The Most Holy Theotokos

The Virgin Mary was the daughter of Sts. Joachim and Anna. At the Annunciation she answered the Archangel Gabriel, “Let it be to me according to your word,” and God the Word took flesh from her. She stood at the Cross, prayed with the Apostles at Pentecost, and was entrusted to St. John. By tradition she fell asleep in Jerusalem with the Apostles gathered around her, and on the third day her tomb at Gethsemane was found empty. The Church celebrates her Dormition on August 15.

• Feast: August 15 (New Calendar)
• Lived: 1st century
• Place: Jerusalem (her tomb at Gethsemane)