On Aug. 2, 2024, the Liturgical Commission of the UOCC published two booklets with specific prayers for the blessing of fruits at the Transfiguration of Our Lord (Aug. 6) and for the blessing of herbs and flowers at the Dormition of the Theotokos (Aug. 15).

Below are the bilingual prayers that will be used for both feast days.

We Bless Herbs Too?

While we have not explicitly mentioned that herbs are blessed on the feast of Dormition in addition to flowers, the intro of the booklet explains why below.

“The feast of the Dormition or Falling-asleep of the Theotokos is celebrated on August 15th, preceded by a two-week fast. This feast, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence. 

The feast of the Dormition reveals God’s ultimate plan for mankind: that having completed this earthly life, the faithful shall be resurrected in body and soul and united with Christ for all eternity. Thus, this Feast is a feast of hope, hope in Resurrection and life eternal. It is the celebration of the fact that all humanity is “highly exalted” in the blessedness of the victorious Christ, and that this high exaltation has already been accomplished in Mary the Theotokos. 

Holy Tradition tells us that all the Apostles, with the exception of St. Thomas, were transported mystically to Jerusalem in order to be with the Mother of God – the Theotokos – as she reposed, and to be present at her burial. When the Apostle Thomas arrived the next day, the Apostles opened the tomb so that he could bid her farewell. As the tomb was opened, the body of the Most-holy Theotokos was not there, and the cave was filled with flowers and the sweet fragrance of Paradise. This was a sure sign to the faithful of her great purity and holiness. 

Therefore as part of our celebration of Dormition we bless flowers and fragrant herbs – and the faithful traditionally keep them in their homes. The herbs, used as natural medicine, are blessed in commemoration of the numerous healings and the extraordinary grace bestowed on pilgrims at the blessed tomb of the Mother of God.”