St. Maximos the Confessor on the Dormition of the Theotokos

Source: The Life of the Virgin, by Maximus the Confessor, translated by Stephen J. Shoemaker, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012, Chapter 8, pp. 130-148, notes pp. 195-201.

The Dormition of the Theotokos [1]

 

 

103. Now by her grace let us speak about her Dormition and removal from the world to the eternal kingdom, for it is the joy and the light of pious souls to hear such a story. When Christ our God wanted to bring his all-holy and immaculate mother forth from the world and lead her into the kingdom of heaven so that she would receive the eternal crown of virtues and supernatural labors, and so that he could place her at his right hand beautifully adorned with golden tassels in many colors (cf. Ps 44.10, 14) and proclaim her queen of all creatures, and so that she would pass behind the veil and dwell in the Holy of Holies, he revealed her glorious Dormition to her in advance. And he sent the archangel Gabriel to her again to announce her glorious Dormition, as he had before the wondrous conception. Thus the archangel came and brought her a branch from a date palm, which is a sign of victory: as once they went with branches of date palms to meet her son (cf. John 12.13), the victor over death and vanquisher of Hell, so the archangel also brought the branch to the holy queen, a sign of victory over suffering and fearlessness before death. And he said to her, “Your son and Lord bids you: ‘It is time for my mother to come to me.’ Therefore he has sent me again to bring good news to you, O blessed among women. Just as you have filled the inhabitants of the earth with joy, O blessed one, so now you will cause the host of heaven to rejoice by your ascension and make the souls of the saints to shine even more. Rejoice, as you cried out before, for you have the title ‘favored one’ as an honor forever: Rejoice, favored one, the Lord is with you (Luke 1.28). Your prayers and supplications have gone up before your son in heaven, and according to your request, he bids you to relinquish this world and ascend to the dwelling places of heaven and to be with him in the true and unending life.” When the holy Theotokos Mary heard this, she was filled with joy, and she responded to the angel with her original reply: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me now again according to your word” (Luke 1.38). And the angel departed from her.

104. Then the ever-blessed and glorious Theotokos Mary arose, and full of joy she went forth to the Mount of Olives to offer thanks and prayers to the Lord in peace, both for herself and for the entire world. When she had ascended the mountain, she extended her hands and offered prayers and thanks to Christ her son. Then a glorious miracle took place, as is known to those who have been made worthy of such knowledge, and from them it has come down to us. For while she was praying and offering her supplications to the Lord, in veneration all the trees standing there bent to the ground and venerated her. Thus, when she finished her prayer and thanksgiving and had been consoled by the Lord, she returned again to Zion, and immediately the Lord sent John the Evangelist and Theologian on a cloud, because the holy Virgin wanted to see him, since he had been decreed her son by the Lord. [2] She who is blessed among women saw him and rejoiced greatly and enjoined prayer. And the holy queen prayed, and after her prayer she informed John and the other virgins who were there about the annunciation of her Dormition by the angel, and she showed them the date palm branch that the angel had brought her. And she told them to prepare the house and to light the candles and to cense with incense, for she adorned the house as bridal chamber worthy to receive her immortal bridegroom and all-gracious son, because she was waiting with steadfast hope. When this was done, she informed her friends and acquaintances about the mystery of her Dormition, and they gathered around her. And they wept and lamented her separation from them, for after God they had her as their hope and intercessor.

105. But the holy [3] queen and mother of the Lord consoled each one of them individually and all of them together, and she gave them an impassioned greeting and said, “Rejoice, O blessed children, and do not make my Dormition a cause for grief, but be full of the greatest joy, for I am going into eternal joy, and may the grace and mercy of the Lord be with you always.” Then she looked at John the Evangelist and told him to give her two garments to the two widows who were serving her. And she revealed to them the mysteries and true signs of her poverty and graciousness. After this she explained how they should anoint her holy and completely immaculate body with myrrh and specified where they should bury it. And so the glorious mother of Christ lay down on her bed, the bed that until that time had been bathed from night to night [4] with the tears of her eyes in longing for her son Christ and enlightened by her prayers and supplications. And again she told them to light the candles, and the believers gathered there again wept even more when they were informed about the Dormition of their queen, the holy Virgin. They fell down before her and begged her not to leave them as orphans, but if she were to go forth from the world, to be with them through grace and intercession.

106. Then the holy Theotokos opened her incorruptible and completely immaculate mouth and said to them, “May the will of my son and God be upon me. He is my God, and I will glorify and exalt him, the God of my father. He is my son, born from me according to the flesh, but the father is also God the creator of his mother. Therefore I desire to go to the one who gives life and being to all things. And when I stand before him, I will not cease to pray and intercede on behalf of you and all Christians and the entire world, so that the one who sees mercy as necessary will have mercy on all believers and make them steadfast and guide them on the way of life, and he will convert the unbelievers and make all into one flock of the good shepherd, who laid down his life [5] for the sake of his sheep, and he knows his own, and his own know him (cf. John 10.11, 14–16).” When the all-blessed mother of Christ spoke thus and blessed them, suddenly there was the sound of great thunder and a cloud on a gentle breeze. And behold, like fragrant drops of dew the holy disciples and apostles of Christ descended from the beautiful cloud, and in front of the house of the holy Virgin, the Theotokos, they came together from the ends of the earth. But John the Evangelist and Theologian met them and greeted them, and he brought them in before the holy and blessed Virgin. Not only were the Twelve there, but also many others of their distinguished disciples and those who were worthy of the honor of apostleship, as the great Dionysius the Areopagite informs us in his letter written to Timothy that, according to him, Dionysius, Timothy, Hierotheus, and others of their friends came there with the apostles for the Dormition of the queen. [6] They went in before her and greeted her with fear and respect.

107. And the blessed and all-holy one blessed them and informed them about her departure from the world. She told them about the Dormition that had been related to her by the archangel, and she showed them the symbol of her Dormition, the date palm branch given7 to her by the chief of the angels, and she consoled them and blessed them. She strengthened them and encouraged them to carry out their excellent preaching. She greeted Peter and Paul and all the others and said, “Rejoice, O children, friends, and disciples of my son and God. Blessed are you who have thus been found worthy to be disciples of the gracious and glorious Lord and master, and he entrusted you with the ministry of such mysteries, and you have been called [8] to share in his persecution and suffering, so that the Lord of glory will make you worthy to partake of his kingdom and glory, as he himself promised and commanded you.” Such a blessing and teaching she spoke to them according to her glory, and she explained to them the rites of anointing her with myrrh and her burial. And she extended her hands and began to give thanks to the Lord and said:

“I bless you, O king and only-begotten Son of the beginningless Father, true God of true God, who consented to become incarnate from me, your handmaid, through the incalculable, philanthropic good will of the Father and the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

I bless you, the giver of every blessing, who spread forth light.

