The Dormition and Assumption Apocrypha

This volume gathers a dozen essays by the author on the ancient

traditions of Mary’s Dormition and Assumption, all of which expand on

the work published in his major study on this topic, The Ancient

Traditions of Mary’s Dormition and Assumption (Oxford, 2002). The essays

were originally published between 1999 and 2011 and cover a broad range

of topics in relation to traditions about the end of Mary’s life, from

ancient gnostic Christianity to Christian anti-Judaism to the beginnings

of Marian veneration. Although each of these items was previously

published in another venue, for the first time this volume makes these

writings on the Virgin’s Dormition available together, offering an

important supplement and in some cases update of the earlier monograph.

While its chapters remain largely faithful to the original publications

in their content, when appropriate, they have been selectively updated

to account for more recent research.