Manuel I Comnenus 1143AD Billon Byzantine Authentic Ancient Coin VIRGIN i17638

Item: i17638

Authentic Ancient

Roman Coin of:

Byzantine – Manuel I , Comnenus – Byzantine Emperor: 8
April 1143 – 24 September 1180 A.D.

Billon aspron trachy 25mm (2.05 grams) Struck at the mint of Constantinople
circa 1143-1180 A.D.
Reference: Sear 1964
The Virgin enthroned facing, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; She
holds before Her nimbate head of the infant Christ facing; to left, MP; to
right, OV –
MANγHΛ ΔΕCΠΟΤHC, Manuel standing facing, wearing crown, divitision and chlamys,
and holding labarum and globus surmounted by patriarchal cross.

You are bidding on the exact

Guarantee of Authenticity.

The Chi Rho is one of the earliest

christograms

used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the

first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word

Christ

(

Greek

 : “Χριστός” ), chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce

the monogram

☧. The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to

mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the

combined

letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning “good.”

Although not technically a cross, the Chi Rho invokes the crucifixion

of Jesus as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ. There is early

evidence of the Chi Rho symbol on Christian Rings of the third century.

The labarum (Greek:

λάβαρον) was a

(military standard) that displayed the “Chi-Rho”

symbol, formed from the first two

Greek letters

of the word “Christ”

(Greek:

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) — Chi (χ)

and Rho (ρ).

It was first used by the

Roman emperor

Constantine I

. Since the vexillum consisted of a flag suspended from

the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize

crucifixion

. The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by Greek scribes to

mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the

combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning

“good.”

Comnenus , or
Manuel

I Komnenos (Greek:

Μανουήλ Α’ Κομνηνός, Manouēl I

Komnēnos,

November

28
, 1118

–

September 24

,

1180) was a

Byzantine Emperor

of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning

point in the history of

Byzantium

and the

Mediterranean

. Eager to restore his

empire

to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world,

Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made

alliances with the Pope

and the resurgent west, invaded

Italy

, successfully handled the passage of the dangerous

Second Crusade

through his empire, and established a Byzantine protectorate

over the

Crusader kingdoms

of

Outremer
.

Facing Muslim

advances in the

Holy Land
,

he made common cause with the

Kingdom of Jerusalem

and participated in a combined invasion of

Fatimid

Egypt
.

Manuel reshaped the political maps of the

Balkans
and

the east Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of

Hungary

and Outremer under Byzantine

hegemony

and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the

east. However, towards the end of his reign Manuel’s achievements in the east

were compromised by a serious defeat at

Myriokephalon

, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking

a well-defended

Seljuk

position.

Called ho Megas (Greek:

ὁ Μέγας, translated as “the

Great“) by the Greeks

, Manuel is known to have inspired intense loyalty in those who served

him. He also appears as the hero of a history written by his secretary,

John

Kinnamos
, in which every virtue is attributed to him. Manuel, who was

influenced by his contact with western Crusaders, enjoyed the reputation of “the

most blessed emperor of

Constantinople

” in parts of the

Latin
world as

well.^[1]

Modern historians, however, have been less enthusiastic about him. Some of them

assert that the great power he wielded was not his own personal achievement, but

that of the

dynasty

he represented; they also argue that, since Byzantine imperial power

declined so rapidly after Manuel’s death, it is only natural to look for the

causes of this decline in his reign.

Mary  variously called
Saint
Mary, Mother Mary, the Virgin Mary, the
Theotokos
,
the
Blessed Virgin Mary
, Mary,
Mother of God
, and, in
Islam
, as
Maryam
, mother of
Isa
‘, was an
Israelite

Jewish

woman of Nazareth
in Galilee
who lived in the late 1st century BC and early 1st century AD, and
is considered by Christians to be the first
proselyte

to Christianity
. She is identified in the
New
Testament
and in the
Qur’an
as the mother of
Jesus

through
divine intervention
. Christians hold her son Jesus to be
Christ
(i.e.
the messiah
)
and God
the Son

Incarnate
(see
Trinitarian monotheism
), whereas Muslims regard Jesus as the messiah and
the most important prophet of God sent to the people of Israel (and the
second-most-important prophet of all, lesser than
Muhammad

alone).

