Coptic Orthodox church celebrates the Dormition and Assumption of St. Mary on

two different dates, January 30th for Dormition and August 22 for the

Assumption. This tradition stems from the traditional belief followed in the

Oriental Orthodox churches, especially in the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox

churches, regarding St. Mary's death and Assumption. According to St.

Theodosius, Patriarch of Alexandria (AD 535-565), St. Mary died (falling deep

sleep=Dormition) in the presence of apostles like St. Peter and St. John and in

the presence of a number of virgins from the mount of Olive. As per this legend,

during the death, Jesus Christ appeared in a chariot of light together with

Moses and all the prophets to receive her soul and informed the apostles that he

will come back to re-unite the soul of St. Mary back to her body. Syriac

Orthodox Church and many other churches, including the Eastern Orthodox Churches

also believe that St. Mary died just like anyone else, before her body

disappeared. Many intercessory prayers seen in the SOC books points Death and

Assumption as two separate events. St. Jacob of Serugh's (AD 451-521) poems in

Syriac shows death as a separate event: "When the virgin was on her death bed,

Angels, the righteous, prophets and fathers descended on her from high upon the

order of God. The twelve Apostles and Evangelists came; they buried her in a

rocky cave". This shows that the traditional belief explained by Coptic

Patriarch, St. Theodosius I about her death and burial was prevalent among all

the oriental Christians in the fifth century.



However, the traditional belief in the Coptic and Ethiopian churches regarding

the number of days St. Mary's body remained without the soul after death has

difference from that of other churches. As per St. Theodosius, when St. Mary

died, Jesus said to the apostles St. Peter and St. John: "Carry the body of my

holy Mother, put it in the tomb of stone, close the tomb and stay by it in

prayer until I have fixed the time of her Assumption. In two hundred and six

(206) days time, I will come with her blessed soul to unite her with her body

and raise her gloriously to heaven by my good Father and the Holy Spirit"

There are different legends regarding the number of days St. Mary's body

remained without soul after death. Some believe three days, like that of Jesus

Christ's death; some believe that death and Assumption took place on the same

day; some believe she did not die but was taken to heaven with her body.  Roman

Catholic Pope, Pius XII in his declaration of St. Mary's Assumption as a Roman

Catholic Dogma, left the question unanswered, whether or not St. Mary underwent

a natural death and burial before she was taken to the heaven with her body.

Coptic tradition which is believed to be mainly from St. Theodosius follows 206

days before the resurrection of St. Mary after death. Some Copts have a

different belief than the general Copts. They believe that the body was

transferred (without resurrection or re-union of body and soul) by Jesus and her

soul is in the paradise but awaiting resurrection. The other tradition, which is

the most prevalent, tells that St. Thomas saw St. Mary ascending in her body to

heaven. Most believe the death of St. Mary happened around AD 56, when she was

about 70 years old. According to the traditional belief, St. Thomas was in India

during this time. St. Thomas was `transferred' from India to Jerusalem to

witness her Ascension to heaven. Although the transfer of St. Thomas to

Jerusalem from India may sound unbelievable to common man, it is worth to

remember a similar transfer narrated in the Bible about Philip during the

baptism of the eunuch (Acts 8: 26-40). When St. Thomas said to other apostles

that he saw her ascending into heaven, they all went to check the body in the

tomb and found her body disappeared from there. It is believed that, in the

council of Chalcedon (451), Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem reported to Emperor

Marcian and his wife Pulcheria that the tomb of St. Mary when opened on the

request of St. Thomas, found empty and that the Apostles concluded that her body

was taken up to heaven. Although the early records describing this story do not

tell when this happened, most believe that her ascension happened a few days

(~three days) after her death. Lack of consensus among the scholars regarding

St. Mary's Assumption and lack of proper records may be the reason why Syriac

Orthodox Church or Coptic Orthodox Church does not want to declare Assumption of

St. Mary as a doctrine.



