ABSTRACT
In this paper I should like to draw attention to some features of the cult of Mary in the context of the liturgy of the Dormition in the fourth and fifth centuries. For this purpose, I will first refer to a Marian exegesis which was written down in 393 by Epiphanios of Cyprus,1 but surely existed much earlier in some – perhaps only oral – Palestinian catechesis. Secondly, I shall quote some passages from the literature on the Dormition which are clarified by this exegesis. Thirdly, I shall consider the independent testimony of John Rufus, who around 520 wrote the Plerophories, a résumé of which has been preserved in Syriac. Finally, having presented the evidence from the years around 451, I shall show the impact of the Marian liturgy of the Dormition on the imperial politics of Anastasios (491-518) and Justinian (527-565).