I bless you, the source of every life of goodness and peace, who bestow on us knowledge of yourself and of your beginningless Father and of the co-beginningless and life-giving Holy Spirit.

I bless you, who were ineffably pleased to dwell in my womb.

I bless you, who so loved human nature that you endured crucifixion and death for our sake, and by your Resurrection you resurrected our nature from the depths of Hell, and led it up to heaven and glorified it with an incomprehensible glory.

I bless you and glorify your words, which you have given us in truth, and I believe that all the things that you have said to me will be fulfilled.”

108. When the holy and all-blessed Theotokos was silent after her thanksgiving and prayer, the holy apostles began to speak at the command of the Holy Spirit, and they were singing and glorifying, each one as he was able and as the Holy Spirit gave it to him. They praised and exalted the inestimable beneficence of God’s power, and with their wondrous theology they brought great joy to the heart of the glorious mother of Christ, as the above-mentioned St. Dionysius says in the chapter where he shows “What is the power of prayer, and concerning the blessed Hierotheus, and concerning the writing of theology with reverence.” [9] And his writing is to Timothy, [10] and in this chapter he recalls [11] the gathering of the holy apostles for the Dormition of the holy Theotokos, and how by the command and grace of the Holy Spirit each one of them spoke praises and sang of the incalculable power and beneficence of Christ our God, who deemed it worthy to come into the world inseparably from the bosom of the Father and to become incarnate from the holy Virgin, the one who bowed the heavens and descended (Ps 17.10) and found the holy and altogether praised Mary, who was chosen and exalted above all the human race, and he consented to dwell within her, and from her he put on human nature, and he had mercy and saved the human race through his glorious and ineffable [12] economy. Blessing and praise to his inestimable goodness and mercy! [13] And so it is written in the discourse of the blessed Dionysius, [14] “I will relate to you the complete theological discourse that the holy apostles and our bishops pronounced at that time, for it was exalted beyond words, as you yourself know, O brother Timothy, and how after the great apostles, the blessed Hierotheus, the philosopher and disciple of the great apostle Paul, also spoke praises of Christ God and praise and glorification [15] of his immaculate and blessed mother by the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the theologians and apostles themselves recognized: ‘The Holy Spirit opened his mouth to speak such words of glorification.’” After this the Holy Theotokos blessed them again, and her heart was filled with divine consolation.

109. And behold, the glorious and wonderful arrival of Christ her God and son took place, and there were with him innumerable hosts of angels and archangels and other hosts of seraphim and cherubim and thrones: they all stood with awe before the Lord, for wherever the king is, the hosts also accompany him. The Holy Theotokos knew about all of this from the beginning, and she was waiting with steadfast hope. Therefore she said, “I believe that all the things that you have said to me will be fulfilled,” and at that time she clearly saw the apostles as well, [16] and they beheld the glory, each one according to his ability. And this present coming of the Lord was more glorious and tremendous than the first, for he appeared more radiant than the brilliance and Transfiguration that occurred on Tabor, although it was less than his natural glory, for that is unfathomable and invisible. Then the apostles were terrified, and they fell to the ground as if dead (cf. Matt 17.6). But the Lord said to them, “Peace be with you,” as he had said before when he entered in through closed doors (cf. John 20.19, 26), for at that time they were also gathered together in the house of John: then because of fear of the Jews, and now for the Dormition of the mother of the Lord. When the apostles heard the sweet and pleasant voice of the Lord, they were revived and strengthened in soul and body, and with reverence they began to look upon the brilliance of his glory and his divinely beautiful face. Nevertheless, the all-holy, immaculate, and blessed mother of Christ was filled with joy, and her glorious face shone with brilliance and divine glory. But she also beheld with fear and reverence the glory and brilliance that shone forth from her king and son Jesus Christ. She glorified his divinity even more and prayed for the apostles and for all those who were standing there. And she sought intercession for all the faithful, wherever [17] they were. She made an offering for the entire world and for every soul that calls upon the Lord and calls to mind the name of his mother, and wherever they observe a commemoration of her, she asked that a blessing would spread throughout that place. Then again the holy Virgin Mary looked and beheld the glory of her son, which human language is not capable of expressing.

110. And she said, “Bless me, O Lord, with your right hand, and bless all those who glorify you and invoke your name, and receive [18] all their prayers and supplications.” Then the Lord held forth his right hand, blessed his mother and said to her, “Let your heart rejoice and be glad, O Mary blessed among women, for every grace and gift has been given to you by my heavenly Father, and every soul that calls on your name with holiness will not be put to shame but will find mercy and comfort both in this life and in the age to come. You, however, come forth to the eternal dwelling places, to unending peace and joy, to the treasure houses of my Father, so that you will see my glory and rejoice by the grace of the Holy Spirit.” And immediately at the Lord’s command the angels began to sing hymns with a sweet voice, a clear and pleasant voice, and through the Holy Spirit the holy apostles stood shoulder to shoulder [19] and sang with the angelic hymns. And thus the all-holy mother of the Lord entrusted her blessed and immaculate soul to her Lord, king, and son, and slept a sweet and pleasant sleep. As she escaped the pains of childbirth in the ineffable Nativity, so the pains of death did not come upon her at the time of her Dormition, for both then and now the king and Lord of natures altered the course of nature. Then the host of angels invisibly applauded the sendoff of her holy soul. The house and the surrounding area were filled by a waft of indescribable perfume, and unapproachable light (cf. 1 Tim 6.16) spread forth over the holy body. And in this way the master and the disciples, and heaven and earth led forth [20] the holy Virgin: the gracious and glorious Lord and master led away the holy soul of his immaculate mother to heaven; the disciples took care of her immaculate body on earth, anointing it with myrrh and tending to the things that she had planned. And after a little while, her son and God wished to translate the body to Paradise or somewhere. [21] The holy apostles encircled22 the bed on which lay the holy Theotokos’ body, wider than heaven. They honored it with hymns and praise; they embraced it with fear and trembling. They not only showed faith and devotion but were also gratified to receive grace and great benefit, and the work of faith had only just begun. [23]

