A-Z: General definitions: Mary, the blessed Virgin

Definition

The account of Mary's life in the New Testament was amplified by apocryphal documents and a number of doctrines concerning her person and role developed in succeeding centuries. Justin Martyr (d.c. 165) contrasted Mary's obedience with the disobedience of Eve. The Book of James (c. mid 2C) named her parents as Joachim and Anna and asserted her perpetual virginity. The Council of Ephesus (431) confirmed the title of theotokos, godbearer. St Ambrose held her to be a type of the church. The belief that she did not die but was taken up bodily into heaven was celebrated in the Feast of the Assumption. The assertion that Mary, like her son, had been immaculately conceived (i.e. free from original sin) was disputed throughout the Middle Ages. Faith in Mary's powers as intercessor on behalf of sinful men and women was given fresh impetus by St Bernard (1090-1153) and she was popularly regarded as the Queen of Heaven. Although theologians distinguished between veneration accorded to Mary and the worship due only to her Son, this may not always have been fully understood at a popular level.

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