~ The
Assumption Of The Blessed Mother Mary ~
The
Account of St. John the Theologian
of the
Dormition of the Holy Mother of God
As the all-holy
glorious mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, as was her wont, was
going to the holy tomb of our Lord to burn incense, and bending her
holy knees, she was importunate that Christ our God who had been born
of her should return to her. And the Jews, seeing her lingering by
the divine sepulchre, came to the chief priests, saying: Mary goes
every day to the tomb. And the chief priests, having summoned the
guards set by them not to allow any one to pray at the holy
sepulchre, inquired about her, whether in truth it were so. And the
guards answered and said that they had seen no such thing, God having
not allowed them to see her when there. And on one of the days, it
being the preparation, the holy Mary, as was her wont, came to the
sepulchre; and while she was praying, it came to pass that the
heavens were opened, and the archangel Gabriel came down to her and
said: Hail, thou that didst bring forth Christ our God! Thy prayer
having come through to the heavens to Him who was born of thee, has
been accepted; and from this time, according to thy request, thou
having left the world, shall go to the heavenly places to thy Son,
into the true and everlasting life.
And having heard
this from the holy archangel, she returned to holy Bethlehem, having
along with her three virgins who ministered unto her. And after
having rested a short time, she sat up and said to the virgins: Bring
me a censer, that I may pray. And they brought it, as they had been
commanded. And she prayed, saying: My Lord Jesus Christ, who didst
deign through Thy supreme goodness to be born of me, hear my voice,
and send me Thy apostle John, in order that, seeing him, I may
partake of joy; and send me also the rest of Thy apostles, both those
who have already gone to Thee, and those in the world that now is, in
whatever country they may be, through Thy holy commandment, in order
that, having beheld them, I may bless Thy name much to be praised;
for I am confident that Thou hearest Thy servant in
everything.
And while she
was praying, I John came, the Holy Spirit having snatched me up by a
cloud from Ephesus, and set me in the place where the mother of my
Lord was lying. And having gone in beside her, and glorified Him who
had been born of her, I said: Hail, mother of my Lord, who didst
bring forth Christ our God, rejoice that in great glory thou art
going out of this life. And the holy mother of God glorified God,
because I John had come to her, remembering the voice of the Lord,
saying: Behold thy mother, and, Behold thy son. And the three virgins
came and worshipped. And the holy mother of God says to me: Pray, and
cast incense. And I prayed thus: Lord Jesus Christ, who hast done
wonderful things, now also do wonderful things before her who brought
Thee forth; and let Thy mother depart from this life; and let those
who crucified Thee, and who have not believed in Thee, be confounded.
And after I had ended the prayer, holy Mary said to me: Bring me the
censer. And having cast incense, she said, Glory to Thee, my God and
my Lord, because there has been fulfilled in me whatsoever Thou didst
promise to me before thou didst ascend into the heavens, that when I
should depart from this world Thou wouldst come to me, and the
multitude of Thine angels, with glory. And I John say to her: Jesus
Christ our Lord and our God is coming, and thou seest Him, as He
promised to thee. And the holy mother of God answered and said to me:
The Jews have sworn that after I have died they will burn my body.
And I answered and said to her: Thy holy and precious body will by no
means see corruption. And she answered and said to me: Bring a
censer, and cast incense, and pray. And there came a voice out of the
heavens saying the Amen. And I John heard this voice; and the Holy
Spirit said to me: John, hast thou heard this voice that spoke in the
heaven after the prayer was ended? And I answered and said: Yes, I
heard. And the Holy Spirit said to me: This voice which thou didst
hear denotes that the appearance of thy brethren the apostles is at
hand, and of the holy powers that they are coming hither
to-day.
And at this I
John prayed.
And the Holy
Spirit said to the apostles: Let all of you together, having come by
the clouds from the ends of the world, be assembled to holy Bethlehem
by a whirlwind, on account of the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Peter from Rome, Paul from Tiberia, Thomas from Hither India, James
from Jerusalem. Andrew, Peter's brother, and Philip, Luke, and Simon
the Cananaean, and Thaddaeus who had fallen asleep, were raised by
the Holy Spirit out of their tombs; to whom the Holy Spirit said: Do
not think that it is now the resurrection; but on this account you
have risen out of your tombs, that you may go to give greeting to the
honour and wonder-working of the mother of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, because the day of her departure is at hand, of her going up
into the heavens. And Mark likewise coming round, was present from
Alexandria; he also with the rest, as has been said before, from each
country. And Peter being lifted up by a cloud, stood between heaven
and earth, the Holy Spirit keeping him steady. And at the same time,
the rest of the apostles also, having been snatched up in clouds,
were found along with Peter. And thus by the Holy Spirit, as has been
said, they all came together.
