ORTHODOXY: The Death of Mary

Some Orthodox Christians believe that the bodily ascent of the Mother of God is actually a dogma in Roman Catholicism only and nothing more than a theological opinion in Orthodoxy. On the other hand, there are many who believe that the dogma is one and the same in both Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. If we were to subscribe to either of these views, however, we would be in disagreement with the Church and the consensus of the fathers. The Orthodox teaching was plainly stated in the acts of a Local Council: “Even though her immaculate body was entombed, in three days, she was translated to the heavens with her body, the same way Christ ascended” {Acts of the Council of Jerusalem (1672)].

The Orthodox doctrine of the Theotokos’ bodily ascent from the tomb to Heaven and the Roman Catholic dogma of the Assumption are not interchangeable. They differ in fundamental ways. For example, the Roman Catholic dogma does not acknowledge that she died and was entombed, which is an essential part of the Orthodox doctrine.

— Taken from MARY – The Untrodden Portal of God, by George S. Gabriel.