The
canonical gospels
of
Matthew
and
Luke
describe Mary as a virgin (Greek παρθένος, parthénos).
Traditionally,
Christians
believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of
the
Holy Spirit
.
Muslims
believe that she conceived by the command of God. This took place
when she was already
betrothed
to
Saint
Joseph
and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal
home-taking ceremony.
She married Joseph and accompanied him to
Bethlehem
,
where Jesus was born.
In keeping with Jewish custom, the betrothal would have taken place when she was
around 12, and the birth of Jesus about a year later.

The New Testament begins its account of Mary’s life with the Annunciation,
when the angel Gabriel
appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother
of Jesus. Church tradition and early non-biblical writings state that her
parents were an elderly couple,
Saint Joachim
and
Saint Anne
.
The Bible records Mary’s role in key events of the life of Jesus from his
conception to his Ascension.
Apocryphal
writings tell of her subsequent death and bodily
assumption
into heaven.

Christians of the
Catholic Church
, the
Eastern Orthodox Church
,
Oriental Orthodox Church
,
Anglican Communion
, and
Lutheran
churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of
God and the
Theotokos
,
literally Bearer of God. Mary has been venerated since
Early Christianity
.
Throughout the ages she has been a favorite subject in Christian art, music, and
literature.

There is significant diversity in the
Marian
beliefs
and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Catholic
Church has a number of
Marian dogmas
, such as the
Immaculate Conception of Mary
the
Perpetual Virginity of Mary
, and the
Assumption of Mary
into Heaven. Catholics refer to her as
Our Lady
and
venerate

her as the
Queen of Heaven
and
Mother of the Church
; most
Protestants
do not share these beliefs.^[8][9]
Many Protestants see a minimal role for Mary within Christianity, based on the
brevity of biblical references.

In ancient sources

New Testament

The
Annunciation
by
Eustache Le Sueur
, an example of 17th century
Marian art
. The
Angel
Gabriel
announces to Mary her pregnancy with
Jesus

and offers her
White Lillies

The New Testament account of her humility and obedience to the message of
God have made her an exemplar for all ages of Christians. Out of the details
supplied in the New Testament by the Gospels about the maid of Galilee,
Christian piety and theology have constructed a picture of Mary that
fulfills the prediction ascribed to her in the Magnificat (Luke 1:48):
“Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”

— “Mary.” Web: 29Sep2010 Encyclopædia
Britannica Online.

The Icon

of Our Lady of the Sign (Greek:

Panagia

or Παναγία;
Old Church
Slavonic
: Ikona Bozhey
Materi “Znamenie”;
Polish
:
Ikona Bogurodzicy “Znak” ‘) is
the term for a particular type of
icon

of the Theotokos

(Virgin Mary), facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or
half, with her hands raised in the
orans

position, and with the image of the
Child Jesus

depicted within a round
aureole

upon her breast.

Our Lady of the Sign (18th century,

iconostasis
of the Transfiguration church,
Kizhi

monastery, Karelia, Russia).

The icon depicts the Theotokos during the
Annunciation

at the moment of saying, “May it be done to me according to your word.”(Luke
1:38). The image of the Christ child represents him at the
moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin. He is depicted not as a
fetus, but rather vested in divine robes, and often holding a scroll,
symbolic of his role as teacher. Sometimes his robes are gold or white,
symbolizing divine glory; sometimes they are blue and red, symbolizing the
two natures of Christ (see
Christology
).
His face is depicted as that of an old man, indicating the Christian
teaching that he was at one and the same time both a fully human infant and
fully the eternal God, one of the Trinity. His right hand is raised in
blessing.

The term Virgin of the Sign or Our Lady of the Sign is a
reference to the
prophecy

of Isaiah

7:14
:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel
“.
Such an image is often placed in the
apse

of the sanctuary

of an Orthodox
church

above the
Holy Table

(altar).^[2]

As with most Orthodox icons of Mary, the letters ΜΡ ΘΥ (short for ΜΗΤΗΡ
ΘΕΟΥ, “Mother
of God“) are usually placed on the upper left and right of
the head of the Virgin Mary.

This type of icon is also sometimes called the Platytéra (Greek:
Πλατυτέρα, literally wider or more spacious); poetically, by
containing the
Creator

of the Universe

in her
womb
,
Mary has become Platytera ton ouranon (Πλατυτέρα των Ουρανών): “More
spacious than the heavens”. The Platytéra is traditionally depicted
on the half-dome that stands above the
altar
.
It is visible high above the
iconostasis
,
and facing down the length of the
nave

of the church. This particular depiction is usually on a dark blue
background, often adorned by golden stars.