111. Nevertheless, as soon as news of the holy queen’s Dormition had spread, all the sick and infirm assembled there. Then the eyes of the blind were opened, the ears of the deaf were unblocked, the lame stood up to walk (cf. Isa 35.5–6), demons were expelled, and every suffering and sickness was cured. The sky and the heavens of heavens were sanctified by the ascension of the holy soul, and the earth likewise was made worthy of the honor of sanctity by the immaculate body. Then the apostles called on blessed Peter to deliver a funeral prayer. Peter pressed Paul and John to pray. They refused and honored him as the head of the apostles. The blessed Peter complied with their words, as was fitting for this occasion and this mystery. He prayed, and immediately they wrapped in a holy shroud and anointed with myrrh the body that contained the uncontainable, the king and creator of all things visible and invisible, and they laid it on a bed. And again Peter began to sing a hymn, and all the assembly of the apostles joined in, and the powers of heaven sang with them invisibly, and the air shone and was made fragrant with lamps and incense. Then the holy apostles took up the honorable bed on their shoulders, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit they went forth to the area of Gethsemane, as the Theotokos had previously directed. The angels went ahead and were surrounding them24 and followed behind, covering them with their wings. [25] The apostles were singing hymns, and all the believers accompanied them with faith. The procession of the glorious and praised one was itself glorious and praised. All the infirm and the sick were cured, and there were not only sixty strong men around the bed of the king, as Scripture says (cf. Cant 3.7), but visibly the numerous apostles and their innumerable followers and all the faithful, and invisibly the innumerable host of angels.

112. And at that time the adversary and enemy of truth did not refrain from showing his treachery, but again he stirred up the evil Jews to envy and violence. For when they saw the glorious procession of the immaculate and all-praised mother of Christ, and the multitude of the faithful that was accompanying the apostles, and the innumerable miracles that they were working by the grace of the holy queen, and they heard the voices of the divinely beautiful singing, wicked envy seized the deranged and unwise people, the nation deliberating on destruction, in whom there is no understanding (Deut 32.6 and 32.28).26 As before

when the crowds of innocent children went forth to meet Christ the king of all things with branches from date palms and said, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!” (cf. Matt 21.9 and 21.16), and the godless high priests and the scribes were enraged and fought with wicked envy against the one who is gracious and compassionate to all, to the point that they condemned him to death by death on a cross, so now also they gathered to attack the procession of his gloriously immaculate mother and to obstruct the orderly and adorned company of the apostles and the faithful, and with perverse cries they came to destroy the divine assembly. [27]

113. Then one of the reprobates, who was more brazenly insidious and shameless than the others, insolently tore through the crowd of the faithful that was following the ark of holiness. He reached the holy apostles, who were bearing the treasure house of heaven that contained the uncontainable and unbounded nature. He stretched forth his impure hands and seized the bed on which lay the immaculate body of the most blessed queen, before which even angels tremble, which even the cherubim look upon with awe. This bed the arrogant and foolish man tried to throw down to the ground. Oh savage soul! Oh deranged mind! But immediately he saw just retribution for his deeds, for in the very touching of the holy bed with his hands, both hands were instantly severed from the shoulders when he dared to approach the one whom he was not even worthy to look upon. [28] The wrath of God came upon him as he cried out and screamed. Wailing and moaning overcame him and the other Jews with him. The wrath of fury came by the hand of the angel of wrath. They were turned back and were put to shame, and the angel of the Lord pursued them. This miracle took place to bring shame and fear [29] to the Jews, but it was a source of great courage and glory to the faithful. And then the one who was initially seized by great folly and was counted among the enemies and slanderers of God, when he was punished in accordance with his deeds, he was ashamed. And he understood and converted his former rebuke into faith, and his wicked envy into fear and repentance, and his calumnies and reproaches into contrition and prayer. He was no longer able to raise his hands in prayer, but with ardent tears and a penitent voice he called on the holy Theotokos and asked for mercy.

114. Nevertheless, the one who is the cause of all things and the source of all joy does not wish to inflict suffering and misery and mourning and unending sorrow [30] on the sinner, but with a small wound of the flesh, he cured the incurable wounds of the soul and made him worthy to become a Christian and by the grace of baptism to be called a child of God. Then he mercifully healed the wound of his hands, for when the justly punished Jew understood his error, he began to repent and to pray with ardent tears, and he invoked the name of Christ and of his holy mother Mary. The holy apostle Peter ordered that the holy bed be set down, and they all cried out to the holy Theotokos with prayers and supplications, and they brought before her the wounded sinner, shattered and repenting with the blood of his wound and drenched with the tears of his eyes. Then he touched the holy bed, no longer as before, but he prayed with fear and trembling. And the blessed Peter placed the severed hands in their place, and immediately by the grace of Christ and his all-holy mother, the hands severed from the shoulders were fitted and attached to his body. And not only did the pains and anguish disappear, but there was no trace of the wound at all. From that point, this man believed in Christ, and he was baptized and joined to the number of the believers, and he glorified Christ and his all-immaculate and glorious mother. This miracle, the sudden wound and the swift cure, strengthened the faith of many who had doubts and converted many of the Jews to the faith, and they confessed that the one crucified by them, Jesus Christ the Lord, was God, and they proclaimed his holy mother the Theotokos.

115. And so with utmost glory and radiant honor the apostles again took upon their worthy shoulders the bed, vested and glorious with the light of the holy queen, surrounded by the ranks of heaven and earth, invisibly adorned by armies of angels and archangels with visible praises and comprehensible songs. And they brought it to Gethsemane, and they laid in the tomb the immaculate body, the all-holy bodily throne of God, the Holy of Holies, the ransom of our nature, the awesome mystery, the mediator of the union between divinity and humanity, the city of God, on account of which she is called glorious from generation to generation (cf. Ps 86.3, Luke 1.48), the mountain on which it pleased God to dwell, through which the processions of our God and king, who is in the holy place have appeared (cf. Ps 67.16–17, 25), the closed door that no one has passed through except God alone, and it remained closed (cf. Ezek 44.2–3), the unique virgin among mothers, the unique immaculate Theotokos. Nevertheless, it is not astonishing that the mother of life was placed in the tomb, for her son also, who is himself life and immortality, endured death in the flesh and deposition in the tomb, and by his death he destroyed death and gave life to the world. And it is not fitting to keep silent as to how the body of the holy queen was laid in the tomb, for when they brought her to the tomb and set down the bed bearing the treasure without price, it was necessary to lift the blessed body from the bed and lay it in the tomb, but all the holy apostles and those who were with them were afraid, and they did not dare to lay their hands upon the holy and utterly blessed body, for they saw the light that enveloped it and the grace of God that was upon it.

