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The Assumption of Mary into Heaven (often shortened to the Assumption and also known as the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary ) is according to the beliefs of the , , , and parts of , was the
at the end of her earthly life.
The Catholic Church teaches as
that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". This doctrine was
on 1 November 1950, in the apostolic constitution
by exercising . While the Catholic Church and
believe in the , which is the same as the Assumption, whether Mary had a physical death has not been dogmatically defined.
(item 39) Pope Pius XII pointed to the
() as scriptural support for the dogma in terms of Mary's victory over sin and death as also reflected in : "then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory".
In the churches that observe it, the Assumption is a major , commonly celebrated on 15 August. In many countries, the feast is also marked as a
in the Roman Catholic Church and as a
(under various names) in the Anglican Communion.
The Assumption (Latin: assumptio, "a taking") was defined as
by the Catholic Church in 1950, when
defined it
in his Apostolic Constitution . The
itself interprets
as referring to it. The earliest known narrative is the so-called Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book of Mary's Repose), which survives intact only in an
translation. Probably composed by the 4th century, this Christian
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 in several
manuscripts of the 5th and 6th centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the 4th century.
Assumption statue, 1808 by , ,
Later apocrypha based on these earlier texts include the De Obitu S. Dominae, attributed to , 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
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
in the 490s declared some transitus Mariae literature apocryphal.
An Armenian letter attributed to
also mentioned the supposed event, although this was written sometime after the 6th century. , from this period, is the first church authority to advocate the doctrine under his own name. His contemporaries,
and , helped promote the concept to the wider church.
In some versions of the story, the event is said to have taken place in , in the . This is a much more recent and localized tradition. The earliest traditions say that Mary's life ended in
(see ""). By the 7th century, a variation emerged, according to which one of the apostles, often identified as , 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
down to the apostle from heaven as testament to the event. 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. St. John Damascene records the following:
"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, wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven."
The Assumption of Mary was celebrated in the West under
in the 8th century and
confirmed the feast as official. Theological debate about the Assumption continued, following the Reformation. But the people celebrated the Assumption as part of the cult of Mary that flourished from the Middle Ages. In 1950 Pope
defined it as dogma for the . Catholic theologian
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." The
states that "there is, clearly, no historical evidence whatever for it." 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.
Psychologist , who was deeply interested in archetypes and comparative religion, celebrated that the Catholic Church had officially elevated the Virgin Mary (whom he noted as symbolizing the feminine principle) to standing with three masculine figures in the panoply of the church.[]
On 1 November 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution
declared the Assumption of Mary as a dogma:
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.
Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of whether Mary died before her Assumption.
Before the dogmatic definition, in
Pope Pius XII sought the opinion of Catholic Bishops. A large number of them pointed to the
() as scriptural support for the dogma. In
(item 39) Pius XII referred to the "struggle against the infernal foe" as in Genesis 3:15 and to "complete victory over the sin and death" as in the
as a scriptural basis for the dogmatic definition, Mary being assumed to heaven as in : "then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory".
Our Lady of Assumption, , Mexico.
In Pius XII's 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 not. 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.
Ludwig Ott writes in his book, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, 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 adds a number of helpful citations. He concludes: "for Mary, death, in consequence of her freedom from
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 , subject to the general law of death".
The point of her bodily death has not been infallibly defined by any pope. Many Catholics believe that she did not die at all, but was assumed directly into Heaven. The dogmatic definition within the Apostolic Constitution
which, according to Roman Catholic dogma, infallibly proclaims the doctrine of the Assumption leaves open the question of whether, in connection with her departure, Mary underwent bodily death. 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".
In , near the end of the review of the doctrine's history, Pope
stated : "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 cited many passages that have been offered in support of this teaching.
The pope cited 1st Corinthians 15. In this passage Paul alludes to
(in addition to the primary reference of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the
will crush Satan with his feet: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." 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 also mentioned (in paragraph 26) Psalm 132, a psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to Jerusalem 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.
