, 1392. The
Theotokos is depicted lying on a
bier, surrounded by the
Twelve Apostles. At center,
Jesus Christ is shown in a
mandorla, swaddling the
soul of the Virgin Mary (a red
seraph is shown above his head). To either side of him are depicted the
Hieromartyrs
Dionysius the Areopagite and
Ignatius the God-Bearer who, according to tradition, are responsible for transmitting the account of the dormition.
1st–5th century The first Christian century may be silent, but anonymous traditions concerning the Dormition began circulating as early as the third century and perhaps 'even earlier' such as the ''Book of Mary's Repose''. According to some, before the 4th-5th century the Dormition was not celebrated among the Christians as a holy day. Recent scholarship has shown that
The Dormition/Assumption of Mary (attributed to
John the Theologian or 'Pseudo-John'), another anonymous narrative, may even precede the ''Book of Mary's Repose
. This Greek document, edited by Tischendorf and published in The Ante-Nicene Fathers
, is dated by Tischendorf as no later than the 4th century. The Greek sources for the early period are only late copies and the first transmissions and earliest witnesses can be only found and accessed through the fragmentary translations into Christian Palestinian Aramaic and Syriac. Shoemaker identifies liturgical elements in "Pseudo-John", and the Six Books Apocryphon'' (dated to the early fourth century), which implies that the Dormition was a holy day in some circles by the 4th century. Additionally, the earliest known appearance of the Dormition in art is found on a sarcophagus in the crypt of a church in
Zaragoza in Spain dated c. 330. The written historical and archaeological record aside, a fairly representative example of mainstream Orthodox teaching is that Church Tradition preserved a more ubiquitous oral tradition. According to Sophia Fotopoulou, "We have no historical data to indicate how long the Mother of God remained on earth after the
ascension of Christ into heaven, nor when, where, or how she died, for the Gospels say nothing of this. The foundation for the feast of the Dormition is to be found in a
sacred tradition of the Church dating from apostolic times, apocryphal writings, the constant faith of the People of God, and the unanimous opinion of the
holy Fathers and
Doctors of the Church of the first thousand years of Christianity."
Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/20–403), a Jew by birth, born in
Phoenicia, converted to Christianity in adulthood and lived as a monk for over 20 years in
Palestine from 335–340 to 362, writes in "
Panarion" in "Contra antidicomarianitas" about the end of the Virgin Mary the following: If any think [I] am mistaken, moreover, let them search through the scriptures any neither find Mary's death, nor whether or not she died, nor whether or not she was buried—even though John surely travelled throughout Asia. And yet, nowhere does he say that he took the holy Virgin with him. Scripture simply kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder, not to throw men's minds into consternation. For I dare not say—though I have my suspicions, I keep silent. Perhaps, just as her death is not to be found, so I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed Virgin. ...The holy virgin may have died and been buried—her falling asleep was with honour, her death in purity, her crown in virginity. Or she may have been put to death—as the scripture says, 'And a sword shall pierce through her soul'—her fame is among the martyrs and her holy body, by which light rose on the world, [rests] amid blessings. Or she may have remained alive, for God is not incapable of doing whatever he wills. No one knows her end. In the next chapter, Epiphanius compares Mary with three different people, who died in three different ways: Elijah, who was assumed into Heaven; John, who died a normal death; and Thecla, who was a martyr. This further shows that he was open to various options for her end, and did not know which of the options she actually experienced. And if I should say anything more in her praise, [she is] like Elijah, who was virgin from his mother's womb, he always remained so perpetually, and was assumed and has not seen death. She is like John who leaned on the Lord's breast, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." She is like St. Thecla; and Mary is still more honored than she, because of the providence vouchsafed her.
Ambrose, however, who was a contemporary of Epiphanius, dismissed the view that Mary was martyred when exegeting Saint Simeon's prophecy in (Luke 2.35), seemingly critiquing those who took the prophecy literally, and reducing the number of options to either natural death or assumption: Neither the letter of Scripture nor history teaches that Mary passed from this life by suffering execution, for it is not the soul but the body [some speculate] which is pierced through and through by the material sword.
Late 5th until 7th century More Dormition traditions began surfacing in manuscripts during the late 5th century. Stephen Shoemaker characterised them as the "Palm of the Tree of Life" narratives, the "Bethlehem" narratives, and the "Coptic" narratives—aside from a handful of atypical narratives. The events of the Dormition of the Virgin and her burial are dealt with in several known
apocrypha such as the "Liber de transitu Virginis Mariae" by
Pseudo-Melito of Sardis (5th century), a passing reference in
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and narratives by
Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem, and
Pseudo-Evodius. Around this time, the first Dormition narratives among mainstream authors appear, namely
Jacob of Serug and
Theodosius of Alexandria. These late—5th and 6th century Dormition narratives come from differing communions, so not all of their content was accepted, but only the basic idea that the Virgin Mary blissfully rested and her soul was received in heaven by her Son Jesus Christ at Dormition. According to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos in his "History of the Church," Emperor
Maurice (582–602) issued an edict which set the date for the celebration of the Dormition on August 15. After this time more "mainstream" Dormition narratives began appearing, their content still in part based upon the earlier, mostly anonymous, narratives.
Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem (630–632) said at this celebration, while preaching, that he regrets the lack of specific information about the death of the Virgin Mary. According to Truglia, "John of
Thessalonica," another 7th century author, "wrote a narrative admittedly based upon details found in earlier homilies." Theoteknos, bishop of
Livias sometime between 550 and 650, also wrote a Dormition narrative similar in its content. In Rome the feast called Dormitio Beatae Virginis was established by
Pope Sergius I (687–701), borrowed from Constantinople. == Narrative ==