Roman Catholic Church and many other churches, including Syriac Orthodox Church

and other Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate both the Dormition and Assumption

of St. Mary on the same day-August 15th. This practice probably started in the

Syriac Orthodox Church with the decree of the Emperor Maurice, to celebrate the

assumption of the Virgin to be solemnly on August 15th. This date corresponds to

the construction by the emperor of a new church at Gethsemane (near the tomb of

St. Mary) the dedication of which took place on 23 October but in which the

celebration of the Virgin is placed on 15 August. The exact date of St. Mary's

Dormition (Death) is still debated by many, but Coptic Church celebrates it on

January 30th and the assumption on August 22nd, the Ethiopian Orthodox church

also follows somewhat similar feast days.



In St. Theodosius' tradition, as per the command of the Lord, apostles took her

body to put in the tomb. However, on seeing the dead body of St. Mary, some Jews

decided to burn it to avoid Christians building a shrine with it. When they

approached the body with fire and lights, God intervened, and those who

approached to burn the body caught fire and got hurt. Upon seeing this

affliction, they left the body of St. Mary, which was later entombed by apostles

in a tomb. On the 206th day after St. Mary's death, Jesus Christ descended from

heaven with the soul of St. Mary in his bosom.



St. Theodosius wrote: "The Lord revealed Himself on the Cherubim's chariot, with

the Virgin's soul in His bosom, adorned with her heavenly garment". St. Mary's

body embraced her soul and became one. When she was resurrected, Jesus ascended

into heaven and took her with him.



Many early church fathers, including St. Theodosius, believed the Psalms 132:8

as a prophecy related to St. Mary's Assumption. Psalms 132: 8 "Arise, Lord

Jehovah, to your rest, you and the ark of your might! (Aramaic translation)". In

consistent with this, many hymns of both Syriac Orthodox Church and Coptic

Orthodox Church also relate St. Mary as the `ark of holiness'.



(Chapters of Psalms are differently arranged in Orthodox Bible and Protestant

Bibles, which are based on two different ancient Biblical texts; Greek

Septuagint and Masoretic (Hebrew) texts. Thus, 132:8 in commonly available

Bibles and 131:8 in Orthodox Bible, including the Peshitha translation of

Kaniamparambil achan)



A very interesting mention about the tomb of St. Mary can be seen in St.

Theodosius I's writing. Before ascending into heaven, Lord said to the apostles:

"Peace be with you my companions. I give also my peace to the tomb that has been

the dwelling place of my Mother's body. I will set there forever and ever my

blessing, my grace and my support for the visitors whose heart is full of

straightforward trust in me and who glorify me in the indivisible unity"



Although the number of days St. Mary's body remained in the tomb remains as a

subject of debate, most scholars nevertheless agree that her body was entombed

before disappearing. The tomb, believed to be that of St. Mary, is present even

today near Jerusalem,near the Garden of Gethsemane, on the foothills of Mount of

Olive. It is believed that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, built

a church over the tomb during the 4th century. Later, a chapel was built by

Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem in the fifth century where the tomb exists.

Archaeological excavations of this site have confirmed the origin of this

cemetery to the first century. A miracle working icon of St. Mary is also

present near the tomb. Currently, Greek Orthodox Church controls this shrine,

although other Orthodox churches have minor control, including Syriac Orthodox

Church. (Visit the videos of the Syriac Orthodox H. Qurbono at the tomb of St.

Mary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrc4cH9PlyU



Although variation of belief exists about St. Mary's last days and her

Assumption into heaven, members of both Roman Catholic Church and all Orthodox

Churches in the world believe in her capability for intercessory prayers. May

the tomb of St. Mary be a blessing for all who visit there, forever!

With prayers (Mort Mar-yam e-meh daloho et-ka-shaf hlo-fayn hnan hatoye hosho

wabsho'to dmaw-tan, Amin)



Sinu P. John, PhD

Boston, USA

Member ID: 0076