Here are the most relevant sections from his Panarion, regarding what happened at the end of Mary's life:
If any think < I > am mistaken, moreover, let them search through the scriptures and neither find Mary's death, nor whether or not she died, nor whether or not she was buried—even though John surely traveled throughout Asia. And yet, nowhere does he say that he took the holy Virgin with him. Scripture simply kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder, not to throw men's minds into consternation.
For I dare not say—though I have my suspicions, I keep silent. Perhaps, just as her death is not to be found, so I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed Virgin. In one passage Simeon says of her, "And a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." And elsewhere the Revelation of John says, "And the dragon hastened after the woman who had born the man child, and she was given the wings of an eagle and was taken to the wilderness, that the dragon might not seize her." Perhaps this can be applied to her; I cannot decide for certain, and am not saying that she remained immortal. But neither am I affirming that she died.
For scripture went beyond man's understanding and left it in suspense with regard to the precious and choice vessel, so that no one would suspect carnal behavior of her. Whether she died, I don't know; and [even] if she was buried, she never had carnal relations, perish the thought! Who will choose, from self-inflicted insanity, to cast a blasphemous suspicion [on her], raise his voice, give free rein to his tongue, flap his mouth with evil intent, invent insults instead of hymns and glory, hurl abuse at the holy Virgin, and deny honor to the precious Vessel?...
The holy virgin may have died and been buried—her falling asleep was with honor, her death in purity, her crown in virginity. Or she may have been put to death—as the scripture says, "And a sword shall pierce through her soul"—her fame is among the martyrs and her holy body, by which light rose on the world, [rests] amid blessings. Or she may have remained alive, for God is not incapable of doing whatever he wills. No one knows her end....
Like the bodies of the saints, however, she has been held in honor for her character and understanding. And if I should say anything more in her praise, [she is] like Elijah, who was virgin from his mother's womb, always remained so, and was taken up and has not seen death. She is like John who leaned on the Lord's breast, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." She is like St. Thecla; and Mary is still more honored than she, because of the providence vouchsafed her. But Elijah is not to be worshiped, even though he is alive. And John is not to be worshiped, even though by his own prayer—or rather, by receiving the grace from God—he made an awesome thing of his falling asleep. But neither is Thecla worshiped, nor any of the saints.
(Frank Williams, trans., The Panarion Of Epiphanius Of Salamis, Books II And III; De Fide [Leiden, The Netherlands: SBL Press, 2013], 78:11:2-6, 78:23:9, 79:5:2-3 on pp. 624-25, 635, 641)
Here are some factors to consider:
- Roman Catholicism allows for disagreement over whether Mary died before being assumed. My understanding is that the large majority of Catholics who have believed in her assumption have held that she died (and was resurrected before being assumed). When Epiphanius says "No one knows her end.", he seems to be addressing more than just whether Mary died. He also discusses whether she was buried, whether her death was by martyrdom, and some of the details of her relationship with John around the time of her death. So, though he gives the most attention to whether Mary died, he doesn't limit the discussion to that subject. Just before he writes "No one knows her end.", he mentions the issue of whether she was martyred, which is about the manner in which she died, not just whether she died. He mentions an assumption as one possibility among others, but says that nobody knows what happened to her, and he says that scripture is silent on the matter. He apparently was unaware of an apostolic tradition of an assumption and thinks scripture is silent about an assumption rather than seeing one in Psalm 132, Revelation 11-12, or wherever else.
- Catholics sometimes claim that Epiphanius didn't believe in an assumption of Mary at the time when he wrote Panarion 78, but did believe in it when he wrote Panarion 79. But even if he later agreed with Catholics on the subject, his earlier ignorance of an assumption and his saying that nobody knows what happened at the end of Mary's life are problematic for Catholicism. You have to address the implications of what he said in Panarion 78, not just cite his allegedly different position in Panarion 79.
- In Cameron's video, it's argued that in the last section of Epiphanius quoted above, he's claiming that everything said about Elijah and John is true of Mary as well. Just as Elijah was assumed to heaven, so was Mary. Notice that even if somebody thinks the earlier material in Epiphanius was only saying that nobody knows whether Mary died, there's still an inconsistency between his earlier comments and his later ones under such an interpretation. Elijah is referred to as having not died. So, if that trait of Elijah is supposed to be seen in Mary as well, Epiphanius would be claiming to know what he previously said nobody knew.
- He gives no indication of having changed his mind from the first portion of the Panarion to the next. And both portions discuss Mary at length. How likely is it that he would change his mind in such a significant way - especially if he'd changed his mind about both whether Mary died and whether she was assumed - without saying anything about that change of mind? To the contrary, he opens Panarion 79:1:1 by referring his readers back to "a few things" in the previous document, and he goes on, in 79:1:7, to refer back to what he'd "partially" addressed in that earlier document (ibid., 637). His statement "No one knows her end." is in one of the portions of that document he's referring back to. It's a section about people who hold too high a view of Mary, the subject he's focused on in Panarion 79. In other words, he's reinforcing his earlier comments rather than correcting them.
