Assumption of Mary

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
A famous treatment in Western art, Titian's Assumption, 1516–1518
Also called	The Assumption Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Observed by	Roman Catholic Church (see calendar ) Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar) Oriental Orthodox Churches Church of the East
Type	Christian
Significance	The bodily taking up of Mary, the mother of Jesus into Heaven
Observances	Attending Mass or service
Date	15 August Sunday nearest to 15 August (Armenian Apostolic Church)[1]
Frequency	Annual

The Assumption of Mary is one of the four

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.

— Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 1950^[2]

It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was raised to eternal life without bodily death.^[3]

The equivalent belief in the Eastern Christianity is the Dormition of the Mother of God or the "Falling Asleep of the Mother of God".

The word 'assumption' derives from the Latin word assūmptiō, meaning 'taking up'.

Pope Pius XII expressed in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus the hope that the belief in the bodily assumption of the virgin Mary into heaven "will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective",^[4] while the Catechism of the Catholic Church adds: "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians."^[5]

In some versions of the assumption narrative, the assumption is said to have taken place in Ephesus, in the House of the Virgin Mary. This is a much more recent and localised tradition. The earliest traditions say that Mary's life ended in Jerusalem (see Tomb of the Virgin Mary).^[6]

According to the Passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary, attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, which is a later version of the Virgin Mary's Dormition, probably from sometime after the early seventh century, one of the apostles, often identified as Thomas the Apostle, 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.^[7] Finally, Mary drops her girdle down to the apostle from heaven as testament to the event.^[8] 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

St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.^[10][11]

Some scholars argue that the Dormition and Assumption traditions can be traced early in church history in the apocryphal books, with Stephen J. Shoemaker stating:

For instance, Baldi, Masconi, and Cothenet analyzed the corpus of Dormition narratives using a rather different approach, governed primarily by language tradition rather than literary relations, and yet all agree that the Obsequies (i.e., the Liber Requiei Mariae) and the Six Books Dormition Apocryphon reflect the earliest traditions, locating their origins in the second or third century.^[12]

According to Shoemaker, the first known narrative to address the end of Mary's life and her assumption is the apocryphal third- and possibly second-century Liber Requiei Mariae ("The Book of Mary's Repose").^[13] Yet numerous features indicate that the Liber Requiei Mariae, or the Obsequies of the Virgin, as the text is called in Syriac, is even older than this ancient manuscript alone would suggest.^[12]

Another early source that speaks of the Assumption is the "Six Books Dormition Apocryphon", so- called on account of its division into six separate books. It dates almost certainly to the middle of the fourth century, if not perhaps even earlier.^[14] Most significantly, the Six Books Dormition Apocryphon provides compelling evidence for an early cult of the Virgin nearly a century before the events of the Council of Ephesus.^[14]

The Greek Discourse on the Dormition or The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary (attributed to

The New Testament is silent regarding the end of her life. In the late 4th century Epiphanius of Salamis wrote he could find no authorized tradition about how her life ended.^[19] Nevertheless, although Epiphanius could not decide on the basis of biblical or church tradition whether Mary had died or remained immortal, his indecisive reflections suggest that some difference of opinion on the matter had already arisen in his time,^[20] and he identified three beliefs concerning her end: that she had a normal and peaceful death; that she died as a martyr; or that she did not die.^[20] Even more, in another text Epiphanius stated that Mary was like Elijah because she never died but was assumed, like him.^[21]

Other works that mention the assumption of Mary are the apocryphal treatise De Obitu S. Dominae, bearing the name of St. John, which belongs however to the fourth or fifth century. It is also found in the apocryphal book De Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis, falsely ascribed to

The Euthymiac History, from the sixth century, is cited by John of Damascus, which narrates how Mary was assumed into heaven.^[24]

John of Damascus set out what had become the standard Eastern tradition, that "Mary died in the presence of the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that her body was taken up to heaven."^[25]

The

Scholars of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "argued that during or shortly after the apostolic age a group of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem preserved an oral tradition about the end of the Virgin's life". Thus, by pointing to oral tradition, they argued for the historicity of the assumption and Dormition narratives. According to Antoine Wenger "the strikingly diverse traditions of Mary's Dormition and Assumption arise from ‘a great variety of original types’, rather than being the result of a progressive modification of a single, original tradition". Simon Claude Mimouni and his predecessors have argued that belief in the Virgin's Assumption is the final dogmatic development, rather than the point of origin, of these traditions.^[29]

