Even
though your most holy and blessed soul was separated from your most
happy and immaculate body, according to the usual course of nature,
and even though it was carried to a proper burial place, nevertheless
it did not remain under the dominion of death, nor was it destroyed
by corruption. Indeed, just as her virginity remained intact when she
gave birth, so her body, even after death, was preserved from decay
and transferred to a better and more divine dwelling place. There it
is no longer subject to death but abides for all ages.
– Saint
John Damascene
Saint
John Damascene's patronage:
Pharmacists; icon painters; theology students
