Abstract
The rediscovery of apocryphal literature during the 19th century enables, among other things, to place the scene of the dormitio virginis (sleeping virgin) ascribed to Dionysus in De divinis nominibus 3:2 in the context of similar apocryphal stories. The Dionysian text appears then to be the first witness of the transitus Mariae and this also suggests a reexamination of the chronology of the Apocalypse of John. So then how can we explain the different receptions of the Dionysian text and this apocryphal literature ? A crucial role for the positive reception of Dionysus can be attributed to the commentary by John of Scythopolis who defended the orthodoxy and apostolicity of Dionysus based on content. John suggested also a subliminal association between the Dionysian text and the texts found in biblical canon
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