The Dormition
of the Mother of God
In virtually every single icon of the Mother of God she pleads, prays, grieves and shines with the presence of the Son. To look at her is to see her love for Him. The essence of the Dormition for me, is the love of the Son for t he Mother. This is also an icon of the joyful promise of Christian death. Here Christ's love gives life to the body of the one who loved Him so well as Mother and true disciple. Here He becomes mother as He carefully cradles her soul and takes her Home.
John, the Beloved Disciple, weeps and hovers over the body of the Mother given to him with the Lord's halting, broken words from the Cross. He does not yet see Christ in the radiant mandorla of light.
The Archangel Gabriel bows low in l oving recognition once again, of the one who became Mother of the Word Incarnate and Mother of all Christ's offspring until the end of time and into eternity.
This icon of the Dormition was commissioned by the Jesuit magazine America.
- Other Icons by Fr. William McNichols
- Information about Fr. William McNichols and his Icons
This page is managed by
Fr. Raymond A. Bucko, S.J.
of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
at Creighton University.E-Mail: bucko@creighton.edu
Page Last Updated: August 16, 2001
