“Receive from us this farewell song, * Mother of the living God; * with your divine grace, bearer of light, * cover us as with a shadow; * grant to the Christ-loving people * victory and peace, * and to our souls that sing to you, pardon and salvation”, Ode 9, Tone 1, Canon of the feast.
On 28 August 2026, the day on which the Orthodox Church solemnly celebrates the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, His Eminence Metropolitan John of Dubna presided at the Divine Liturgy at the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris, surrounded by the clergy of the cathedral and in the presence of many faithful.
At the end of the service, the Archbishop addressed the faithful, drawing on the liturgical texts of the stichera sung during the Matins service. The Metropolitan expounded at length the theological vision of the central place that the Virgin Mary holds in Orthodoxy, not only as Mother of God (Theotokos), but also as the perfected image of the Church. Vladyka John emphasized the message of hope that this feast conveys to contemporary man: “This feast invites us to live each day in the perspective of eternity, of hope and of joy in the face of death.”
After the Liturgy, His Eminence shared coffee with the faithful in the parish hall.
