Virgin Mary: Did she ever actually die?



(By a 12th Century Novgorod Artist)



During these first two weeks of August, the Dormition of the Theotokos (Mary the “God-bearer”) is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church with both fasting and feasting.  In

this case, “feasting” does not refer to food, but rather to the

commemoration of great events within the lives of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, saints and martyrs.  In fact, the very first day of the two-week Dormition Fast is also a feast day - the August 1^st  Procession of the Cross (which honors the Holy Maccabean Martyrs).

“Fasting,” however, does refer to abstinence from certain food items.  The Dormition Fast involves abstinence from dairy products (including eggs), meat products, red meat, poultry, oil, fish, and wine.  Wikipedia reports that it is a “stricter fast than either the Nativity Fast (Advent) or the Apostles’ Fast, with only wine and oil (but not fish) allowed on weekends.”  That is because it honors the passing of the Theotokos from this world unto heaven.

The way in which the Holy Mother transcended this earth is debated within Christian circles.  The word “Dormition” derives from the Latin “dormire” (“to sleep”).  However, it has also come to mean “a peaceful and painless death” (from The Free Dictionary by Farlex).  Therein lies the controversy.  In what way, exactly, did the Theotokos pass from this world unto the next?

Although both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches believe that Mary’s body was taken up into heaven, their explanations of what happened before that sometimes differ greatly.  Some Roman Catholics believe that Mary died a bodily death before being “assumed” (from the Latin word “assumptio” – meaning “taken up”) unto heaven.  However, other Roman Catholics believe that Mary never actually died, and that she was taken up to heaven while still physically alive.

According to Wikipedia, “the Orthodox Church teaches that Mary died a natural death” before being bodily resurrected on the third day thereafter.  Ultimately, however, Eastern and Western Churches joyfully agree that “Mary was taken up into heaven bodily.”

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

Copyright August 8, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved