Explanation of the Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God
This Aleppo icon is rich in elements rarely found in other icons of the Dormition. For example, it is unusual to see the burial of the Virgin depicted; this is a scene we read about or see only here. There are also people not usually found in the Dormition icon. All this enriches the icon and gives it a splendour that sets it apart from others.
The Virgin, in the centre of the icon, lies on something like a bed, beautifully decorated at the bottom, covered with a red sheet, with a red pillow. Mary’s body leans gently toward the viewer with great tenderness. Her face shows peace and calm, as if she were asleep. Her hands are crossed, and she wears a brown robe (a sign of mortal human nature) and a golden mantle (a sign of divinity).
The Lord appears standing in the centre of the icon, his body surrounded by a splendid halo of eternal light with a dark background, topped by the inscription IC XC in Greek, meaning Jesus Christ. The Lord wears a golden garment covering his whole body and his hands, in which he holds a little child wrapped in white, radiating light: this is the Virgin Mary, born anew in heaven in the hands of her Son, her Master and her Lord.
Angels surround the Lord on both sides. The first two carry torches, followed by two angels with their hands crossed on their breasts, wearing golden garments. We see four more angels on each side surrounding the Lord and pointing to him, with a small red flame on each angel’s head.
To the right and left of the Mother of God we see ten apostles, their faces marked with sorrow.
On one side:
1. Peter stands at the Virgin’s head, holding a censer.
2. The Apostle Philip.
3. Dionysius the Areopagite holds a book on which is written in Arabic: “Hail, you who pass from earth to the heavenly mansions. Go in peace. Hail, you who gathered the company of the disciples on a light cloud into one assembly. Hail, hope of our salvation.”
4. James, the brother of the Lord; both wear priestly vestments.
5. The Apostle Barnabas.
6. Mark the Evangelist.
7. The Apostle Bartholomew.
8. The Apostle Thaddeus.
9. Luke the Evangelist.
10. James.
On the other side:
1. John the Evangelist, bent over the Virgin’s feet with a censer in his hand, as if kissing her bier in deep sorrow.
2. The Apostle Paul, holding an open sheet on which is written: “Rejoice, Mother of Life, the reason for my preaching; for though I did not see Christ in the flesh, when I look at you, I seem to see him.”
3. Onesimus.
4. Andrew, holding a rolled letter.
5. James.
6. Hierotheos, in priestly vestments, holding an open book on which is written: “O Virgin, in whom dwelt the Life of all, I see you lying with your hands… your shoulders… and I am amazed, O pure and spotless one.”
7. Matthew the Evangelist.
8. The Apostle Titus.
9. Simon.
10. Timon. There are also three women, matching the women on the right side, who cover their faces with hands veiled by their mantles.
At the top of the icon we see the Temple, and on the left a rock with a small building on it, above which is written in Arabic script “Gethsemane”. In the tomb the Virgin appears wrapped in grave-clothes; two figures beneath the tomb hold the lid, while three apostles on one side and five on the other are laying the Virgin to rest. Above, two angels seem to be opening the gates of heaven to receive the Virgin; inside this gateway are half-circles, with the sun on the right and the moon on the left, each with a face. In the middle the Virgin again takes the prominent place: she wears a golden robe and a red mantle with three stars on it. We see her holding out her right hand to give the holy belt to the Apostle Thomas. Twelve small clouds are arranged symmetrically, each carrying one of the apostles.
The New Testament
The New Testament gives us no particular information about the Virgin’s childhood or her private life; the evangelists spoke of the Virgin only insofar as she was connected with Christ. Events of her life not directly related to Christ were left out, but they appear in some apocryphal books, such as the Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, the Gospel of Thomas, the History of Joseph the Carpenter and the Book of the Passing of the All-Holy Mary. From the information in these books we can recognize certain things that appear in the icon.
