Golden Orthodox cross with blackening "Savior Not Made by Hands. Dormition of the Mother of God" p02638 Onyx

The Mother of God on the front side is depicted in deesis, that is, in prayer before Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven. From the moment of Her ascension to Heaven, She, together with John the Baptist (depicted on the right) and a host of angels, stands at the Divine Throne and prays for people. The first sinner healed by Her was pardoned immediately after the Dormition, during Her burial. It was a Jew named Athonia, who wanted to overturn the bed on which the apostles carried Her body. The Angel of the Lord, guarding the procession, cut off the blasphemer’s hands with a sword, but the Most Holy Theotokos immediately forgave and healed him. Thus, She made a promise that She would hear and have mercy on every sinner who repented and cried out to Her, even if his sin was directed against Her.

 The Dormition of the Mother of God is one of the most important holidays of the Orthodox Church. People call it “Virgin Easter”. And just like Easter, it is preceded by a strict, only shorter fast, lasting two weeks. The name of the holiday comes from the word “to fall asleep.” This indicates that the Most Holy Virgin Mary, after her visible bodily death, did not die, but, as it were, fell asleep for a while, after which she was resurrected, just like Her Divine Son. The Gospel says nothing about the earthly life of the Mother of God after the Ascension of the Savior. Information about Her last days has been preserved by various church traditions. In the 1st century, one of the witnesses of the Assumption, a disciple of St., wrote about this. St. John the Theologian. Dionysius the Areopagite. The last years of Her life, the Mother of God lived in Jerusalem, where she spent all her days and nights in prayer. One day, Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her, announced Her imminent Assumption and presented her with a palm branch as a pledge. The Mother of God wished to say goodbye to the apostles before leaving, and the angels brought them all to Her bed.

On the Assumption icons, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted lying on a bed, surrounded by bowing apostles. In the foreground, left and right, are the apostles Peter and Paul.Below, Aphonia is kneeling in front of the bed. After a miracle happened to him, he was baptized and became a zealous follower of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ rises above the bed in the rays of Glory. In His hands, in the form of a swaddled baby, rests the pure soul of the Most Holy Theotokos.