WRITTEN BY: Catechist Branislav Ilić, editor of the portal „Kinonia“
In the Church of Christ, the person of the Most Holy Theotokos has always been especially revered, and one of the forms of this veneration is the Dormition or Gospojinski (Theotokos) Fast, established in her honour.
The image of the Holy Virgin was especially revealed to the people of God in the Old Testament through different archetypes: In Jacob’s Ladder, the Unburnt Bush, in the miraculous passage of the Jews through the Red Sea, in the jar of manna, in Gideon’s fleece, and finally the prophet Isaiah foretells: „Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel“ (Is. 7:14). Because of her invaluable role – the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Most Holy Lady Theotokos has always been especially revered, and the Church has wisely, as an expression of respect, bestowed upon her the Dormition (Gospojinski) fast that precedes the feast of her Dormition. The Dormition (Gospojinski) fast is the youngest of the multi-day fasts, and was established according to the example of the Most Holy Mother of God, who spent the time before her death in fasting and prayer. In terms of its severity, this holy fast is milder than the Holy Lent, and stricter than the Christmas and Apostolic fasts.
The Dormition fast is much younger than the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God itself, and the first mention of this fast is found in the writings of Saint Theodore the Studite, who says: “The fast of the Theotokos should also be obseved, and only on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord is oil and fish permitted.” According to some, this fast was created so that the Eastern Church would have four fasts that would correspond to the four seasons, as is the case in the Western Church. When this fast was established, the most confusion was related to the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which has a long post-holiday period, and therefore in some way disrupts the flow and rhythm of the fast. The antiquity of the Dormition Fast is spoken of by Bishop Athanasius of Caesarea in Palestine and Nikon of Montenegro, who cite a letter from Metropolitan John of Nicaea to the Armenian Catholicos Zacharias, which mentions, among other things, the Dormition Fast. Nikon of Montenegro also testifies to the Dormition Fast when he says that those who observe this fast base it on the Apostolic Tradition.
In response to the questions of the Athonite monks addressed to Patriarch Nicholas regarding the Dormition Fast, His Holiness the Patriarch responded by emphasizing that the Dormition Fast had existed earlier, but due to the pagan fasts that were observed at that time, it had been moved. Patriarch Nicholas also testified that the fast in honour of the Mother of God was observed for the purpose of healing, especially by those who were sick. In the work “On the Three Forties,” which is attributed to Patriarch Anastasius of Antioch, he testifies that according to the Apostolic Institutions, there was a fast from Pentecost to the Dormition, and that therefore there were three multi-day fasts, but that due to its length, this fast was divided into the Apostolic and Dormition Fasts, and thus we have four multi-day fasts.
The Dormition Fast was finally established during the tenure of Patriarch Luke Chrysovergus of Constantinople (1156-1169) at the Synod of Constantinople (1166). Despite all these testimonies about the Dormition Fast, there is no mention of it in the typicons until the 12th century. The first mention is found in the typicon of the monastery of Saint Nicholas of Casulum in Southern Italy, from 1174. In this typicon it is written that the fast in honour of the Mother of God does not begin on August 1/14, because of the feast of the holy martyrs Maccabees, but begins on August 2/15. It is interesting that no later typicon speaks of the Dormition Fast, but only mentions three multi-day fasts.
When it comes to worship, among the multi-day fasts, only during the Holy Lent (Easter Lent) do we have significant liturgical features. When it comes to the Dormition Fast, it is interesting to mention the practice of the Greek Church, in which during the Dormition Fast, after the evening service, a canon of prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos is served, which aims at more fervent prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God during the fast established in her honour.
Every mention of fasting also implies an emphasis on the indissoluble connection with the Holy Eucharist, because every fast is an integral part of liturgical life. Every feat of fasting and prayer of Christians finds its fullness in active participation in the Holy Liturgy, since fasting itself has never been an individual act, but has always been supported by the liturgical experience of the Church, and is crowned in the Eucharistic assembly.