07 — Pentecost and the Dormition
The last two Great Feasts of the annual cycle in their theological order: Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church, which closes the Paschal season fifty days after the Resurrection; and the Dormition of the Theotokos (15 August), the falling-asleep of the Mother of God, the year’s final feast, in which she who bore the Lord shares his victory over the tomb.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox
Purpose
Pentecost completes the work of Christ by sending the Spirit who constitutes the Church; the Dormition shows, in the person of the Theotokos, the destiny of the redeemed within that Church. The section pairs the Spirit’s descent with the Mother’s repose, and treats the transitus sources of the Dormition honestly.
Navigation
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| pentecost.md | The fiftieth day; the descent of the Holy Spirit; the birthday of the Church; Trinity Sunday and the Monday of the Spirit; the kneeling prayers |
| the-dormition-of-the-theotokos.md | 15 August; the falling-asleep; the transitus traditions and the empty tomb; the Dormition Fast |
See Also
- The Ascension — the feast ten days before Pentecost, which the Ascension makes possible
- The Falling Asleep — the transitus tradition in the fuller Mariological context