Mary as the New Eve
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — her being taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven at the end of her earthly life — is one of the most ancient and universal beliefs of the Catholic Church. It is attested in the liturgical tradition of both East and West from at least the fifth century, and its theological roots reach back to the earliest Fathers. The foundation of the doctrine is Mary's unique role as the New Eve. Just as Eve, the mother of all the living, was the companion of Adam in his disobedience and its consequences, so Mary, the Mother of God, is the companion of the New Adam — Christ — in His obedience and its fruits. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, writing in the second century, is the first to develop this parallel systematically: 'The knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith.'
The Theotokos and the Fullness of Grace
The title Theotokos — God-bearer, Mother of God — defined by the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431, is the key to understanding Mary's unique dignity and destiny. Because she bore in her womb the eternal Son of God made flesh, her relationship to the Holy Trinity is unlike that of any other creature. She is not merely the instrument of the Incarnation but its willing and active participant — the one who said 'Be it unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38) and by that fiat opened the way for the salvation of the world. The angel's greeting — 'Hail, full of grace' (Luke 1:28) — is understood by the Fathers as indicating a unique fullness of the Holy Spirit's indwelling. Mary is the first and most perfect of the redeemed, the one in whom the purpose of the Incarnation is most fully realised. It is therefore fitting — and the Church has always believed it to be so — that she who bore the Author of life should not see corruption, but should be taken up, body and soul, into the life of the Resurrection.
The Assumption in Holy Tradition
The Feast of the Dormition (the 'falling asleep') of the Theotokos has been celebrated in the Eastern Church since at least the fifth century, and the corresponding Feast of the Assumption in the West since the seventh. The homilies of St. John of Damascus, St. Andrew of Crete, and St. Germanus of Constantinople, all written in the eighth century, provide the fullest patristic exposition of the doctrine. St. John of Damascus writes: 'It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in the act of giving birth, should look upon him as he sits with the Father.' The Anglican tradition, rooted in the undivided Catholic Church, has always honoured the Blessed Virgin Mary as Theotokos and has kept the Feast of her Assumption or Dormition. The Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite continues this ancient and universal tradition, affirming with the whole Catholic Church that Mary, the Mother of God, has been glorified in body and soul in the presence of her Son.
Mary and the Church
The Assumption of Mary is not merely a privilege granted to an individual; it is a sign and pledge for the whole Church. Mary is the first member of the Church to be fully redeemed — body and soul — and her Assumption is the anticipation of what is promised to all the faithful at the general resurrection. She is, as the Second Vatican Council expressed it, 'a sign of sure hope and solace to the wandering people of God.' For the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is inseparable from the Catholic Faith. She is the Mother of the Church, the model of faith and obedience, the Queen of Heaven. To honour her is to honour her Son; to seek her intercession is to acknowledge the communion of saints and the power of prayer. The Assumption is the crown of her life of grace, and its celebration is an act of praise to the Holy Trinity who has so glorified His handmaid.