The events of the last years of Virgin Mary’s life are not known for sure; there is no mention of them in the canonical texts. Speculations about it appeared in later informal religious books, the Apocrypha. Some trace Mary’s last years to the ancient city of Ephesus where Saint John the Evangelist had moved. Others speak of Gethsemane, east of Jerusalem, where the garden where Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest was located. In both places there are churches dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.

According to the legends, three days before her death, Virgin Mary had a vision of Archangel Gabriel. He handed her a palm branch, told her that her death hour was approaching, but reassured her saying that with her last breath she would be assumed into the heavenly kingdom of her son. Mary bid farewell to her near and dear ones, made arrangements about disposal of her property and, when the state hour came, peacefully died. The apostles buried her in the tomb with her parents Joachim and Anna and her husband Joseph the Betrothed. Virgin Mary’s death was surrounded not with grief but with joy because it was followed by resurrection and ascension.