The Assumption and Dormition of Mary in Apocryphal Tradition

The Transitus Mariae (“Passage of Mary”) refers to a collection of apocryphal texts from the 4th to 6th centuries that narrate the final moments of Mary’s earthly life, her death (dormition), and her ascent to heaven. While these non-canonical texts do not hold official status, they provide valuable insights into the Church’s faith regarding the ultimate fate of the Mother of God in the early centuries. The most significant works include the Liber Requiei Mariae (4th century, preserved in Ethiopian) and Greek versions attributed to John the Evangelist and Melitus of Sardis (4th-5th centuries).

Dormition, Death, Resurrection, or Assumption?

The Transitus texts describe Mary, sensing her impending “passage,” summoning the apostles miraculously gathered in Jerusalem. Jesus descends from heaven, surrounded by angels, to receive his Mother’s soul. The theological debate revolves around whether Mary truly died or was merely “asleep” (koimêsis) and directly assumed into heaven. This division exists between Eastern tradition (celebrating Koimesis, the dormition) and Western tradition (leaning towards a real death followed by immediate resurrection). Pope Pius XII, in defining the dogma of Assumption (Munificentissimus Deus, 1950), intentionally left this question open: the dogma states that Mary was assumed bodily and spiritually into heaven but does not specify whether she died or not.

From Transitus to Dogma: Faith’s Journey to Magisterium

The process from the Transitus apocrypha to the 1950 dogma is a classic example of dogmatic development as described by John Henry Newman. The Church’s faith in Mary’s glorification, attested to by the apocryphal literature, celebrated in both Eastern and Western liturgies, contemplated by saints, and articulated by theologians, matured over fifteen centuries until it reached its definitive dogmatic formulation. While Transitus Mariae is not the source of the dogma, it serves as the oldest testimony of the fides qua that the dogma subsequently explicated and secured.

Further Study

Explore related topics such as Assumption of Mary, Mariology, Theology Mariana, and the Post-Graduate Program in Mariology.