Sunday, December 31, 2023

Stephen Shoemaker: The First Four Centuries of Christianity are Silent Regarding the End of Mary's Life

 


 

Although the first four centuries of Christianity are profoundly silent regarding the end of Mary’s life, in the later fifth century, a number of Dormition narratives suddenly appear, all with different endings and divergent views concerning the ultimate fate of both Mary and her body. (Stephen J. Shoemaker, “Death and the Maiden: The Early History of the Dormition and Assumption Apocrypha,” in The Dormition and Assumption Apocrypha [Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 15; Leuven: Peeters, 2018], 36)