The earliest recorded references
to Mary’s Assumption can be found in apocryphal texts from the 4th and 5th
centuries, which describe Mary’s “Dormition” (falling asleep) and her
subsequent assumption into heaven. These stories emphasized that Mary’s body
did not undergo decay but was glorified and taken into heaven. By the 6th century,
the Feast of the Dormition was celebrated in the Eastern Church, later becoming
the Feast of the Assumption in the Western Church.
Over the centuries, the belief in
Mary’s Assumption was upheld by Church Fathers and theologians. Saints like
Augustine, John Damascene, and Thomas Aquinas affirmed the fittingness of Mary’s
Assumption, arguing that her unique role in salvation history warranted a
special grace. This growing tradition laid the groundwork for the eventual
declaration of the Assumption as a dogma, highlighting Mary’s close
relationship with Christ and her privileged status as the New Eve. (Philip
Bryant, The Virgin Mary and the Catholic Church Through the Centuries [Historia
Magna, 2024], 94-95)
Bryant is wrong concerning Augustine. It is “Pseudo-Augustine”
from the twelfth century that teaches the assumption. To quote Luigi Gambero:
The text in question is one
mistakenly attributed to St. Augustine, published in PL 40, 1140-48. It has been studied by G. Quadrio, II
trattato “De Assumptione B. M. V.” dello Pseudo-Agostino e il suo influsso
nella teología assunzionistica latina, Analecta Gregoriana 7 (Rome, 1951). (Luigi
Gamerbo, Mary in the Middle AgesThe Blessed Virgin Mary in the Thought of
Medieval Latin Theologians [trans. Thomas Buffer; San Francisco: Ignatius Press,
2005], 78 n. 15)