The Place of Burial
According to the tradition of our Church, the Dormition of the Mother of God took place on 15 August. The Virgin used to go to the foot of the Mount of Olives, to the garden of Gethsemane, which belonged to the family of Zebedee, and there she would prostrate herself, water the ground with her tears and offer fervent prayers. As the end of her time on earth drew near, she received comfort from an angel of the Lord, who revealed to her that she would soon depart for heaven: the angel Gabriel announced to her, “Thus says your Son: the days are near when I will take you to myself, for in three days you will pass to eternal life.” It is said that the Virgin lived about sixty-five years on earth, that her Dormition took place in Jerusalem, and that she asked for her pure body to be buried on the Mount of Olives, in the garden of Gethsemane, where her parents Joachim and Anne and her betrothed, Saint Joseph, were buried. From this we understand why the burial took place in Gethsemane.
The Presence of the Women
It is said that the Virgin went to Bethlehem under pressure from the Jews. The text says that the Virgin gathered all the neighbouring women around her and said to them: “Peace be with you, my sisters. I want to go to Bethlehem and stay in my house there, because the Jews have stopped me from going to pray at the tomb and at Golgotha for fear that I might cause an uproar. If any of you wishes to come with me, let her come, for I trust in the Lord who is in heaven and who fulfils his promises.” Then the text says that “three holy virgins went with her and served her…”. And the account of Mary’s passing mentions the presence of Eve, the first mother, Anne, the Virgin’s mother, and Elizabeth, the mother of John. All this may explain to us why there are women in the icon.
The Apostles Arriving on the Clouds
The tradition of our Church says that the Mother of God asked to see the holy disciples, who were scattered throughout the world preaching the Gospel, to bid them farewell before she left this world. She told John the beloved that she would soon depart; John told James, the brother of the Lord, and James told all the faithful in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, and great crowds of believers came and gathered around the Mother of God. Suddenly a noise like thunder was heard, and a shining cloud surrounded the house. By God’s command the apostles scattered throughout the world were caught up and brought to Jerusalem, all except the Apostle Thomas, and set down before the door of the house where the Mother of God was staying. So we read in the Menaion at Vespers: “The God-bearing apostles were caught up from every quarter, rising on the clouds at the divine sign.”
And also in the exapostilarion in Tone 3 at Matins of the feast:
“O Apostles, assembled here from the ends of the earth in the village of Gethsemane, lay my body to rest; and you, my Son and my God, receive my spirit.”
The Man Whose Hands Were Cut Off
Tradition says that after the Dormition of the Mother of God, while her body was being carried from Zion through Jerusalem to Gethsemane, a round cloud like a crown, shining with a glorious light, accompanied the procession. Many Jews who had not believed in Christ left their homes when they heard these extraordinary hymns and joined the crowds. When the chief priests and scribes heard of it, they burned with hatred, stirred up some people and sent the Temple servants and soldiers to break up the procession, ordering them to kill Christ’s disciples and burn the body of the Mother of God.
At that moment a Jewish priest named Athonios, or Athanasius as some called him, was passing along the road. He saw the holy apostles and the crowds of Christians carrying candles and singing around the procession of the Mother of God. Filled with hatred and envy, he rushed at the bier, trying to throw the Virgin’s body to the ground. But as soon as his hands touched the bier, they were cut off by an invisible stroke from an angel with the sword of divine wrath and stuck to the bier, and he fell to the ground weeping and wailing. This led a great many Jews to confess the Lord Jesus as truly the true God, and his Mother the Virgin Mary.
Then Athonios recognized his sin, repented and called to the apostles: “Have mercy on me, servants of Christ!” Peter answered him: “We cannot heal you; the Lord alone will give you healing.” Then Athonios cried out in a loud voice, confessing that Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, that they had handed him over out of envy, and that he rose on the third day. When Athonios confessed and repented of his sin, the apostles and all the faithful rejoiced at the salvation of this lost soul, and Saint Peter told him to place his severed arms against the hands stuck to the bier and to call on the Mother of God in faith. When he did so, his hands were at once joined again, and no trace of the cut remained except a red line around the elbows as a sign. Then he fell down before the bier, glorifying the Lord Jesus and his all-holy Mother, and joined the crowd of mourners on their way to Gethsemane. He was later baptized. This incident is clearly shown in the icon of the Dormition.
