The feast of the Dormition is celebrated very solemnly in our monastery. In recent years, the Burial of the Mother of God has been added to the typicon of our monastery. On the feast itself, special hymns are chanted to glorify the Most Pure Holy Virgin in her Dormition.
At the same time of the Vigil service, it has been the practice for many years to celebrate the Vigil at the same time in English in the cemetery chapel, which is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. Holy Water is blessed according to tradition, it being the feast day of the church.
On the feast itself, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in English in the cemetery chapel. Meanwhile, Vladyka Luke celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral, assisted by the monastery clergy. Perhaps due to it being a Sunday, there were many pilgrims in attendance. Many availed themselves of the Holy Mysteries.
At the end of the Liturgy, a moleben to the Most Holy Mother of God was commenced, and in procession to the cemetery church, the Pochaev Icon of the Holy Virgin was carried by the clergy with the choir chanting hymns of the Dormition, accompanied by the ringing of the bells.
At the same time, the faithful in attendance at the Liturgy in the cemetery chapel awaited the procession also with the ringing of bells. The moleben continued around the chapel with the blessing of the faithful with holy water.
At the end of the moleben, the Pochaev Icon, an exact copy of the original in the Pochaev Icon in Ukraine, was placed on the altar table, to remain there until the following weekend, when the monastery has its annual celebration of St. Job of Pochaev and the Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
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