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Feast of Dormition

Feast of Dormition

9.9
A celebration in the Eastern Orthodox Church remembering the Virgin Mary being taken into heaven on August 15
  • noun
translation icon : Fiesta de la Dormición
  • Many churches hold special services to celebrate the Feast of Dormition on August 15th.

Examples

  • The Feast of Dormition is one of the Twelve Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church calendar.

  • Pilgrims gather in Jerusalem each year for the Feast of Dormition to honor the Virgin Mary.

  • The Feast of Dormition is celebrated on August 15th.

  • Many churches hold special services for the Feast of Dormition.

  • Many churches hold special services to celebrate the Feast of Dormition on August 15th.

  • Pilgrims gather in Jerusalem each year for the Feast of Dormition to honor the Virgin Mary.

  • The Feast of Dormition is one of the Twelve Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church calendar.

Synonyms

Dormition
vsFeast of Dormition
  • Literature
9.9

A festival in Eastern Orthodox Christianity that remembers the Virgin Mary's death and being taken up into heaven

omits any note of equivalence to other Christian traditions

Surface Forms

Morphology

feast + of + Dormition

The phrase follows the transparent compositional pattern 'feast of X': 'feast' means a celebration and 'Dormition' names the event being celebrated, so the overall meaning ('a celebration commemorating the Dormition') is directly derivable from its parts. This construction is common cross-linguistically in religious contexts, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would understand the MWE, though cultural/religious background may be needed to know the specific referent.

Etymology

Feast of Dormition comes from the word Dormition, which means 'falling asleep' and was used for the Virgin Mary's peaceful death. The image of her 'falling asleep' and then being taken up into heaven is why the feast remembers that event.