The Feast of the Conception of the Virgin Mary is a liturgical holiday celebrated on December 9 by the Orthodox Church and a number of Eastern Catholic Churches. It is also the name given in the Catholic Tridentine calendar for 8 December. In the present General Roman Calendar, the feast is called the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the holy day was once called the Feast of Conception of Saint Anne.
The Bible does not mention the birth and infancy of Mary, however, early Christians thought that, like John the Baptist, her birth, too, must have had something of the miraculous. This pious belief is reflected in the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal 2nd-century infancy gospel. [1] [2] A strong devotion to Saint Anne (and by extension to Joachim) developed in the East, and a number of churches were dedicated to them.
By the middle of the seventh century, a distinct feast day, the Conception of St. Anne (Maternity of Holy Anna) celebrating the conception of Mary by Saint Anne, was celebrated at the Monastery of Saint Sabas. [3] The feast was subsequently entered in the liturgical calendar of the Byzantine Church. From ancient times this feast was especially venerated by pregnant women in Russia.
The feast eventually began to be observed in the West. Although the name changed to the Conception of Mary, it still focused on the miracle accorded to her parents. Herbert Thurston says that by the tenth century, the Feast of the Conception of Mary was noted in Irish liturgical calendars and listed for May 3. As it was thought that Mary was due no less honor than John the Baptist, it was believed that, like John, Mary must have been sanctified before birth. The feast was brought to Britain by Irish missionaries, [4] and was celebrated there by the 1030s.
There developed a strong monastic cult of the Virgin Mary in England. The ecclesiastic and scholar Eadmer wrote De Conceptione sanctae Mariae, the first, and for two centuries the most valuable, Western exposition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. [5] The feast of the Conception of Mary had been celebrated at Canterbury since around 1030, and later at Canterbury and Exeter. [6] After the Norman Conquest, with the reorganization of the Church calendar by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, it had been suppressed. Eadmer's advocacy of a sinless Mary was probably motivated as much by the restoration of local Anglo-Saxon devotions at Canterbury as with the wider propagation of the doctrine.
Around the same time, Osbert de Clare, prior of St Peter's Abbey, Westminster attempted to introduce at Westminster, the Anglo-Saxon Feast of the Conception of Mary. A number of monks objected against this since it had not been sanctioned by Rome. Whereupon the matter was brought before the Council of London in 1129. The synod decided in favour of the feast, and Bishop Gilbert of London adopted it for his diocese. [7] The feast was subsequently re-instated by Anselm, abbot of Bury St Edmunds. Other abbots soon followed. Thereafter the feast spread in England, but for a time retained its private character. [7]
The Eastern and Western Churches focus on different aspects of the feast. The East celebrates the miracle of God taking away the barrenness of Anna's womb, while the Western Church, emphasizes Mary's purity from all sin from her conception. [8]
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the faithful celebrate a liturgical feast on 9 December called the Conception (passive) of the Mother of God, which used to be more often called the Feast of the Conception (active) of Saint Anne. [10] In the Greek Orthodox Church the feast is called "The Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos". [11]
The Eastern feast is not ranked among the Great Feasts, but as a lesser-ranking feast. Unlike the Latin Church date of 8 December for the feast, the Eastern feast is not exactly nine months before the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (8 September), but a day later.
Mary is conceived by her parents as we are all conceived. But in her case it is a pure act of faith and love, in obedience to God's will, as an answer to prayer. In this sense her conception is truly "immaculate." And its fruit is woman who remains forever the most pure Virgin and Mother of God. [12]
'Come, let us dance in the spirit!
Let us sing worthy praises to Christ!
