how can man, created from earth and possessing no good within himself except what he receives from your ineffable goodness, not tremble before you? You are the Lord and God, ever blessed forever."
The Most Pure Virgin desired to see the holy apostles, who had spread out throughout the world to preach, at the time of her death, and not to see the prince of darkness and his terrors at the hour of her departure. She prayed to her Son and Lord that these wishes might be fulfilled, and she also prayed that He Himself, coming from heaven with His holy angels, would receive her holy soul into His divine hands, as He had previously promised her.
Thus prayed the Mother of God. And during Her prayer on the Mount of Olives, as She knelt before God, a wondrous sign occurred: the olive trees, like animated beings, bowed with Her, bending their tops and thus expressing their reverent service to the Mother of God. And when the Most Holy Virgin rose after each prostration, the trees, as if imitating Her movements, straightened up again.
When the Mother of God returned home after this final prayer in the vineyard of Gethsemane, everyone was stunned by the incomprehensible divine power and glory that surrounded her. Her face had always shone with grace, brighter than the face of Moses, who had once conversed with God on Sinai; but now it was even more illumined by an ineffable heavenly glory.
The Most Pure One began to prepare for her departure.
First, she related her revelation to her adopted son, John, and showed him the light-bearing branch given to him by the Archangel, instructing him to carry it before her burial bed. She then announced her imminent departure to the others who lived in the house and served her. She ordered the room and the bier to be decorated, censed, numerous candles to be arranged and lit, and everything necessary for the burial to be prepared. John hastily dispatched messengers to Saint James, the Lord's brother and the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and to all the relatives and close friends of the Mother of God, announcing her approaching death and naming the day of her passing. Saint James then sent word of this to all the faithful in Jerusalem, as well as to the surrounding towns and villages. All of the Mother of God's relatives and a great multitude of the faithful of both sexes gathered with Saint James. The Most Holy Virgin recounted to them the words She had heard from the angel about Her transfer to heaven, and as confirmation of these words, She showed them the date branch brought to Her from Paradise by the evangelist Gabriel, shining like a sunbeam with the light of heavenly glory.
All who had gathered before the Most Pure Virgin, hearing from Her most holy lips this news of Her death, wept. The house was filled with sobs and groans. And all prayed to the merciful Lady, as the Mother of all, not to leave them orphaned.
"Do not weep," the Mother of God said to them, "but rejoice at my departure. Now, when I stand closer to the throne of God and see my God and Son face to face, I will be better able to pray for all and, conversing with Him face to face, to propitiate His mercy. After my death, I will not leave you orphaned: not only you, but the whole world. I will visit and protect you and help those in need.
With such comforting words, the Mother of God soothed the weeping crowd surrounding Her, assuaging their sorrow. She ordered that Her two vestments, Her only possession, be given to two poor widows who had served Her with fervent love and received food from Her. She bequeathed Her most precious body to be placed in the village of Gethsemane, near Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, where Her righteous parents and Joseph the Betrothed were buried. Suddenly, a loud noise, like peals of thunder, was heard, and a multitude of clouds surrounded the house. By God's command, angels of the Lord suddenly swept the holy apostles from their sleeping places, carried them on clouds to Jerusalem, and placed them on Zion, before the doors of the house of the Most Holy Theotokos. Seeing one another, they rejoiced and marveled, perplexed as to why the Lord had gathered them together. Apostle John the Theologian came out to them and, greeting them with tears, announced the imminent departure of the Most Holy Theotokos from earthly life. The holy apostles understood that the Lord had gathered them from all corners of the universe so that they could be present at the death of His Most Pure Mother and honorably bury her most holy body. The apostles grieved over their impending separation from the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
When they all entered the house, they saw the Mother of God sitting peacefully on her bed, filled with spiritual joy. Greeting Her, they said:
— Blessed are you of the Lord, who created heaven and earth.
And the Most Pure One said to them:
— Peace be with you, brothers, chosen by the Lord.
