SYRIA: Feast of the Assumption of St. Mary in Sednaya, Marmarita, and villages of the Khabur

MA’RAT SEDNAYA, Syria — On the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of St. Mary, which falls on the 15th of August each year, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Mor Ignatius Ephrem II celebrated Holy Mass in the Cave of the Holy Girdle in the Syriac monastery of Mor Ephrem in Ma’rat Sednaya in Syria.

‎During his sermon, the Patriarch spoke of the the Assumption of the Virgin Mary to Heaven, speaking of the virtues of the Virgin Mary, including the virtue of obedience, which lead to other virtues such as humility, love, and giving.

The Patriarch also mentioned the importance of the Holy Girdle, one of the most important in Syriac Orthodoxy, which was taken to India by the Apostle Mor Touma and then returned to Raha and in the last century was discovered by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Ephrem I in Hmoth (Homs).

As is customary on this day, the Syriac town of Marmarita, located in Wadi al-Nasara in the Hmoth countryside, held a festive carnival on the occasion of the Assumption of St. Mary.

Wearing colorful dresses, the town’s residents roamed the streets of the town with the songs provided by the scout band.

The Marmarita Carnival is one of the largest carnivals in Syria.

The villages of the Khabur River Valley also celebrated the Assumption of St. Mary by holding Mass in several villages and distributing grapes and figs to believers. The festivities in Khabur took place despite Turkish shelling which occurred on the same day.