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91-634: The monastery, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary , was founded in 1133 by Adalbert of Rohr. It was dissolved in the secularization of 1803 when the German princes substituted church lands for property they had lost through Napoleon . In the east wing the parish priest's offices and a school were accommodated, and in a part of the west wing, an inn. The remaining buildings were demolished. The abbey church, dedicated, like

182-488: A "perfect reward" in the kingdom of heaven. The choice was offered by an angel. Anthony Alcock has published an English translation. According to another legend in the same text, Maurice prevented a nurse from substituting one of his sons so as to save at least one of the heirs of the empire. It has been proposed that the name of the Albanian folk hero Muji derives from that of Emperor Maurice (Murik, Muji). Similarly,

273-408: A clear distinction between civil and military offices, primarily to lessen the possibility of rebellion by over-powerful provincial governors. In 584, Maurice created the office of exarch, which combined the supreme civil authority of a praetorian prefect and the military authority of a magister militum and enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. The Exarchate was successful in slowing

364-915: A feast called by the Scottish Episcopal Church simply "Mary the Virgin", and in the US-based Episcopal Church it is observed as the feast of "Saint Mary the Virgin: Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ", while other Anglican provinces have a feast of the Dormition – the Anglican Church of Canada 's Book of Common Prayer (1962), for instance, marks the day as the "Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission , which seeks to identify common ground between

455-558: A par with Christmas and Easter , and Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) declared it "a probable opinion, which to deny were impious and blasphemous". Scholars of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "argued that during or shortly after the apostolic age a group of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem preserved an oral tradition about the end of the Virgin's life". Thus, by pointing to oral tradition, they argued for

546-657: A presumed message that the Virgin Mary would have ordered him to communicate to the pope on the dogma of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary. It is said that Pius XII asked God, during the Holy Year of 1950, for a sign that could reassure him that the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was actually wanted by God and when Gilles communicated the message to Pius XII, the pope considered this message

637-545: A protesting military delegation, headed by an officer named Phocas , was humiliated and rejected in Constantinople. Maurice's marriage produced nine known children: A daughter, Miriam/Maria , is recorded by the 12th-century chronicler Michael the Syrian and other eastern sources as married to Khosrow II but not in any Byzantine Greek ones; she is probably legendary. His brother Petrus (c. 550 – 602) became

728-483: A strict fast on weekdays, with wine and oil allowed on weekends and, additionally, fish on the Transfiguration (August 6). The Assumption is important to many Christians, especially Catholics and Orthodox, as well as many Lutherans and Anglicans, as the Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received into Heaven). Belief about her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by some Christians as

819-612: A theology closer to Catholicism sometimes believing in a bodily assumption whilst most Protestants do not. The Feast of the Assumption of Mary was retained by the Lutheran Church after the Reformation . Evangelical Lutheran Worship designates August 15 as a lesser festival named "Mary, Mother of Our Lord" while the current Lutheran Service Book formally calls it "St. Mary, Mother of our Lord". Within Anglicanism

910-548: Is a relatively well-documented era of late antiquity , in particular by the historian Theophylact Simocatta . The Strategikon , a manual of war which influenced European and Middle Eastern military traditions for well over a millennium, is traditionally attributed to Maurice. Maurice was born in Arabissus in Cappadocia in 539. His father was Paul . He had one brother, Peter , and two sisters, Theoctista and Gordia,

1001-548: Is almost universally dismissed by modern historians; Irfan Shahîd says that it probably had more to do with Maurice's dislike of the veteran and militarily successful Arab ruler. This was compounded by the Byzantines' habitual distrust of the " barbarian " and supposedly innately traitorous Arabs, as well as by al-Mundhir's staunchly Monophysite faith. Al-Mundhir was arrested the following year on suspicion of treachery, triggering war between Byzantines and Ghassanids and marking

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1092-604: Is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church . Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as follows: We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. It leaves open

