Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of which are mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Methodist and Baptist churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. The Church of the East historically regarded her as Christotokos, a term still used in the liturgy of the Assyrian Church of the East. She has the highest position in Islam among all women and is mentioned numerous times in the Quran, including in a chapter named after her. She is also revered in the Baháʼí and Druze faiths.
The synoptic Gospels name Mary as the mother of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew and Luke describe Mary as a virgin who was chosen by God to conceive Jesus through the Holy Spirit. After giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, she and her husband Joseph raised him in the city of Nazareth in Galilee, and she was in Jerusalem at his crucifixion and with the apostles after his ascension. Although her later life is not accounted in the Bible; Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant traditions believe that her body was raised into heaven at the end of her earthly life, which is known in Western Christianity as the Assumption of Mary and in Eastern Christianity as the Dormition of the Mother of God.
Mary has been venerated since early Christianity, and is often considered to be the holiest and greatest saint. There is a certain diversity in the Mariology and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Catholic Church and some Oriental Orthodox Churches hold distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her Immaculate Conception and her bodily assumption into heaven. Many Protestants hold various views of Mary's role that they perceive as being in accordance with the Scriptures. The Confessions of the Lutheran Churches have taught the virgin birth, Theotokos, and perpetual virginity.
The multiple forms of Marian devotions include various prayers and hymns, the celebration of several Marian feast days in liturgy, the veneration of images and relics, the construction of churches dedicated to her and pilgrimages to Marian shrines. Many Marian apparitions and miracles attributed to her intercession have been reported by believers over the centuries. She has been a traditional subject in arts, notably in Byzantine art, medieval art and Renaissance art.
Names and titles
Mary's name in the original manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name מרים, transliterated as or. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, a shortened form of the name Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament.In Christianity
In Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that the Holy Spirit impregnated her, thereby conceiving her first-born son Jesus miraculously, without sexual relations with her betrothed Joseph, "until her son was born". The word "until" has inspired considerable analysis on whether Joseph and Mary produced siblings after the birth of Jesus or not. Among her many other names and titles are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, the Mother of God, the , Our Lady, and Queen of Heaven. The title "queen of heaven" had previously been used as an epithet for a number of goddesses, such as Isis, or Ishtar.Titles in use vary among Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestants, as well as Mormons, Catholics, Orthodox and other Christians.
The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are , which means ever-virgin, as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, and meaning "all-holy". Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions.
The title, which means "God-bearer", was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The direct equivalents of title in Latin are Deipara and Dei Genitrix, although the phrase is more often loosely translated into Latin as Mater Dei, with similar patterns for other languages used in the Latin Church. However, this same phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God".
Some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title "Queen Mother" has been given to Mary, as she was the mother of Jesus, sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to his ancestral descent from King David. This is also based on the Hebrew tradition of the "Queen-Mother", the Gebirah or "Great Lady". Other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals, or occasions for calling on Mary.
In Islam
In Islam, Mary is known as Maryam, mother of Isa. She is often referred to by the honorific title, meaning "Our Lady"; this title is in parallel to , used for the prophets. A related term of endearment is, meaning "she who confirms the truth" and "she who believes sincerely completely". Another title for Mary is, which signifies both constant submission to God and absorption in prayer and invocation in Islam. She is also called, meaning "one who has been purified" and representing her status as one of two humans in creation to not be touched by Satan at any point, the other being Jesus. In the Quran, she is described both as "the daughter of Imran" and "the sister of Aaron" and Moses, alluding to Miriam from the Hebrew Bible. However, the title of "the sister of Aaron" is confirmed to be metaphorical as per a Hadith from the Islamic prophet Muhammad explaining Mary was indeed named after Miriam.Life in ancient sources
New Testament
The canonical Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are the primary sources of historical information about Mary. They are almost contemporary sources, as the synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are generally considered dating from around AD 66–90, while the gospel of John dates from AD 90–110. They provide limited information about Mary, as they primarily focus on the teaching of Jesus and on his apostles. The historical reliability of the Gospels and historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles are subject to debate, as it was common practice in early Christian writings to mix historical facts with legendary stories.The earliest New Testament account of Mary is in the epistle to the Galatians, which was written before the gospels. She is referred to as "a woman" and is not named: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law".
Mary is mentioned several times in the canonical Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles:
- The Gospel of Luke mentions Mary the most often, identifying her by name twelve times, all of these in the infancy narrative.
- The Gospel of Matthew mentions her by name five times, four of these in the infancy narrative and once outside the infancy narrative.
- The Gospel of Mark names her once and mentions Jesus' mother without naming her in Mark 3:31–32.
- The Gospel of John refers to the mother of Jesus twice, but never mentions her name. She is first seen at the wedding at Cana. The second reference has her standing near the cross of Jesus together with Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, and her own sister, along with the "disciple whom Jesus loved". John 2:1–12 is the only text in the canonical gospels in which the adult Jesus has a conversation with Mary. He does not address her as "Mother" but as "Woman". In Koine Greek, calling one's mother "Woman" was not disrespectful, and could even be tender. Accordingly, some versions of the Bible translate it as "Dear woman".
- In the Acts of the Apostles, Mary and the brothers of Jesus are mentioned in the company of the eleven apostles who are gathered in the upper room after the Ascension of Jesus.
Genealogy
The New Testament tells little of Mary's early history. The Gospel of Matthew gives a genealogy for Jesus by his father's paternal line, only identifying Mary as the wife of Joseph. John 19:25 states that Mary had a sister; semantically it is unclear if this sister is the same as Mary of Clopas, or if she is left unnamed. Jerome identifies Mary of Clopas as the sister of Mary, mother of Jesus. According to the early 2nd century historian Hegesippus, Mary of Clopas was likely Mary's sister-in-law, understanding Clopas to have been Joseph's brother.According to the writer of Luke, Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah, who was herself part of the lineage of Aaron and so of the Tribe of Levi. Some of those who believe that the relationship with Elizabeth was on the maternal side, believe that Mary, like Joseph, was of the royal Davidic line and so of the Tribe of Judah, and that the genealogy of Jesus presented in Luke 3 from Nathan, is in fact the genealogy of Mary, while the genealogy from Solomon given in Matthew 1 is that of Joseph.
Annunciation
Mary resided in "her own house" in Nazareth in Galilee, possibly with her parents, and during her betrothal—the first stage of a Jewish marriage. Jewish girls were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months, though the actual age of the bride varied with circumstances. The marriage was preceded by the betrothal, after which the bride legally belonged to the bridegroom, though she did not live with him till about a year later, when the marriage was celebrated.The angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah by conceiving him through the Holy Spirit, and, after initially expressing incredulity at the announcement, she responded, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word." Joseph planned to quietly divorce her, but was told her conception was by the Holy Spirit in a dream by "an angel of the Lord"; the angel told him to not hesitate to take her as his wife, which Joseph did, thereby formally completing the wedding rites.
Since the angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth—having previously been barren—was then miraculously pregnant, Mary hurried to see Elizabeth, who was living with her husband Zechariah in "the hill country..., a city of Juda". Mary arrived at the house and greeted Elizabeth who called Mary "the mother of my Lord", and Mary spoke the words of praise that later became known as the Magnificat from her first word in the Latin version. After about three months, Mary returned to her own house.