Dormition of the Mother of God

"Dormition of the Virgin" redirects here. For the El Greco painting of the same name, see Dormition of the Virgin (El Greco).
For other uses, see Dormition of the Mother of God (disambiguation).
Dormition of the Mother of God
Icon of the Dormition by El Greco, 16th century (Cathedral of the Dormition, Ermoupolis)
Observed byEastern Christianity
Date
Frequencyannual
First timeUnknown
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The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the Theotokos ("Mother of God", literally translated as God-bearer), and her being taken up into heaven. The Feast of the Dormition is observed on August 15, which for the churches using the Julian calendar corresponds to August 28 on the Gregorian calendar. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest 15 August. In Western Churches the corresponding feast is known as the Assumption of Mary, with the exception of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which has traditionally celebrated the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15.

Christian canonical scriptures do not record the death or Dormition of Mary. Hippolytus of Thebes, a 7th- or 8th-century author, writes in his partially preserved chronology of the New Testament that Mary lived for 11 years after the death of Jesus, dying in AD 41.[1]

The use of the term dormition expresses the belief that the Virgin died without suffering, in a state of spiritual peace. This belief does not rest on any scriptural basis, but is affirmed by Orthodox sacred tradition. Some apocryphal writings testify to this opinion, though neither the Orthodox Church nor other Christians accord them scriptural authority. The Orthodox understanding of the Dormition is compatible with Roman Catholic teaching, and was the dominant belief within the Western Church until late in the Middle Ages, when the slightly different belief in the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven began to gain ground. Pope Pius XII declared the latter a dogma of the Catholic Church in 1950.[2]

  1. ^ Rainer Riesner (1998). Paul's early period: chronology, mission strategy, theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 120. ISBN 9780802841667. Retrieved 2011-08-20..
  2. ^ "Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII Munificentissimus Deus Defining the Dogma of the Assumption". 1950-11-01. Archived from the original on 2019-11-29.