116. Thus all of the apostles again called on Peter and Paul to lay the holy body in the tomb, for John the evangelist was carrying a censer, and he censed the holy body of the queen with fragrant incense and drenched it with tears. Then Peter and Paul did not touch the holy body with their hands, but with fear and reverence they took hold of the shroud that was hanging from here and from there, and thus they lifted the blessed body from the bed, and using the shroud they laid it in the tomb. As the glorious and most revered apostles had properly and worthily served her son, so they also served his mother, and they honored the one honored by men and angels, whom all generations call blessed and glorify, as the blessed one said with her own holy mouth (cf. Luke 1.48). Thus, when the holy one and the Holy of Holies, the body of the most blessed Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, was sealed in the tomb, the holy apostles remained there for three days, and they heard the beautiful singing of the holy angels, sweet and pleasant singing that it is not possible for human language to describe: as the prophet David said, “I will go forth to the marvelous dwelling place [31] in the house of God with the sound of singing and acknowledgement, with the sound of a festival” (Ps 41.5), for here is truly the dwelling place of the Lord, the marvelous house of God in which the Lord of glory, God, the king of peace was pleased to dwell.

117. Nevertheless, we have learned something else from truthful and reliable informants, and it has been written about before us and is trustworthy and reliable: that in the assembly of the holy apostles for the Dormition of the queen, one of the apostles was providentially not able to arrive with the others. And the holy apostles were expecting him, so that he perchance would also receive a blessing from the blessed and beloved body. Nevertheless, on the third day that apostle also arrived, and he found his other comrades singing in front of the holy tomb, and he also heard the clear and sweet sound of the angels singing. And he besought the holy apostles to open the venerable tomb so that he could embrace the all-holy body of the glorious Theotokos. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the blessed apostles heard their brother’s plea and opened the holy tomb with fear. But when they opened it, they did not find the glorious body of the holy mother of Christ, for it had been translated wherever [32] her son and God wished. For as he himself was placed in a tomb when he endured death in the flesh for the sake of our salvation and gloriously arose on the third day, so it also seemed fitting to place the immaculate body of his mother in a tomb and likewise to translate it into eternal incorruptibility as he wished, either so that both elements were again united with each other, for so the creator of all things was pleased to honor the one who gave him birth, or in some other way that the king of glory and the lord of life and death alone knows. [33] So then the tomb was found empty. They found only the burial wrappings and the shroud in which they had laid her to rest, and the body of the immaculate Virgin was not there, but it had been raised up to her son and God so that she will live and reign with him completely, and thus our nature was raised up to heaven in the eternal kingdom not only by her son but also by the immaculate mother.

118. Then the blessed apostles were filled with astonishment and joy, and they understood that the late arrival of one of the apostles had taken place providentially for the revelation of this mystery, so that for his sake the tomb would be opened and the holy body’s translation would be made known. And they glorified Christ, who had fully glorified his all-holy and immaculate mother, for they were suffused with light and fragrance from the holy tomb in which the body of the holy Virgin, wider than heaven, had been placed, and the brilliance and fragrance spread throughout the whole area of Gethsemane. So again they closed [34] the holy tomb, and the Dormition of the holy Theotokos was proclaimed to the entire world. Nevertheless, a report has been circulated and has come to our ears that the apostle who arrived on the third day was Thomas, coming from India, so that, as the Resurrection of Christ had previously been made more credible by Thomas, when on the eighth day the Lord entered through closed doors and showed him his hands [35] and his holy side (cf. also John 20.26–27), in this way now the translation of the incorruptibly immaculate body of the holy and all-glorious Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary also would be made known by Thomas. Then with prayers and mutual greetings, the holy apostles again dispersed, each one to the land of his preaching, and they taught the true faith to all peoples through the direction and assistance of the Lord and works of miracles. So then the heavens and the hosts of angels were perfected by the ascent of the soul and then the body of the holy and blessed Virgin. And the earth was made holy by her walking on the earth and by her placement in the tomb, and from the holy burial wrappings of her immaculate body. And the skies [36] and all creatures receive grace from her invisible and eternal regard and generosity, and every land and every city and all faithful people are full and overflowing with the ceaseless working of miracles and healing of illnesses and innumerable benefactions that the holy mother of Christ God shows to all individually. And who can relate her acts of care and assistance for us all, or what tongue will sufficiently express the abundance of her benefactions? [37]

119. But let us make known through our discourse on the glory of Christ God and in praise of his holy and immaculate mother, our hope and intercessor in all things, how the holy Theotokos conferred her incorruptible garment as a precious relic to the great city of Constantinople, and how she brought this gift as a sign [38] to the faithful people and established [39] the sacrosanct treasure in a church. At the time of Leo the Great, the faithful emperor of the Greeks who reigned after Marcian, there were two noblemen, one named Galbius and the other Candidus. They were brothers in nature and brothers in charity. They were adorned with every good deed except only the one that is the pinnacle of every good thing, the true faith. In this they were deficient, for they had been seized by the seductive heresy of Arius. And they were from the family of Aspar and Ardaburius, who at that time exercised great authority in the imperial city. And God destroyed [40] them, for they were openly supporting the Arian heresy. Nevertheless, because of their good deeds, the grace of God did not leave Galbius and Candidus in heresy, but it turned them away from seduction to the truth, to the point that they not only established themselves firmly in the orthodox faith, but they were also teaching the truth [41] to many others who had been taught to be in error and leading them to salvation. Thus, when they were living virtuously in accordance with the orthodox faith, they undertook great benevolence and charity for the poor, in order to find complete favor with the Lord. For this reason also the holy and completely immaculate mother of Christ thought it appropriate to bestow some item of her incorruptible clothing on her city. It pleased her to carry out this act of Providence through these pious men, and it took place in the following way.

120. A yearning and desire to go to Jerusalem and venerate the holy places came upon the princes. They notified the emperor Leo and empress Verina, and with their consent they went forth, and with them many of their family and friends and a great multitude of soldiers. They reached Palestine, and they started on the road going to Galilee, in order to see both Nazareth and Capernaum. When they arrived there, it was night, and they needed lodging, and this took place through the Providence of God. Therefore they lodged in a small town where among many others lived a virgin woman advanced in age, a Jew legally, to tell the truth, but decent and zealous in every other affair, for at the time her soul was a land of darkness but useful to receiving the light of knowledge of God. [42] In the possession of this elderly woman was the holy garment of the glorious mother of Christ. Nevertheless, by the Providence of the Lord, Galbius and Candidus made a stop at her house. And when they sat down to dinner, they noticed the interior of the house, and they saw another room, [43] in which many large candles were burning. It was filled with the perfume of incense, and many sick people were lying there. From this they understood that there was some sort of divine activity within, and they wanted to know what it was. Thus they sent and invited the old woman to dine with them, in order to question her about this activity. But she did not want to come and made a pretext of the Law’s prescription that Jews may not eat Christian food. Nevertheless, they again insisted [44] that she come, and then they also explained45 that this was no obstacle: “Take food that you have prepared yourself and use it, and sit with us only to speak and converse.” The woman obeyed the distinguished men, and she drew near to them and sat down, and they began to speak with her. After much conversation and the removal of the table, they asked her in detail what was within the room, for they were thinking it was something of the Old Covenant.