1183-471: The curopalates and was killed at the same time as Maurice. Petrus married Anastasia Aerobinda (born c. 570), daughter of Areobindus (born c. 550), and had female issue. Maurice's nephew Domitian of Melitene was probably a son of Petrus. In 602, Maurice, with the lack of money as always dictating policy, decreed that the army should stay for winter beyond the Danube . The exhausted troops mutinied against

1274-664: The Battle of the Blarathon . The victory was decisive; Maurice finally brought the war to a successful conclusion with the re-accession of Khosrow. Subsequently, Khosrow was adopted by the emperor in order to seal their alliance. The adoption was made through a rite of adoptio per arma , which ordinarily assumed the Christian character of its partakers. However, the chief Byzantine bishops, "despite their best attempts", failed to convert Khosrow. Khosrow rewarded Maurice by ceding to

1365-527: The Carpathian Basin in 568. Almost immediately they launched an attack on Sirmium , the keystone to the Byzantine defences on the Danube , but were repulsed. They then sent 10,000 Kotrigur Huns to invade the Byzantine province of Dalmatia . There followed a period of consolidation, during which the Byzantines paid them 80,000 gold solidi a year. In 579, his treasury empty, Tiberius II stopped

1456-579: The Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria , who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened upon the request of St. Thomas , was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven. Some scholars argue that the Dormition and Assumption traditions can be traced early in church history in

1547-482: The Excubitors , the imperial bodyguard). When Tiberius was named Caesar in 574, Maurice was appointed to succeed him as comes excubitorum . In late 577, despite a complete lack of military experience, Maurice was named as magister militum per Orientem , effectively commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the east. He succeeded General Justinian in the ongoing war against Sassanid Persia . At about

1638-630: The Slavs . Maurice had to continue the war against the Persians. In 586 his troops defeated them at the Battle of Solachon south of Dara . In 588, a mutiny by unpaid Byzantine troops against their new commander, Priscus , seemed to offer the Sassanids a chance for a breakthrough, but the mutineers themselves repulsed the ensuing Persian offensive. Later in the year they secured a major victory before Martyropolis . The Sassanid commander, Maruzas ,

1729-639: The 580s on. In 584, the Slavs threatened the capital and in 586 the Avars besieged Thessalonica , while the Slavs went as far as the Peloponnese . After his victory on the eastern frontier in 591, Maurice was free to focus on the Balkans . He launched several campaigns against the Slavs and Avars. In 592 his troops retook Singidunum (modern Belgrade) from the Avars. His commander-in-chief Priscus defeated

1820-628: The Age to Come. The Resurrection of the Body ... has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the Resurrection of the Body that she enjoys even now. Views differ within Protestantism, with those with

1911-465: The Areopagite . The Euthymiac History , from the sixth century, is cited by John of Damascus, which narrates how Mary was assumed into heaven. John of Damascus set out what had become the standard Eastern tradition, that "Mary died in the presence of the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that her body

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2002-557: The Assumption is celebrated on 15 August and the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God (or Dormition of the Theotokos, the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on the same date, preceded by a 14-day fasting period. Eastern Christians believe that Mary died a natural death, that her soul was received by Christ upon death, that her body was resurrected after her death and that she

2093-560: The Assumption is the " Six Books Dormition Apocryphon ", so- called on account of its division into six separate books. It dates almost certainly to the middle of the fourth century, if not perhaps even earlier. Most significantly, the Six Books Dormition Apocryphon provides compelling evidence for an early cult of the Virgin nearly a century before the events of the Council of Ephesus. The Greek Discourse on

2184-576: The Assumption of Mary became widespread across the Christian world, having been celebrated as early as the 5th century and having been established in the East by Emperor Maurice around AD 600. In a homily , John Damascene (675–749 AD), citing the third book of the Euthymiac History , records the following: St. Juvenal , Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to

2275-519: The Assumption of Mary is accepted by some, rejected by others, or regarded as adiaphora ("a thing indifferent"). The doctrine effectively disappeared from Anglican worship in 1549, partially returning in Anglo-Catholic tradition during the 20th century under different names. A Marian feast on 15 August is celebrated by the Church of England as a non-specific feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

