Fr. Romanos Karanos Sermon on the Dormition of the Theotokos -- Saturday, August 15, 2026, Annunciation Church, Brockton, MA
Monday, August 17, 2026Fr. Romanos Karanos
Sermon on the Dormition of the Theotokos
Saturday, August 15, 2026, Annunciation Church, Brockton, MA
Dear brothers and sisters, in a sermon on the Dormition of the Theotokos, Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich of Ohrid, one of the greatest Serbian saints of the 20th century, recounts something astonishing. The Mother of God is in the house of the Evangelist John in Gethsemane, surrounded by the Apostles. There is silence in the room. One of the most significant events in history is taking place. In a few moments, the holiest woman who ever lived, the one who was deemed worthy to become the Mother of Life, will depart this life. Yet outside the house, it is business as usual. People are talking, working, attending to their daily needs. The world does not realize that the greatest Benefactor of the human race, after her divine Son, is departing from it.
This image is strikingly relevant today. We live in an age in which the Western world no longer recognizes the sacred. Even human life itself, the greatest gift of God, is treated as something that may either be accepted or rejected, interrupted or taken away, according to human desire or judgment. Once, in both East and West, all Christians fasted from August 1 through August 14 in preparation for the feast of the Dormition. Now Western Christians do not fast. Most do not even know this feast. And precisely because they have become disconnected from the spiritual riches of their ancestors, they have reached the point of passing laws that completely disregard what our own parish proclaims simply by its name: Annunciation of the Theotokos, which signifies the descent of the Son of God into the world at the very moment of conception.
Earlier this week, even as we were celebrating the daily Paraklesis services in honor of the woman who raised pregnancy and motherhood to an incomprehensible height, abortions in Massachusetts became legal up to the very moment of birth. Nine-month-old, fully formed babies can now be “cancelled,” to borrow a frequently encountered neologism, one second before their birth. The law considers killing them one second after birth a crime. The very same law permits the same act one second before birth as a right.
As Orthodox Christians, we cannot remain indifferent. We understand the fear, the pain, and the difficult circumstances that may accompany a pregnancy and lead a woman to this decision. But we also recognize that every human life, without a single exception, is sacred and possesses immeasurable value. Why? The answer is given to us by the dismissal hymn of the feast: “In giving birth you preserved your virginity; in your Dormition you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos; you were translated to life, being the Mother of Life.” After Christ’s Resurrection, the meaning of death has been radically transformed. Death is no longer a dark prison
from which no one can ever escape. What is it then? A “translation to life.” It is a door, as St. Porphyrios tells us, that takes us from a small room into an immense and beautiful landscape.
Since death, therefore, does not have the final word, every human life is destined for eternity. This is why a child in the womb is not an impersonal “something.” It is not a “clump of cells.” It is a human life known by God, loved by God, and destined for eternity. The world sees something small, weak, and without a voice. God sees a human being who bears the potential for eternal communion with Him.
This is why the Church cannot remain silent. But neither does she take to the streets to protest and impose her teaching by force. The Church speaks with truth, with respect, with humility, and with love. She speaks quietly. She prays. She consoles. She continues the mystery of the Virgin Mary’s quiet Dormition, far from the curious eyes of those who do not desire to experience it. And in matters such as abortion, she does the same. She defends the unborn child while at the same time embracing the mother who is in despair. She does not condemn; she offers help. She does not simply say: “Do not do it.” She says: “You are not alone. We are here with you.” And even if you do it, we are still here. We will still embrace you. Because Christ loves you too and has destined your life for eternity.
Dear brothers and sisters, today, as the world continues its noise, let us hasten with longing to the Mother of God and place the words of the dismissal hymn deep within our hearts: “You did not forsake the world.” The Panagia did not forsake the world. Likewise, the Church does not forsake the world. She remains in the world to bear witness to the truth, to protect the weak, to support mothers and all women, and to remind a noisy world of what it so easily forgets: that every human life is a gift of God and is destined for eternity. Amen.