Finally, he mentioned in the next paragraph "that woman clothed with the sun [Revelation 12:1–2] whom John the Apostle contemplated on the Island of Patmos" was support for the creating this dogmatic doctrine for Catholics.
The Dormition: ivory plaque, late 10th-early 11th century ().
Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on 15 August, and the
celebrate the
(the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on the same date, preceded by a 14-day
period. Eastern 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 . 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."
Many Catholics also believe that Mary first died before being assumed, but they believe that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed. Others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first dying. As mentioned earlier, this aspect of the Assumption is not authoritatively described in Catholic theology, and either understanding may be legitimately held by Catholics, with
observing 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.
Views differ greatly within protestantism with churches with a theology closer to Catholicism having a teaching closer while those that have departed to a greater extent having a very different opinion.
Within , the Assumption of Mary is regarded as adiaphora ("a thing indifferent") rather than dogma as it is not directly mentioned in the canon of Sacred Scripture or the first five Ecumenical Councils. Even so, 15 August is observed by some within the
as a holy day in honour of Mary. The official name of the Festival varies in the different provinces of the Anglican Communion. In the , the day is a
and is called the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as with the Eastern Orthodox Church. The
in the versions of the
mark the date as a
of "The Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary", and in the , it is observed as the holy day of "Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ".
In some churches of the Anglican Communion and the
movement, many Anglicans of
churchmanship observe the feast day as the Assumption.
agreed statement on the Virgin Mary assigns a place for both the Dormition and the Assumption in Anglican devotion.
The Protestant Reformer
believed in the assumption of Mary. His 1539 polemical treatise against idolatry 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.
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.
Most modern Protestants neither teach nor believe in the Assumption of Mary, as they see no
or extra-biblical basis for it. Although many churches within
do not teach the Assumption of Mary, 15 August remains a Lesser Feast in celebration of "Mary, Mother of Our Lord", according to the .
The feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at
Possibly the most famous rendition of the subject in Western art, 's
(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). 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, "Ferragosto", may derive from the Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Holidays of the "), since the month of August took its name from the emperor. The Solemnity of the Assumption on 15 August was celebrated in the eastern Church from the 6th Century. The
adopted this date as a
to commemorate the Assumption of the , a reference to the belief in a real, physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven.
This section needs additional citations for . Please help
by . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2017) ()
Assumption Day on 15 August is a nationwide public holiday in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Republic of Congo, C?te d'Ivoire, Croatia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Gabon, Greece, Georgia (Eurasia), Republic of Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro (Albanian Catholics), Paraguay, Poland (Polish Army Day), Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tahiti, Togo, and V and was also in
until . In India, August 15th also celebrates Independence Day.
It is also a public holiday in parts of Germany ( and ) and Switzerland (in 14 of the 26 ). In Guatemala, it is observed in
and in the town of , both of which claim her as their . Also, this day is combined with
in Costa Rica and parts of Belgium.
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 , , , , the
In many places, religious parades and popular festivals are held to celebrate this day. In Canada, Assumption Day is the Fête Nationale of the , of whom she is the patron saint. Some businesses close on that day in heavily francophone parts of , Canada. The Virgin Assumed in Heaven is also patroness of the
and her feast, celebrated on 15 August, apart from being a public holiday in Malta is also celebrated with great solemnity in the local churches especially in the seven localities known as the Seba' Santa Marijiet. The hamlet of
holds a festival during which its population swells from approximately 25 to 5000 people.
and , the feast is kept, but without official use of the word "Assumption". In the
tradition, a cultural custom of blessing of the
is annually observed each 12 August in religious commemoration of the Feast of the .[] In Eastern Orthodox churches following the , the feast day of Assumption of Mary falls on 28 August.
