Assumption of Mary
The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, informally known as
The Assumption, according to the
Christian beliefs of the
Roman 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
Roman Catholic Church teaches as
dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."
[1] This doctrine was
dogmatically and infallibly defined by
Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his
Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus.
[2] While Catholic dogma leaves open the question of Mary's death before rising to Heaven, the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the
Dormition of the Theotokos teaches that Mary died and then rose to Heaven. In the churches which observe it, the Assumption is a major
feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries it is a
Catholic Holy Day of Obligation.
In his August 15, 2004, homily given at
Lourdes,
Pope John Paul II
quoted John 14:3 as one of the scriptural bases for understanding the
dogma of the Assumption of Mary. In this verse, Jesus tells his
disciples at the
Last Supper,
"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will
receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also."
According to Catholic theology, Mary is the pledge of the fulfillment of
Christ's promise.
[3]
The feast of the Assumption on August 15 is a public holiday in many
countries, including Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France,
Germany (Bavaria only), Greece, Lebanon, Lithuania, Italy, Malta,
Mauritius,
[4] Poland, Portugal, Senegal, and Spain .
[5] In Eastern Orthodox churches following the
Julian Calendar, the feast day of Assumption of Mary falls on August 28.
History of the belief
Although the Assumption (Latin:
assūmptiō, "taken up") was only relatively recently defined as
infallible dogma by the Catholic Church, and in spite of a statement by
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis in
AD 377 that no one knew whether Mary had died or not,
[6] apocryphal accounts of the assumption of Mary into heaven have circulated since at least the 4th century. The
Catholic Church itself interprets chapter 12 of the
Book of Revelation as referring to it.
[7] The earliest known narrative is the so-called
Liber Requiei Mariae (
The Book of Mary's Repose), which survives intact only in an
Ethiopic translation.
[8] Probably composed by the 4th century, this Christian
apocryphal narrative may be as early as the 3rd century. Also quite early are the very different traditions of the
"Six Books" Dormition narratives. The earliest versions of this apocryphon are preserved by several
Syriac manuscripts of the 5th and 6th centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the 4th century.
[9]
Later apocrypha based on these earlier texts include the
De Obitu S. Dominae, attributed to
St. John,
a work probably from around the turn of the 6th century that is a
summary of the "Six Books" narrative. The story also appears in
De Transitu Virginis, a late 5th century work ascribed to
St. Melito of Sardis that presents a theologically redacted summary of the traditions in the
Liber Requiei Mariae. The
Transitus Mariae
tells the story of the apostles being transported by white clouds to
the deathbed of Mary, each from the town where he was preaching at the
hour. The
Decretum Gelasianum in the 490s declared some
transitus Mariae literature apocryphal.
An Armenian letter attributed to
Dionysus the Areopagite also mentions the event, although this is a much later work, written sometime after the 6th century.
John of Damascus, from this period, is the first church authority to advocate the doctrine under his own name. His contemporaries,
Gregory of Tours and
Modestus of Jerusalem, helped promote the concept to the wider church.
In some versions of the story the event is said to have taken place in
Ephesus, in the
House of the Virgin Mary, although this is a much more recent and localized tradition. The earliest traditions all locate the end of Mary's life in
Jerusalem (see "
Mary's Tomb"). By the 7th century a variation emerged, according to which one of the apostles, often identified as
St Thomas,
was not present at the death of Mary, but his late arrival precipitates
a reopening of Mary's tomb, which is found to be empty except for her
grave clothes. In a later tradition, Mary drops her girdle down to the
apostle from heaven as testament to the event.
[10] This incident is depicted in many later paintings of the Assumption.
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.
[11] It was celebrated in the West under
Pope Sergius I in the 8th century and
Pope Leo IV then confirmed the feast as official.
[11] Theological debate about the Assumption continued, following the Reformation, climaxing in 1950 when Pope
Pius XII defined it as dogma for the
Catholic Church.
[12] 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."
[13] The
Catholic writer
Eamon Duffy states that "there is, clearly, no historical evidence whatever for it."
[14]
However, 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.
Catholic teaching
In this
dogmatic statement,
the phrase "having completed the course of her earthly life," leaves
open the question of whether the Virgin Mary died before her assumption
or whether she was assumed before death; both possibilities are allowed.
Mary's assumption is said to have been a divine gift to her as the
'Mother of God'. Ludwig Ott's view is that, as Mary completed her life
as a shining example to the human race, the perspective of the gift of
assumption is offered to the whole human race.
[15]
In Ludwig Ott's
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma he states that
"the fact of her death is almost generally accepted by the Fathers and
Theologians, and is expressly affirmed in the Liturgy of the Church", to
which he adduces a number of helpful citations, and concludes that "for
Mary, death, in consequence of her freedom from
original sin
and from personal sin, was not a consequence of punishment of sin.
However, it seems fitting that Mary's body, which was by nature mortal,
should be, in conformity with that of her
Divine Son, subject to the general law of death".