The Coming of the Lord and His Angels
As the time of her falling asleep drew near, the Virgin raised her hands to heaven and asked the apostles to light incense and pray, because Christ was coming with his angels on a throne of cherubim. An indescribable heavenly light filled the room, and they heard a sound like thunder from heaven. That is why we see the two candlesticks in the icon, as well as the censers.
Christ the King of Glory appeared, surrounded by angels and archangels and all the heavenly powers, and with them the patriarchs, the saints and the prophets who had prophesied about the pure Virgin. Saint John of Damascus, describing this event, says that also present with them were Anne, the mother of the Mother of God, Elizabeth, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and the choir of the saints, and that when she saw her Son approaching, she cried out in a loud voice: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47).
She rose from her bed as if to go and meet him, and bowed down before him. He looked at her and said: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Songs 2:10). She rose and blessed each disciple with her hand and gave glory to God. Then she lay back on her bed and gave up her pure spirit into the hands of her Son. The Lord stretched out his pure hands and received her holy soul, free from every stain, and she felt no pain; it was as if she were falling asleep. “He whom she bore without corruption and carried without pain now receives her soul from her all-pure body.” That is why we see the Lord holding a little child in his hand, as an image of her pure soul.
So we read at Vespers, at “Lord, I have cried”, in Tone 5: “Sing, O peoples, to the Mother of our God; sing, for today she has committed her all-radiant soul into the pure hands of him who took flesh from her without seed…” And also on the Forefeast of the Dormition, at Matins, in the Triode: “O all-praised Mother of God, the heavenly angels rejoiced when they received you rising from the earth.”
The Virgin’s Ascent and Passage Through the Gates
We read at Great Vespers: “The most exalted heavenly powers came with their own Master to escort the God-receiving and most honoured body; filled with awe they went before it in a manner beyond this world, crying out invisibly to the chiefs of the ranks on high: Behold, the Queen of all, the divine Maiden, has come. Lift up the gates and receive, in a manner beyond this world, the Mother of never-ending Light.” This passage shows us clearly why gates are opening at the top of the icon and why angels are carrying the Virgin. For she ascended in the body, as we read at the Forefeast: “O all-holy Mother of God, your divine tomb is now empty of your body but full of grace, for it pours out for us rivers of healing, taking away all weakness.”
The Belt Given to Thomas
Tradition says that when the Mother of God fell asleep, Saint Thomas was preaching the Gospel in India. By divine providence a cloud carried the apostles to Gethsemane, all except Saint Thomas, so that the faithful might be confirmed in their faith in the resurrection of Christ through Thomas’s doubt. On the third day after the burial, a cloud caught up Saint Thomas and brought him to a place in the air above the Virgin’s tomb. From there he saw her body rising to heaven, and she loosened her belt and gave it to Thomas. Then Thomas came down and found the other disciples guarding the tomb of the Mother of God, and he asked them to open the tomb so that he could see her pure body and bid her farewell. When the apostles opened the tomb, they stood amazed to find that her body had disappeared; all that was left were the burial clothes, which gave off an indescribable fragrance. Then Thomas told them that he had seen her body rising to heaven and that she had given him her precious belt, and they rejoiced greatly.
Conclusion
This has been a simple attempt to understand and read this icon, and I think the best ending is a sticheron from the aposticha of the feast, which sums up everything we have said: “O Virgin Mother of God, when you passed over to him who was ineffably born of you, James the brother of the Lord and first hierarch was present, and Peter the honoured leader and chief of the theologians, with the whole divine choir of the apostles, clearly proclaiming words of God and praising the divine and awe-inspiring mystery of the dispensation of Christ God; and with joy they prepared your body, the source of life and the dwelling of God, O all-glorious one. And the all-holy angelic powers, looking down from on high in amazement, said to one another: Lift up your gates and receive the Mother of the Maker of heaven and earth, and let us praise her body with hymns of glory.”
Fr. Gerard Abi Saab