There is a large number of accounts of assumption of the Virgin Mary, published in various languages (including Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic). The standard Greek text is the one attributed to St John the Theologian (Evangelist). The standard Latin is that attributed to Melito of Sardis.^[30] Shoemaker mentions that "the ancient narratives are neither clear nor unanimous in either supporting or contradicting the dogma" of the assumption.^[31]

The apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus mentions several Holy Fathers, theologians and Doctors of the Church who held the Assumption of Mary, among them are Adrian I, Sergius I, Leo IV, John of Damascus, Amadeus of Lausanne, Modestus of Jerusalem, Anthony of Padua, Albertus Magnus, Thomas of Aquinas (Angelic Doctor), Bonaventure (Seraphic Doctor), Bernardino of Siena, Robert Bellarmine, Francis de Sales, Peter Canisius, Francisco Suárez, among others.^[2] The apostolic constitution adds: "All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation."

Father Jugie, expressed the view that Revelation 12:1–2 was the chief scriptural witness to the assumption:^[32]

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child ...

— 

Revelation 12:1–2

This passage, Epiphanius proposes, may indicate that Mary did not die as other human beings, but somehow remained immortal, although he makes clear his own uncertainty and refrains from advocating this view. Ultimately Epiphanius concludes: "[I] am not saying that she remained immortal. But neither am I affirming that she died."^[33]

Since the time of the early Church Fathers, this image of "the woman clothed with the sun" has had a threefold symbolism: the ancient people of Israel, the Church and Mary.^[34]

Many of the bishops cited

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

— Genesis 3:15

Many scholars connect Jesus' usage of the word "woman" to call Mary instead of calling her "mother" as a confirmation of Mary being the "woman" described in Genesis 3:15. Mary was often seen as the "New Eve", who crushed the serpent's head at the Annunciation by obeying the angel Gabriel when he said she would bear the Messiah (Luke 1:38).^[36]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that the account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, and that the fall of mankind, by the seductive voice of the snake in the Bible, represents the fallen angel, Satan or "the devil".^[37] Similarly, the great dragon in Revelation 12 is a representation of Satan, identified with the serpent from the garden who has enmity with the woman.^[38] Therefore, in Catholic thought, there is an association between this woman and Mary's Assumption.

Among the many other passages noted by Pope Pius XII were the following:^[35]

• Psalm 132 (Psalm 132:8), greeting the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem ("Arise, O Lord, into your resting place, you and the ark which you have sanctified!"), where the ark is taken as the prophetic "type" of Mary;^[39]
• Revelation 11:19, in which John sees the Ark of the Covenant in heaven (this verse immediately precedes the vision of the woman clothed with the sun);
• Archangel Gabriel
  greets Mary with the words, "Hail Mary, full of grace", since Mary's bodily assumption is a natural consequence of being full of grace;
• 1 Corinthians 15 (1 Corinthians 15:23) and Matthew 27 (Matthew 27:52–53
  ), concerning the certainty of bodily resurrection for all who have faith in Jesus.

In the 12th century, the German nun Elisabeth of Schönau was reportedly granted visions of Mary and her son which had a profound influence on the Western Church's tradition. In her work Visio de resurrectione beate virginis Mariae relates how Mary was assumed in body and soul into Heaven.^{[26] [40]}

On 1 May 1950

Some Catholics believe that Mary died before being assumed, but they believe that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed (mortalistic interpretation). Others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first dying (immortalistic interpretation).^[42][43] Either understanding may be legitimately held by Catholics, with Eastern Catholics observing the Feast as the Dormition. It seems, however, that there is much more evidence for the mortalistic position in the Catholic traditions (liturgy, apocrypha, material culture).^[44] Pope John Paul II expressed the mortalistic position in his public speech.^[45]

Many theologians note by way of comparison that in the Catholic Church the Assumption is dogmatically defined, whilst 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 – whilst in Eastern Orthodoxy many doctrines are less authoritative.^[46]

The

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 that she enjoys even now.[47]

Views differ within Protestantism, with those with a theology closer to Catholicism sometimes believing in a bodily assumption whilst most Protestants do not.