2366-576: The Byzantine plan to the Persians, who then proceeded to destroy the bridge over the Euphrates. The chronicler John of Ephesus explicitly calls this assertion a lie, as the Byzantine intentions must have been plain to the Persian commanders. Both Maurice and al-Mundhir wrote letters to Emperor Tiberius, who tried to reconcile them. Maurice visited Constantinople himself, where he was able to persuade Tiberius of al-Mundhir's guilt. The charge of treason

2457-475: The Byzantines. The following year an ambitious campaign by Maurice, supported by Ghassanid forces under al-Mundhir III , targeted Ctesiphon , the Sassanid capital. The combined force moved south along the river Euphrates accompanied by a fleet of ships. The army stormed the fortress of Anatha and moved on until it reached the region of Beth Aramaye in central Mesopotamia , near Ctesiphon. There they found

2548-711: The Danube line again. Meanwhile, Maurice was making plans for repopulating devastated areas in the Balkans by using Armenian settlers. Maurice also planned to lead further campaigns against the Avar Khaganate, so as to either destroy them or force them into submission. In the west, Maurice organised the threatened Byzantine dominions in Italy into the Exarchate of Italy . The Late Roman administrative system provided for

2639-724: The Dormition or The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary (attributed to John the Theologian ), is another anonymous narrative, and may even precede the Book of Mary's Repose . This Greek document, is dated by Tischendorf as no later than the 4th century. but is dated by Shoemaker as later. The New Testament is silent regarding the end of her life. In the late 4th century Epiphanius of Salamis wrote he could find no authorized tradition about how her life ended. Nevertheless, although Epiphanius could not decide on

2730-588: The Dormition is less dogmatically than liturgically and mystically defined. Such differences spring from a larger pattern in the two traditions, wherein Catholic teachings are often dogmatically and authoritatively defined – in part because of the more centralized structure of the Catholic Church – whilst in Eastern Orthodoxy many doctrines are less authoritative. The Latin Catholic Feast of

2821-527: The Feast as the Dormition. It seems, however, that there is much more evidence for the mortalistic position in the Catholic traditions (liturgy, apocrypha, material culture). Pope John Paul II expressed the mortalistic position in his public speech. Many theologians note by way of comparison that in the Catholic Church the Assumption is dogmatically defined, whilst in the Eastern Orthodox tradition

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2912-682: The Lombard advance in Italy. In 591, he created a second Exarchate in Byzantine North Africa , along similar lines. In 597, an ailing Maurice wrote his last will, in which he described his ideas of governing the empire. His eldest son, Theodosius , would rule the eastern provinces from Constantinople ; his second son, Tiberius, would rule the western exarchates from Rome . Some historians believe he intended for his younger sons to rule from Alexandria, Carthage, and Antioch. His intent

3003-591: The Slavs, Avars and Gepids south of the Danube in 593. The same year he crossed the Danube into modern-day Wallachia to continue his series of victories. In 594, Maurice replaced Priscus with his rather inexperienced brother Peter, who, despite initial failures, scored another victory in Wallachia. Priscus, now in command of another army further upstream, defeated the Avars again in 595. The latter now only dared to attack peripherally, in Dalmatia two years later. In

3094-539: The Virgin Mary, Begetter of God, the most pure bed and temple of the Holy Spirit, that is, her most holy body, was carried to heaven by angels. Orthodox Christians fast for fourteen days before the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, including abstinence from sexual relations. Fasting in the Orthodox Churches generally consists of abstinence from certain food groups; during the Dormition fast, one observes

3185-578: The abbey, to the Assumption, contains a high altar, which represents the Assumption of the Virgin in fully three-dimensional sculpture: a " Theatrum sacrum ". It was created by Egid Quirin Asam in 1722 and 1723. After World War II the exiled German Benedictine monks from Braunau Abbey (Braunau is now Broumov in the Czech Republic ) were lodged here in part of the east wing. They gradually re-established their community, acquiring little by little