121. Nevertheless, the woman discussed these things but did not want to reveal the cause of these things. So she said to them, “Do you see, my lords, the multitude of the infirm? By the will of God demons are driven away in that place: sight is given to the blind, movement is given to the lame, the deaf hear, and every other disease is cured.” But the perceptive and distinguished men said again, “And what is the cause of such miracles: tell us.” And she said, “A family tradition has come down to us that in this place God appeared to one of the patriarchs, and since then there is grace in this place.” When she said this the wise men [46] were suspicious that she had not told the truth. And again they pleaded with her to tell the truth, “because for this reason we have undertaken [47] this labor and journey, in order that we would be worthy to venerate the holy places.” And again she said, “I do not know anything more than this.” And again they recognized that she was reluctant to tell them, for the holy queen, who wanted to bestow this great treasure on the Byzantines, spoke in their hearts so that they would seek out the truth. Therefore they besought her with more supplications that she reveal the truth to them, and they swore a great oath, and thus with much effort they pressed her to tell them the truth. Then she spoke from the soul, and her tears flowed, and she looked at them and spoke ashamedly: “O men, this mystery has been revealed to no one until this very day, for my parents entrusted me, their only daughter, with an oath. They commended this to a virgin so that she also would entrust it to another at the time of her death. But since I, the one whom you have seen, O honorable and distinguished men, and the ones who came before me in our family are virgin women, [48] and there is no one after me that I could tell it to her, therefore I will reveal this matter to you—but guard the information carefully. The garment of Mary the Theotokos lies there in safe keeping, for thus we have been informed by our ancestors: at the time of her death Mary the Theotokos left her two garments to the two women who had served her, one of whom was from my family. The first one received the garment, and she placed it in a coffer, and then she left it to her relatives, generation after generation. And she ordered that the keeper [49] of the treasure should be a virgin, and now the coffer is within this house, and within it is the garment of Mary the Theotokos, by which these miracles are worked. This, O honorable men, is the truth of the matter, and this has been made known to no one from Israel.” [50]

122. The distinguished men were overwhelmed when they heard this, and their hearts were divided between fear and joy. And they fell down before the woman and said, “Be assured that no one in Jerusalem will hear this information from us: we bear witness to you [51] by the holy Theotokos herself. Nevertheless, we beseech you that we may spend the night in the place where the holy treasure lies.” The woman allowed it, and when they entered the room,52 they gave neither sleep to their eyes nor slumber to their eyelids (Ps 131.4), but they spent the entire night in prayer and supplication, and they offered thanks that such an excellent thing had been revealed to them. When they saw that all the sick had fallen asleep, they took complete measures of the coffer containing this abundant wealth, and they studied carefully the nature of the coffer’s wood. And early in the morning they went forth and bid the woman farewell, and they said, “If you need anything from Jerusalem, let us know, because we will come here on our return trip.” But she replied, “I need nothing else except your prayers that I will see you again in peace.” Galbius and Candidus went forth to Jerusalem, and they fulfilled their promise to the Lord. They prayed in the holy places and distributed large sums to the poor, to the monasteries, and to the churches. Nevertheless, while they were there, they called for a skilled carpenter and instructed him secretly to make for them a coffer of this measure and form from old boards, and they told him exactly what they needed. The carpenter made it as they instructed, and they tied a beautiful cover embroidered with gold to the coffer. And when they had made pilgrimage to the holy places and monasteries and had received prayers from everyone and a blessing from the Patriarch, they took provisions for their journey and set out again on their way, and they had with them [53] the coffer that they had fashioned. And they arrived again in the village with joy, and they stayed in the old woman’s house. They brought her beautiful candles and much incense and rich perfume. The woman received the distinguished men enthusiastically, as friends and acquaintances.

123. And they asked to stay again in the room with the treasure of grace, and she allowed them. They entered therein with authority, and they offered a prayer to God. And they prayed to his holy mother with ardent tears and said, “We your servants are not ignorant, O glorious queen, of what happened to Uzzah when he touched the Ark of the Covenant with his hand (cf. 2 Sam 6.6–7). How then can we, who are guilty of many sins, dare to touch this ark in which is such a treasure is kept? How can we place our hands on it if you do not command us? Therefore we beseech you and pray to you that it may please you to realize the desire of our hearts, for we desire to take away this treasure to the city that glorifies your name, so that it will have an eternal palladium and an intercessory rampart.” They offered such prayer the whole night and drenched the earth [54] with their tears, and they were satisfied that the mother of Christ God had heard their prayer. They drew near to the holy ark with fear and trembling, for everyone who was there had fallen asleep. They took it and placed it among their possessions by the good pleasure of divine grace, and in its stead they placed what they had fashioned in its likeness in Jerusalem, and they covered it with the garment embroidered with gold that they had tied to it. And early in the morning they greeted the woman and bid her farewell. And they showed her the beautiful cover that they had draped over the coffer, which pleased the woman, and she promised that it would always be there. Then they distributed wealth to all the sick and disabled, and with joy they went forth on their way. And when they reached Constantinople, that is, the city of Byzantium, they did not wish to make their glorious deed known to either the Emperor or the Patriarch, for they feared that the Emperor would seize their great treasure and they would lose this splendid object. Thus they decided to keep this precious pearl unbeknownst to others with the assistance of the holy Theotokos. And they had a place where their houses were, near the wall by the seashore: the place was called Blachernai. There they built a church, and they were utterly diligent not to reveal their secret. That is why they called the church that they had built by the name of Saint Peter the Apostle and Mark the Evangelist. Then they placed the great treasure in it, and they took care to adorn the shrine with constant singing and endless incense of fragrant perfumes and the inextinguishable light of lamps and candles. And thus for a long time the secret remained a secret.