Let us celebrate the joy of Joachim and Anna,
The conception of the Mother of our God,
For she is the fruit of the grace of God.' [12]
Pope Sixtus IV designated 8 December as the feast day of the Conception of Mary, and in 1476 issued the apostolic constitution Cum Praeexcelsa, establishing a Mass and Office for the feast. In 1568, in revising the Roman Breviary, Pope Pius V suppressed the office, substituting the word "nativity"; although the Franciscans were allowed to retain the old form. [13]
In 1708 under the papal bull Commissi Nobis Divinitus, Pope Clement XI made it a Holy Day of Obligation. In 1854, in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus , Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [14]
While the Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes the exceptional holiness of the Mother of God, whom it celebrates as immaculate (achrantos), "it did not follow the path of Roman Catholicism in moving towards a recognition of her Immaculate Conception". [15] The Orthodox Church never subscribed to Augustine of Hippo's notions of original sin and hereditary guilt. The Church does not interpret "original sin" as having anything to do with transmitted guilt but with transmitted mortality. Because Adam sinned, all humanity shares not in his guilt but in the same punishment. [16]
Many Eastern Rite Catholic Churches celebrate the feast on December 9. [17]
In the Church of England, the "Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary" may be observed as a Lesser Festival on 8 December. The Anglican Breviary uses the term "spotless" rather than "immaculate" to distinguish an acceptable pious belief from Catholic dogma. The situation in other constituent churches of the Anglican Communion is similar. [18]
Many Anglo-Catholic parishes observe the feast using the traditional Roman Catholic title, the "Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary".
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary's freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin.
Mary was a first-century Judean woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is a central figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Other Protestant views on Mary vary, with some holding her to have considerably lesser status.
According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come only from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James seems to be the earliest that mentions them. The mother of Mary is mentioned but not named in the Quran.
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus as follows:
We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation are days on which the faithful are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation, according to the third commandment.
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the Theotokos, and her being taken up into heaven. It is celebrated on 15 August as the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest 15 August. In Western Churches the corresponding feast is known as the Assumption of Mary, with the exception of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which has traditionally celebrated the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 15 August.
The Annunciation, in greek, Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement by the archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah and Son of God, marking the Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Immanuel, meaning "God is with us".
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of Twelve Great Feasts. Together with Pascha, these are the most significant dates on the Orthodox liturgical calendar. Eight of the great feasts are in honor of Jesus Christ, while the other four are dedicated to the Virgin Mary — the Theotokos.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebrated on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated worldwide.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The Intercession of the Theotokos, or the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, is a Christian feast of the Mother of God celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches on October 1 . The feast celebrates the protection afforded the faithful through the intercessions of the Theotokos.
The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom She had circumcised on the eighth day after His birth according to Levitical Law. Christians see Him as the Lord and Son of God.
Ineffabilis Deus is an apostolic constitution by Pope Pius IX. It defines the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The document was promulgated on December 8, 1854, the date of the annual Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and followed from a positive response to the encyclical Ubi primum.
The Feast of the Annunciation, in Greek, Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, contemporarily the Solemnity of the Annunciation, and also called Lady Day, the Feast of the Incarnation, or Conceptio Christi, commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is celebrated on 25 March each year. In the Catholic Church, if 25 March falls during the Paschal Triduum, it is transferred forward to the first suitable day during Eastertide. In Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism, it is never transferred, even if it falls on Pascha (Easter). The concurrence of these two feasts is called Kyriopascha.
Anglican Marian theology is the summation of the doctrines and beliefs of Anglicanism concerning Mary, mother of Jesus. As Anglicans believe that Jesus was both human and God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, within the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglican movement, Mary is accorded honour as the theotokos, a Koiné Greek term that means "God-bearer" or "one who gives birth to God".
Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.
Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and grace. Christian Mariology aims to place the role of the historic Mary in the context of scripture, tradition and the teachings of the Church on Mary. In terms of social history, Mariology may be broadly defined as the study of devotion to and thinking about Mary throughout the history of Christianity.
Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names can vary among Christian denominations.
The history of Catholic Mariology traces theological developments and views regarding Mary from the early Church to the 21st century. Mariology is a mainly Catholic ecclesiological study within theology, which centers on the relation of Mary, the Mother of God, and the Church. Theologically, it not only deals with her life but with her veneration in life and prayer, in art, music, and architecture, from ancient Christianity to modern times.
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