On August 28, when the Orthodox Church observes the repose (Dormition) of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patriarch Kirill focused in his sermon on the subject from which men turn away ever so often:
Death is the end of physical existence, but the Christian faith does not allow us to assume that man is mortal, that his existence ends through the physical termination of his body. There are many testimonies to the fact that human life continues after physical death. Of course, the Holy Scripture speaks of the immortality, God Himself speaks about it. The experience of human life, contacts of some people with another world, and sometimes the evidence about a different being to living people, undoubtedly, contributes to an even greater strengthening of faith that the end of physical existence, the cessation of functioning of our body, does not mean the death of person, but - a transition of his immortal soul from one state to another.
Fear of death is like a paralysis; the absence of this fear makes one invincible. That is why the Orthodox faith helps warriors in the battlefield, who are aware that they may not get out of an attack on his own feet -but they need to go to protect their Motherland. And if one is guided by his deep religious sentiment, by his faith, then he fearlessly charges the enemy, realizing that with the cessation of his physical existence life does not stop - it continues.
See the sermon by Patriarch Kirill in full, with subtitles in English: