The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Little is known about the life of the Blessed Mother after the death of Jesus. And, of course, most protestants only trot her out at Christmas time and then put her back in the box. But, of course, she raised Him from an infant and is revered as holy by not only Catholics but Muslims as well. In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary official dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches that the Virgin Mary “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. And, of course, the Assumption is in the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Certainly, no tomb has ever been found that claimed to hold her relics.
Possible Locations of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in to Heaven:
There are two locations that vie for recognition as the place that Mary was assumed in to heaven: Jerusalem and Ephesus.. Neither one has been approved or dis-approved by the Church.
In Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, there is a cave said to be the tomb of Mary.
Location of the Assumption in Jerusalem:
The earliest known traditions of the location of the assumption was Jerusalem. It was here that Jesus was crucified, it was her that Mary was protected by the disciples after the Resurrection, and it could be assumed that it was here that she died.
There is no mention of the tomb of Mary in Jerusalem prior to the end of the sixth century. The Church of the Dormition on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem that claims to be the site of her death. Subsequently, her body was placed in the tomb down the hill at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and that tomb was later discovered to be empty.
And it is in Jerusalem that tradition places her tomb in the dormition abbey belonging to the Benedictine Order in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate.
Location of the Assumption in Ephesus:
Another location that claims to be the actual site is Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey. The early Christians taught that the Apostle and Evangelist John lived in Asia Minor in the last decades of the first century. It was from Ephesus that he guided the Churches of that province.
There was a centuries-old tradition that Saint John went there and took Mary in to his house. The house was in ruins and only re-discovered in October 18, 1881, by relying on the descriptions by Anne Catherine Emmerich. Based on those description, which proved to be accurate, a French priest, the Abbé Julien Gouyet discovered a small stone building on a mountain overlooking the Aegean in Ephesus. He believed it was the house described by Emmerich and where the Virgin Mary had lived the final years of her life.
Where is the actual site of the Assumption?
Obviously, we don’t have an answer. Since scholars disagree….and we are definitely not scholars…we have to assume that the matter lies open to debate. We welcome your input. Just drop us an email or comment below.
