28.08.2020
VATOPEDI MONASTERY VIDEO LIBRARY
"In the Birth you preserved your virginity": The Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos at the Vatopedi Monastery
The feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is honored today by the local Orthodox Churches around the world that follow the old calendar, the center of the celebrations being the Holy Mount Athos, where the face of the Lady Theotokos has been honored for centuries. In the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi, where the Holy Belt of the Theotokos and 7 miraculous icons of the Virgin Mary are kept as precious memorial relics, on the evening of the eve, a procession was taken out of the holy altar and the icon of the Virgin Mary of the Vimatarissa was placed in the center of the Catholicon of the Monastery, followed by a Holy Vigil and a Divine Liturgy in the morning.
The Abbot of the Monastery of Elder Ephraim of Vatopedi, addressing the fathers and pilgrims during the feast, referred to the life and person of the Lady Theotokos, whom Christians honor, and especially monks and virtuous Christians, as she becomes the intercession with the Lord, the consolation and the fairy tale during the spiritual struggle of every believer.