Sunday 16 August 2009

Assumption



It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, without defilement thou gavest birth to God the Word. True Theotokos we magnify thee! - Hymn to the Virgin, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

1 comment:

Rubricarius said...

The lovely text you quote is sung during the anaphora in almost every celebration of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

The tropar (collect) for the feast runs thus:

In giving birth, O Mother of God, thou hast retained thy virginity, and in falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world. Thou who art the Mother of Life hast past over into life, and by thy prayers thou dost deliver our souls from death.

What strikes me is the theme of intercession found also in the ancient and Tridentine collect in the Roman rite:

Forgive, we beseech thee, O Lord, the sins of Thy servants; and may we, who are unable to please Thee by our deeds, be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son, our Lord.