And having gone
in beside the mother of our Lord and God, and having adored, we said:
Fear not, nor grieve; God the Lord, who was born of thee, will take
thee out of this world with glory. And rejoicing in God her Saviour,
she sat up in the bed, and says to the apostles: Now have I believed
that our Master and God is coming from heaven, and I shall behold
Him, and thus depart from this life, as I have seen that you have
come. And I wish you to tell me how you knew that I was departing and
came to me, and from what countries and through what distance you
have come hither, that you have thus made haste to visit me. For
neither has He who was born of me, our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of
the universe, concealed it; for I am persuaded even now that He is
the Son of the Most High.
And Peter
answered and said to the apostles: Let us each, according to what the
Holy Spirit announced and commanded us, give full information to the
mother of our Lord. And I John answered and said: Just as I was going
in to the holy altar in Ephesus to perform divine service, the Holy
Spirit says to me, The time of the departure of the mother of thy
Lord is at hand; go to Bethlehem to salute her. And a cloud of light
snatched me up, and set me down in the door where thou art lying.
Peter also answered: And I, living in Rome, about dawn heard a voice
through the Holy Spirit saying to me, The mother of thy Lord is to
depart, as the time is at hand; go to Bethlehem to salute her. And,
behold, a cloud of light snatched me up; and I beheld also the other
apostles coming to me on clouds, and a voice saying to me, Go all to
Bethlehem. And Paul also answered and said: And I, living in a city
at no great distance from Rome, called the country of Tiberia, heard
the Holy Spirit saying to me, The mother of thy Lord, having left
this world, is making her course to the celestial regions through her
departure; but go thou also to Bethlehem to salute her. And, behold,
a cloud of light having snatched me up, set me down in the same place
as you. And Thomas also answered and said: And I, traversing the
country of the Indians, when the preaching was prevailing by the
grace of Christ, and the king's sister's son Labdanus by name, was
about to be sealed by me in the palace, on a sudden the Holy Spirit
says to me, Do thou also, Thomas, go to Bethlehem to salute the
mother of thy Lord, because she is taking her departure to the
heavens. And a cloud of light having snatched me up, set me down
beside you. And Mark also answered and said: And when I was finishing
the canon of the third day in the city of Alexandria, just as I was
praying, the Holy Spirit snatched me up, and brought me to you. And
James also answered and said: While I was in Jerusalem, the Holy
Spirit commanded me, saying, Go to Bethlehem, because the mother of
thy Lord is taking her departure. And, behold, a cloud of light
having snatched me up, set me beside you. And Matthew also answered
and said: I have glorified and do glorify God, because when I was in
a boat and overtaken by a storm, the sea raging with its waves, on a
sudden a cloud of light overshadowing the stormy billow, changed it
to a calm, and having snatched me up, set me down beside you. And
those who had come before likewise answered, and gave an account of
how they had come. And Bartholomew said: I was in the Thebais
proclaiming the word, and behold the Holy Spirit says to me, The
mother of thy Lord is taking her departure; go, then, to salute her
in Bethlehem. And, behold, a cloud of light having snatched me up,
brought me to you.
The apostles
said all these things to the holy mother of God, why they had come,
and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed,
saying: I adore, and praise, and glorify Thy much to he praised name,
O Lord, because Thou hast looked upon the lowliness of Thine
handmaiden, and because Thou that art mighty hast done great things
for me; and, behold, all generations shall count me blessed. And
after the prayer she said to the apostles: Cast incense, and pray.
And when they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven, and there
came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and, behold, a multitude of
a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of man,
was heard, and the seraphim in a circle round the house where the
holy, spotless mother of God and virgin was lying, so that all who
were in Bethlehem beheld all the wonderful things, and came to
Jerusalem and reported all the wonderful things that had come to
pass. And it came to pass, when the voice was heard, that the sun and
the moon suddenly appeared about the house; and an assembly of the
first-born saints stood beside the house where the mother of the Lord
was lying, for her honour and glory. And I beheld also that many
signs came to pass, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame
walking, lepers cleansed, and those possessed by unclean spirits
cured; and every one who was under disease and sickness, touching the
outside of the wall of the house where she was lying, cried out: Holy
Mary, who didst bring forth Christ our God, have mercy upon us. And
they were straightway cured. And great multitudes out of every
country living in Jerusalem for the sake of prayer, having heard of
the signs that had come to pass in Bethlehem through the mother of
the Lord, came to the place seeking the cure of various diseases,
which also they obtained. And there was joy unspeakable on that day
among the multitude of those who had been cured, as well as of those
who looked on, glorifying Christ our God and His mother. And all
Jerusalem from Bethlehem kept festival with psalms and spiritual
songs.
And the priests
of the Jews, along with their people, were astonished at the things
which had come to pass; and being moved with the heaviest hatred, and
again with frivolous reasoning, having made an assembly, they
determine to send against the holy mother of God and the holy
apostles who were there in Bethlehem. And accordingly the multitude
of the Jews, having directed their course to Bethlehem, when at the
distance of one mile it came to pass that they beheld a frightful
vision, and their feet were held fast; and after this they returned
to their fellow-countrymen, and reported all the frightful vision to
the chief priests. And they, still more boiling with rage, go to the
procurator, crying out and saying: The nation of the Jews has been
ruined by this woman; chase her from Bethlehem and the province of
Jerusalem. And the procurator, astonished at the wonderful things,
said to them: I will chase her neither from Bethlehem nor from any
other place. And the Jews continued crying out, and adjuring him by
the health of Tiberius Caesar to bring the apostles out of Bethlehem.
And if you do not do so, we shall report it to the Caesar.
Accordingly, being compelled, he sends a tribune of the soldiers
against the apostles to Bethlehem. And the Holy Spirit says to the
apostles and the mother of the Lord: Behold, the procurator has sent
a tribune against you, the Jews having made an uproar. Go forth
therefore from Bethlehem, and fear not: for, behold, by a cloud I
shall bring you to Jerusalem; for the power of the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit is with you. The apostles therefore rose up
immediately, and went forth from the house, carrying the bed of the
Lady the mother of God, and directed their course to Jerusalem; and
immediately, as the Holy Spirit had said, being lifted up by a cloud,
they were found in Jerusalem in the horse of the Lady. And they stood
up, and for five days made an unceasing singing of praise. And when
the tribune came to Bethlehem, and found there neither the mother of
the Lord nor the apostles, he laid hold of the Bethlehemites, saying
to them: Did you not come telling the procurator and the priests all
the signs and wonders that had come to pass, and how the apostles had
come out of every country? Where are they, then? Come, go to the
procurator at Jerusalem. For the tribune did not know of the
departure of the apostles and the Lord's mother to Jerusalem. The
tribune then, having taken the Bethlehemites, went in to the
procurator, saying that he had found no one. And after five days it
was known to the procurator, and the priests. and all the city, that
the Lord's mother was in her own house in Jerusalem, along with the
apostles, from the signs and wonders that came to pass there. And a
multitude of men and women and virgins came together, and cried out:
Holy virgin, that didst bring forth Christ our God, do not forget the
generation of men. And when these things came to pass, the people of
the Jews, with the priests also, being the more moved with hatred,
took wood and fire, and came up, wishing to burn the house where the
Lord's mother was living with the apostles. And the procurator stood
looking at the sight from afar off. And when the people of the Jews
came to the door of the house, behold, suddenly a power of fire
coming forth from within, by means of an angel, burnt up a great
multitude of the Jews. And there was great fear throughout all the
city; and they glorified God, who had been born of her. And when the
procurator saw what had come to pass, he cried out to all the people,
saying: Truly he who was born of the virgin, whom you have thought of
driving away, is the Son of God; for these signs are those of the
true God. And there was a division among the Jews; and many believed
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in consequence of the signs
that had come to pass.
And after all
these wonderful things had come to pass through the mother of God,
and ever-virgin Mary the mother of the Lord, while we the apostles
were with her in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit said to us: You know that
on the Lord's day the good news was brought to the Virgin Mary by the
archangel Gabriel; and on the Lord's day the Saviour was born in
Bethlehem; and on the Lord's day the children of Jerusalem came forth
with palm branches to meet him, saying, Hosanna in the highest,
blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; and on the Lord's
day He rose from the dead; and on the Lord's day He will come to
judge the living and the dead; and on the Lord's day He will come out
of heaven, to the glory and honour of the departure of the holy
glorious virgin who brought Him forth. And on the same Lord's day the
mother of the Lord says to the apostles: Cast incense, because Christ
is coming with a host of angels; and, behold, Christ is at hand,
sitting on a throne of cherubim. And while we were all praying, there
appeared innumerable multitudes of angels, and the Lord mounted upon
cherubim in great power; and, behold, a stream of light coming to the
holy virgin, because of the presence of her only-begotten Son, and
all the powers of the heavens fell down and adored Him. And the Lord,
speaking to His mother, said: Mary. And she answered and said: Here
am I, Lord. And the Lord said to her: Grieve not, but let thy heart
rejoice and be glad; for thou hast found grace to behold the glory
given to me by my Father. And the holy mother of God looked up, and
saw in Him a glory which it is impossible for the mouth of man to
speak of, or to apprehend. And the Lord remained beside her, saying:
Behold, from the present time thy precious body will be transferred
to paradise, and thy holy soul to the heavens to the treasures of my
Father in exceeding brightness, where there is peace and joy of the
holy angels,-and other things besides. And the mother of the Lord
answered and said to him: Lay Thy right hand upon me, O Lord, and
bless me. And the Lord stretched forth His undefiled right hand, and
blessed her. And she laid hold of His undefiled right hand, and
kissed it, saying: I adore this right hand, which created the heaven
and the earth; and I call upon Thy much to be praised name Christ, O
God, the King of the ages, the only-begotten of the Father, to
receive Thine handmaid, Thou who didst deign to be brought forth by
me, in a low estate, to save the race of men through Thine ineffable
dispensation; do Thou bestow Thine aid upon every man calling upon,
or praying to, or naming the the name of, Thine handmaid. And while
she is saying this, the apostles, having gone up to her feet and
adored, say: O mother of the Lord, leave a blessing to the world,
since thou art going away from it. For thou hast blessed it, and
raised it up when it was ruined, by bringing forth the Light of the
world. And the mother of the Lord prayed, and in her prayer spoke
thus: O God, who through Thy great goodness hast sent from the
heavens Thine only-begotten Son to dwell in my humble body, who hast
deigned to be born of me, humble as I am, have mercy upon the world,
and every soul that calls upon Thy name. And again she prayed, and
said: O Lord, King of the heavens, Son of the living God, accept
every man who calls upon Thy name, that Thy birth may be glorified.