History

The depiction of the
Virgin Mary

with her hands upraised in prayer (“orans”) is of very ancient origin in
Christian art
.
In the
mausoleum of St
Agnes
in
Rome

is a depiction dating to the 4th century which depicts the Theotokos with
hands raised in prayer and the infant
Jesus

sitting upon her knees. There is also an ancient Byzantine
icon

of the Mother of God “Nikopea” from the 6th century, where the Virgin Mary
is depicted seated upon a
throne

and holding in her hands an oval shield with the image of “Emmanuel”.

Icons of the Virgin, known as “The Sign”, appeared in
Russia

during the 11th to 12th centuries. The icon became highly venerated in
Russia because of what
Orthodox
Christians
believe to be the miraculous deliverance of
Novgorod

from invasion in the year 1170.

Among the more famous variants of this genre are the Icons of the Mother
of God of
Abalatsk
,
Kursk-Root
,
Mirozh
,
Novgorod
,
Sankt Petersburg
,
Tsarskoye Selo

and Vologda
.

The
Church of St.
Stanislaus Kostka
, one of
Chicago
‘s
famed
Polish Cathedrals
,
is home to a 9-foot-wide (2.7 m) Iconic
Monstrance

of Our Lady of the Sign as part of the planned
Sanctuary

of
The Divine Mercy

that is being constructed adjacent to the church. The Monstrance will be
found within the sanctuary’s adoration
chapel

which will be the focus of 24-hour
Eucharistic
Adoration
and where there will be no liturgies or vocal
prayers, either by individuals or groups as the space will be strictly meant
for private meditation and contemplation.

The English name “Mary” comes from the
Greek
Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. The New
Testament name was based on her original
Hebrew
name מִרְיָם or
Miryam
. 
Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament.

Family and early life

The New Testament tells little of Mary’s early history. The 2nd century
Protoevangelium of James
is the first source to name her parents as
Joachim
and
Anne
.

According to Luke, Mary was a cousin 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 consider that the relationship with Elizabeth was on the
maternal side, consider that Mary, like Joseph, to whom she was betrothed, was
of the House of David and so of the tribe of Judah, and that the
genealogy of Jesus
presented in
Luke 3
from
Nathan, third son of David and Bathsheba
, is in fact the genealogy of Mary,
while the genealogy from
Solomon
given
in Matthew 1

is that of Joseph.
(Aaron’s wife
Elisheba
was of the tribe of Judah, so all his descendents are from both
Levi and Judah.)

The Virgin’s first seven steps mosaic from
Chora Church
, c. 12th century.

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
– the
angel
Gabriel
announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised
Messiah
by
conceiving him through the Holy Spirit.
After a number of months, when Joseph was told of her conception in a dream by
“an angel of the Lord”, he was surprised; but the angel told him to be unafraid
and 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 “Hebron, in the hill country of Judah”.
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.

According to the Gospel of Luke, a decree of the Roman emperor
Augustus
required that Joseph return to his hometown of
Bethlehem

to be
taxed
. While he was there with Mary, she gave birth to Jesus; but because
there was no place for them in the inn, she used a
manger
as a
cradle.
After eight days, he was
circumcised
according to Jewish law, and named “JESUS”
in accordance with the instructions that the angel had given to Mary in
Luke 1:31
, and Joseph was likewise told to call him Jesus in
Matthew 1:21
.

After Mary continued in the “blood of her purifying” another 33 days for a
total of 40 days, she brought her burnt offering and sin offering to the temple,
so the priest could make atonement for her sins, being cleansed from her blood.
They also presented Jesus – “As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male
that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” . After the prophecies of
Simeon
and the prophetess
Anna
in
Luke 2:25-38
concluded, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and “returned into
Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.”.

Sometime later, the “wise
men” showed up at the “house” where Jesus and his family were staying, and
they fled by night and stayed in Egypt for awhile, and returned after Herod died
in 4 BC and took up residence in Nazareth.

Mary in the life of
Jesus

Stabat Mater
in the
Valle Romita Polyptych
by
Gentile da Fabriano
, c. 1410-1412

Mary is involved in the only event in Jesus’ adolescent life that is recorded
in the New Testament. At the age of twelve Jesus, having become separated from
his parents on their return journey from the
Passover

celebration in
Jerusalem
,
was found among the teachers in the temple.