[16]
The point of her bodily death has not been infallibly defined, and many
believe that she did not die at all, but was assumed directly into
Heaven. The dogmatic definition within the Apostolic Constitution
Munificentissimus Deus
which, according to Roman Catholic dogma, infallibly proclaims the
doctrine of the Assumption leaves open the question whether, in
connection with her departure, Mary underwent bodily death; that is, it
does not dogmatically define the point one way or the other, as shown by
the words "having completed the course of her earthly life".
[12]
On November 1, 1950,
Pope Pius XII solemnly declared:
- By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed
Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce,
declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the
Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the
course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly
glory[17]
Roman Catholic theologians consider this declaration by
Pius XII to be an
ex cathedra use of Papal Infallibility.
[18][19] Although Pope
Pius XII
deliberately left open the question of whether Mary died before her
Assumption, the more common teaching of the early Fathers is that she
did die.
[20][21]
Assumption and Dormition (Eastern Christianity) compared
The Dormition: ivory plaque, late 10th-early 11th century (
Musée de Cluny).
The
Catholic Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15, and the
Eastern Orthodox and
Eastern Catholics celebrate the
Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on the same date, preceded by a 14-day
fast
period. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that Mary died a natural
death, that her soul was received by Christ upon death, and that her
body was resurrected on the third day after her death and that she was
taken up into heaven bodily in anticipation of the general
resurrection.
Her tomb was found empty on the third day. "...Orthodox tradition is
clear and unwavering in regard to the central point [of the Dormition]:
the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her
body – like His – was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken
up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed
beyond death and judgement, and lives wholly in the Age to Come. The
Resurrection of the Body ... has in her case been anticipated and is
already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is
dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different
category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the
Resurrection of the Body which she enjoys even now."
[22]
Many Catholics also believe that Mary first died before being
assumed, but they add that she was miraculously resurrected before being
assumed, while others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven
without first passing through death.
[23][24]
As mentioned earlier, this aspect of the Assumption is not
authoritatively defined in Catholic theology, and either understanding
may be legitimately held by Catholics.
Eastern Catholics observe the Feast as the Dormition. Many theologians note by way of comparison that in the
Catholic Church,
the Assumption is dogmatically defined, while in the Eastern Orthodox
tradition, the Dormition is less dogmatically than liturgically and
mystically defined. Such differences spring from a larger pattern in the
two traditions, wherein
Catholic teachings are often dogmatically and authoritatively defined – in part because of the more centralized structure of the
Catholic Church– while in Eastern Orthodoxy, many doctrines are less authoritative.
[25]
The Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday
Possibly the most famous rendition of the subject in Western art,
Titian's
Assunta (1516–18).
The Assumption is important to many Catholic and Orthodox Christians
as the Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received
into Heaven). Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by them as
the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that
they too will be received into paradise. The Assumption of Mary is
symbolised in the
Fleur-de-lys Madonna.
The present Italian name of the holiday,
"Ferragosto", may derive from the Latin name,
Feriae Augusti ("Holidays of the
Emperor Augustus"),
[26]
since the month of August took its name from the emperor. The Solemnity
of the Assumption on August 15 was celebrated in the eastern Church
from the 6th Century. The
Catholic Church adopted this date as a
Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the real physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven.
The Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15 is a public holiday in
many countries, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chile, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire,
Croatia, Colombia, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Gabon, Greece, Republic
of Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of
Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Monaco,
Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles,
Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tahiti, Togo, and Vanuatu.
[5] It is also a holiday in some predominantly Catholic states of Germany, including
Bavaria and
Saarland. In Guatemala it is observed in
Guatemala City and in the town of
Santa Maria Nebaj, both of which claim her as their
patron saint. Also, this day is combined with
Mother's Day
in Costa Rica. In many places, religious parades and popular festivals
are held to celebrate this day. Prominent Catholic and Orthodox
countries in which Assumption day is an important festival but is not
recognized by the state as a public holiday include Argentina, Brazil,
Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia. In Canada,
Assumption Day is the Fête Nationale of the
Acadians, of whom she is the patron saint. Businesses close on that day in heavily francophone parts of
New Brunswick, Canada. The Virgin Assumed in Heaven is also patroness of the
Maltese Islands
and her feast, celebrated on 15 August, apart from being a public
holiday in Malta is also celebrated with great solemnity in all the
local churches especially in the seven localities known as the Seba'
Santa Marijiet. In
Anglicanism and
Lutheranism, the feast is kept, but without official use of the word "Assumption".
Anglican views
Although the Assumption of Mary is not an Anglican doctrine, 15
August is observed by some within Anglicanism as a feast day in honour
of Mary. The
Common Prayer Books of the
Scottish Episcopal Church and the
Anglican Church of Canada mark the date as the
Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the
Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the day is observed as the
Holy Day of Saint Mary the Virgin. In the
Church of England the day is a
Festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In some churches of the
Anglican Communion and the
Continuing Anglican churches, many
Anglo-Catholics often observe the feast day as the "Assumption of Mary".
The
Anglican-
Roman Catholic agreed statement on the Virgin Mary assigns a place for both the Dormition and the Assumption in
Anglican devotion.
