The Assumption of the Queen of Saints

In pre-Christian Armenia, the month of August was the harvest season, when people celebrated the god of harvest, in gratitude for the promise of food during the upcoming months of winter. After their conversion to Christianity, Armenians applied the same festivities to the Virgin Mary, as an example and symbol of the life-giving and nurturing love of God. The Feast of the Assumption of Mary commemorates a tradition in the Armenian church, according to which the Virgin Mary was transformed (assumed, thus “assumption”) after her death, to Heaven.

The commemoration of this event reminds us of many reasons to be thankful to God and to celebrate like our forefathers did in Armenia centuries ago. First and foremost the Virgin Mary becomes an example reminding us that we are promised to be transformed to heaven as well. As Christians we believe life on this fallen earth is temporary and is a journey that leads us to the perfect and real existence with God.

The feast commemorates also the life and achievements of the queen of saints, the Virgin Mary. Her obedience to the will of God, her love of her son, and her total commitment to His ministry and gospel serve as powerful testimonies for us to imitate. Mary was not God, she was a mere human being like you and me. If she could do it then you and I can also. If she made it to heaven then you and I have hope also.

Finally, the feast is also a celebration of life in general. Obviously, as Armenian Christians we celebrate the gift of eternal life. Through the commemoration of Mary we celebrate God’s promise of our salvation through the Virgin’s son, the fruit of her womb (Luke 1:42), our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But the Feast celebrates God’s gift of life on this earth as well. This feast, therefore, is a celebration also of thanksgiving to God for the many blessings we enjoy in our lives.

Traditionally, Armenians bless grapes on this feast. The Bible offers many verses that highlight the association of grapes as a symbol with the life and ministry of Jesus. Grapes are one of the few fruits that are disseminated without seeds. As such, their promulgation is a beautiful symbol reminding us of the miraculous birth of Jesus which was without any human seed. Wine, made from grapes, is the symbol par excellence of Jesus’ blood, and as such of our redemption. In the Gospel according to John we hear our Lord saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2), which is part of the scripture reading for the service of the Blessing of the Grapes. Our Lord is the true vine, and the Heavenly Father is the vinedresser. We, as the bearers of the fruits of His ministry and gospel, are the branches of the vine. However, Christ clearly emphasizes that we will bear fruits only if we remain connected to the true Vine, Jesus Christ!

As we prepare to celebrate this feast, let us pray to the Lord that He may give us the faith and courage to imitate the Virgin Mary in committing our lives to Christ and His gospel, so that we, as the apostle Paul tells the Philippians, “may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:10-11). Amen.

In Christ’s Service
Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian

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