. 99–101. Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. February 1970. On the fifteenth of August, the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Episcopal Church prays: "O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Brown, Alan (1 January 1986). . Longman.   2015. This festival is observed by the Orthodox and Anglican Churches as the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Brown, Alan (1 January 1986). . Longman.   2015. This festival is observed by the Orthodox and Anglican Churches as the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgn Mary.
England, Church of (1907). . Longmans, Green and Company. p. 159 2015.
Pope Pius XII:
4 September 2013 at the ., par. 44. Vatican, 1 November 1950
Encyclopedia of Catholicism by Frank K. Flinn, J. Gordon Melton 207   page 267
4 September 2013 at the . In the liturgical books which deal with the feast either of the dormition or of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin there are expressions that agree in testifying that, when the Virgin Mother of God passed from this earthly exile to heaven, what happened to her sacred body was, by the decree of divine Providence, in keeping with the dignity of the Mother of the Word Incarnate, and with the other privileges she had been accorded.
Introduction to Mary by Mark Miravalle (1993) Queenship Pub. Co.   pages 75–78
Paul Haffner in Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, seminarians, and Consecrated Persons (2008)   edited by M. Miravalle, pages 328–350
Apostolic Constitution
4 September 2013 at the .
Dustin Resch (8 April 2016). . Routledge. p. 171.  .
Apostolic Constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, para 27, Vaticsn (1950)
Stephen J. Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption
. Oup.com. 19 October 2006. Archived from
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(Oxford: , ). A complete translation of this earliest text appears at pp. 290–350
(PDF). Archived from
(PDF) on 24 March .
William Wright, "The Departure of my Lady Mary from this World,"
(PDF). Archived from
(PDF) on 24 March .
The Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record, 6 (1865): 417–48 and 7 (1865): 108–60. See also Agnes Smith Lewis, ed., Apocrypha Syriaca, Studia Sinaitica, XI (London: C. J. Clay and Sons, 1902).
. Uoregon.edu. Archived from
on 31 August .
. Uoregon.edu. Archived from
on 13 April .
, vol. 8 page 594
Butler's Lives of the Saints by Alban Butler, Paul Burns 1998   pp. 140–141
More on the Assumption of Mary by Fr. William Saunders, EWTN
. Vatican.va. Archived from
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Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Rockford: Tan, 1974), pp. 209–210
Eamon Duffy, What Catholics Believe About Mary (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1989), p. 17
Apostolic Constitution
4 September 2013 at the .
. Ewtn.com 2013.
Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, pp250 ff
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Ludwig Ott, Book III, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §6,  
Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, in: Festal Menaion [London: Faber and Faber, 1969], p. 64.
The Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions by John Trigilio, Kenneth Brighenti 2007   page 64
The Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption by Stephen J. Shoemaker 2006   page 201
by , from the Medieval Sourcebook
. Prayerbook.ca. Archived from
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Sheena Lawrence. . Sheena.home.mindspring.com 2013.
. Vatican.va. 26 June .
De origine erroris libri duo (On the Origin of Error, Two Books) . "In the De origine erroris in divorum ac simulachrorum cultu he opposed the worship of the s 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
(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 (ca. ), Terhi Kiiskinen Helsinki: Academia Scientarium Fennica (Finnish Academy of Science), 2003,    , p. 175
Froschauer. De origine erroris, Caput XVI (Chapter 16), p.70
The Thousand Faces of the Virgin Mary (1996), , Liturgical Press    , p. 109.
. Liturgybytlw.com 2013.
. Wmltblog.org. 15 August .
Pianigiani, Ottorino (1907). .
Columbus World Travel Guide, 25th Edition
Duggan, Paul E. (1989). The Assumption Dogma: Some Reactions and Ecumenical Implications in the Thought of English-speaking Theologians. Emerson Press, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mimouni, Simon Claude (1995). Dormition et assomption de Marie: Histoire des traditions anciennes. Beauchesne, Paris.
Shoemaker, Stephen J. (). . Oxford University Press, Oxford.   (Hardcover 2004, Reprint),   (Paperback 2006)
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