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Veneration of the Virgin Mary
There is a long-standing and widespread tradition in
Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, Syriac and Anglican
Christianity of giving special honor and devotion to the
Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.
Key articles on
Mariology
General perspective
Mother of Jesus • Blessed Virgin
Origins
Over considerable resistance, the Council of Ephesus in
431 formally sanctioned devotion to the Virgin as
Theotokos, Mother of God, (more accurately translated as
God bearer), sanctioning the creation of icons bearing
the images of the Virgin and Child. Devotion to Mary
was, however, already widespread before this point,
reflected in the fresco depictions of Mother and Child
in the Roman catacombs (illustration. left). The early
Church Fathers saw Mary as the "new Eve" who said "yes"
to God as Eve had said no. The non-canonical Gospel
of James, written around 150, is a literary testament to
the earliest devotion to Mary, the first document
advocating her perpetual virginity. Mary, as the first
Christian Saint and Mother of Jesus, was deemed to be a
compassionate mediator between suffering mankind and her
son, Jesus, who was seen as King and Judge. Biblical
support for this position was found in the story of the
Marriage at Cana whereat Mary entreated Jesus to turn
water into wine (Gospel of John, Chapter 2). Elizabeth's
praise of Mary "blessed art thou among women" and "who
am I that the mother of my Lord would visit me?" in Luke
2 are also cited in support of Mary's role, among other
passages of Scripture.
In the East, devotion to Mary blossomed in the sixth
century under official patronage and imperial promotion
at the Court of Constantinople. The popularity of Mary
as an individual object of devotion, however, only began
in the fifth century with the appearance of apocryphal
versions of her life, interest in her relics, and the
first churches dedicated to her name, for example, S.
Maria Maggiore in Rome. A sign that the
process was slower in Rome is provided by the incident
during the visit of Pope Agapetus to Constantinople in
536, when he was upbraided for opposing the veneration
of the theotokos and refusing to allow her icons to be
displayed in Roman churches. Early seventh-century
examples of new Marian dedications in Rome are the
dedication in 609 of the pagan Pantheon as Santa Maria
ad Martyres, "Holy Mary and the Martyrs",[5] and the
re-dedication of the early Christian titulus Julii et
Calixtii, one of the oldest Roman churches, as Santa
Maria in Trastevere.[6] The earliest Marian feasts were
introduced into the Roman liturgical calendar by Pope
Sergius I (687-701).
Early representations of Mary show her as the "Throne of
Heaven" with Mary and the Child Jesus both royally
crowned with Byzantine diadems. She was further
identified with the Bride in the Old Testament Song of
Solomon, by such noted theologians as St. Bernard of
Clairvaux. She became the prototype for the Church
itself. During the Middle Ages, and especially in
France, the great Cathedrals were thus named for Mary.
The Marian Rosary was popularized by the followers of
St. Dominic.
Coronation of the Virgin by Fra Angelico, 1434. |
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The image of Mary as Queen was softened somewhat
by Mary as Mother of the Child Jesus. St.
Francis of Assisi popularized the image of the
Nativity scene using live animals. This
representation of the helpless Jesus suckled by
his mother brought Christmas into the hearts and
homes of the people.
And, as journeys to the Holy Land became
difficult, Mary's role in the Passion story
became part of the popular Stations of the Cross
as the Mother of the suffering Jesus. During the
great plagues such as the Black Death, Mary
became greatly popular as a compassionate
intercessor and protector of mankind against the
just judgment of God.
Devotion to the
Virgin Mary as the "new Eve" lent much to the
status of women during the Middle Ages. Women
who had been looked down upon as daughters of
Eve, came to be looked upon as objects of
veneration and inspiration. The veneration of
Mary both as woman and prototype of the Church
was greatly responsible for transforming the
Germanic Warrior code into the Code of Chivalry.
This reinterpretation of women flowered in the
Courtly Love poetry of Medieval and Renaissance
France. Mary, as the original "vessel of Christ"
may have also influenced the legends of the Holy
Grail. Her selflessness, obedience and virginal
humility were reinterpreted in the literary
figure of Sir Galahad, finder of the Grail.
Protestant views
Protestants typically hold that Mary was the
mother of Jesus, but was an ordinary woman
devoted to God. Therefore, there are virtually
no Marian veneration, Marian feasts, Marian
pilgrimages, Marian art, Marian music or Marian
spirituality in today's Protestant communities.
Within these views, Roman Catholic beliefs and
practices, which endured more than 1500 years
after Jesus' death, are at times rejected as
heresy, e.g. theologian Karl Barth wrote that
"the heresy of the Catholic Church is its
mariology".
Some early Protestants venerated and honored
Mary. Martin Luther said Mary is "the highest
woman", that "we can never honor her enough",
that "the veneration of Mary is inscribed in the
very depths of the human heart", and that
Christians should "wish that everyone know and
respect her". John Calvin said, "It cannot be
denied that God in choosing and destining Mary
to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the
highest honor." Zwingli said, "I esteem
immensely the Mother of God", and, "The more the
honor and love of Christ increases among men, so
much the esteem and honor given to Mary should
grow". Thus the idea of respect and high honor
was not rejected by the first Protestants; but,
they came to criticize the Roman Catholics for
blurring the line, between high admiration of
the grace of God wherever it is seen in a human
being, and religious service given to another
creature. The Roman Catholic practice of
celebrating saints' days and making intercessory
requests addressed especially to Mary and other
departed saints they considered (and consider)
to be idolatry. Protestantism usually follows
the reformers in rejecting the practice of
directly addressing Mary and other saints in
prayers of admiration or petition, as part of
their religious worship of God.
Today's Protestants acknowledge that Mary is
"blessed among women" (Luke 1:42) but they do
not agree that Mary is to be venerated. She is
considered to be an outstanding example of a
life dedicated to God. Indeed the word that she
uses to describe herself in Luke 1:38 (usually
translated as "bond-servant" or "slave")
refers to someone whose will is consumed by the
will of another - in this case Mary's will is
consumed by God's. Rather than granting Mary any
kind of "dulia", Protestants note that her role
in scripture seems to diminish - after the birth
of Jesus she is hardly mentioned. From this it
may be said that her attitude paralleled that of
John the Baptist who said "He must become
greater; I must become less" (John 3:30). |
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to compete with the new Christian faith and to continue all
the fertility worship. "If you can't beat em' Join em!"
