Mary (Virgin Mary)IINTRODUCTION Mary (Virgin Mary), the mother of Jesus Christ, venerated by Christians since apostolic times (1st century). The Gospels give only a fragmentary account of Mary's life, mentioning her chiefly in connection with the beginning and the end of Jesus' life. Matthew speaks of Mary as Joseph's wife, who was “with child of the Holy Spirit” before they “came together” as husband and wife (Matthew 1:18). After the birth of Jesus, she was present at the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:11), fled with Joseph to Egypt (Matthew 2:14), and returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:23). Mark simply refers to Jesus as the son of Mary (Mark 6:3). Luke's narrative of the nativity includes the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary foretelling the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:27-38); her visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and Mary's hymn, the Magnificat (Luke 1:39-56); and the shepherds' visit to the manger (Luke 2:1-20). Luke also tells of Mary's perplexity at finding Jesus in the Temple questioning the teachers when he was 12 years old. The Gospel of John contains no infancy narrative, nor does it mention Mary's name; she is referred to as “the mother of Jesus” (John 2:1-5; 19:25-27). According to John, she was present at the first of Jesus' miracles at the wedding feast of Cana and at his death. Mary is also mentioned as being present in the upper room at Olivet with the apostles and with Jesus' brothers before Pentecost (Acts 1:14).IITHE EARLY CHURCH As early as the 2nd century, Christians venerated Mary by calling her Mother of God, a title that primarily stresses the divinity of Jesus. During the controversies of the 4th century concerning the divine and human natures of Jesus, the Greek title theotókos (Mother of God) came to be used for Mary in devotional and theological writing. Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (present-day ?stanbul), contested this usage, insisting that Mary was mother of Christ, not of God. In 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned Nestorianism and solemnly affirmed that Mary is to be called theotókos, a title that has been used since that time in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.Closely related to the title Mother of God is the title Virgin Mary, affirming the virginal conception of Jesus (Luke 1:35). Initially, this title stressed the belief that God, not Joseph, was the true father of Jesus. In the Marian devotion that developed in the East in the 4th century, Mary was venerated not only in the conception but also in the birth of Jesus. This conviction was expressed clearly in the 4th century, baptismal creeds of Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, and Armenia. The title used was aieiparthenos (ever-virgin), and by the middle of the 7th century the understanding of the title came to include the conviction that Mary remained a virgin for the whole of her life. The passages in the New Testament referring to the brothers of Jesus (for instance, Mark 6:3, which also mentions sisters; see 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19) have been accordingly explained as references to relatives of Jesus or to children of Joseph by a previous marriage, although there is no historical evidence for this interpretation.In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, various Christian writers began to express the belief that, because of her intimate union with God through the Holy Spirit in the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:35), Mary was completely free from any taint of sin. In 680 a Roman Council spoke of her as the “blessed, immaculate ever-virgin.”In both the Eastern and Western churches, feast days in honor of the events of Mary's life came into existence between the 4th and 7th centuries. They celebrate her miraculous conception and her birth, narrated in the apocryphal “Infancy Gospel” of James (September 8); the Annunciation (March 25); her purification in the Temple (February 2); and her death (called the Dormition in the Eastern church) and bodily assumption into heaven (August 15; see Assumption of the Virgin).IIITHE MIDDLE AGES During the late Middle Ages (13th century to 15th century), devotion to Mary grew dramatically. One of the principal reasons was the image of Christ that developed in the missionary efforts of the early Middle Ages. To the extent that the Goths and other tribes of central and northern Europe were Christian, they remained strongly influenced by Arianism, a teaching that denied the divinity of Christ. In response, preaching and the arts of this period particularly stressed Christ's divinity, as in the Byzantine depictions of Christ as Pantokrator (universal and all-powerful ruler) and in the western images of Christ as the supreme and universal judge. As Christ became an awe-inspiring, judgmental figure, Mary came to be depicted as the one who interceded for sinners. As the fear of death and the Last Judgment intensified following the Black Plague in the 14th century, Mary was increasingly venerated in popular piety as mediator of the mercy of Christ. Her prayers and pleas were seen as the agency that tempered the stern justice of Christ. Among the popular devotions that came into being at this time were the rosary (a chaplet originally consisting of 150 Hail Marys in imitation of the 150 Psalms in the psalter, later augmented by 15 interspersed Our Fathers as penance for daily sins); the angelus recited at sunrise, noon, and sunset; and litanies (invocations of Mary using such biblical titles as Mystical Rose, Tower of David, and Refuge of Sinners). Hymns, psalms, and prayers were incorporated into the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, in imitation of the longer divine office recited or chanted by monks and priests.IVDOCTRINE OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION The principal theological development concerning Mary in the Middle Ages was the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine, defended and preached by the Franciscan friars under the inspiration of the 13th-century Scottish theologian John Duns Scotus, maintains that Mary was conceived without original sin. Dominican teachers and preachers vigorously opposed the doctrine, maintaining that it detracted from Christ's role as universal savior. Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, defended it, establishing in 1477 a feast of the Immaculate Conception with a proper mass and office to be celebrated on December 8. This feast was extended to the whole Western church by Pope Clement XI in 1708. In 1854 Pope Pius IX issued a solemn decree defining the Immaculate Conception for all Roman Catholics, but the doctrine has not been accepted by Protestants or by the Orthodox churches. In 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly defined as an article of faith for all Roman Catholics the doctrine of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.VSHRINES Marian shrines and places of pilgrimage are found throughout the world. At Montserrat in Spain the Black Virgin has been venerated since the 12th century. The icon of Our Lady of Cz?stochowa has been venerated in Poland since the early 14th century. The picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates an alleged apparition of Mary to Native American Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. In the 19th century a number of apparitions of Mary were reported that inspired the development of shrines, devotions, and pilgrimages—for instance, in Paris (1830, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal); Lourdes (1858, Our Lady of Lourdes); Knock, in Ireland (1879, Our Lady of Knock); and Fatima, in Portugal (1917, Our Lady of Fatima).Microsoft ? Encarta ? Encyclopedia 2003. ? 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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