124. Nevertheless, it did not please the holy queen, the hope and intercessor of Christians, that such a wonderful thing was confined among these two men alone and hidden in silence, and that this wealth common to all was kept for their enjoyment [55] alone. She moved the hearts of these worthy noblemen to reveal the hidden mystery. Thus they went before Leo, the pious and faithful emperor, and disclosed the secret and explained how this great wealth had actually come to the imperial city. The faithful emperor heard this, and he was filled with great joy. And he immediately divulged this hidden mystery, [56] and Galbius and Candidus, who had performed this divine service, were blessed by everyone [57] and honored by all. Then Emperor Leo, the servant of God, and Verina, the faithful empress, built in this place with imperial subvention a beautiful shrine to glorify the holy Theotokos, [58] and they prepared a coffer of silver covered with gold, and they placed the holy treasure in it, and they adorned the shrine with numerous gifts and ornaments to their eternal memory. Thus Leo and Verina completed the time of their reign well and with virtue, and they passed into life eternal. Likewise Galbius and Candidus, the faithful and devoted servants of the holy Theotokos, died faithful and pious. Nevertheless, the ark of the mystery remained an eternal wealth [59] for the faithful people and the believing city, wherein sit not the tablets carved by Moses, but there lies the holy and venerable garment of the glorious and all-blessed Theotokos, which she not only wore on her incorruptible and immaculate body, but when Christ God became incarnate and was born from her for our salvation and when he was an infant, he, the life and nurturer of all flesh, was wrapped in it many times and nursed in the manner of infants. And that is why the holy garment of the immaculate and all-praised Theotokos remains incorrupt from then until now. [60] In the same way the immaculate mother of Christ also bestowed on this same city her holy girdle, which encircled the body that contained the uncontainable king of all things. And for this a beautiful shrine was also built by the faithful emperors to the glory of the holy Theotokos, which is called Chalkoprateia. And there is kept her incorruptible girdle as a crown of grace and a steadfast wall for the faithful city and as a source of victory to the pious emperors.

 

NOTES

1. The word used here, მიცვალებაჲ, literally means “translation” (i.e., transitus), but more commonly it is used as a euphemism meaning “death.” I have adopted the traditional theological term “Dormition” as a translation, but it should be noted that, as so often, these other meanings lurk in the background of this now conventional term, which is itself a theologically laden euphemism for Mary’s death.

2. The syntax here is a bit unusual, but the translation of John 8.56 in the Adishi Gospels offers an important early parallel for similar use of სწადოდა in this manner. Based on the early traditions of Mary’s Dormition, Mary’s desire to see John, rather than vice versa, seems more likely here.

3. Van Esbroeck’s edition has here დაჲ იგი, which he translates as “leur soeur.” Nevertheless, both Jerusalem 148 and Sinai 68 read წმიდაჲ იგი, which makes much better sense, and accordingly one suspects a typo. Jerusalem 108 is not clearly legible at this point.

4. Van Esbroeck’s edition has here ღამე, but Jerusalem 148 and Sinai 68 both have ღამედ, which seems to be a slightly better reading. Jerusalem 108 is not legible.

5. Literally “soul,” as in John 10.11.

6. Ps.-Dionysius, On the Divine Names 3.2 (Suchla, ed., Corpus Dionysiacum, vol. 1, 141); also, PG 3, 681C-684A.

7. მოცუმელი is a misprint for მოცემული.

8. The form here, გამოშჩნდით (გამოსჩნდით in Sinai 68), is rather unusual. Although van Esbroeck translates the term as “vous a élus,” the ending -ით seems to indicate either a first or second person plural form, most likely derived somehow from გამორჩევა, as van Esbroeck seems to have correctly supposed. The use of this same term in the Georgian translation of Hippolytus of Rome’s De Antichristo to translate ἐκηρύχθητε (or ἐκλήθητε in some manuscripts) confirms the translation above: see Garitte, ed., Traités d’Hippolyte, 90 (Geor) and 67 (Lat); cf. Bonwetsch et al., eds., Hippolytus Werke, vol. 1.2, 20. Although Garitte translates გამოშჩნდით as “apparuistis,” no doubt understanding the form as derived from გამოჩენა, in both instances the meaning “to call” rather than “to appear” suits the context much better, and this meaning is further determined through comparison with the original Greek of De Antichristo. See also a similar usage of გამოშჩნდით with the meaning “you have been called” in Akaki Šaniże, სინური მრავალთავი 864 წლისა (Sinuri mravalt’avi 864 c.lisa [The Sinai Homilary of the Year 864]), Zveli kʻartʻuli enis katʻedris šromebi 5 (Tbilisi: Tʻbilisis Stalinis saxelobis saxelmcipʻo universitetis gamomcʻemloba, 1959), 117, line 35.

9. In Greek the title of this chapter is Τίς ἡ τῆς εὐχῆς δύναμις καὶ περὶ τοῦ μακαρίου Ἱεροθέου καὶ περὶ εὐλαβείας καὶ συγγραφῆς θεολογικῆς: Ps.-Dionysius, On the Divine Names 3 (Suchla, ed., Corpus Dionysiacum, vol. 1, 138); also, PG 3, 680A. The passage in question occurs, as signaled already above, at On the Divine Names 3.2 (Suchla, ed., Corpus Dionysiacum, vol. 1, 141; also PG 3, 681C–684A). See also the English translation in Pseudo-Dionysius, Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, trans. Colm Luibhéid and Paul Rorem, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), 70.

10. On the Divine Names is in fact addressed to Timothy: see Suchla, ed., Corpus Dionysiacum, vol. 1, 107; also PG 3, 586A

11. დააჴსენა is a misprint for და აჴსენა.

12. გამოთქუმელითა is a misprint for გამოუთქუმელითა.

13. The text is a bit unusual here. მადლი and დიდებაჲ are in the first nominative case, and as such they seem to need some sort of verb that is lacking here. Nevertheless, it would appear that this is some sort of exclamation of praise. There is a similar construction in one of the folios in the Graz collection, MS 2058C, verso b, lines 4–5: ხოლო ღმერთსა ჩუენსა მადლი და დიდებაჲ აწ და მარადის და უკუნითი უკუნისამდე. ამენ. Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien (TITUS) ([cited 9 Mar 2010]); available from http://titus.fkidg1.unifrankfurt.de/texte/etcs/cauc/ageo/tmin/2058c/2058c.htm.

14. The citation that follows does not seem to appear anywhere in the Dionysiac corpus but most likely is rather free elaboration on On the Divine Names 3.2.

15. შესხაჲ is a misprint for შესხმაჲ.

16. Van Esbroeck mistakenly reads the verb here as a plural form, and thus understands the subject incorrectly. The passage refers back, as van Esbroeck rightly notes, to Mary’s words at the end of §107, where she speaks these words after having witnessed the arrival of the apostles but before her son’s arrival.

17. The word here ვინაჲცა, which usually means “whence,” is a bit odd for the context. Nevertheless, the form is clear in Jerusalem 108, Jerusalem 148, and Sinai 68. I have followed van Esbroeck’s interpretation above, which seems to be the best solution. Note also a similar use of this term yet again in the following sentence, as well as above in §68 and §98 and below at the end of §110 and by Jerusalem 108 in §127.