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary was retained by the

The

The Protestant reformer Heinrich Bullinger believed in the assumption of Mary. His 1539 polemical treatise against idolatry^[56] expressed his belief that Mary's sacrosanctum corpus ("sacrosanct body") had been assumed into heaven by angels:

Orthodox Christians fast for fourteen days before the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, including abstinence from sexual relations.^[59] Fasting in the Orthodox Churches generally consists of abstinence from certain food groups; during the Dormition fast, one observes a strict fast on weekdays, with wine and oil allowed on weekends and, additionally, fish on the Transfiguration (August 6).^[60]

The Assumption is important to many Christians, especially Catholics and Orthodox, as well as many Lutherans and Anglicans, as the Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received into Heaven). Belief about her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by some Christians 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

The present Italian name of the holiday,

The Solemnity of the Assumption on 15 August was celebrated in the

Blessed Virgin Mary

, a reference to the belief in a real, physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven.

Public holidays

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Assumption of Mary" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Assumption Day on 15 August is a nationwide public holiday in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia,^[63] Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Gabon, Greece, Georgia, Republic of Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of North Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro (Albanian Catholics), Paraguay, Philippines (Maragondon, Cavite),Poland (coinciding with Polish Army Day), Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tahiti, Togo, and Vanuatu;^[64] and was also in Hungary until 1948.

It is also a public holiday in parts of Germany (parts of

Santa Maria Nebaj, both of which claim her as their patron saint.^[65] Also, this day is combined with Mother's Day

in Costa Rica and parts of Belgium.

Prominent Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox countries in which Assumption Day is an important festival but is not recognised by the state as a public holiday include the Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia. In Bulgaria, the Feast of the Assumption is the biggest Eastern Orthodox Christian celebration of the Holy Virgin. Celebrations include liturgies and votive offerings. In Varna, the day is celebrated with a procession of a holy icon, and with concerts and regattas.^[66]

In many places, religious parades and popular festivals are held to celebrate this day. In Canada, Assumption Day is the Fête Nationale of the

Victoria. The hamlet of Praha, Texas

, holds a festival during which its population swells from approximately 25 to 5,000 people.

In

Julian Calendar

, the feast day of Assumption of Mary falls on 28 August.

In the Maronite Church, the Assumption of Mary is known as the 'Assumption of the Holy Mother of God' and is celebrated on August 15th. This feast holds a significant place in the Maronite liturgical calendar, reflecting the deep veneration of Mary within the church.

The Maronite liturgy for the Assumption includes unique prayers and hymnody that celebrate Mary's assumption into heaven. The celebration often features processions and pilgrimages to Marian shrines, with the Our Lady of Harissa shrine in Harissa, Lebanon, being a particularly notable site where thousands of pilgrims gather each year to honor Mary on her feast day.

The celebration of the Assumption in the Maronite Church underscores its connection to the universal Christian tradition while preserving its distinct Syriac heritage and practices.

Art

Main article:

Assumption of the Virgin Mary in art

The earliest known use of the Dormition is found on a sarcophagus in the crypt of a church in

putti throwing flowers into the tomb.^[67]

See also

• Assumption, a disambiguation page which includes many places named after the Assumption of Mary
• Ascension of Jesus
• Coronation of Mary
• Resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Entering heaven alive

