Hand Painted Icon - Assumption. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Assumption of the Virgin Mary or Great Virgin Mary is one of the greatest Christian holidays, celebrated equally by Orthodox, Catholics and other Christian denominations. According to tradition, on this day the apostles gathered from the places where they preached to say goodbye to the Holy Mother of God. According to the Holy Scriptures, this is the day when the Mother of God, at the age of 64, goes to her son. Three days before, the Archangel Gabriel informed her that God wished to take her to himself in his kingdom, to reign forever with him. Miraculously, they are transported to the doors of her home in Jerusalem. Three days after that, Jesus Christ himself in heavenly glory, surrounded by angelic faces and saints, descends from heaven for the soul of the Holy Virgin. They buried her in a cave near Gethsemane and closed the entrance with a stone. When, a few days later, they opened it so that the belated apostle Thomas could bow before the saint, they found only her shroud. Getting up from the table, the apostles heard angelic singing and saw in the clouds the pure Mother of God, surrounded by angels, who said to them: "Rejoice for I am with you all the days. According to tradition, ritual breads are consecrated to the Great Mother of God, after a solemn liturgy in the church, which the women then distribute for health and for deceased loved ones. Believers seek the patronage of the Holy Mother of God in life's problems.