[27]
Protestant views
The Protestant Reformer
Heinrich Bullinger believed in the assumption of Mary. His 1539 polemical treatise against idolatry
[28] expressed his belief that Mary's
sacrosanctum corpus ("sacrosanct body") had been assumed into heaven by angels:
Hac causa credimus ut Deiparae virginis Mariae
purissimum thalamum et spiritus sancti templum, hoc est, sacrosanctum
corpus ejus deportatum esse ab angelis in coelum.[29]
For this reason we believe that the Virgin Mary, Begetter of God, the
most pure bed and temple of the Holy Spirit, that is, her most holy
body, was carried to heaven by angels.
[30]
Most modern Protestants neither teach nor believe in the Assumption of Mary, as they see no
Biblical basis for it. Although most churches within
Lutheranism
do not teach the Assumption of Mary, August 15th is a Lesser Feast in
celebration of "Mary, Mother of Our Lord", according to the
Calendar of Saints.
[31][32][33]
Scriptural sources
As mentioned, recent papal scholarship has cited John 14:3 as
evidence of the Assumption in principle if not formally. Near the end of
a review of the doctrine's history – a review which serves as the bulk
of
Munificentissimus Deus –
Pope Pius XII
tells us: "All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and
the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate
foundation." Precedent to this, he cites many passages that have been
offered in support of this teaching:
29. ...the holy writers...employed statements and various images and
analogies of Sacred Scripture to Illustrate and to confirm the doctrine
of the Assumption, which was piously believed... On the feast day of the
Assumption, while explaining the prophet's words: "I will glorify the
place of my feet," [Isaiah 60:13] he [i.e. St. Anthony of Padua] stated
it as certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory
his most beloved Mother from whom he had received human flesh. He
asserts that "you have here a clear statement that the Blessed Virgin
has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord's feet..."
30. ...St. Albert the Great... in a sermon which he delivered on the
sacred day of the Blessed Virgin Mary's annunciation, explained the
words "Hail, full of grace" [Luke 1:28]-words used by the angel who
addressed her-the Universal Doctor, comparing the Blessed Virgin with
Eve, stated clearly and incisively that she was exempted from the
fourfold curse that had been laid upon Eve [cf. Genesis 3:16]... 32.
Along with many others, the Seraphic Doctor held the same views. He
considered it as entirely certain that...God...would never have
permitted her body to have been resolved into dust and ashes. Explaining
these words of Sacred Scripture: "Who is this that comes up from the
desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?" [Song of Songs
8:5] and applying them in a kind of accommodated sense to the Blessed
Virgin, he reasons thus: "From this we can see that she is there
bodily...her blessedness would not have been complete unless she were
there as a person. The soul is not a person, but the soul, joined to the
body, is a person. It is manifest that she is there in soul and in
body. Otherwise she would not possess her complete beatitude. ...
The Pope also cites, significantly in paragraph 39, 1st Corinthians 15, where we read (vv. 21–26):
For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead.
And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But
every one in his own order: the firstfruits Christ, then they that are
of Christ, who have believed in his coming. Afterwards the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall
have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue. For he
must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. And the
enemy death shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under
his feet.
In this passage Paul alludes to
Genesis 3:15 (in addition to the primary reference of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the
seed of the woman
will crush Satan with his feet. Since, then, Jesus arose to Heaven to
fulfill this prophecy, it follows that the woman would have a similar
end, since she shared this enmity with Satan. The pope comments thus in
paragraph 39:
...although subject to [Jesus, who is] the new Adam, [Mary, the new
Eve] is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the
infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium [i.e. Genesis
3:15], would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin
and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the
Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Jesus
was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that
struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son
should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body,
for the same Apostle says: "When this mortal thing hath put on
immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death
is swallowed up in victory."
The pope also mentions (in paragraph 26) Psalms 132, a liturgical psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to Jerusalem
[34]
and lamenting its subsequent loss. The second half of the psalm says
that the loss will be recompensed in the New Covenant, and so it is
hopefully prayed, "Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the
ark, which thou hast sanctified" (v. 8). Since the Church sees this New
Covenant ark in Mary, it understands that she was taken into Heaven in
the same manner as the Lord – that is, body and soul.
In the same paragraph, the pope mentions also Psalms 45:9–17 for
support of a heavenly Queen present bodily with the heavenly King Jesus,
and Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, and 6:9, which speaks of David's lover
"that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices,
of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer".
Regarding the Marian interpretations of those passages from Psalms 132
to Song of Songs 6:9 and those in between, the pope did, however,
consider them "rather free in their use of events and expressions taken
from Sacred Scripture" (paragraph 26).
Finally, he mentions in the next paragraph "that woman clothed with
the sun [Revelation 12:1–2] whom John the Apostle contemplated on the
Island of Patmos" as support for the doctrine. The text seems to
parallel this woman with the woman of the Genesis 3 prophecy (and hence
Mary): for in verse 9 the passage recalls "that old serpent" of Genesis
3, and reflects the prophecy that God would place "enmities between thee
[i.e. Satan] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed" when it says
that Satan "was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the
rest of her seed" (Rev. 12:17).
All these passages – viz., John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song
of Songs 8:5, 1st Corinthians 15:21–26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9–17,
Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1–2 – are
drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original
document, and today by Catholic apologists.
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