And again she prayed, and said: O Lord Jesus Christ, who art
all-powerful in heaven and on earth, in this appeal I implore Thy
holy name; in every time and place where there is made mention of my
name, make that place holy, and glorify those that glorify Thee
through my name, accepting of such persons all their offering, and
all their supplication, and all their prayer. And when she had thus
prayed, the Lord said to His mother: Let thy heart rejoice and be
glad; for every favour and every gift has been given to thee from my
Father in heaven, and from me, and from the Holy Spirit: every soul
that calls upon thy name shall not be ashamed, but shall find mercy,
and comfort, and support, and confidence, both in the world that now
is, and in that which is to come, in the presence of my Father in the
heavens. And the Lord turned and said to Peter: The time has come to
begin the singing of the hymn. And Peter having begun the singing of
the hymn, all the powers of the heavens responded with the Alleluiah.
And then the face of the mother of the Lord shone brighter than the
light, and she rose up and blessed each of the apostles with her own
hand, and all gave glory to God; and the Lord stretched forth His
undefiled hands, and received her holy and blameless soul. And with
the departure of her blameless soul the place was filled with perfume
and ineffable light; and, behold, a voice out of the heaven was
heard, saying: Blessed art thou among women. And Peter, and I John,
and Paul, and Thomas, ran and wrapped up her precious feet for the
consecration; and the twelve apostles put her precious and holy body
upon a couch, and carried it. And, behold, while they were carrying
her, a certain well-born Hebrew, Jephonias by name, running against
the body, put his hands upon the couch; and, behold, an angel of the
Lord by invisible power, with a sword of fire, cut off his two hands
from his shoulders, and made them hang about the couch, lifted up in
the air. And at this miracle which had come to pass all the people of
the Jews who beheld it cried out: Verily, He that was brought forth
by thee is the true God, O mother of God, ever-virgin Mary. And
Jephonias himself, when Peter ordered him, that the wonderful things
of God might be showed forth, stood up behind the couch, and cried
out: Holy Mary, who broughtest forth Christ who is God, have mercy
upon me. And Peter turned and said to him: In the name of Him who was
born of her, thy hands which have been taken away from thee, will be
fixed on again. And immediately, at the word of Peter, the hands
hanging by the couch of the Lady came, and were fixed on Jephonias.
And he believed, and glorified Christ, God who had been born of
her.
And when this
miracle had been done, the apostles carried the couch, and laid down
her precious and holy body in Gethsemane in a new tomb. And, behold,
a perfume of sweet savour came forth out of the holy sepulchre of our
Lady the mother of God; and for three days the voices of invisible
angels were heard glorifying Christ our God, who had been born of
her. And when the third day was ended, the voices were no longer
heard; and from that time forth all knew that her spotless and
precious body had been transferred to paradise.
And after it had
been transferred, behold, we see Elisabeth the mother of St. John the
Baptist, and Anna the mother of the Lady, and Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and David, singing the Alleluiah, and all the choirs of the
saints adoring the holy relics of the mother of the Lord, and the
place full of light, than which light nothing could be more
brilliant, and an abundance of perfume in that place to which her
precious and holy body had been transferred in paradise, and the
melody of those praising Him who had been born of her-sweet melody,
of which there is no satiety, such as is given to virgins, and them
only, to hear. We apostles, therefore, having beheld the sudden
precious translation of her holy body, glorified God, who had shown
us His wonders at the departure of the mother of our Lord Jesus
Christ, whose prayers and good offices may we all be deemed worthy to
receive. under her shelter, and support, and protection, both in the
world that now is and in that which is to come, glorifying in every
time and place her only-begotten Son, along with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