After Jesus’ baptism
by
John the Baptist
and his temptations by the devil in the desert, Mary was
present when, at her suggestion, Jesus worked his first
Cana miracle during
a marriage they attended, by
turning water into wine
.
Subsequently there are events when Mary is present along with
James
, Joseph, Simon, and
Judas
, called Jesus’ brothers, and unnamed “sisters”.
Following Jerome
,
the Church Fathers
interpreted the words translated as “brother” and “sister” as
referring to close relatives.

There is also an incident in which Jesus is sometimes interpreted as
rejecting his family. “And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing
outside, they sent in a message asking for him^[ 3:21Mk]
… And looking at those who sat in a circle around him, Jesus said, ‘These are
my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and
sister, and mother.'”

Mary is also depicted as being present among the
women at the crucifixion
during the
crucifixion
standing near “the disciple whom Jesus loved” along with Mary of
Clopas and
Mary Magdalene
,^{[ 19:25-26Jn]}
to which list
Matthew 27:56
adds “the mother of the sons of Zebedee”, presumably the
Salome
mentioned in
Mark 15:40
. This representation is called a
Stabat Mater
.
Mary, cradling the dead body of her Son, while not recorded in the Gospel
accounts, is a common motif in art, called a “pietà”
or “pity”.

After the
Ascension of Jesus

In
Acts 1:26, especially v. 14,
Mary is the only one to be mentioned by
name other than the
eleven apostles
, who abode in the
upper room
,
when they returned from mount Olivet. (It is not stated where the later
gathering of about one hundred and twenty disciples was located, when they
elected
Matthias
to fill the office of
Judas Iscariot
who perished.) Some speculate that the “elect lady” mentioned
in
2 John 1:1
may be Mary. From this time, she disappears from the
biblical accounts, although it is held by Catholics that she is again portrayed
as the heavenly woman of
Revelation
.

Her death is not recorded in the scripture. However, Catholic and Orthodox
tradition and doctrine have her
assumed
(taken bodily) into
Heaven
. Belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is universal to
Catholicism
, in both
Eastern
and
Western Catholic Churches
, as well as the
Eastern Orthodox Church
. 
Coptic Churches
, and parts of the
Anglican Communion
and
Continuing Anglican Churches
.

Later
Christian writings and traditions

 

The Dormition
: ivory plaque, late 10th-early 11th century (Musée
de Cluny).

According to the
apocryphal

Gospel of James
Mary was the daughter of
Saint Joachim
and
Saint Anne
.
Before Mary’s conception Anna had been barren. Mary was given to service as a
consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much
like
Hannah
took
Samuel
to the
Tabernacle
as recorded in the
Old
Testament
.^[29]
Some
apocryphal
accounts state that at the time of her betrothal to Joseph Mary
was 12–14 years old, and he was ninety years old, but such accounts are
unreliable.

According to
Sacred Tradition
, Mary died surrounded by the
apostles
(in either
Jerusalem

or Ephesus
)
between three days and 24 years after Christ’s
ascension
. When the apostles later opened her tomb, they found it to be
empty and they concluded that she had been
assumed
into Heaven
.
Mary’s Tomb
, an empty tomb in Jerusalem, is attributed to Mary.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches
Mary’s assumption
, but does not teach that she
necessarily died.

Hyppolitus of Thebes
claims that Mary lived for 11 years after the death of
her Son, dying in 41 AD.

The earliest extant biographical writing on Mary is
Life of the Virgin
attributed to the 7th century saint,
Maximus the Confessor
which portrays her as a key element of the
early Christian Church
after the death of Jesus.

In the 19th century, a house near
Ephesus
in
Turkey
was
found, based on the visions of
Anne Catherine Emmerich
, an
Augustinian nun
in Germany
It has since been visited as the
House of the Virgin Mary
by Roman Catholic pilgrims who consider it the
place where Mary lived until her assumption.^{[41][42][43][44]}
The Gospel of John states that Mary went to live with the
Disciple whom Jesus loved

identified as
John the Evangelist
.
Irenaeus

and
Eusebius of Caesarea
wrote in their histories that John later went to
Ephesus, which may provide the basis for the early belief that Mary also lived
in Ephesus with John.

Christian devotion

2nd to 5th centuries

Christian devotion to Mary goes back to the 2nd century and predates the
emergence of a specific Marian liturgical system in the 5th century, following
the
First Council of Ephesus
in 431. The Council itself was held at a church in
Ephesus which had been dedicated to Mary about a hundred years before.
In Egypt the veneration of Mary had started in the 3rd century and the term
Theotokos

was used by Origen
,
the
Alexandrian
Father of the Church.

