The Feast of the Assumption (death) of the Blessed Lady of our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary is listed as one of the twelve (twelfths) main holidays of the Orthodox Church. It is preceded by the strict Dormition Fast and celebrated by the Orthodox Church according to the new style — on August 28. On this day, solemn services are held in all Orthodox churches.
After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and in his absence she lived in his parents’ house near Mount Olivet. For the apostles and all believers, She was a consolation and edification.
Talking with them, the Mother of God spoke about the wonderful events of the Annunciation, seedless conception and the birth of Christ, His infancy and all earthly life, incorruptible from Her. Like the apostles, She implanted and affirmed the Christian Church with Her presence, word and prayers.
The circumstances of the Dormition of the Mother of God are known in the Orthodox Church from the times of the Apostles. The life of the Most Pure Virgin was wonderful, and Her Dormition was wonderful, as the Holy Church glorifies: «The God of the universe shows on You, Queen, miracles that exceed the laws of nature». The most pure body of the Mother of God was buried in the family cemetery. From the very burial, Her Christians reverently honored the coffin of the Mother of God and built a temple on that site. The temple housed precious shrouds that covered the most pure and fragrant body.
The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary takes place after the Dormition Fast (the period from August 14 to 27), which was popularly called spozhinki (or mistresses), since the Feast of the Dormition marked the completion of the harvest — to eat meant to wait. The word spozhinka turned into mistresses in consonance with the word mistress, as Our Lady was sometimes popularly called.
The Catholic Church celebrates the Assumption of Mary on August 15.