Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary “Assunta” redirects here. For the hospital in Malaysia, early as the 3rd century. Also quite early are the very see Assunta Hospital. different traditions of the “Six Books” Dormition narra- “Santa Maria Assunta” redirects here. For churches with tives.[12] The earliest versions of this apocryphon are pre- this dedication, see Santa Maria Assunta (churches). served by several Syriac manuscripts of the 5th and 6th This article is about the theological concept. For works centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the of art with this title, see Assumption of the Virgin Mary 4th century.[13][14][15] in Art. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven, in- formally known as the Assumption, according to the be- liefs of the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Vir- gin Mary “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.[1] This doctrine was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus by exercising papal infallibility.[2] While the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church believe in the Dormition of the Theotokos, which is the same as the Assumption,[3] the alleged physical death of Mary has not been dogmatically defined. In Munificentissimus Deus (item 39) Pope Pius XII pointed to the Book of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for the dogma in terms of Mary’s victory over sin and death as also reflected in 1 Corinthians 15:54: “then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory”.[4][5][6] In the churches that observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries the feast is also marked as a Holy Day of Obli- gation. Assumption statue, 1808 by Mariano Gerada, Ghaxaq, Malta 1 History of the belief Later apocrypha based on these earlier texts include the De Obitu S. Dominae,[16] attributed to St. John, a work Although the Assumption (Latin: assumptio, “a taking”) probably from around the turn of the 6th century that was only relatively recently defined as infallible dogma is a summary of the “Six Books” narrative. The story by the Catholic Church, and in spite of a statement by also appears in De Transitu Virginis,[17] a late 5th cen- Saint Epiphanius of Salamis in AD 377 that no one knew tury work ascribed to St. Melito of Sardis that presents a whether Mary had died or not,[7] apocryphal accounts theologically redacted summary of the traditions in the of the assumption of Mary into heaven have circulated Liber Requiei Mariae. The Transitus Mariae tells the since at least the 4th century. The Catholic Church it- story of the apostles being transported by white clouds self interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as to the deathbed of Mary, each from the town where he referring to it.[8][9][10][11] Probably composed by the 4th was preaching at the hour. The Decretum Gelasianum in century, this Christian apocryphal narrative may be as the 490s declared some transitus Mariae literature apoc- 1 2 2 CATHOLIC TEACHING ryphal. our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and An Armenian letter attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that also mentions the event, although this is a much later the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Vir- work, written sometime after the 6th century. John gin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into of Damascus, from this period, is the first church au- [23] thority to advocate the doctrine under his own name. heavenly glory. His contemporaries, Gregory of Tours and Modestus of Jerusalem, helped promote the concept to the wider Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of church. whether Mary died before her Assumption.[24][25] In some versions of the story the event is said to have Before the dogmatic definition, in Deiparae Virginis taken place in Ephesus, in the House of the Virgin Mary, Mariae Pope Pius XII sought the opinion of Catholic although this is a much more recent and localized tradi- Bishops and a large number of them pointed to the Book tion. The earliest traditions all locate the end of Mary’s of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for the dogma.[4] life in Jerusalem (see extquotedblMary’s Tomb extquot- In Munificentissimus Deus (item 39) Pius XII referred to edbl). By the 7th century a variation emerged, accord- the “struggle against the infernal foe” as in Genesis 3:15 ing to which one of the apostles, often identified as St and to “complete victory over the sin and death” as in the Thomas, was not present at the death of Mary, but his late Letters of Paul as a scriptural basis for the dogmatic defi- arrival precipitates a reopening of Mary’s tomb, which is nition, Mary being assumed to heaven as in 1 Corinthians found to be empty except for her grave clothes. In a later 15:54: “then shall come to pass the saying that is written, tradition, Mary drops her girdle down to the apostle from Death is swallowed up in victory”.[4][5][6] heaven as testament to the event.[18] This incident is de- picted in many later paintings of the Assumption. 2.2 Theological issues Teaching of the Assumption of Mary became widespread across the Christian world, having been celebrated as early as the 5th century and having been established in the East by Emperor Maurice around AD 600.[19] It was celebrated in the West under Pope Sergius I in the 8th century and Pope Leo IV then confirmed the feast as official.[19] Theological debate about the Assumption continued, following the Reformation, climaxing in 1950 when Pope Pius XII defined it as dogma for the Catholic Church.[20] Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott stated, “The idea of the bodily assumption of Mary is first expressed in certain transitus-narratives of the fifth and sixth centuries.... The first Church author to speak of the bodily assumption of Mary, in association with an apocryphal transitus B.M.V., is St. Gregory of Tours.”[21] The Catholic writer Eamon Duffy states that “there is, clearly, no historical evidence whatever for it.”[22] How- ever, the Catholic Church has never asserted nor denied that its teaching is based on the apocryphal accounts. The Church documents are silent on this matter and instead rely upon other sources and arguments as the basis for the doctrine. 2 Catholic teaching 2.1 Dogmatic definition Our Lady of Assumption, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. In Pius XII’s dogmatic statement, the phrase “having On November 1, 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution completed the course of her earthly life,” leaves open the Munificentissimus Deus Pope Pius XII declared the As- question of whether the Virgin Mary died before her assumption of Mary as a dogma: sumption or whether she was assumed before death; both possibilities are allowed. Mary’s assumption is said to By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, have been a divine gift to her as the 'Mother of God'. of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by Ludwig Ott’s view is that, as Mary completed her life as a 2.3 Scriptural basis 3 shining example to the human race, the perspective of the theologians to exercise their rational faculties and arrive gift of assumption is offered to the whole human race.[26] at a conclusion on the truth of divine grace working in the [28] In Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma he creatures. states that “the fact of her death is almost generally ac- cepted by the Fathers and Theologians, and is expressly 2.3 Scriptural basis affirmed in the Liturgy of the Church”, to which he ad- duces a number of helpful citations, and concludes that In Munificentissimus Deus, near the end of the review of “for Mary, death, in consequence of her freedom from the doctrine’s history, Pope Pius XII stated : “All these original sin and from personal sin, was not a consequence [27] proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the the- of punishment of sin. However, it seems fitting that ologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ulti- Mary’s body, which was by nature mortal, should be, in mate foundation.”, precedent to this, he cited many pas- conformity with that of her Divine Son, subject to the sages that have been offered in support of this teaching. general law of death”.[27] The pope cited 1st Corinthians 15. In this passage Paul The point of her bodily death has not been infallibly de- alludes to Genesis 3:15 (in addition to the primary refer- fined, and many believe that she did not die at all, but ence of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the seed was assumed directly into Heaven. The dogmatic defini- of the woman will crush Satan with his feet. Since, then, tion within the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Jesus arose to Heaven to fulfill this prophecy, it follows Deus which, according to Roman Catholic dogma, infalli- that the woman would have a similar end, since she shared bly proclaims the doctrine of the Assumption leaves open this enmity with Satan. the question whether, in connection with her departure, Mary underwent bodily death; that is, it does not dog- The pope also mentioned (in paragraph 26) Psalm 132, matically define the point one way or the other, as shown a psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to by the words “having completed the course of her earthly Jerusalem and lamenting its subsequent loss.

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