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Glite Dictionary
Dormition

Dormition

9.9
A festival in Eastern Orthodox Christianity that remembers the Virgin Mary's death and being taken up into heaven
  • noun
  • /dɔrˈmɪʃən/
  • Literature
translation icon : Dormición
  • After the victory, a new icon, "Blessed is the Host of the Heavenly Tsar," was painted in commemoration of the victory; it was displayed in the Kremlin's Dormition Cathedral.
  • Dormition of the Virgin

Examples

  • During the festival of Dormition, communities gather for prayers and processions in honor of Mary's ascension to heaven.

  • Shoemaker, Stephen J. Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption. Oxford Early Christian Studies. New York: Oxford University, 2002. Pp. xvi + 460. $125.

    Academic text (2003)

  • One of these, the Icon "Blessed Soldiery," was painted in the Dormition Cathedral.

    Blog text (4)

  • The western light grazes the wall and the roof of the Church of the Dormition, then fades like a last reverberation of brass cymbals.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The Dormition of the Virgin Mary is celebrated every year on August 15th in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

  • People often decorate their homes with flowers to celebrate the Dormition, commemorating the Holy Virgin's life and legacy.

Synonyms

Assumption
vsDormition
1 9.9

A Christian belief that the Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven at the end of her life

is the specific Eastern Orthodox observance rather than the general Christian doctrine
Feast of Dormition
vsDormition
9.9

A celebration in the Eastern Orthodox Church remembering the Virgin Mary being taken into heaven on August 15

is the same celebration but named in a shorter religious form
Assumption of Mary
vsDormition
8.6

A Catholic feast celebrating the Virgin Mary being taken up into heaven

is the Eastern Orthodox celebration that corresponds to the Roman Catholic observance
August 15
vsDormition
5.7

A Catholic holiday when people remember the Virgin Mary going to heaven

is the Eastern Orthodox observance sharing the date but differing in church tradition

Compounds

dormition of summer
  • Archaic
9.9

The end of summer when days get cooler and shorter

Feast of Dormition
9.9

A celebration in the Eastern Orthodox Church remembering the Virgin Mary being taken into heaven on August 15

Surface Forms

Dormition singular
Dormitions plural

Etymology

Dormition comes from the Latin dormire, which means 'to sleep', and is related to English words like dormitory and dormant. So the Dormition is the 'falling asleep' of the Virgin Mary and her being taken to heaven, which is why Orthodox churches call that feast the Dormition.