The Children of Adam and Eve

Mary (Virgin Mary), also the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, venerated by Christians since apostolic times. The Gospels give only a fragmentary account of Mary, mentioning her chiefly in connection with the beginning and the en d of Jesus' life. Matthew speaks of Mary as Joseph's wife, who is "with Child of the Holy Spirit" before they "came together"
as husband and wife (see Matthew 1:18). After the birth of Jesus, she is present at the visit of the Magi (see Matthew 2:11), flees with Joseph in Egypt (see Matt. 2:14), and returns to Nazareth (see Matt. 2:23). Mark simply refers to Jesus asthe son of Mary (see Mark 6:3). Luke's narrative of the nativity includes the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary the coming birth of Jesus (see Luke 1:27-38); her visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and Mary's hymn, theMagnificat (see Luke 1:39-56); and the shepherds' visit to the manger (see 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 noinfancy narrative, nor does it mention Mary's name; she is referred to as "the mother of Jesus" (see John 2, 19). She is present at the first of Jesus' miracles at the wedding feast of Cana (2:1,3,5) and at his Death (19:25-27). Mary is alsomentioned as being present in the upper room at Olivet with the apostles and with Jesus' Brothers before Pentecost (see Acts 1:14).

The Early Church

As early as the 2d century Christians venerated Mary by calling her Mother of God, a title that primarily stresses the divinity of Jesus. During the 4th-century controversies concerning the divine and human natures of Jesus, the Greek titleTheotokos (Mother of God) came to be used for Mary in devotional and theological writing. The Syrian monk Nestorius (died about 451) contested this uSage, insisting that Mary was mother of Christ, not of God. The Council of Ephesus (431)condemned Nestorius's teaching and solemnly affirmed that Mary is to be called Theotokos, a title that has been used since that time in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

Closely allied with the title Mother of God is the title Virgin Mary, affirming the virginal conception of Jesus (see Luke 1:35). Initially, this title stressed the belief that God, not Joseph, was the True Father of Jesus. In the Mariandevotion 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, andArmenia (373-74). 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 NewTestament 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 previousmarriage, although no textual evidence supports these interpretations.

beginning in the 2d and 3d centuries Mary was called Holy or Blessed Virgin to express the belief that, because of her intimate union with God through the Holy Spirit in the conception of Jesus (see Luke 1:35), Mary was completely free from anytaint of sin. A Roman Council in 680 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 protogospel ofJames (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).

The Middle Ages

During the late Middle Ages (13th-15th century) devotion to Mary grew vigorously. 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 Gothic and othertribes 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 westernimages 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. Herprayers 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 Psalmsin 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, andRefuge of Sinners (see Litany). 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.

Doctrine 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 theologianJohn 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, However, defendedit, establishing (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 solemndecree 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 thedoctrine of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.

Shrines

Marian shrines and places of pilgrimage are found throughout the world. At Monserrat in Spain the Black Virgin has been venerated since the 12th century. The icon of Our Lady of Cz?ochowa has been venerated in Poland since the early 14thcentury. The picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates an alleged apparition of Mary to the Indian 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).