Dormitio et assumptio virginis a Petro et Johanne
Standard abbreviation: Dorm. Vir. Pet. John.
Other titles: none
Other designations: C7 in van Esbroeck’s classification of Dormition traditions; C1/2 in Mimouni’s
Clavis numbers: CANT 131; ECCA 126
Category: Dormition Accounts
Related literature: Homily on the Dormition of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Theodosius of Alexandria
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin by Pete and John.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/dormition-and-assumption-of-the-virgin-by-peter-and-john/.
Created August 2024.
1. SUMMARY
The beginning of this fragmentary text (frag. 1) is extant but provides no identifying features other than ascribing the text to Peter and John. It is not presented as a homily but a firsthand account. As in other later Coptic narratives of the Dormition, Mary’s dormition takes place on 21 Tobe and her assumption on 16 Mesore. The text opens with Mary in her “cell” in Jerusalem along with the ten holy virgins. She has a vision in which she sees Jesus as a child with other children clad in robes and with crowns of pearl on their heads. She asks Jesus who they are and he says they are the children slain by Herod.
The contiguous fragments 2 to 5 begin with Peter remarking to John that John was the one who rested on Jesus’ bosom and was told all the mysteries. Peter alludes to asking Jesus to reveal these mysteries to him also. On the recto of frag. 2 Mary asks the apostles about their presence and they tell her that they heard a trumpet and a voice commanding them to come to Jerusalem for Mary’s departure. She calls them to pray with her and the virgins; while they are praying Jesus appears. The next several pages are a dialogue between Mary and Jesus in which she asks and receives the power to intercede on behalf of believers and Jesus promises blessings on those who copy the book of her dormition along with the Scriptures and those who perform the liturgy. On the verso of frag. 5, Mary bows her head on Jesus’ bosom and falls asleep.
Frag. 6 continues the story with the apostles singing over the body of Mary and bringing it to the tomb. There they are opposed by the chief priests who wish to slay them. The apostles drop the bier and flee. The Lord comes to their rescue by blinding the mob except for one man left unscathed to be the witness of what occurred. On the verso of the leaf, a fire scatters the mob and the apostles return. One of the high priests has had his arm torn off and asks the apostles to heal him. Peter comes forward and the text breaks off. Frag. 7 contains the end of the text but all that is extant is a final exhortation.
Named Historical Figures and Characters: John (son of Zebedee), Mary (Virgin), Peter (apostle).
Geographical Locations: Jerusalem.
2. RESOURCES
2.1 Web Sites and Other Online Sources
“Assumption of Mary.” Wikipedia.
“Dormition of the Mother of God.” Wikipedia.
2.2 Art and Iconography
“Iconography of the Virgin Mary. Part 4: The Dormition.” Christian Iconography.
“The Dormition of the Virgin and Saints.” A tenth-century ivory carving from Constantinople at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Bohairic (CPC 0573; PAThs entry)
MACA.EK (10th cent.; PAThs entry):
Frag. 1: Leipzig, Universtätsbibliothek, 1086 (olim Tischendorf XXIV), fol. 49
Frags. 2–5; Leipzig, Universtätsbibliothek, 1087 (olim Tischendorf XXIV), fols. 22, 31, 30, 23
Frag. 6: Cairo, Coptic Museum, Abu Maqar 48, i
Frag. 7: Cairo, Coptic Museum, Abu Maqar 48, ii
New Haven, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, P.CtYBR inv. 1788 (8th/9th cent.); PAThs; Yale
Evelyn White, Hugh G. The Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n Natrûn. Part 1: New Coptic Texts from the Monastery of Saint Macarius. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1926 (text and English translation of MACA.EK, pp. 54–58).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Evelyn White, Hugh G. The Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n Natrûn. Part 1: New Coptic Texts from the Monastery of Saint Macarius. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1926 (text and English translation, pp. 54–58).
3.2.2 Spanish
Aranda Pérez, Gonzalo. Dormición de la Virgen. Relatos de la tradución copta. Apócrifos cristianos 2. Madrid: Editorial Ciudad Nueva, 1995 (pp. 61–79).
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 Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin by Peter and John
Lantschoot, Arnold van. “L’Assomption de la Sainte Vierge chez les Coptes.” Gregorianum 27 (1946): 493–526 (pp. 498–99).
Mimouni, Simon. Dormition et assumption de Marie: Histoire des traditions anciennnes. Paris: Beauchesne, 1995 (pp. 186–88).