The priest listed the main traditions of celebrating the Dormition of the Virgin

The main traditions of celebrating the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary are participation in divine services, a solemn meal in honor of the end of the Dormition Fast and charity. Philip Ilyashenko, a priest and vice-rector of St. Tikhon's Orthodox University for the Humanities, told Izvestia about this.

"The main tradition of every church holiday is participation in worship. The church holiday begins in the evening, on the eve of the feast day itself, with the performance of a special solemn divine service. On the day of the feast itself, the main service is performed, which is in the cycle of worship — the liturgy. To attend the evening service, to confess, to come in the morning on an empty stomach and receive communion is the most important participation in the celebration that is possible," the priest explained.

On the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, on August 28, the Dormition Fast ends — one of the strictest multi-day fasts in Orthodoxy, which lasts for two weeks (from August 14 to August 27) and precedes the holiday. It is comparable in restrictions to Lent: meat, dairy fish, eggs are prohibited, and on some days vegetable oil is also prohibited.

"The Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the day when the Dormition Fast ends. That is, liberation and the end of lent are added to the church and home celebration of the event, and the day, as a rule, will not be fast at all. Accordingly, the first part of the feast is liturgical, where we receive communion, and the second is agapic, accompanied by a solemn meal. Therefore, one of the traditions is a common meal and a joint meal, for example, a family meal," the priest noted.

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In addition, one of the main church traditions remains helping those in need. Celebrations such as the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary are a great time for charity.

"And as usual, the church urges, while preparing for the holidays, not to forget those who need help, and to do deeds of mercy, love and do good," the priest summed up.

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