3276-645: The advantage he had gained at the Battle of Constantina was lost when his successor as magister militum of the east, John Mystacon , was defeated at the River Nymphios by Kardarigan . The situation was difficult: Maurice ruled a bankrupt Empire; it was at war with Persia; he was paying extremely high tribute to the Avars , 80,000 gold solidi a year; and the Balkan provinces were being thoroughly devastated by

3367-483: The ancient common traditions". The Protestant reformer Heinrich Bullinger believed in the assumption of Mary. His 1539 polemical treatise against idolatry expressed his belief that Mary's sacrosanctum corpus ("sacrosanct body") had been assumed into heaven by angels: Hac causa credimus ut Deiparae virginis Mariae purissimum thalamum et spiritus sancti templum, hoc est, sacrosanctum corpus ejus deportatum esse ab angelis in coelum. For this reason we believe that

3458-559: The apocryphal books, with Stephen J. Shoemaker stating: For instance, Baldi, Masconi, and Cothenet analyzed the corpus of Dormition narratives using a rather different approach, governed primarily by language tradition rather than literary relations, and yet all agree that the Obsequies (i.e., the Liber Requiei Mariae ) and the Six Books Dormition Apocryphon reflect the earliest traditions, locating their origins in

3549-638: The assumption is said to have taken place in Ephesus , in the House of the Virgin Mary . This is a much more recent and localised tradition. The earliest traditions say that Mary's life ended in Jerusalem (see Tomb of the Virgin Mary ). According to the Passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary , attributed to Joseph of Arimathea , which is a later version of the Virgin Mary's Dormition, probably from sometime after

3640-502: The basis for the later introduction of themes as military districts. Maurice promoted science and the arts and he is traditionally named as author of the military treatise Strategikon , which is praised in military circles as the only sophisticated combined arms theory until World War II . Some historians now believe the Strategikon is the work of his brother or another general in his court, however. His greatest weakness

3731-401: The basis of biblical or church tradition whether Mary had died or remained immortal, his indecisive reflections suggest that some difference of opinion on the matter had already arisen in his time, and he identified three beliefs concerning her end: that she had a normal and peaceful death; that she died as a martyr; or that she did not die. Even more, in another text Epiphanius stated that Mary

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3822-491: The beginning of the end of the Ghassanid kingdom. In June of 582 Maurice scored a decisive victory against Adarmahan near Constantina . Adarmahan barely escaped the field, while his co-commander Tamkhosrau was killed. In the same month Emperor Tiberius was struck down by an illness which shortly thereafter killed him. In this state Tiberius initially named two heirs, each of whom was to marry one of his daughters. Maurice

3913-473: The bridge over the Euphrates destroyed by the Persians. In response to Maurice's advance, Sassanid general Adarmahan was ordered to operate in northern Mesopotamia, threatening the Roman army's supply line. Adarmahan pillaged Osrhoene , and was successful in capturing its capital, Edessa . He then marched his army toward Callinicum on the Euphrates. With the possibility of a march to Ctesiphon gone Maurice

4004-410: The description of him by Theophylact may exaggerate these traits. He possessed insight, public spirit, and courage. He proved his expertise on military and foreign affairs during his campaigns against the Persians, Avars and Slavs, and during peace negotiations with Khosrow II. His administrative reforms reveal him as a farsighted statesman, all the more since they outlasted his death by centuries and were

4095-472: The disintegration of the empire of Justinian I . The death of Maurice was a turning point. The war against Persia which it caused weakened both empires, enabling the Slavs to permanently settle the Balkans and paving the way for the Arab-Muslim expansion . His court still used Latin alongside Greek , as did the army and administration. Historian A. H. M. Jones characterises the death of Maurice as

4186-664: The dogma" of the assumption. The apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus mentions several Holy Fathers, theologians and Doctors of the Church who held the Assumption of Mary, among them are Adrian I , Sergius I , Leo IV , John of Damascus , Amadeus of Lausanne , Modestus of Jerusalem , Anthony of Padua , Albertus Magnus , Thomas of Aquinas (Angelic Doctor), Bonaventure (Seraphic Doctor), Bernardino of Siena , Robert Bellarmine , Francis de Sales , Peter Canisius , Francisco Suárez , among others. The apostolic constitution adds: "All these proofs and considerations of