References

Citations

1. ^ "Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother-of-God". The Armenian Church. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
2. ^ ^{a b} Pius XII (1 November 1950). "Munificentissimus Deus". Holy See.
3. ^ Collinge 2012, p. 53.
4. ^ Munificentissimus Deus, No. 42
5. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church #966. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
6. ^ Meistermann, B. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary". www.newadvent.org. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
7. ^ Shoemaker, Stephen J. "(Ps.-)Joseph of Arimathea, The Passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
8. ^ Ante-Nicene Fathers. The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, vol. 8 p. 594
9. ISBN 0860122573
   . pp. 140–141
10. ^ William Saunders (1996). "The Assumption of Mary". EWTN. Archived 16 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine
11. ^ "The Dormition of the Mother of God – Saint Joseph Orthodox Church". Retrieved 13 August 2024.
12. ^ ^{a b} Shoemaker, Stephen. "The Ancient Dormition Apocrypha and the Origins of Marian Piety: Early Evidence of Marian Intercession from Late Ancient Palestine (uncorrected page proofs)".
13. ^ Shoemaker 2016, p. 24.
14. ^ ^{a b} Shoemaker 2016, p. 25.
15. ^ "Patrick Truglia, "Original Sin in The Byzantine Dormition Narratives" Revista Teologica, Issue 4 (2021): 9 (Footnote 30)" (PDF).
16. ^ "Apocrypha of the New Testament", 'Introductory Notice to the Apocrypha of the New Testament, Vol 8, The Ante-Nicene Fathers.
17. ^ "Philip Schaff: ANF08. The Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementia, Apocrypha, Decretals, Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents, Remains of the First Age - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". ccel.org. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
18. ^ Patrick Truglia, "Original Sin in The Byzantine Dormition Narratives", Revista Teologica, Issue 4 (2021): 9 (Footnote 30).
19. ^ Shoemaker 2002, pp. 11–12, 26.
20. ^ ^{a b} Shoemaker 2002, p. 14.
21. ISSN 1086-3184
    .
22. ^ Holweck, Frederick (1907). CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Assumption of Mary. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
23. ^ ^{a b} Zirpolo 2018, p. 213.
24. ^ John Wortley, "The Marian Relics at Constantinople", Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 45 (2005), pp. 171–187, esp. 181–182.
25. ^ Jenkins 2015, p. unpaginated.
26. ^ ^{a b} Warner 2016, p. 91.
27. ISBN 978-0-907271-11-6
    . Retrieved 27 October 2024.
28. ^ Wagner 2020, p. 95.
29. ^ Shoemaker 2002, pp. 18–20.
30. ISBN 978-0-19-826181-0
    . Retrieved 15 August 2024.
31. ^ Shoemaker 2002, p. 3.
32. ^ O'Carroll 2000, p. 56.
33. ^ Shoemaker 2002, p. 12.
34. ^ Saunder, William (2004). "Woman Clothed with the Sun". Arlington Catholic Herald. Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
35. ^ ^{a b} Miravalle 2006, p. 73.
36. JSTOR 27658099
    .
37. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText". Holy See. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
38. ISBN 978-0801036507
    .
39. ^ "Assumption of Mary: Scriptural Support". University of Dayton, Ohio.
40. ISBN 9780812231236
    .
41. ^ "Gilles Bouhours". Santiebeati.it. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
42. ISBN 1402208065
    p. 64
43. ^ Shoemaker 2016, p. 201
44. ISSN 2451-2273
    .
45. ^ John Paul II. "General Audience 25 June 1997". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
46. ^ See "Three Sermons on the Dormition of the Virgin" by John of Damascus, from the Medieval Sourcebook
47. ^ Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, in: Festal Menaion [London: Faber and Faber, 1969], p. 64.
48. ^ ^{a b} Beane, Larry (15 August 2019). "The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Gottesdienst.org. Retrieved 27 May 2021. Many early Lutherans retained the Feast of the Assumption in the liturgical calendar, while recognizing it as a speculation rather than a dogma. However, Pope Pius XII dogmatized this belief in 1950 in his decree Munificentissimus Dei (sic), thus imposing it as doctrine upon Roman Catholics. ... Today's feast is described in Lutheran Service Book as 'St. Mary, Mother of our Lord'.
49. ^ Williams, Paul (2007). pp. 238, 251, quote: "Where Anglican writers discuss the doctrine of the Assumption, it is either rejected or held to be of the adiaphora."
50. ^ ^{a b} Williams, Paul (2007). p. 253, incl. note 54.
51. ^ The Church of England, official website: The Calendar. Accessed 17 July 2018
52. ^ The Scottish Episcopal Church, official website: Calendar and Lectionary. Accessed 17 July 2018
53. ^ The Episcopal Church. "Saint Mary the Virgin: Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ". Liturgical Calendar. New York: The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, The Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
54. ^ "The Calendar". Prayerbook.ca. p. ix. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
55. ^ "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ". Vatican.va. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 3 November 2013. There is no direct testimony in Scripture concerning the end of Mary's life. However, certain passages give instances of those who follow God's purposes faithfully being drawn into God's presence. Moreover, these passages offer hints or partial analogies that may throw light on the mystery of Mary's entry into glory.
56. ^ De origine erroris libri duo [On the Origin of Error, Two Books] [1]. "In the De origine erroris in divorum ac simulachrorum cultu he opposed the worship of the saints and iconolatry; in the De origine erroris in negocio Eucharistiae ac Missae he strove to show that the Catholic conceptions of the Eucharist and of celebrating the Mass were wrong. Bullinger published a combined edition of these works in 4 ° (Zurich 1539), which was divided into two books, according to themes of the original work." The Library of the Finnish nobleman, royal secretary and trustee Henrik Matsson (c. 1540–1617), Terhi Kiiskinen Helsinki: Academia Scientarium Fennica (Finnish Academy of Science), 2003,
    ISBN 978-9514109447
    , p. 175
57. ^ Froschauer. De origine erroris, Caput XVI (Chapter 16), p. 70
58. ISBN 978-0814659144, p. 109. [2]
59. ^ Menzel, Konstantinos (14 April 2014). "Abstaining From Sex Is Part of Fasting". Greekreporter.com. Greek Reporter. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
60. ^ "The Fasting Seasons | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese". Archived from the original on 5 February 2021.
61. ^ Pianigiani, Ottorino (1907). "Vocabolario etimologico della lingua italiana".
62. ISBN 3499503271
    .
63. ^ "Zakon o blagdanima, spomendanima i neradnim danima u Republici Hrvatskoj". Narodne novine (in Croatian). 14 November 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
64. ^ Columbus World Travel Guide, 25th ed.
65. ^ Reiland, Catherine. "To Heaven Through the Streets of Guatemala City: the Processions of the Virgin of the Assumption". Emisferica. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
66. ^ "The Assumption of Mary into Heaven, the most revered summer Orthodox Christian feast in Bulgaria". bnr.bg.
67. ^ ^{a b c} Zirpolo 2018, p. 83.
68. ^ Zirpolo 2018, pp. 213–214.

