Homilia de dormitione et assumptione, auctore Pseudo-Cyrillo Hierosolymitano
Standard abbreviation: Hom. Dorm. Assum. Vir.
Other titles: none
Other designations: this text does not appear in van Esbroeck’s classification of Dormition traditions; it is designated AB6 by Mimouni, and AB X by Casado.
Clavis numbers: ECCA 894
Category: Dormition, Pseudo-Apostolic Memoirs
Related literature: Acts of John by Prochorus; Dormition of the Virgin by Joseph of Arimathea; Homily on the Virgin Mary and Her Birth, by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem); Homily on the Assumption of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem; Homily on the Assumption of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Cyriacus of Behnesa; Reading Concerning the Apostle Thomas.
Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Homily on the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/homily-on-the-dormition-and-assumption-of-the-virgin-by-pseudo-cyril-of-jerusalem/.
Created September 2019. Currents as of November 2024.
1. SUMMARY
There are two homilies on the death of Mary attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem: one in Ethiopic and one in Arabic. While there are some overlaps in content, the Arabic text is much longer, due largely to it also including material on the dormition of Mary. The homilist, Cyril, speaks on 16 Mesore, the feast day of Mary’s Assumption. After a short introduction, which includes an account of Jesus’ burial and birth, Cyril mentions finding a book in Jerusalem, the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, dictated by John the apostle to his disciple Prochorus. This embedded text presents many of the motifs of the Dormition traditions, including the apostles coming to Mary on a cloud, the arrival of the heavenly powers and deceased saints, the burning of Mary’s house, the attack on Mary’s body by Jephoniah (here named Theophanes), and the deposition of Mary’s body in a tomb (on 21 Tobe).
Thereafter, the apostles remain in Jerusalem until Mary ascends from the tomb on 16 Mesore. One of the apostles, Thomas, was absent during Mary’s death; the text says he was busy christening the nephew of the king of India. But, he arrives just as Mary is taken to paradise on a luminous chariot. As usual, Thomas doubts the apostles’ account of Mary’s death, refusing to believe she has died unless he sees the body. They open the tomb, and the body is gone. Thomas then realizes that he passed Mary in the chariot as he arrived on his cloud. This same “two-ships passing” episode also occurs in the Latin Dormition attributed to Joseph of Arimathea. The apostles pray to see where the Virgin has gone; they are brought to paradise on a bright cloud and see the body beneath the tree of life; there Jesus seals the body until the day of final judgement when Mary will be first to rise from the dead. The apostles return from whence they came and John ends the account by telling Prochorus that this is everything he saw.
The text then presents an epilogue narrated by Prochorus. He says that he wanted to send John’s account of the Dormition to the seven churches of Asia and Smyrna but John told him to wait. The pair go on a preaching journey, but when 16 Mesore comes around again, they see a great light and both are taken to a heavenly celebration of Mary’s departure. Jesus appears and all the angels and cherubim and seraphim rejoice. Jesus says he called John there for the celebration and all who do the Eucharist, or good deeds or gives alms to poor on this day will be rewarded. Mary is brought to the assembly and there she plays her traditional role as mediator, asking Jesus to have pity on sinners and mitigate their punishment. In response, Jesus orders the release of all those baptized from punishment and promises reward to anyone who dedicates a Eucharist to Mary on 21 Tobe or 16 Mesore , as well as to whoever copies the account of her life and assumption, and to anyone who builds a church in Mary’s name. Mary thanks Jesus and then a cloud takes the apostles, and Prochorus, back home. Prochorus finishes his account by saying he deposited the text in the library in Jerusalem. Finally, the homiletic framework concludes with a benediction from Cyril.
Named Historical Figures and Characters: Aaron, Abel, Abraham (patriarch), Adam (patriarch), Akludaya (daughter of King of India), Andrew (apostle), Anna (mother of Mary), Bartholemew (apostle), Cleopas, Cyril of Jerusalem, David (king), Demetrius (disciple), devil, Elizabeth, Eve (matriarch), Holy Spirit, Isaac (patriarch), Jacob (patriarch), James (son of Cleopas), Jonah, Jesus Christ, John (son of Zebedee), John the Baptist, John Mark, Luke (evangelist), Mark (evangelist), Mary (mother of John Mark), Mary (Virgin), Nicodemus, Noah (patriarch), Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Philip (apostle), Prochorus, Seth (patriarch), Simon (the Canaanite/Zealot), Theophanes (Jephonias), Thomas (apostle).