- And think of how much of a change would have to occur from Panarion 78 to Panarion 79 to justify the interpretation Cameron's video is applying to the latter. How do you go from thinking that nobody knows what happened at the end of Mary's life to thinking that you not only know that she was assumed to heaven, but also that she didn't die (a matter Catholics continue to disagree about to this day)? What the Catholics in Cameron's video are arguing involves Epiphanius contradicting himself. (On either one or two issues, depending on whether they think Epiphanius was only saying that nobody knows whether Mary died in Panarion 78. Cameron's guests seem to have disagreed about how to interpret that part of the Panarion.) And, under their view, Epiphanius would be contradicting himself in a highly significant way, claiming to know something he previously said - repeatedly, emphatically, and at length - that nobody knows. Furthermore, he offers no explanation for that change of mind and seems to expect his audience to accept the new position he's taking, if he is taking a new position. Are we supposed to believe that both Epiphanius and his audience had changed their mind on the same subject(s) in the same way around the same time? Or that Epiphanius' audience already held the view(s) Epiphanius was to adopt, even though he didn't know that they did so when he wrote Panarion 78? A scenario like one of those is possible, but unlikely upfront. That makes the view the Catholics in Cameron's video are arguing for problematic in multiple ways.
- Why does Epiphanius say what he does about Elijah and John, then, if he didn't think those characteristics were duplicated in Mary's life? Just before mentioning Elijah, he says of Mary, "she has been held in honor for her character and understanding". He then mentions some aspects of the lives of Elijah and John, probably ones he thinks reflect their character and understanding and their being honored. To the extent that their lives parallel Mary's, the parallel could be actual or potential, more specific or more vague. And even something that's only potentially true can be spoken of as if it's actual at times, like his reference to how "her fame is among the martyrs" in Panarion 78, even though he'd said earlier in the same sentence that her martyrdom was only one possibility among others. Remember, in Pararion 78, Epiphanius had mentioned three potential scenarios at the end of Mary's life: death without martyrdom, martyrdom, and remaining alive. It's probably not just a coincidence that the individuals he compares Mary to - Elijah John, and Thecla - are three in number and were often thought to have ended their lives in the three ways he mentions in Panarion 78. Elijah didn't die, John was thought to have died without martyrdom, and Thecla was often considered a martyr at the time when Epiphanius lived, even though we typically don't call somebody like Thecla a martyr in modern English usage. Epiphanius' contemporaries often did refer to individuals like Thecla as martyrs, since they gave themselves up to martyrdom, though they were delivered from death (e.g., Ambrose, Concerning Virgins 2:3). Notice, too, that Epiphanius goes on to refer to John's death, without any mention of an assumption. Though some people have believed in an assumption of John, the large majority of sources who comment on the end of his life don't refer to any assumption, and Epiphanius only mentions a death, probably the death referred to in the apocryphal Acts Of John or something like it. Belief in an assumption of John doesn't seem to have been a majority view, and Epiphanius doesn't refer to an assumption of John. Continuity between Panarion 78 and Panarion 79 makes more sense of how well Epiphanius' comments in 79 line up with his comments in 78 (three individuals cited in 79 who ended their lives in the three ways referred to in 78). The discontinuity proposed by the Catholics in Cameron's video makes less sense of how well the passages align. The background provided in 78, a document Epiphanius referenced approvingly at the opening of 79, would have been taken into account and shaped how his audience interpreted the passage under consideration in 79.
- What about Epiphanius' comment in Panarion 78 that "I have my suspicions"? Does that suggest he favored one view of the end of Mary's life over the others? I doubt it. And even if he did favor one view, the martyrdom scenario seems to be the most likely one, and it doesn't imply an assumption to heaven. He cites Luke 2:35, a passage he had associated with martyrdom elsewhere, just after making his comment about having suspicions. I've commented at more length on this section of Epiphanius here.
- The Catholics in Cameron's video made much of the lack of pilgrimages to Mary's tomb, Marian relics, and such as evidence of an assumption. Go here and to the other material linked in that post for a response to that argument. That post includes some patristic and medieval sources who were skeptical of an assumption of Mary. For discussions of other examples of skepticism or agnosticism, see here and here. You can access a collection of many of our posts on the Assumption of Mary here. Click Older Posts in the lower right to see more. That won't bring up every relevant post, but it will bring up many of them. You can search our archives for more.
- When a Biblical passage like Psalm 132 or Revelation 11-12 is cited, keep in mind that even if we were to accept a Marian view of such a passage (e.g., seeing the ark as Mary), an assumption of Mary still wouldn't follow. Protestants don't deny that Mary is currently in heaven without her body, which means seeing her in heaven in passages in Revelation would be consistent with not believing in her assumption, much as other figures in Revelation are in heaven without a body (including in contexts in which the language of bodily activities, clothing, and such is used when those individuals are described). Similarly, Protestants don't deny that Mary's body will eventually be joined to her soul again and be taken up from wherever the body currently is. So, something like a reference to Mary as the ark rising, being taken up, etc. wouldn't tell us when that event is to occur. Even if you were to grant some Catholic views when interpreting these passages, such as seeing Mary as the ark, the conclusion that she was bodily assumed to heaven at the close of her earthly life wouldn't follow. There isn't any Biblical passage that implies the Assumption of Mary.
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