18. This translation of შეიწირენ is determined by similar use in Lev 6.30, 19.6, 19.21, 22.23, 22.25, 22.27; cf. Deut 33.11; Dan 9.17. See also Čʻubinovi, Gruzinsko–russko–frant͡s︡uzskīĭ slovarʻ, 577a.

19. An unusual word: მჴარუპყრეს. The form is identical in all three manuscripts that I have examined. Literally, this seems to mean “to take by the shoulder.” Nevertheless, Sarjvelaże et al., Altgeorgisch–deutsches Wörterbuch, 882b, gives the word მჴარპყრობით, with the meaning “in a row, shoulder to shoulder.” Inasmuch as the lexicon’s example involves the context of groups singing “shoulder to shoulder,” perhaps we should understand a similar meaning here, since singing also is the context.

20. Van Esbroeck translates here “conduisirent,” understanding the verb განიყვანეს as a form of განყვანება, which means “to lead forth,” and we have followed this reading in the translation above. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that the form may derive from განყოფა, which means, among other things, “to divide” or “to share.” As much is certainly suggested by a nearly identical passage in John the Geometer’s Life of the Virgin, which uses the Greek verb μερίζω: Καὶ οὕτω λοιπὸν μερίζονται τὴν παρθένον μαθηταὶ καὶ διδάσκαλος, ἐπίγεια καὶ οὐράνια. . . . Wenger, L’Assomption, 380. In this case, however, one would presumably expect the more regular form, განიყვნეს. Nevertheless, the form განიყვანეს is clear in Sinai 68, although Jerusalem 108 is damaged at this point, and the photograph of Jerusalem 148 is too blurry to read clearly. Note as well that here ქუეუანამან is a misprint for ქუეყანამან.

21. Again ვინაჲცა, which usually means “whence,” is a bit odd for the context. I have also followed van Esbroeck’s interpretation above, which seems the best solution. Van Esbroeck further suggests here that the author reveals an awareness that there were differences of opinion concerning the ultimate fate of Mary’s body. I am not able to read the two Jerusalem manuscripts here, and the Sinai manuscript has the following reading, which is not especially helpful: რომელსა იგი ეგულებოდა. შემდგომად მიცვალებაჲ ანუ ვინაჲცა ენებოს ძესა და ღმერთსა მისსა. Note also the similar use of this term above in §68, §98, and §109, and by Jerusalem 108 in §127 below.

22. Van Esbroeck has here “sortirent,” which does not seem correct for გარემოადგეს.

23. The phrase here is rather peculiar: და შეხოლოუდგა სარწმუნოებასა საქმეცა. Van Esbroeck translates “si seulement l’action suivait la foi,” but I think that the above is a more plausible interpretation.

24. The verbal form here would appear to be a singular aorist: გარემოეცვა. Nevertheless, an important parallel is afforded by the Georgian translation of Ps 70.10, where მოეცვა is used to translate ϕυλάσσοντες. Moreover, such meaning is further signaled by the equivalent passage in Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin 41: ἀγγέλων ὥσπερ εἰκος προθεόντων, περιθεόντων, ἐφεπομένων (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 375).

25. ფრთხებითა is a misreading. The Sinai and Jerusalem manuscripts have here ფრთეებითა. Moreover, this form once again is supported by the equivalent passage from Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin 41: ἀγγελικαῖς ἐπισκιαζόντων ταῖς πτέρυξι (ibid.), as well as John the Geometer’s Life of the Virgin 31: περισκιαζόντων ταῖς πτέρυξι (Wenger, L’Assomption, 386).

26. The Mcxeta version of the Old Testament has equivalent phrasing in these two verses: ერმან ცოფმან და არაბრძენმან and ნათესავი ესე წარწყმედისაჲ მზრახვალი არს და არა არს მათ თანა მეცნიერებაჲ. Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien (TITUS) ([cited 11 August 2009]); available from http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/cauc/ageo/at/mcat/mcat.htm.

27. While the terminal form of the Nomen actionis more commonly has an object in the genitive, here the dative is used.

28. შემდგომადცა is a misprint for შედგმადცა.

29. შიშსა should read შიშისა.

30. Van Esbroeck’s edition has ჭურვილთა, which is presumably a misprint. The Jerusalem manuscripts have ჭუ[ვ]ილთა, as translated above, while the Sinai manuscript has ჭირთა, which would translate as “suffering” or “woe.”

31. ადგილით in van Esbroeck’s edition is presumably a misprint. The Sinai and Jerusalem manuscripts have instead ადგილი, which also corresponds to the Georgian biblical translations.

32. Here again ვინაჲცა with the meaning “wherever, somewhere” instead of “whence.”

33. Here again the author seems to show an awareness of differing opinions that had come to circulate regarding the ultimate fate of the Virgin’s body. See Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary’s Dormition, 142–204.

34. დაჰკრძალის is a misprint for დაჰკრძალეს.

35. Van Esbroeck’s edition has here უჩუნნა ყოველნი, with a note that Jerusalem 108 adds თჳსნი. He translates this as “montra toutes ses (plaies),” noting that Tbilisi A-40 omits “ses,” while both Tbilisi A-40 and Jerusalem 108 omit “plaies.” One might suspect from this that Jerusalem 148 includes the word for “plaies,” since this manuscript is extant in this section, although van Esbroeck does not indicate this in his edition of the Georgian. Yet in actual fact, the word for “wounds,” presumably წყლულნი, is not present in any manuscript. Jerusalem 108 and Jerusalem 148 both read უჩუნ[ნ]ა ჴელნი თჳსნი, while Sinai 68 has უჩუნა ჴელნი. Likewise, none of these three manuscripts has ყოველნი.

36. Literally “the airs.”

37. Following Jerusalem 148, which reads here გამოთქუას ჯეროვნად კეთილთა მასთა სიმრავლე.

38. Or possibly “brought this gift home to the faithful people”: სახედ could be the terminal form of either სახჱ or სახლი. Perhaps it reflects the words τίνα τρόπον, present in Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin, which may have been doubly translated as ვითარ სახედ. Van Esbroeck’s translation seems to omit this word, possibly with the latter interpretation in mind.

39. Van Esbroeck’s edition has here ეწესა, as does Sinai 68 as well. Nevertheless, both Jerusalem manuscripts have the reading დაეწესა, which seems to be the more standard form.

40. Van Esbroeck translates აჰჴოცნა as “pardonna clairement,” but this does not seem to be within the range of meaning for this verb. Generally it is used to mean “to destroy” or “to kill.” The object of the verb seems to be Aspar and Ardaburius, whereas van Esbroeck appears to understand Galbios and Candidos as the object, and thus must find a somewhat different meaning. Aspar and Ardaburius were in fact both Arian Christians who were executed by Leo in 471: see, e.g., Kazhdan, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, vol. 1, 210–11, “Aspar”. The contrast with Galbius and Candidus introduced in the following sentence certainly suggests this as well.