4277-477: The early seventh century, one of the apostles, often identified as Thomas the Apostle , was not present at the death of Mary but his late arrival precipitates a reopening of Mary's tomb, which is found to be empty except for her grave clothes. Finally, Mary drops her girdle down to the apostle from heaven as testament to the event. This incident is depicted in many later paintings of the Assumption. Teaching of

4368-419: The emperor to choose between a long reign or death and acceptance in the kingdom of heaven. Maurice preferred the second choice. The same story has been recorded in a short Syriac hagiography on the life of the emperor. It is of East Syrian origin. This was later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to the Syriac author, the emperor asked in prayer to receive a punishment in this world and

4459-406: The emperor, taking his family with him, left the city on a warship heading to Nicomedia . Theodosius was put ashore with direction to seek support from the Persians, but apparently never reached his destination. Phocas entered Constantinople in November and was crowned emperor. His troops captured Maurice and his remaining family, and brought them to the Harbor of Eutropius at Chalcedon. Maurice

4550-404: The emperor. In Italy Maurice established the Exarchate of Italy in 584, the first real effort by the empire to halt the advance of the Lombards . With the creation of the Exarchate of Africa in 591 he further solidified the power of Constantinople in the western Mediterranean . Maurice's successes on battlefields and in foreign policy were counterbalanced by mounting financial difficulties of

4641-460: The emperor. Probably misjudging the situation, Maurice repeatedly ordered his troops to start a new offensive rather than return to winter quarters. His troops gained the impression that Maurice no longer understood the military situation and proclaimed Phocas their leader. They demanded that Maurice abdicate and proclaim as successor either his son Theodosius or General Germanus . Both men were accused of treason. As riots broke out in Constantinople,

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4732-440: The empire slowly but steadily succeeded, especially after the peace with Persia. His initial popularity apparently declined during his reign, mostly because of his fiscal policies. In 588 he announced a cut in military wages by a quarter, leading to a serious mutiny by troops on the Persian front. He refused to pay a small ransom in 599 or 600 to free 12,000 Byzantine soldiers taken prisoner by the Avars. The prisoners were killed, and

4823-435: The empire western Armenia up to the lakes Van and Sevan , including the large cities of Martyropolis , Tigranokert , Manzikert , Ani , and Yerevan . Maurice's treaty brought a new status-quo to the east territorially. Byzantium was enlarged to an extent never before achieved by the empire. During the new "perpetual peace" millions of solidi were saved by the remission of tribute to the Persians. The Avars arrived in

4914-413: The empire) read it for him. The speech proclaimed Maurice as Augustus and sole successor to the throne. On 14 August 582 Tiberius died and his last words were spoken to his successor: "Let my sovereignty be delivered to thee with this girl. Be happy in the use of it, mindful always to love equity and justice." Maurice became sole emperor, marrying Constantina in the autumn. Shortly after his ascension

5005-435: The empire. Maurice responded with several unpopular measures which alienated both the army and the general populace. In 602, a dissatisfied officer named Phocas usurped the throne, having Maurice and his six sons executed. This event would prove a disaster for the empire, sparking a twenty-six-year war with a resurgent Sassanid Persia which would leave both empires devastated prior to the Muslim conquests . Maurice's reign

5096-442: The end of the era of Classical Antiquity , as the turmoil that shattered the empire over the next four decades permanently and thoroughly changed society and politics. The first legendary accounts of Maurice's life are recorded in the ninth century, in the work of the Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor . According to his chronicle Chronographia , the death of the imperial family is due to divine intervention: Christ asked

5187-435: The fall of mankind, by the seductive voice of the snake in the Bible, represents the fallen angel, Satan or "the devil". Similarly, the great dragon in Revelation 12 is a representation of Satan, identified with the serpent from the garden who has enmity with the woman. Therefore, in Catholic thought, there is an association between this woman and Mary's Assumption. Among the many other passages noted by Pope Pius XII were

