Transitus Mariae

The discussion about the beginnings of Transitus-Mariae literature (apocryphal texts about the life and death of the Mother of Jesus) is marked by two hypotheses. The first is marked by the history of dogma and sees this literature in the context of the development of dogmatic doctrine, while the second, alternative, approach sees the origins of this literature in the area of heterodoxy. A fragment of an obviously very ancient Coptic text raises the question of whether the hypothesis from the history of dogma dates the genesis of this literature too late, while at the same time questioning the hypothesis placing the origins of the literature in the area of heterodoxy.

Hans Förster, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (APART), Wien, Österreich.