Homily on the Assumption of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria

Homilia de assumptione Pseudo-Cyrillo Alexandrino adscripta

Standard abbreviation: Hom. Assum. Vir.

Other titles: Homily for 16 Mesore

Other designations: AB3 in van Esbroeck’s classification of Dormition traditions; AB5 in Mimouni’s

Clavis numbers: ECCA 824; CANT 144

Category: Dormition accounts, Pseudo-Apostolic Memoirs

Related literature: Homily on the Dormition of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria; 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 Assumption of the Virgin, by Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/homily-on-the-assumption-of-the-virgin-by-pseudo-cyril-of-alexandria/.

Created October 2024.

1. SUMMARY

This homily focuses on the events of 16 Mesore—the date of Mary’s assumption from the tomb in Coptic tradition. But some details of her dormition are provided: Mary died 21 Tobe at 3 o’clock, she was buried in Gethsemene, and after the deposition of her body in the tomb, the apostles smelled a pure aroma and heard a voice saying “Blessed one, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”

The apostles depart but return to the tomb from time to time to pray. On 16 Mesore, they are bathed in a light as angels arrive to gather Mary’s body. One apostle is absent at this time: Thomas, who was busy evangelizing in India. God sends a cloud to retrieve him and he meets the angels bearing Mary. He prostrates before her, kisses her body, and calls her blessed. Both parties then continue on their way. When Thomas sees the apostles, he tells them he was absent because he was baptizing Akludiya, the daughter of the king of India; now he has come to see the body of Mary (he does not want to tell the apostles what he saw because they do not yet know Mary has departed). They open the tomb and the body is missing; Thomas then reveals his encounter with Mary.

The apostles go to the Mount of Olives and pray. Then a cloud appears and takes them to paradise where they Jesus, angels, and Mary. Jesus tells her to look at this great kingdom and its thousand armies and how they all praise her. She sees Enoch, Elijah, Moses, and all the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. They all prostrate before her and call her blessed. Mary then ascends through twelve heavens, receiving praises as she progresses. At the twelfth heaven she sees the Lord and is shown hidden mysteries, including the places reserved for the righteous and sinners. Her body is deposited beneath the tree of life where it will remain until the final judgement.

Jesus then turns to John, who is revealed to be the speaker of the whole account. Jesus kisses him and the other apostles and the Holy Spirit takes them back to their place of preaching. John returns to Ephesus and places the text in the church there. Then the apostles go to the place where Thomas saw Mary. This location is marked by a monastery built in his name called the ‘Ayn monastery in the city’s neighborhood of ‘Ajmin.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Akludaya (daughter of king of India), Elijah (prophet), Enoch (patriarch), John (son of Zebedee), John the Baptist, Mary (Virgin), Moses (patriarch), Thomas (apostle).

Geographical Locations: ‘Ajmin, Ephesus, Gethsemane, India.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Arabic

Cairo, Coptic Museum, 25 (Graf 720), fols. 143^r–154^v(1687)

Cairo, Coptic Museum, 150 (1624/1625)

Cairo, Coptic Catholic Patriarchate Library, 445 (763), fol. 79^v–92^r (1691–1693)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 155, fols. 64^r–72^v (1486)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 263, fols. 91^r–102^v (15th/16th cent.)

Waddi El Natrun, Dayr Qiddīs Anbā Maqqār, 378 (Hag. 12) (1755)

Casados, Pillar González. “Las relaciones lingüisticas entre el siriaco y el árabe en textos religiosos árabes cristianos.” PhD diss., Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2000 (Arabic text from Sulaiman’s edition, pp. 233–39, Spanish translation, pp. 470–76).

Ḥunayn, Girgis. Kitāb mayāmir wa-ʻajāʼib al-sayyidah al-ʻadhrā Maryam. Cairo: Maṭbaʻat ʼal-Hilāl, 1902 (edition based on Cairo 150, pp. 169–86). Second edition by ‘Abd al-Masīh Sulaimān. Cairo: ‘Ayn Shams Press, 1927 (pp. 248–60). Third edition 1947 (pp. 192–200).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 Spanish

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 X^esiècle.” 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 VI^e au X^e 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 Alexandria

Giamberardini, Gabriele. Il culto mariano in Egitto. 3 vols. Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 1974–1978 (vol. 1, pp. 176–77).

Lantschoot, Arnold van. “L’Assumption de la Sainte Vierge chez les Coptes.” Gregorianum 27 (1946): 493–526 (see pp. 511–12).

Mimouni, Simon. Dormition et assumption de Marie: Histoire des traditions anciennnes. Paris: Beauchesne, 1995 (pp. 224–26).