A traditional Orthodox procession carrying the icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos took place in Jerusalem on August 25.

In accordance with the special rite of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the icon was solemnly transferred from the Gethsemane Metochion, located opposite the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to the Tomb of the Mother of God in Gethsemane.

Early in the morning, the icon—kept for most of the year in the metochion’s chapel—was carried at the head of the procession by Metropolitan Joachim of Helenopolis, the abbot of Gethsemane. Bishops, monks and nuns of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, clergy and representatives of Orthodox communities also took part, including Hieromonk Ambrose (Ignatov) of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.

The procession followed the Via Dolorosa, the route associated with the final earthly journey of Jesus Christ. Participants stopped for prayers at Orthodox monasteries and churches along the way, including the Alexander Nevsky Metochion, the Praetorium, the Monastery of Saints Joachim and Anna, and the Church of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr.

Worshippers gathered along the route to venerate the icon and ask the Mother of God for help. Hymns for the feast of the Dormition were sung during the procession.

Upon reaching Gethsemane, the icon was carried down the steps of the Church of the Dormition and placed behind the Tomb of the Mother of God, at a site known as the “Platytera.” A Divine Liturgy was then celebrated, with large numbers of faithful in attendance.

The transfer of the Dormition icon to Gethsemane is a longstanding tradition unique to the Jerusalem Church. The icon remains at the Gethsemane Metochion opposite the Church of the Holy Sepulchre throughout the year. On the eve of the Dormition, it is carried to the site traditionally associated with the burial of the Mother of God, where it remains during the principal services of the feast. On the feast’s afterfeast, the icon is returned to the metochion.

Following the liturgy, at approximately 5 a.m., another traditional procession took place from the Gethsemane Metochion to the Tomb of the Most Holy Theotokos in Gethsemane. Participants carried the Epitaphios of the Mother of God, a special icon presented to the metochion in the 19th century by the well-known Russian philanthropist Countess Orlova-Chesmenskaya.