Feast of the Dormition

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In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Dormition of the Theotokos is the commemoration of the "falling asleep" or death of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on 15th August each year (28th August in the Julian Calendar) as the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

It is preceded by a two-week fast from meat, dairy and oil products – the Dormition Fast or Dormition Lent.

In Orthodoxy, as in the language of scripture, death is often called a "sleeping" or "falling asleep." A prominent example of this usage of language is the name of this feast.