The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on August 28, preceded by a 14-day fast period.
From the apocrypha it’s known that three days before her death Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told Her about the transition is close to eternity.
According to church tradition on this day the apostles left the place and its wonderful way of preaching in Jerusalem gathered to say farewell to the Mother of God and burry her body. Being around her bed, they have been blinded by bright light in which Christ himself appeared, surrounded by angels and archangels. At this point the pure soul of the Virgin Mary without suffering, as if in a dream, went to the Lord. Iconographic tradition of the holiday explains that the Virgin gave her a clean life in the hands of his Son and Lord Jesus Christ, this time from heaven the sounds of angelic choirs were heard.
The Liturgical cult of Mary developed especially after the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431 A.D). Then the feast of the Dormition was called Saint Mary the Virgin. Its modern name it received in the 6th century. Emperor Mauritius (582-602) ordered the feast of the Dormition to be celebrated in the entire Byzantine Empire. In the western tradition of celebration was introduced by Pope Sergius (687-701). In 1950 Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma about Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
In Ukraine, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary received a special honor and many churches are named after this feast