Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption

Abstract

The ancient Dormition and Assumption traditions, a remarkably diverse collection of narratives recounting the end of the Virgin Mary's life, first emerge into historical view from an uncertain past during the fifth and sixth centuries. Initially appearing in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, these legends spread rapidly throughout the Christian world, resulting in over 60 different narratives from before the tenth century preserved in nine ancient languages. This study presents a detailed analysis of the earliest traditions of Mary's death, including the evidence of the earliest Marian liturgical traditions and related archaeological evidence as well as the numerous narrative sources. Most of the early narratives belong to one of several distinctive literary families, whose members bear evidence of close textual relations. Many previous scholars have attempted to arrange the different narrative types in a developmental typology, according to which the story of Mary's death was transformed to reflect various developments in early Christian Mariology. Nevertheless, evidence to support these theories is wanting, and the present state of our knowledge suggests that the narrative diversity of the early Dormition traditions arose from several independent ‘origins’ rather than through ordered evolution from a single original type. Likewise, scholars have often asserted a connection between the origin of the Dormition traditions and resistance to the council of Chalcedon, but the traditions themselves make this an extremely unlikely proposal. While most of the traditions cannot be dated much before the fifth century, a few of the narratives were almost certainly in composed by the third century, if not even earlier. These narratives in particular bear evidence of contact with gnostic Christianity. Several of the most important narratives are translated in appendices, most appearing in English for the first time.

Gender and unruly titles in the booklists of the Gelasian Decree

“…40 This extremely diverse tradition, which emerged into mainstream Christian discourse around the end of the fifth century, has a prehistory that is hard to trace. 41 It is thus impossible to know exactly which of the texts within this tradition that this title is referring to.…”

Textos liturgicos coptos bohairicos concernientes a Abbā Samuel de Kalamūn y Julius de Akfahs

“…36 The devotion of Samuel of Kalamūn to the Virgin Mary is well attested in the biography of Samuel. It tells that Samuel left the mount of Naklun on the sixteenth of the month of Mesore, which is the day of the assumption of the Virgin Mary, 37 and an angel appeared to him and promised that the land would be for him. 38 On another occasion, when the brethren started to consecrate the Church in the name of Abba Samuel, Samuel refused by saying "God forbid, rather it is in the name of the God-Bearer!"…”

Bizans Sanatında “Koimesis” (Meryem’in Uykusu) Tasvirlerinin Kökeni ve İkonografisi

“…2. yüzyıla tarihlendirilen apokrif bir İncil olan Protoevangelion ile 8. yüzyılda Stoudioslu Theodoros'un Damaskinoslu İoannes'e yazdığı mektuplar sahnenin en önemli ikonografik kaynaklarıdır (Taft ve Carr 1991:653 (Daley 1998:9). Bayram, imparatorluk kilisesi olan "Büyük Kilise" 2 nin liturjik takvimine 7. yüzyılın 1 Apokrif kaynaklarda Koimesis için bakınız: Shoemaker 2006, Daley 1998, Gambero 1991 Bizans İmparatorluğu'nun başkenti Konstantinopolis'teki Ayasofya, imparatorluğun en önemli anıtsal yapısı olması nedeniyle "Büyük Kilise" olarak anılırdı. "Büyük Kilise" aynı zamanda Ortodoksluğun en üst kurumu olarak da kabul görmüştür (Talbot 1991:867).…”