Then She began to question them about how they had come to Jerusalem. They told how each of them had been caught up by the power of God and carried to Jerusalem on the clouds. The Most Pure Virgin glorified God for hearing Her prayer and fulfilling the desire of Her heart. She said to them:
"The Lord has brought you here to console my soul, which is about to be separated from the body. I must pay the natural debt of death, for the time appointed for me by my Creator has already drawn near."
The Apostles answered Her in sorrow:
While you, O Lady, dwelt in the world, we were comforted, as if we saw in you the very Lord and Teacher. Now, how shall we bear the pity and sorrow of our hearts, deprived of your companionship with us? But since you, by the will of Christ God, born of you, are passing into the heavenly world, we rejoice in the fulfillment of this divine decree for you, but we grieve over our orphanhood, that we will no longer see you here, our Mother and Comforter.
"Do not weep, friends and disciples of Christ," the Mother of God answered them, "and do not dilute My joy with your lamentations; but rejoice with Me that I am departing to My Son and My God. You, however, carry My body, just as I laid it out, to Gethsemane and give it the usual burial, then return to the work of your preaching. As for Me, if it be God's will, you may see Me after My death."
At this time, the divine Paul, the chief apostle, appeared at the bedside of the Mother of God and with his inspired lips began to bless the Mother of God.
"Rejoice," he said, "Mother of life and inspiration of my preaching! Even though I did not enjoy the sight of Christ my Lord in the flesh on earth before His ascension into heaven, when I look upon You, it seems to me that I see Him."
Saint Paul's fellow workers in the work of evangelism also arrived with him: Dionysius the Areopagite , the wondrous Hierotheus, and Timothy, along with the rest of the seventy apostles. The Holy Spirit had gathered them all, so that they might all be deemed worthy of the blessing of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and that her burial might be celebrated with greater honor. She, calling each of them to her by name, blessed them and extolled their faith and the labors they had endured in preaching the Gospel of Christ. She wished each of them eternal bliss and offered prayers to God for the well-being of the whole world and for its peaceful life.
The fifteenth day of the month of August (Julian Calendar) arrived; that expected blessed hour (the third day, in our time – the ninth) approached, in which the death of the Most Holy Theotokos was to take place.
Many candles were lit, and the apostles chanted the doxology. The Most Immaculate Virgin lay upon a adorned bed, preparing for her blessed departure, awaiting the coming of her most desired Son and Lord. And then, suddenly, the light of divine, ineffable glory enveloped the temple, and the candlelight dimmed. All who witnessed this vision were terrified. The roof of the temple seemed to part, and the glory of the Lord descended from heaven. And behold, Christ, the King of Glory, with hosts of archangels and angels, with all the heavenly powers, and with the righteous souls of the holy forefathers and prophets who had once foretold the coming of the Most Holy Virgin, approached His Most Pure Mother. She, beholding the descent of Her Son, joyfully cried out in the words of the song She had once sung, saying:
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant..." And she rose from her bed, as if striving to meet Him, and bowed down to Her Lord. He, approaching Her, looked upon Her with a look of love and favor and said to Her:
— Come, my beloved, come, my dove, enter the storehouse of eternal life.
Having bowed to Him, Mary said:
"Blessed be the name of Thy glory, Lord my God, Who has deigned to choose me, Thy humble servant, to serve Thy mystery! Remember me, O King of Glory, in Thy endless kingdom. Thou knowest that I have loved Thee with all my heart and have guarded the treasure entrusted to me by Thee; now receive my spirit in peace and shield me from the realm of darkness, lest I experience satanic assault.
The Lord, comforting Her with the sweetest words, urged Her not to fear the satanic power that had already been trampled under Her feet, and lovingly called Her to boldly cross from earth to heaven. She joyfully responded:
— My heart is ready, God, ready.
And she spoke again the word she had once spoken at the Annunciation:
"Let it be done to me according to your word!" After this, the Mother of God lay upon her bed, inexpressibly rejoicing to behold the radiant face of her Son and Lord. Sweet love for her Son and inexpressible joy filled Mary's heart. And, in the throes of these feelings, she surrendered her most pure soul into the hands of her Son without any physical suffering, as if falling into a quiet, blessed sleep.
And He, Whom She conceived without sin and bore without pain, painlessly received Her most honorable soul from Her holy body and did not allow it to decay. And then began a joyful and sweet angelic chant, in which were heard the oft-repeated words once brought to the Virgin of Nazareth from heaven by the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice, O Blessed One, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art thou among women!"
Thus solemnly escorted by all the heavenly ranks, carried in the arms of the Lord, the soul of Mariam quietly ascended to the heavenly dwellings...
The apostles, privileged to witness this wondrous spectacle, followed the Mother of God with tender gaze, as they had once followed the Lord ascending into heaven from the Mount of Olives. They stood for a long time, filled with sacred awe and joy, as if lost in thought. Then, coming to their senses, they bowed down to the Lord, Who had so gloriously raised His Mother's soul to heaven. They surrounded the bier with tears and beheld Mary's most holy face shining like the sun; from her most pure flesh emanated a fragrance surpassing all earthly aromas, a fragrance beyond the power of human language.
They all kissed this most pure body with fear and reverence, paying homage to it, and were sanctified by touching it, feeling in their hearts the great spiritual joy that came from the grace of the Most Pure Mother of God.
Here healings began to be given to the sick: the blind were given sight, the deaf heard, the lame were given free movement, unclean spirits left people, and all kinds of illnesses were healed immediately from a single touch to the bed of the deceased Mother of God.
Amidst these circumstances, the procession to the burial of Mary's holy body began. St. Peter, along with St. Paul and St. James, the Lord's brother, and the other apostles, lifted the bier upon their shoulders, while St. John the Theologian carried a luminous branch of paradise before it. The rest of the assembly of saints and the multitude of people, carrying candles and censers, walked around and sang: St. Peter began, and the others followed suit. They sang the Psalm of David in honor of the exodus of Israel from Egypt, adding the words "Alleluia" to each verse. Other solemn and thanksgiving psalms and songs were also sung, and the Holy Spirit moved in the lips of the singers.
With such glory was the body of the Most Pure Virgin, which had received God, carried from Zion through Jerusalem to the village of Gethsemane.
A cloudy circle, like a crown, formed above the bier and those who were accompanying her, vast, bright, and illuminated by an extraordinary radiance. A wondrous, sweet angelic chant could be heard in the clouds, filling the air, and this chant spread throughout the earth so that everyone could hear it. This cloudy, crown-like circle, carrying the angelic chant, moved through the air, following the body of the Mother of God.
There was sudden confusion during the procession.
The people of Jerusalem, composed of unbelieving Jews, hearing the strange singing and seeing the solemn procession with Mary's body, came out of their homes and followed the procession out of the city, marveling at the great glory and honor bestowed upon the body of the Mother of Jesus. The high priests and scribes, learning of this and filled with envy and anger, sent servants and soldiers and stirred up many of the people to attack with weapons and poles, disperse the people accompanying Mary's body, beat the disciples of Jesus, and consign the body of the Mother of God to the flames. As the people, determined to commit such atrocities, armed themselves as for battle, and rushed toward the procession, a cloud suddenly descended toward the earth, encircling and enclosing, like a wall, the assembly of the holy apostles and all those with them, so that only their singing could be heard, while the apostles themselves were invisible behind the cloud.
The holy angels, invisibly hovering over the most pure body and face of the faithful, struck these villains with blindness, some of whom smashed their heads against the city wall, while others, not knowing where to go, felt the walls and looked for guides.