The earliest known Marian prayer (the
Sub tuum praesidium
, or Beneath Thy Protection) is from the 3rd
century (perhaps 270), and its text was rediscovered in 1917 on a papyrus in
Egypt.
Following the
Edict of Milan
in 313, by the 5th century artistic images of Mary began to
appear in public and larger churches were being dedicated to Mary, e.g.
S. Maria Maggiore
in Rome.

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages saw many legends about Mary, and also her parents and even
grandparents.

Since the Reformation

Over the centuries, devotion and veneration to Mary has varied greatly among
Christian traditions. For instance, while Protestants show scant attention to
Marian prayers or devotions, of all the saints whom the Orthodox venerate, the
most honored is Mary, who is considered “more honorable than the
Cherubim
and more glorious than the
Seraphim
.”

Orthodox theologian
Sergei Bulgakov
wrote: “Love and veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is
the soul of Orthodox piety. A faith in Christ which does not include his mother
is another faith, another Christianity from that of the Orthodox church.”

Although the Catholics and the Orthodox may honor and venerate Mary, they do
not view her as divine, nor do they worship her. Catholics view Mary as
subordinate to Christ, but uniquely so, in that she is seen as above all other
creatures.
Similarly Theologian
Sergei Bulgakov
wrote that although the Orthodox view Mary as “superior to
all created beings” and “ceaselessly pray for her intercession” she is not
considered a “substitute for the One Mediator” who is Christ.
“Let Mary be in honor, but let worship be given to the Lord” he wrote.
Similarly, Catholics do not worship Mary, but venerate her. Catholics use the
term
hyperdulia
for Marian veneration rather than
latria
that
applies to God and
dulia
for other saints.
The definition of the three level hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia
and dulia goes back to the
Second Council of Nicaea
in 787.

Devotions to artistic depictions of Mary vary among Christian traditions.
There is a long tradition of
Roman Catholic Marian art
and no image permeates
Catholic art
as does the image of
Madonna and Child
.
The icon of the Virgin is without doubt the most venerated icon among the
Orthodox.
Both Roman Catholics and the Orthodox venerate images and icons of Mary, given
that the
Second Council of Nicaea
in 787 permitted their veneration by Catholics with
the understanding that those who venerate the image are venerating the reality
of the person it represents,
and the 842 Synod of Constantinople established the same for the Orthodox.^[66]
The Orthodox, however, only pray to and venerate flat, two-dimensional icons and
not three-dimensional statues.

The
Anglican
position towards Mary is in general more conciliatory than that of
Protestants at large and in a book he wrote about praying with the icons of
Mary,
Rowan Williams
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
said: “It is not only that we cannot understand
Mary without seeing her as pointing to Christ; we cannot understand Christ
without seeing his attention to Mary”.

Titles

Eleusa

Theotokos
with scenes from the life of Mary, 18th century

Titles to honor Mary or ask for her intercession are used by some Christian
traditions such as the
Eastern Orthodox
or
Catholics
, but not others, e.g. the
Protestants
. Common titles for Mary include
Mother of God
(Theotokos), The Blessed Virgin Mary (also
abbreviated to “BVM”), Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa
Senhora, Madonna) and the
Queen of Heaven
(Regina Caeli).

Specific titles vary among
Anglican views of Mary
,
Ecumenical views of Mary
,
Lutheran views of Mary
,
Protestant views on Mary
, and
Roman Catholic views of Mary
,
Latter Day Saints’ views of Mary
,
Orthodox views of Mary
. In addition to
Islamic views on Mary
.

Mary is referred to by the
Eastern Orthodox Church
,
Oriental Orthodoxy
, the
Anglican Church
, and all
Eastern Catholic Churches
as Theotokos, a title recognized at the
Third Ecumenical Council
(held at Ephesus to address the teachings of
Nestorius
,
in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, “Deipara” and “Dei genetrix”)
literally means “Godbearer”. The equivalent phrase “Mater Dei”, (Mother of God)
is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the
Western Catholic Church
, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the
abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the
indication 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 titles have a Biblical basis, for instance the title Queen Mother
has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes
referred to as the “King of Kings” due to his lineage of King David. The
biblical basis for the term Queen can be seen in the
Gospel of Luke
1:32 and the
Book of Isaiah
9:6, and Queen Mother from
1 Kings 2:19-20
and
Jeremiah 13:18-19
.
Other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions
for calling on Mary, e.g.
Our Lady of Good Counsel
,
Our Lady of Navigators
or
Our Lady of Ransom
who protects captives.

