Two local churches will celebrate the feast day of Mary, mother of Jesus, by observing her assumption or metastasis to heaven Aug. 14-15.
A “Wedding of the Sea” reflecting the sentiment of its motto “Proud to be Catholic” will be commemorated by the parish of St. Brendan the Navigator in Stone Harbor Aug. 15.
With a procession to the beach for the blessing of the ocean, Monsignor John Frey will lead the day’s celebrations.
Mirroring the solemnity of the occasion for those of the Christian faith, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in North Wildwood will hold a special ceremony to remember the life, death and assumption of Mary.
“Mary is honored and recalled in the Orthodox Church, the oldest Christian faith-community that dates back to Biblical Jerusalem and the Apostles as the ‘Theotokos’ or ‘birth-giver and mother’ of God of our Savior Jesus Christ,” said Father Steven Vlakos, church pastor.
Great Vesper Service
St. Demetrios’ Great Vesper Service Aug. 14 will be chanted followed by the chanting of the Encomiums to the Theotokos. The next day, Aug. 15, the Orthros Service will be held followed by the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion as well as the holy water blessing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Parishioners will place a wreath in memory of all departed members of the congregation. A reception and luncheon will be held in the community center at the conclusion of worship services.
Wedding of the Sea
Frey, who leads the combined parish of Avalon and Stone Harbor since 2009, explained that the Wedding of the Sea probably has its roots in Italian military and commercial history going back to 1000 A.D.
“Avalon never had this ceremony but Stone Harbor always has celebrated it, probably because there are more Italians in Stone Harbor,” Frey said with a laugh.
Specifically, Frey noted that in the Venice of that era, Pope Alexander III, was grateful for the Venetian Navy’s role in driving pirates away from the Adriatic Sea.
In a sign of his gratitude, the Pope gave a ring, legend has it that it was his very own papal ring, to the Doge of Venice who threw it into the sea as a gesture of respect for and loyalty to the Pope and his sovereignty.
Thus was born the “marriage” that this ceremony will recognize.
“At the conclusion of the ceremony, lifeguards will row out the wreath far enough into the Atlantic so it will not drift back, whose ring-like shape is reminiscent of the original ring given by the pope to the doge hundreds of years ago,” said Frey.
Ancient Ceremony
“St. Demetrios commemorates its Assumption Day with a ceremony whose origins most likely can be dated with the beginning of the Christian religion,” said church President William Mitchell. “About a thousand years ago, east and west Christians could not agree on the infallibility of the pope and eventually they separated. We continue to believe that the pope is the ‘bishop of Rome’ but not that he is infallible.
“The schism caused by these two fundamentally divergent beliefs does not mean that we don’t still have a lot in common with the Catholic church such as certain liturgies, for example, our weekly service is very similar to the Catholic high Mass,” he continued.
Reflecting the importance of the ocean to his own parish, Mitchell noted that the blessing of the water through St. Ann continues to be a strong and revered tradition.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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