A Jewish priest named Athonius was traveling that way at the time. By God's providence, at that very moment the cloud circle rose again, and Athonius saw the holy apostles and a multitude of the faithful, holding candles and singing psalms, surrounding the bier of the Most Holy Theotokos. He was inflamed with hatred, his former anger against the Lord flared up within him, and he said, "This body, which gave birth to that flatterer who destroyed the law of our fathers, receives such honor!" Being strong in body, he rushed furiously and with great rage to the bier, wanting to cast the most pure body of the Lady to the ground. When his insolent hands touched the bier, they were suddenly cut off, as if by an invisible, immaterial sword of God's vengeance, and remained attached to the bier. Athonius himself fell with a cry, "Woe is me! Woe!"
Having recognized his sin, he repented and called to the apostles: “Have mercy on me, servants of Christ!”
Then the Apostle Peter commanded him to stand beside the bed and said: “Behold, you have received what you desired; understand that the God of vengeance has stood up for Himself. We cannot heal you of your wound. Only He, against whom you unjustly rebel and whom you have killed, our Lord, can heal you, but even He will not want to grant you healing unless you first believe in Him with all your heart and confess with your lips that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God.” Athonius cried out: “I believe that He is the Savior of the world foretold by the prophets—the Christ. We also recognized Him as the Son of God before, but, darkened by malice and envy, we did not want to confess Him as God and subjected Him to innocent death. By the power of the Divinity, He rose again on the third day, filling all of us, who hated Him, with shame; We tried to conceal His resurrection and for this purpose we bribed the guards, but we could not stop the glory of the Lord and the rumors that spread everywhere about this miracle.”
Thus Athonius confessed his past crimes and repented of the audacious sin he had just committed.
The holy apostles and faithful rejoiced, as angels rejoice over a repentant sinner, and Peter commanded Athonius to place his severed hands on the parts hanging by the bed and to invoke the name of the Most Pure Virgin Mary with faith. When Athonius did so, the severed hands suddenly regained their original position, their joints fused, and they appeared completely healthy. Only the marks of their amputation remained, like a red thread encircling the body at the elbow.
Athonius then fell before the bed, worshiping Christ God, born of the Most Pure Virgin, and for a long time praised the Mother of God with loud praises, citing the Old Testament prophecies about Her.
All the people were amazed by the miraculous healing of Athonius's invisibly severed hands and his wise words, with which he praised Christ God and the Most Pure Theotokos. Joining the holy apostles, Athonius followed the bier being carried to Gethsemane. And those of the blind who recognized their sins, repentantly followed their guides to the bed of the Mother of God and touched it with faith, immediately receiving the healing of their blindness.
The Most Holy Lady, the common Mother of all people, brought joy to the entire universe with Her birth, and in Her Dormition She did not want to sadden anyone, but mercifully consoled everyone, even Her enemies, with Her grace and goodness, as “the good Mother of the good King.”
The holy apostles, having reached Gethsemane with the entire multitude of the faithful, placed the bier with the most pure body at the tomb. A great lamentation arose among the people; everyone wept over their orphanhood, over the loss of their great treasure, and, falling before the body of the Most Holy Theotokos, they embraced, kissed, and washed it with their tears, offering it their final kiss.
When, toward evening, they placed the body in the coffin and rolled a heavy stone to the cave, they were unable to move from the coffin for a long time, as if chained to it by their love for the Mother of God. For three days, the holy apostles remained in this village, singing psalms day and night at the tomb of the Most Pure Virgin. During this entire time, the most sweet singing of the heavenly hosts could be heard in the air, singing and praising God and blessing the Mother of God.
By God's providence, one of the holy apostles, Thomas, was not present at the burial of the Most Holy Theotokos's body and arrived in Gethsemane only on the third day. He grieved and mourned greatly that he had not been deemed worthy to receive the Mother of God's final blessing and had not been granted the opportunity to witness the divine glory and wondrous miracles and manifestations of God at Her Dormition and the translation of Her body. He wept bitterly over this. The apostles, grieving for him, advised him to open the tomb so that he could at least see the most pure body of the Theotokos, bow to it, and, kissing it with his lips, receive consolation in his grief and sorrow.
