Georgia is celebrating the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, known locally as Mariamoba. It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church. In honor of the occasion, festive liturgies and prayer services are being held across all active churches throughout Georgia.
On this day, the Church commemorates the righteous passing (Dormition) of the Mother of God—an event tinged with both sorrow, as it marks the conclusion of the Virgin Mary’s earthly journey, and joy, as it represents her reunion with her Son. The feast was preceded by the two-week Dormition Fast.
In Georgia, Mariamoba is a national holiday and an official day off, with state institutions and banks closed across the country.
The veneration of the Mother of God in Christianity emerged relatively late, in the 5th century, while the Feast of the Dormition was established in the 6th century under Byzantine Emperor Maurice. Georgia holds a special reverence for the Virgin Mary: according to Christian tradition, the country is considered one of the designated “Lots of the Virgin Mary,” allotted to her for the propagation of Christianity. In May 2019, the Georgian authorities instituted a state holiday commemorating Georgia’s status as the “Lot of the Mother of God.”