5278-513: The final dogmatic development, rather than the point of origin, of these traditions. There is a large number of accounts of assumption of the Virgin Mary, published in various languages (including Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic). The standard Greek text is the one attributed to St John the Theologian (Evangelist). The standard Latin is that attributed to Melito of Sardis. Shoemaker mentions that "the ancient narratives are neither clear nor unanimous in either supporting or contradicting

5369-494: The first time in nearly two centuries, the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Persians thousands of pounds of gold annually for peace. Afterward, Maurice campaigned extensively in the Balkans against the Avars —pushing them back across the Danube by 599. He also conducted campaigns across the Danube, the first Roman emperor to do so in over two centuries. In the west, he established two large semi-autonomous provinces called exarchates , ruled by exarchs , or viceroys of

5460-419: The following: The Bible mentions two prominent figures, Enoch and Elijah , who were taken up to heaven, serving as important precedents for the assumption of Mary. Enoch, referenced in the Book of Genesis , is noted for his intimate walk with God and is described as having been "taken" by God ( Genesis 5:24 ), an event that is also reported in the Epistle to the Hebrews ( Hebrews 11:5 ). Similarly, Elijah,

5551-505: The great prophet, was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, accompanied by a chariot of fire, as recorded in 2 Kings ( 2 Kings 2:11 ). In the 12th century, the German nun Elisabeth of Schönau was reportedly granted visions of Mary and her son which had a profound influence on the Western Church's tradition. In her work Visio de resurrectione beate virginis Mariae relates how Mary was assumed in body and soul into Heaven. On 1 May 1950 Gilles Bouhours (a marian seer) reported to Pius XII

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5642-434: The harbor of Eutropius when Constantina was found guilty of a conspiracy against Phocas. The entire family of Maurice and Constantina was buried at the monastery of St. Mamas or Nea Metanoia that had been founded by Maurice's sister Gordia. The Persian king Khosrow II used this coup and the murder of his patron as an excuse for a renewed war against the empire. Maurice is seen as an able emperor and commander-in-chief, though

5733-399: The historicity of the assumption and Dormition narratives. According to Antoine Wenger "the strikingly diverse traditions of Mary's Dormition and Assumption arise from ‘a great variety of original types’, rather than being the result of a progressive modification of a single, original tradition". Simon Claude Mimouni and his predecessors have argued that belief in the Virgin's Assumption is

5824-728: The holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation." Father Jugie, expressed the view that Revelation 12 :1–2 was the chief scriptural witness to the assumption: And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child ... This passage, Epiphanius proposes, may indicate that Mary did not die as other human beings, but somehow remained immortal, although he makes clear his own uncertainty and refrains from advocating this view. Ultimately Epiphanius concludes: "[I] am not saying that she remained immortal. But neither am I affirming that she died." Since

5915-421: The hope that the belief in the bodily assumption of the virgin Mary into heaven "will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective", while the Catechism of the Catholic Church adds: "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." In some versions of the assumption narrative,

6006-569: The hoped-for sign. Six months after the private audience granted to Gilles by the pope, Pius XII himself proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of body and soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. Some Catholics believe that Mary died before being assumed, but they believe that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed (mortalistic interpretation). Others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first dying (immortalistic interpretation). Either understanding may be legitimately held by Catholics, with Eastern Catholics observing

6097-421: The latter of whom was later the wife of the general Philippicus . He is recorded to have been a native Greek speaker, unlike the previous emperors since Anastasius I Dicorus . Sources call him a native Cappadocian Greek and the first emperor "from the race of the Greeks". Maurice first came to Constantinople as a notarius to serve as secretary to Tiberius , the comes excubitorum (commander of

6188-405: The negotiations. In 580, Byzantium's Arab allies the Ghassanids scored a victory over the Lakhmids, Arab allies of the Sassanids, while Byzantine raids again penetrated east of the Tigris. Around this time the future Khosrow II was put in charge of the situation in Armenia, where he succeeded in convincing most of the rebel leaders to return to Sassanid allegiance, although Iberia remained loyal to