Geographical Locations: Asia, Ephesus, Gethsemane, India, Jerusalem, paradise, Rome, Smyrna, Tarsus, Valley of Josaphat, Zion.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Arabic (manuscripts listed by Mimouni but note that some may be the precursor to the Ethiopic homily attributed to Cyril)
Cairo, Coptic Catholic Patriarchate Library, 445 (763), fols. 79v–99r (1691)
Cairo, Coptic Catholic Patriarchate Library, 471 (798), fols. 70r–85v (1741)
Cairo, Coptic Catholic Patriarchate Library, 564 (1661), fols. 119v–146v (1717)
Cairo, Coptic Museum, 730 (Hist. 486), fols. 47r–62v (17th cent.)
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 150, fols. 171r–192v (1606)
Waddi El Natrun, Dayr Qiddīs Anbā Maqqār, 480 (Hom. 67) (1588)
Wadi El Natrun, Dayr Qiddīs Anbā Maqqār, 481 (Hag. 68) (18th cent.)
Casado, Pilar González. “Las relaciones lingüisticas entre el siriaco y el árabe en textos religiosos árabes cristianos. PhD diss., Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2000 (text, pp. 287–312, Spanish translation, pp. 509–28).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 Spanish
González Casado, Pilar. La dormición de la Virgen. Cinco relatos árabes. Madrid: Editorial Trotta, 2002 (translation of the Arabic text, pp. 105–29).
__________. “Las relaciones lingüisticas entre el siriaco y el árabe en textos religiosos árabes cristianos. PhD diss., Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2000 (text, pp. 287–312, Spanish translation, pp. 509–28).
3.3 General Works
3.3.1 Dormition Narratives
Aranda Pérez, Gonzalo. Dormición de la Virgen. Relatos de la tradución copta. Apócrifos cristianos 2. Madrid: Editorial Ciudad Nueva, 1995 (general introduction, pp. 15-41; Coptic traditions, pp. 42–59).
Clayton, Mary. The Apocryphal Gospels of Mary in Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England 26. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998 (pp. 24–100).
Esbroeck, Michel van. “Les textes litteraires sur l’Assomption avant le Xe siècle.” Pages 265–85 in Les actes apocryphes des apôtres. Edited by François Bovon. Publications de la faculte de theologie de l’Universite de Geneve 4. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1981.
Jugie, Martin. La Mort et l’Assumption de la Sainte Vierge: Étude historico-doctrinale. Studi e Testi 114. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1944.
McNamara, Martin. “Transitus Mariae: General Introduction.” Pages 225–44 in Apocrypha Hiberniae II. Apocalyptica 2. Edited by Martin McNamara et al. CCSA 21. Turnhout: Brepols, 2019.
Mimouni, Simon. Dormition et assumption de Marie: Histoire des traditions anciennnes. Paris: Beauchesne, 1995.
__________. Les traditions anciennes sur la Dormition et l’Assomption de Marie: Études littéraires, historiques et doctrinales. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 104. Leiden: Brill, 2011.
Shoemaker, Stephen J. Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary’s Dormition and Assumption. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
__________. Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
Wenger, Antoine. L’Assomption de la T.S. Vierge dans la tradition byzantine du VIe au Xe siècle. Études et documents. Archives de l’Orient chrétien 5. Paris: Institut français d’études byzantines, 1955.
3.3.2 Homily on the Assumption of the Virgin by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem
Mimouni, Simon. Les traditions anciennes sur la Dormition et l’Assomption de Marie: Études littéraires, historiques et doctrinales. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 104. Leiden: Brill, 2011 (brief mention, p. 206).
Suciu, Alin. The Berlin-Strasbourg Apocryphon: A Coptic Apostolic Memoir. WUNT 370. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017 (see pp. 79–80).