“the Theotokos desires the salvation of all people and their participation in the eternal joy of the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity
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“the Theotokos represents steadfast, self-sacrificing and unconditional maternal love, rooted in the love of God himself, and that just as a mother doesn’t stop loving her children even when they drift from her, the Mother of God has remained in prayer and intercession for every person
“Through her translation to heaven, the Theotokos always remains close to every person and accompanies them in their trials
“he also encouraged the faithful to pray to the Theotokos with trust, confident that she knows human suffering and understands their concerns
“The Patriarch noted that, amid the wars, conflicts, and human suffering confronting the world, the prayers of the faithful turn towards the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of all peoples.
“The Panagia thus reveals that the ultimate destiny of the human person is not merely moral improvement, but deification—the participation, by grace, in the life of God,
“the Church’s embrace of the Virgin Mary’s passage into the eternal Kingdom of God also represents an acknowledgement of humanity’s own destiny
“Today, the Church does not mourn a death, but celebrates a translation from death to life; the Church does not lament a separation, but rejoices in the passage from the temporal to the eternal, from earth to heaven, from corruption to incorruption, and from the vanity of this world to the true life. For this reason, the Dormition of the Theotokos is for all of us a feast of hope, consolation and joy, since we feel that, through her translation from death to life, Panagia is even closer to us and remains beside us. As the Apolytikion of the feast proclaims: ‘In your Dormition, O Theotokos, you did not abandon the world.'
“Most Honourable Brother Bishops and my beloved children, The great Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos gathers us once again around the venerable person of our Panagia, the Mother of the Lord and the Mother of all Christians. Today, the Church does not mourn a death, but celebrates a translation from death to life; the Church does not lament a separation, but rejoices in the passage from the temporal to the eternal, from earth to heaven, from corruption to incorruption, and from the vanity of this world to the true life. For this reason, the Dormition of the Theotokos is for all of us a feast of hope, consolation and joy, since we feel that, through her translation from death to life, Panagia is even closer to us and remains beside us. As the Apolytikion of the feast proclaims: “In your Dormition, O Theotokos, you did not abandon the world.” On the occasion, therefore, of this great Feast of the Mother of God, I encourage you all to turn your gaze towards her with trust amid the difficulties, trials and concerns of your lives. Panagia knows human suffering. She experienced exile, anguish, silence, contempt, injustice and slander, and, above all, the sorrow of beholding her Son upon the Cross. For this reason, she can understand every tear, every fear and every wound of the human heart. Panagia can hear the silent scream of every suffering soul. Let us beseech her today to shelter our families, our children and young people, the sick, the lonely and all those undergoing trials. Let us ask her to protect the whole world and always guide us towards her Son and God. May you all be granted many blessed years.