6279-477: The new king. The former Persian commander-in-chief, Bahram Chobin , who had rebelled against Hormizd IV , claimed the throne for himself and defeated Khosrow. Khosrow and the two Parthians fled to the Byzantine court. Although the Senate unanimously advised against it, Maurice helped Khosrow regain his throne with an army of 35,000 men. In 591 the combined Byzantine-Persian army under generals John Mystacon and Narses defeated Bahram Chobin's forces near Ganzak at

6370-399: The payments. The Avars retaliated with another siege of Sirmium . The city fell in c. 581. After the capture of Sirmium, the Avars demanded 100,000 solidi a year. Refused, they used the strategically important city as a base of operations against several poorly defended forts along the Danube and began pillaging the northern and eastern Balkans. The Slavs began settling the land from

6461-400: The question of whether Mary died or whether she was raised to eternal life without bodily death. The equivalent belief in the Eastern Christianity is the Dormition of the Mother of God or the "Falling Asleep of the Mother of God". The word 'assumption' derives from the Latin word assūmptiō , meaning 'taking up'. Pope Pius XII expressed in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus

6552-662: The remaining parts of the entire monastery complex. The monks have re-established a secondary school here. The abbey has been part of the Bavarian Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation since 1984. 48°46′08″N 11°58′01″E  /  48.7688888889°N 11.9669444444°E  / 48.7688888889; 11.9669444444 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary

6643-648: The same time he was raised to the rank of patrikios , the empire's senior honorific title, which was limited to a small number of holders. In 578, a truce in Mesopotamia came to an end and the main focus of the war shifted to that front. After Persian raids in Mesopotamia, Maurice mounted attacks on both sides of the Tigris, captured the fortress of Aphumon and sacked Singara . Sassanid emperor Khosrow sought peace in 579, but died before an agreement could be reached and his successor Hormizd IV (r. 579–590) broke off

6734-481: The same year the Byzantines concluded a peace treaty with the Avar leader Bayan I , which allowed the Byzantines to send expeditions into Wallachia . In 598, Maurice broke the treaty to permit a retaliation campaign inside the Avar homeland. In 599 and 601 the Byzantine forces wreaked havoc amongst the Avars and Gepids. In 602, the Slavs suffered a crushing defeat in Wallachia. The Byzantine troops were now able to hold

6825-660: The second or third century. According to Shoemaker, the first known narrative to address the end of Mary's life and her assumption is the apocryphal third- and possibly second-century Liber Requiei Mariae ("The Book of Mary's Repose"). Yet numerous features indicate that the Liber Requiei Mariae , or the Obsequies of the Virgin , as the text is called in Syriac, is even older than this ancient manuscript alone would suggest. Another early source that speaks of

6916-592: The symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise. The Assumption of Mary is symbolised in the Fleur-de-lys Madonna. The present Italian name of the holiday, Ferragosto , may derive from the Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Holidays of the Emperor Augustus "), since the month of August took its name from the emperor. The feast

7007-563: The time of the early Church Fathers, this image of "the woman clothed with the sun" has had a threefold symbolism: the ancient people of Israel, the Church and Mary. Many of the bishops cited Genesis 3:15 , in which God is addressing the serpent in the Garden of Eden , as the primary confirmation of Mary's assumption: I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. Many scholars connect Jesus' usage of

7098-535: The two communions, released in 2004 a non-authoritative declaration meant for study and evaluation, the "Seattle Statement"; this "agreed statement" concludes that "the teaching about Mary in the two definitions of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception , understood within the biblical pattern of the economy of hope and grace, can be said to be consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures and

7189-607: The word "woman" to call Mary instead of calling her "mother" as a confirmation of Mary being the "woman" described in Genesis 3:15. Mary was often seen as the " New Eve ", who crushed the serpent's head at the Annunciation by obeying the angel Gabriel when he said she would bear the Messiah (Luke 1:38). The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that the account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, and that

7280-541: Was Byzantine emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty . A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tiberius II . Maurice's reign was troubled by almost constant warfare. After he became emperor, he brought the war with Sasanian Persia to a victorious conclusion . The empire's eastern border in the South Caucasus was vastly expanded and, for

