Assumption - ближе к вознесению, но это явно католический узус - православные ведь делают акцент именно на успении (имхо - повторюсь, тема не моя).

Dormition - сон, заснуть, то бишь успение - более ближе к узусу православному. Но! Поймет ли, например, американец Dormition?

Или просто Uspenski - протранслитерировать и не париться...

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Немецкое слово вознесение Himmelfahrt (дословно trip to heaven). Вот вам пример из уважаемого Дудена:
Christi) Himmelfahrt the Ascension (of Christ)
Mariд Himmelfahrt the Assumption (of the Blessed Virgin)

Как видите Успение в случае Assumption - это таки вознесение (Himmelfahrt - trip to heaven), другими словами вроде и успение, да только собсвенно никто и не усоп, а был взят на небо, возможно, даже живым.

Btw: Тут на KudoZ целую тему накопал - занимательное чтиво. http://www.proz.com/kudoz/208017

Т.е. выбор между правильностью и традицией чаще всего сводится к традиции.

Здесь я абсолютно согласен! Таков Тель-Авив, как говорят арабы. Просто не был уверен в "традициооности" этого узуса. But never mind, at times I can be really an intractable S.O.B.

Both Orthodox and Roman Catholics celebrate the mystery of Christ's taking His Mother, body and soul, into Heaven. Yet both have quite different ways of approaching this Feast that reflects their differing perspectives on the Mother of Christ our God. Their liturgical focus is different one from another as are the very terms by which they name this Feast.

The Catholic West calls this Feast that of the "Assumption" or the assuming of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary into Heaven by God.

The corresponding Catholic image of this feast is the Mother of God being taken into heaven on a cloud and by angels. She is then crowned by the Holy Trinity or Her Son as the Chief Intercessor of the Church before the Divine Throne.

The Orthodox East, on the other hand, focuses on the actual "falling asleep" or death of the Mother of God (i.e. "Dormition").

The focus of the Christian East is encapsulated in the Icon of the Dormition where the central attention is on the actual bier on which the reposed Mother of God lies in state, surrounded by the Apostles and Church Fathers, their successors.

Christ is positioned above the bier, holding in His Hands the image of His Mother Whom He is taking to Heaven, body and soul. Sometimes the icons of the Dormition portray the Mother of God already above, in heaven, with the Holy Trinity.

Some icons of the Dormition depict a fellow tradition names as "Athonius" who tried to attack the bier of the Mother of God and had his hands cut off by an Angel for his trouble. The hands are attached to the bier as the bewildered Athonius is about to repent of his action.

Other icons of the Dormition portray the Apostles being brought through the air by Angels from their far-off missions to attend the funeral of the Mother of God.

The Roman Catholic West tries not to even think of the "death of Mary." Its doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, where the penal Original Sin (inherited guilt for Adam's sin) does not "infect" the soul of Mary, owing to Her exalted future role as Mother of the Saviour. And since Adam's sin is what brought death into the world, if Mary didn't "contract it," then how can she be said to have died i.e. an experience of punishment for a sin she had no share in?

In defining the doctrine of the Assumption, Pope Pius XII actually left open the question of whether Mary actually "died" or not. In a sense, he was constrained by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception to do so.

This explains why only the taking of the Mother of God into heaven is celebrated by the Roman Church and why there is no mention or commemoration of her death.

For the Eastern Church, the Mother of God was truly conceived and born in all holiness and Grace and this is why Her Nativity is celebrated liturgically as well as her Conception in the womb of St Ann, since only the feast of a Saint may be celebrated.

For the Eastern Church, Original Sin has to do with the consequences of Adam's sin that we have all contracted. We do not inherit the guilt of Adam's personal sin, since only Adam is responsible for that. But as Adam's offspring, we did inherit a human nature that was weakened by that disobedience to God and one that is subject to the laws of death.

So, for the Eastern Church, the consequences of Original Sin and Mary's great holiness are not mutually exclusive theological realities.

More information:
http://www.antiochian-orthodox.co.uk/dormition.htm
http://www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/kimball.html
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/assumpt.htm

В словаре "The dictionary of Russia" В.В. Кабакчи на стр 479 написано:
"Термин "dormition" низкочастотный, не фиксируется большинством словарей (например: OEED, WNCD, WNWD, AHD, RHD), что говорит от том, что он неизвестен рядовому англоговорящему, и значит использование его не дает никаких преимуществ по сравнению с русицизмом Uspenie, который гарантирует, по крайней мере, точность, будучи исходным термином эталоном..."
Там же приводится: Uspenskii sobor(cathedral) religious.
E.g.:[Vladimir's]impressive Cathedral of the assumption (Uspenskiy sobor)(1158-1189)...(CamEnc 1982, p83; similar: p.154) [Caption] A center of Russian Orthodoxy: the Cathedral of the Assumption at the Monastery of the Trinity and St.Sergius,Zagorsk (Op.cit.,p.125)
In 1326 the foundations of the first stone building, the Uspensky Cathedral, were laid...(Fodor's89, p.134) The side entrance of the Uspensky (Assumption)Cathedral is opposite/ [...]The present building... follows the style of the Uspensky Cathedral at Vladimir. (Op.cit.,p.139) The Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspensky Sobor) stands on the eastern summit.(Op.cit.,p.223-224)
Fierce bands of Cossacks rode down on them and recovored most of the booty the Frencj had stolen fro the Uspensky Cathedral in Moscow. (Massie, Pavlovsk, p.71)