When they rolled away the stone and opened the tomb, they were horrified: the tomb was empty, the body of the Mother of God was gone, only the shrouds that covered it, from which a fragrant fragrance emanated. The holy apostles stood in bewilderment and, tearfully kissing the shroud remaining in the tomb, prayed to the Lord to reveal to them the fate of the most pure body.
Towards evening, they sat down to strengthen themselves with food. The custom of the apostolic meal was this: they would leave an empty space between them, with a table upon it, and on the table they would place a piece of bread as a portion and honor to Christ. After the meal, rising and giving thanks, they would take this piece of bread, called "the Lord's portion," and raise it, glorifying the great name of the Most Holy Trinity. They concluded this rite with the prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, help us!"—and then partake of this bread as a blessed gift. The holy apostles did this not only when they were together, but also when each of them happened to be alone.
That evening, having gathered in Gethsemane for a common meal, they thought of nothing else, nor conversed about anything else, except the disappearance of the Mother of God's body, which had been laid in the tomb. When, at the end of the meal, they rose and began, as was their custom, to raise the portion of bread set aside in honor of the Lord and to glorify the Holy Trinity, they suddenly heard the sounds of angelic singing from above. Raising their eyes, they beheld the Most Pure Virgin, the Mother of our God, alive in the air, surrounded by a multitude of angels, shining with ineffable glory. And She said to them, "Rejoice! I am with you always!" They, filled with joy, cried out, instead of "Lord Jesus Christ, help us!"—"Most Holy Theotokos, help us!"
After this miraculous appearance, the holy apostles themselves became convinced and assured the holy church that the deceased Mother of God was resurrected by her Son and God on the third day and ascended with her body to heaven.
They then went to the tomb and took the shroud left there as a consolation to the grieving and as an irrefutable testimony of the resurrection of the Mother of God from the tomb.
And could the Ark of Life itself be possessed by death, could She who gave birth to the Creator of all creation, without knowing sin, be left in earthly decay with the rest of creation?
The Lord Jesus Christ, fulfilling the law He gave that children honor their parents, Himself honored His Most Immaculate Mother. Just as He Himself rose gloriously on the third day and then ascended to heaven with His most pure flesh, so He also resurrected His Mother on the third day and ascended to Himself in heaven. The inspired David prophesied of this, saying: "Arise, O Lord, You and the Ark of Your holiness!"
After all these events, the holy apostles, witnesses to the wondrous miracles and mysteries of God, again returned, carried by clouds, each to his own country, where he preached. The cave where the Blessed Virgin was buried, as well as the Nativity scene and the Holy Sepulchre, have long been objects of Christian veneration. People approach them from Jerusalem through the "Sheep Gate," called by the Arabs the "Gate of St. Mary" in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
After crossing the Kidron Stream over the bridge, you enter the platform before the burial cave of the Mother of God, which is located in a depression. Access is via 12 steps. From the entrance itself, a steep descent of 48 marble steps leads into the cave. Scattered rays of daylight filter in, mingling with the light of the lamps. At a depth of 15 fathoms, in a depression to the right, lies the tomb of the parents of the Blessed Virgin, Joachim and Anna, and opposite is the tomb of Joseph the Betrothed.
As the pilgrim descends, he sees garlands of glittering silver and gold lamps spread across the vault of the vast gallery. A separate stone cave contains the stone upon which the body of the Immaculate Virgin was laid. The cave's interior is unadorned, save for the natural stone covered in silk fabrics.
Muslims, especially Muslim women, also come here on pilgrimage. And here is one of the countless confirmations of the prophetic words of the Virgin Mary: "All generations shall bless me."
The bed of the Mother of God serves as the throne where the liturgy is celebrated.
In 1888, a beautiful church dedicated to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene was consecrated near the cave of the Mother of God. This church was built at the expense of the Russian Royal Family in memory of the pious Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who, burning with a special reverence for the Mother of God, dreamed all her life of venerating her tomb.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/fiction/bogomater-opisanie-ee-zemnoj-zhizni-i-chudotvornyx-ikon/8/#ch_0_8