7371-401: Was betrothed to Constantina , and Germanus , related through blood to the great emperor Justinian I , was married to Charito. It appears that the plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces and Germanus the western. According to John of Nikiû , Germanus was Tiberius' favored candidate for the throne but declined out of humility. On 5 August, Tiberius

7462-445: Was forced to retreat. The retreat was arduous for the tired army, and Maurice and al-Mundhir exchanged recriminations for the expedition's failure. However, they cooperated in forcing Adarmahan to withdraw, and defeated him at Callinicum . The mutual recriminations were not laid to rest by this. Despite his successes, al-Mundhir was accused by Maurice of treason during the preceding campaign. Maurice claimed that al-Mundhir had revealed

7553-474: Was his inability to judge how unpopular his decisions were. The historian C. W. Previté-Orton listed a number of character flaws in the emperor's personality: His fault was too much faith in his own excellent judgment without regard to the disagreement and unpopularity which he provoked by decisions in themselves right and wise. He was a better judge of policy than of men. It was this flaw that cost him throne and life, and thwarted most of his efforts to prevent

7644-617: Was introduced by Bishop Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century. In the course of Christianization , he put it on 15 August. In the middle of August, Augustus celebrated his victories over Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra at Actium and Alexandria with a three-day triumph . The anniversaries (and later only 15 August) were public holidays from then on throughout the Roman Empire. Emperor Maurice Maurice ( Latin : Mauricius ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Μαυρίκιος , translit.   Maurikios ; 539 – 27 November 602)

7735-435: Was killed, several of the Persian leaders were captured along with 3,000 other prisoners, and only a thousand men survived to reach refuge at Nisibis. The Byzantines secured much booty, including the Persian battle standards, and sent them, along with Maruzas' head, to Maurice in Constantinople. In 590, two Parthian brothers, Vistahm and Vinduyih , overthrew King Hormizd IV and made the latter's son, Prince Khosrow II ,

7826-424: Was like Elijah because she never died but was assumed, like him. Other works that mention the assumption of Mary are the apocryphal treatise De Obitu S. Dominae , bearing the name of St. John, which belongs however to the fourth or fifth century. It is also found in the apocryphal book De Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis , falsely ascribed to Melito of Sardis , and in a spurious letter attributed to Denis

7917-452: Was murdered at the harbor of Eutropius on 27 November 602. The deposed emperor was forced to watch his five younger sons executed before he was beheaded himself. Empress Constantina and her three daughters were temporarily spared and sent to a monastery. The palace eunuch Scholasticus aided their escape to St. Sophia, but the church turned them over to Phocas, who sent them back to the monastery. A few years later, they were all executed at

8008-426: Was on his deathbed and civilian, military and ecclesiastical dignitaries awaited the appointment of his successor. He then chose Maurice and named him Caesar , after which he adopted the name "Tiberius". Maurice was crowned emperor soon after, on 13 August. Tiberius had reportedly prepared a speech on the matter but at this point was too weak to speak. The quaestor sacri palatii (the senior judicial official of

8099-546: Was taken up into heaven bodily in anticipation of the general resurrection . Orthodox tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point [of the Dormition]: the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her body – like His – was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed beyond death and judgement and lives wholly in

8190-528: Was taken up to heaven." The feast of the Dormition , imported from the East and held annually on 15 August, arrived in the West in the early 7th century, its name changing to Assumption in some 9th century liturgical calendars. It is mentioned in a papal decree of Sergius I (687-701), who fixed a procession for the feast. Pope Leo IV (reigned 847–855) gave the feast a vigil and an octave to solemnise it above all others, Pope Nicholas I (858–867) placed it on

8281-560: Was to maintain the unity of the empire; this idea bears a strong resemblance to the Tetrarchy of Diocletian. However, Maurice's violent death prevented these plans from coming to fruition. In religious matters, Maurice was tolerant towards Monophysitism , although he was a supporter of the Council of Chalcedon . He clashed with Pope Gregory I over the latter's defence of Rome against the Lombards . Maurice's efforts to consolidate

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