Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
The Dormition Fast is once again upon us, and with it the richest two weeks of our summer spiritual life. Beginning on August 1 and lasting until the great Feast of August 15, the Koimoissis, the Falling Asleep of the Most-Holy Theotokos, the Church invites us to slow down, to fast, to pray, and to turn our hearts toward heaven. We call this season the dekapentavgousto, and it is sometimes called our Summer Pascha, the Pascha of the Theotokos. In her, as in the Resurrection of her Son, we see that death does not have the final word.
We come to this feast in a world that is exhausted. In 2026, we do not need to look far to find suffering: wars that have dragged on for years continue to take innocent lives; divisions within nations and between peoples grow sharper with each passing season; the pace of change, technological, social, and cultural, leaves many feeling disoriented, as though the ground beneath them has shifted. Anxiety has become the defining condition of our age. It is in precisely this moment that the Church holds before us the icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos, and she says to us: Do not be afraid.
Look at the icon. The Apostles, scattered throughout the world, have been gathered miraculously to Mary’s side. Surrounding her, they weep, they pray, they incense her body. In the center of the icon, Christ Himself stands in radiant glory, holding a small child clothed in white, the soul of His Mother, pure and luminous. The imagery is deliberate: this is not a scene of defeat. It is a scene of divine escort. She who bore the Light of the World is now borne into that same Light. The Church, in all its scattered members, is drawn together around her. Unity, love, and prayer prevail. In a year when so much in our world pulls us apart, this icon speaks to us of a different kind of gathering, one we are called to embody.
During these two weeks, our parishes will chant the Paraklesis, the Service of Supplication to the Theotokos. I urge you: attend. Come to your parish. Come with your family. Come with your burdens. The Paraklesis is not a relic of another age; it is one of the most honest prayers in our tradition, a prayer that names our pain without shame and lifts it before the Theotokos with confidence. We sing of her as the one who “never ceases to intercede” for us. In a culture that prizes self-sufficiency and independence, there is something deeply countercultural and deeply healing about gathering with others and asking together, Most-holy Theotokos, save us.
We cannot speak of this season without pausing to honor the great Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, celebrated on August 6. Forty days before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church sets before us the vision of Mount Tabor, where Christ was revealed in glory to Peter, James, and John. In the Transfiguration, the veil between this world and the kingdom of God was momentarily lifted, and the disciples glimpsed the radiant destiny to which all of creation is called. If the Dormition shows us the end of a holy life well-lived, the Transfiguration shows us the goal toward which all holy lives are oriented: transformation in the divine light. In our own moments of prayer, especially during the Paraklesis and the Divine Liturgy, we too are given a foretaste of that light.
Beloved, here is what I ask of you in these two weeks. First, attend the Paraklesis services at your parish. These evenings of prayer are a gift; do not let the busyness of summer steal them from you. Second, observe the fast to the best of your ability. Fasting trains us to say “no” to lesser things so that we can say “yes” to what is essential. Third, read or reflect on the life of the Theotokos. Her story, one of obedience, courage, suffering, and glorification, speaks directly to the struggles of our own lives. Fourth, bring someone with you. Invite a neighbor, a friend, a family member who has drifted. The Theotokos gathers all to herself; let us do the same in her name.
As the Kontakion of the feast proclaims: “Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life by the One Who dwelt in her ever-virginal womb.”
May the Theotokos, our heavenly Mother, intercede for each of us, for our families, for our Metropolis, and for our world in this urgent hour. May these two weeks of fasting and prayer renew us in hope, gather us in love, and prepare us to receive the grace of her great Feast.
Χρόνια Πολλά to all those who will celebrate their Feast Day in this blessed season.
Παναγία μαζί μας! May the Panagia be with us all! God bless you!