Greece celebrated the Dormition of the Virgin Mary on Tuesday, August 15th with great splendor and devotion, liturgies, and processions of the icon of the Virgin in churches and places of pilgrimage across the country and beyond.
One of the most important holidays on the Greek calendar, the day honors the mother of Jesus Christ as a transcendent mother figure and one who can intercede for the salvation of the faithful or provide true solace during trying times.
Furthermore, the Virgin has been strongly connected to the historical struggles of the Greek nation.
On the island of Tinos, for example, the major pilgrimage center for Dormition Day in Greece, the discovery of an icon of the Virgin in 1823, during the Greek War of Independence, before the Cyclades, to which Tinos belong, had been liberated, was interpreted by the locals as a sign that their fight was just and would be rewarded.
The great pilgrimage of Tinos on Dormition Day
Thousands of faithful once again gathered on the island of Tinos, home to Our Lady of Tinos, also known as Panagia Evangelistria, to pray and pay their respects.
A royal decree in 1836 established an eight-day celebration of the Virgin on the island of Tinos, to August 23, when an Epitaph and her icon are venerated.
The annual liturgy is celebrated the same day as the commemoration of the sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli at the port of the island by the Italians on Dormition Day in 1940.
State leaders attend Dormition services
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the Dormition liturgy at the Tinos Cathedral, led by Syros & Tinos Metropolitan Dorotheus, assisted by the Metropolitans of Servia & Kozani, Serres an&d Nigrita, and Kerkyra (Corfu), Paxi & the Diapontian Islands.
Mitsotakis also attended the service and the commemoration of the sinking of Elli, on board a missile boat that sailed where Elli sank, 550 meters off the port. A wreath was thrown in the sea in memory of the ship’s crew members.
In a message following the procession of the Virgin’s icon, Mitsotakis conveyed his optimism for the future of Greece and highlighted the key role of the Armed Forces in Greece’s security.
The President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, attended Dormition services led by Metropolitan Anthimos in Alexandroupolis, Evros, northeastern Greece.
After the liturgy, she visited the new Ioakimio nursing home and had lunch with the 50 nuns of the women’s monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, also known as the Virgin of Evros, in Makri.
The Greek people “have always drawn comfort and strength from the protective presence of the Virgin Mary,” President Sakellaropoulou said.
Patriarchal liturgy at Soumela Monastery in Trabzon, Turkey
Despite an initial denial of permission by Turkish authorities, the celebratory liturgy led by Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary did take place at the historic Monastery of Panagia Soumela in Trabzon, as approval was eventually granted in late July.
The Monastery, a significant place of religious worship for all Christians, is located high in the Pontic Mountains and was founded around AD 386.
The liturgy was held at the restored monument in both 2022 and 2021 after it had been closed since 2015 for restoration and reinforcement works.
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