Bibliography

• Alter, Robert (1997). Genesis: Translation and Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company.
  ISBN 978-0393070262
  .
• Arnold, Bill T. (2009). Genesis. Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0521000673
  .
• Beale, G. K.; Campbell, David (2015). Revelation: A Shorter Commentary. Eerdmans.
  ISBN 978-0304707812
  .
• Boss, Sarah Jane (2000). Empress and Handmaid: On Nature and Gender in the Cult of the Virgin Mary. A&C Black.
  ISBN 978-0304707812
  .
• Collinge, William J. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Catholicism. Scarecrow Press.
  ISBN 978-0810879799
  .
• Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). "Assumption of the BVM". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0192802903
  .
• Duffy, Eamon (1989). What Catholics Believe About Mary. London: Catholic Truth Society.
• Ford, John T. (2006). Saint Mary's Press Glossary of Theological Terms. Saint Mary's Press.
  ISBN 978-0884899037
  .
• Goldingay, John (2020). Genesis. Baker Academic.
  ISBN 978-1493423972
  .
• Jenkins, Philip (2015). The Many Faces of Christ. Hachette.
  ISBN 978-0465061617
  .
• Kerr, W.N. (2001). "Mary, Assumption of". In Elwell, Walter A. (ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Baker Academic.
  ISBN 978-0801020759
  .
• Miravalle, Mark I. (2006). Introduction to Mary: The Heart of Marian Doctrine and Devotion. Queenship Publishing.
  ISBN 9781882972067
  .
• O'Carroll, Michael (2000). Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Wipf and Stock.
  ISBN 978-1579104542
  .
• Shoemaker, Stephen J. (2016). Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion. Yale University Press.
  ISBN 978-0300217216
  .
• Shoemaker, Stephen J. (2002). Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption. Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0199250752
  .
• Wagner, David M. (2020). The Church and the Modern Era (1846–2005). Ave Maria Press.
  ISBN 978-1594717888
  .
• Warner, Marina (2016). Alone of All Her Sex. Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0198718789
  .
• Williams, Paul (2019). "The English Reformers and the Blessed Virgin Mary". In Maunder, Chris (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Mary. Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0198792550
  .
• Zirpolo, Lilian H. (2018). Historical Dictionary of Baroque Art and Architecture. Rowman & Littlefield.
  ISBN 978-1538111291
  .

Further reading

• Duggan, Paul E. (1989). The Assumption Dogma: Some Reactions and Ecumenical Implications in the Thought of English-speaking Theologians. Emerson Press, Cleveland, Ohio.^[ISBN missing]
• Hammer, Bonaventure (1909). "Novena 5: for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" . Mary, help of Christians. Benziger Brothers.
• Mimouni, Simon Claude (1995). Dormition et assomption de Marie: Histoire des traditions anciennes. Beauchesne, Paris. ^{[ISBN missing]}
• Salvador-Gonzalez, José-María (2019). "Musical Resonanes in the Assumption of Mary and Their Reflection in the Italian Trecento and Quattrocento Painting". Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. 44 (1–2): 79–96.
  ISSN 1522-7464
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Assumption of Mary.

• "Munificentissimus Deus – Defining the Dogma of the Assumption" Vatican, 1 November 1950
• Footage of the Assumption proclamation (1950) (
  British Pathé
  )
• "The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary, attributed to John the Theologian". Uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
• "De Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis (the Passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary), attributed to Melito of Sardis". Uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2013.