41. Literally “goodness” or “the good.”

42 See the similar statement in Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin 45 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 378): πλὴν ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκείνης ψυχὴν χωρίον ἂν εἶπες τὸ μὲν νῦν ἔχον ἀφεγγές, εὔχρηστον μέντοι πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν φωτὸς καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐπιτήδειον.

43. Although the word here is სახლი, which generally means “house,” both Theodore Synkellos and Symeon the Metaphrast have here οἴκημα, which makes a great deal more sense. One would imagine that this was the Greek word that Euthymius aimed to translate with სახლი. See Theodore Syncellus, Homily on the Virgin’s Robe (François Combefis, ed., Historia haeresis Monothelitarum, 762A); and Symeon the Metaphrast, Life of the Virgin 46 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 378).

44. The term მოხარკე commonly indicates some sort of tribute, as does the verbal phrase მოხარკე-ყოფა: e.g., Sarjvelaże and Fähnrich give “tributpflichtig machen” as the meaning of მოხარკე-ყოფა (Sarjvelaże et al., Altgeorgisch–deutsches Wörterbuch, 817). Nevertheless, მოხარკე can also mean “strebsam” or “eifrig,” according to Sarjvelaże and Fähnrich, and both the context and comparison with the Greek suggests instead the idea that they were zealous or fervent in their request. Symeon the Metaphrast, for instance, has here καὶ ἔτι ἐκθύμως ἐκάλουν: Life of the Virgin 46 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 378).

45. Van Esbroeck has here მიცააცნობეს, presumably for მიერცა აცნობეს, a reading also found in the Sinai manuscript. Both Jerusalem manuscripts have the reading მერმეცა აცნობეს, as he signals in the apparatus (with the misprint აცნობდეს).

46. Van Esbroeck oddly mistranslates იტყოდა as “eurent entendu” and mistranslates ბრძენნი as “les Grecs”: this would be ბერძენნი instead of ბრძენნი, which is the form in the edition and in the manuscripts.

47. The verb here, თავსგჳცო, is most peculiar. Van Esbroeck translates it as “nous avons supporté,” which seems rather likely, given the context. Perhaps it should be understood as some derivation of a verb თავს-ცემა, although such a form is both aberrant and otherwise unattested. Theodore Synkellos’ Homily on the Virgin’s Robe is vaguely similar here, as the two men explain that they have undertaken the journey to Jerusalem only for divine veneration, to glorify and celebrate the holy mysteries: μὴ δὴ κρύψῃς ἀφ’ ἡμῶν, ἱερώτατον γύναιον. διὰ μόνην γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν τοῦ θείου προσκύνησιν, καὶ τοῦ θαυμάζειν καὶ δοξάζειν τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ πορείαν ποιούμεθα. Combefis, ed., Historia haeresis Monothelitarum, 762E. Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin is slightly different, however, and thus is not especially helpful: the two men are said to ask the woman to tell them the truth, if for no other reason, in consideration of the difficulty of their journey: αἰδεσθεῖσαν εἰ μή τι ἕτερον, ἀλλὰ κόπον γε τοσαύτης ὁδοιπορίας. Life of the Virgin 47 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 379).

48. Although დედაკაცისა ქალწულისა is a singular form, clearly the attribute is meant to apply to both women.

49. მომარხველი is a misprint for მმარხველი.

50. The Sinai and Jerusalem manuscripts have here “Jerusalem” instead of “Israel,” which perhaps reflects the words spoken by the two men in the following section.

51. The punctuation in van Esbroeck’s edition is incorrect here, and this error introduces some slight problems with his translation. Van Esbroeck translates as follows: “Sois assurée que personne à Jérusalem n’entendra de nous cette histoire en témoignage. Nous te confions à la sainte Théotokos elle-même, . . .” Nevertheless, the text should be punctuated as follows: გულსავსე იყავ ვითარმედ არავინ იერუსალჱმს ესმეს ჩუენ გან სიტყუაჲ ესე: მოწამედ მოგცემთ თავადსა მას წმიდასა ღმრთისმშობელსა. This makes clear that მოწამედ belongs with the verb მოგცემთ, yielding the translation above. This interpretation of the text is also indicated by Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin 49 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 380), which reads: αὐτήν σοι μάρτυρα τούτου τὴν Θεοτόκον προσάγομεν.

52. The Georgian is again სახლსა, but Theodore Synkellos also has here οἴκημα: Theodore Synkellos, Homily on the Virgin’s Robe (Combefis, ed., Historia haeresis Monothelitarum, 766B). Symeon the Metaphrast’s Life of the Virgin is slightly different here.

53. The Sinai and Jerusalem manuscripts do not include the second და that appears in van Esbroeck’s edition, reading instead თანააქუნდა მათ მიერ. Perhaps this is a misprint.

54. Instead of “earth,” van Esbroeck translates “le matin,” although it is not clear why.

55. Van Esbroeck’s edition has here საშუელებელად, which does not appear to be a recognizable form. The Sinai and Jerusalem manuscripts, however, all have the form საშუებლად, which we have translated above.

56. Van Esbroeck’s “trésor” is a mistranslation.

57. Van Esbroeck does not appear to translate fully სანატრელ იყვნეს ყოველთა მიერ, giving on.ly “les bienheureux,” which is not sufficient.

58. Van Esbroeck fails to translate სადიდებელად წმიდისა ღმრთისმშობელისა.

59. სიდიდრედ is a misprint for სიმდიდრედ.

60. According to Theodore Synkellos’ Homily on the Virgin’s Robe, in the process of nursing Mary’s garment had become stained with drops of her breast milk that were still visible in his day (Combefis, ed., Historia haeresis Monothelitarum, 771D–E). Although this detail is absent from the Georgian text, it almost certainly was present in the Greek original, as indicated by the mention of visible drops of her breast milk on this garment in both John the Geometer, Life of the Virgin 43 (Wenger, L’Assomption, 394–5), and Symeon the Metaphrast, Life of the Virgin 53 (Latyšev, ed., Menologii anonymi byzantini, vol. 2, 383). Since both of these Lives depend on the Maximus Life of the Virgin, they almost certainly have borrowed this motif from their common source. For more on the dependence of these two vitae on the Maximus Life, see van Esbroeck, ed., Maxime le Confesseur: Vie de la Vierge, xix–xxix (Fr); Shoemaker, “Georgian Life of the Virgin”; Shoemaker, “The Virgin Mary in the Ministry,” 441–67; and with respect to this point specifically, Shoemaker, “The Cult of Fashion,” 58, 64–65.