Address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan before the Beginning of the Dormition Fast

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today we prayerfully celebrate the Feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, which leads us into the days of the Dormition Fast. Having bowed before the Life-Giving Tree and strengthened ourselves by the grace flowing from it, we now begin the labor of fervent prayer and abstinence, repentance and mercy.

The Dormition Fast is a time of joy, for within it resounds the Paschal theme of the ultimate victory of life over death, when “this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:54). The mystery of the Resurrection and the life of the age to come is revealed to us in the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, shines forth in the Transfiguration of the Lord, and makes the strict days of fasting consoling for the faithful heart.

Let each of us look carefully into the depths of our soul to discern what most urgently needs healing: which passions dominate and which virtues are lacking. It is impossible to overcome all sins at once, but there is an important spiritual rule we must always remember: one sin leads to another sin, and every good deed draws after it another good deed. Therefore, anyone who wishes to attain righteousness must begin with the simplest, everyday efforts, for, as the Apostle says, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9). Sadly, we often forget that every sin is dreadful, and even the smallest departure from the moral norms of the Gospel is ruinous. “Even small transgressions seem to me worthy of tears, for sin is separation from God. How can I endure when I am losing God?” – exclaims St. Gregory the Theologian.

Among the many spiritual lessons carried by the fast dedicated to the Mother of God is the call to care for peace within the family, to strengthen love between spouses, children, and parents. We are all troubled by strife in society, sometimes leading to social catastrophes; and we all sincerely desire that the sky above us and our children remain peaceful. Yet we must remember that a “quiet and peaceable life” in the city or village where we live, in our country, indeed on the whole earth, begins with peace and silence within each individual family. Let us therefore, in these holy days, first correct our relationships with our relatives and loved ones, forgive long-standing grievances, uproot indifference, banish quarrelsomeness, jealousy, and irritation. A strong Christian family is at once a small Church, a source of God’s blessing to others, and a powerful witness to the Gospel. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35), says the Lord.

Undoubtedly, cultivating forbearance and love for one’s neighbor, acquiring patience and understanding, is a great labor – a deliberate effort upon one’s mind, emotions, will, character, and habits. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), says the Lord to us. We cannot rid ourselves of sinful darkness and become virtuous Christians without the closest union with our Savior. Christ Himself has revealed to us the mysterious means of this union with Him – participation in the Holy Eucharist. Just as a person cannot live physically without food and drink, so he cannot live spiritually without the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord Himself said of the significance of Communion for the believer: “My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink” (John 6:55). Therefore, in the days of the Dormition Fast, having purified ourselves by repentance, let us draw near to the Holy Chalice, to partake of the divine, immortal, and life-giving Mysteries of Christ.

In one of his sermons, the confessor Metropolitan Nicholas of Alma-Ata offered these consoling words about trust in the maternal protection of the Mother of God: “Perhaps so much sorrow was sent to the Most Holy Virgin, that every one of our sorrows might be close and understandable to Her. And if our earthly mother always feeds us when we ask her, always comforts us in grief and wipes away our tears, tries to heal us in sickness – how much more will our Heavenly Mother, the Mother of Love and Mercy Itself, do this for us if we turn to Her for help.”

May it be, through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven, who in Her Dormition does not forsake the world, that the Lord will grant us to pass with profit for ourselves and our neighbors through the joyful course of the fast, and to “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).