The Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the twelve great Orthodox celebrations called twelve. In addition to the divine service dedicated directly to the Assumption of the Mother of God, in many Orthodox churches there is also a special rite of the Burial of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The Rite of the Burial of the Most Holy Theotokos is a special service usually performed on the eve of the third day (in the evening on the second day) after the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. During this service, the Orthodox Church commemorates the burial of the Virgin Mary.
The Divine Service of the Burial of the Virgin is a special service consisting of Vespers, Matins and the First Hour (All-Night Vigil). At the divine service under the vaults of the temples, special hymns are heard, raising the mind of a person to the event of the burial of the Virgin Mary, which took place in Jerusalem.
At the Vespers service, special attention is paid to special Dormition stichera, in which people are proclaimed the hope that the Mother of God will not leave believers even after her death. Also at Vespers, certain passages from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, called parimias, are read.
The Matins service in the order of the Burial of the Virgin is unique. At the beginning of Matins, when singing special troparionists, the clergy brings the shroud of the Mother of God to the middle of the church (sometimes the shroud is brought out in advance at previous services). The Shroud is a canvas depicting the position of the Virgin Mary in the tomb. The censing is performed around the shroud. This is followed by the singing of verses of the "funeral" 17th kathisma with the reading of the troparion dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. Troparion invites a person to delve into the mystery of the Assumption of the Mother of God and with all his heart to perceive the remembered event.
After the completion of the statues (the 17th kathisma with troparions), the choir sings special hymns dedicated to the Mother of God, called the "blessed ones" (refrain to the troparia: "Blessed Lady, enlighten me with the light of Thy Son"). In their style, these chants are reminiscent of the Sunday festive troparions sung at every Sunday service.
Further, a special canon dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary sounds in the temple. At the end of the Matins service (after the singing of the great doxology), the clergy and all believers perform a funeral procession with the cross around the church with the shroud of the Mother of God. During the procession, a chime is heard from the bell tower. In pious practice, the path around the temple is decorated with fresh flowers, and in front of the shroud itself, the so-called "paradise branch" is carried, symbolizing the branch that the Archangel Gabriel handed over to the Virgin Mary three days before her Assumption. At the end of the procession, the ringing sounds, and the shroud again relies on the middle of the church to worship the faithful. Next, the parishioners are anointed with consecrated oil (oil). Soon the service ends.
The Divine Service of the Burial of the Most Holy Theotokos is at the same time a festive and sad service, because on this day believers remember the assumption (death) and burial of the Mother of God, but, besides this, the promise of the Mother of God about her patronage of people until the end of centuries remains in the consciousness of the believer.