The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are
Theotokos
,
i.e., Mother of God (Greek Θεοτόκος),
Aeiparthenos
, i.e. Ever Virgin (Greek ἀειπαρθὲνος), as confirmed in
the
Fifth Ecumenical Council
553, and
Panagia
,
i.e., All Holy (Greek Παναγία).
A large number of titles for Mary are used by Roman Catholics, and these titles
have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions, e.g. the title
Our Lady of Sorrows
has resulted in masterpieces such as
Michelangelo
‘s
Pietà
.

Marian feasts

The earliest feasts that relate to Mary grew out of the cycle of feasts that
celebrated the
Nativity of Jesus
. Given that according to the
Gospel of Luke
(Luke
2:22-40), forty days after the birth of Jesus, along with the
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
Mary was purified according to Jewish
customs, the Feast of the Purification began to be celebrated by the 5th
century, and became the “Feast of
Simeon
” in
Byzantium
.

 

Village decorations during the
Feast of the Assumption
in
Għaxaq
,
Malta.

In the 7th and 8th centuries four more Marian feasts were established in the
Eastern Church
. In the
Western Church
a feast dedicated to Mary, just before Christmas was
celebrated in the Churches of
Milan
and
Ravenna
in
Italy in the 7th century. The four Roman Marian feasts of Purification,
Annunciation, Assumption and Nativity of Mary were gradually and sporadically
introduced into England by the 11th century.

Over time, the number and nature of feasts (and the associated
Titles of Mary
) and the venerative practices that accompany them have varied
a great deal among diverse Christian traditions. Overall, there are
significantly more titles, feasts and venerative Marian practices among
Roman Catholics
than any other Christians traditions.
Some such feasts relate to specific events, e.g. the Feast of
Our Lady of Victory
was based on the 1571 victory of the
Papal
States
in the
Battle of Lepanto
.

Differences in feasts may also originate from doctrinal issues – the
Feast of the Assumption
is such an example. Given that there is no agreement
among all Christians on the circumstances of the death,
Dormition
or
Assumption of Mary
, the feast of assumption is celebrated among some
denominations and not others.
While the
Catholic Church
celebrates the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, some
Eastern Catholics
celebrate it as
Dormition of the Theotokos
, and may do so on August 28, if they follow the
Julian calendar
. The
Eastern Orthodox
also celebrate it as the
Dormition of the Theotokos
, one of their 12
Great Feasts
. Protestants do not celebrate this, or any other Marian feasts.

The title “Mother of God” (Theotokos)
for Mary was confirmed by the
First Council of Ephesus
, held at the
Church of Mary
in 431. The Council decreed that Mary is the Mother of God
because her son Jesus is one person who is both God and man, divine and human.
This doctrine is widely accepted by Christians in general, and the term Mother
of God had already been used within the oldest known prayer to Mary, the
Sub tuum praesidium
which dates to around 250 AD.

The
Virgin birth of Jesus
has been a universally held belief among Christians
since the 2nd century,
It is included in the two most widely used
Christian
creeds
,
which state that Jesus “was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin
Mary” (the
Nicene
Creed
in what is now its familiar form)
and the
Apostles’ Creed
. The
Gospel of Matthew
describes Mary as a virgin who fulfilled the prophecy of

Isaiah 7:14
. The authors of the Gospels of Matthew and
Luke
consider Jesus’ conception not the result of intercourse and assert
that Mary had “no relations with man” before Jesus’ birth.
This alludes to the belief that Mary conceived Jesus through the action of God
the Holy Spirit, and not through
intercourse
with Joseph or anyone else.

The doctrines of the
Assumption
or
Dormition
of Mary relate to her death and bodily assumption to
Heaven
. While
the
Roman Catholic Church
has established the
dogma
of the Assumption, namely that Mary went directly to Heaven without a
usual physical death, the
Eastern Orthodox Church
believes in the Dormition, i.e. that she fell
asleep, surrounded by the Apostles.

Roman Catholics believe in the
Immaculate Conception of Mary
, as proclaimed
Ex Cathedra
by Pope
Pius IX
in 1854, namely that she was filled with grace from the very moment
of her conception in her mother’s womb and preserved from the stain of original
sin. The
Latin Rite
of the
Roman Catholic Church
has a liturgical
feast by that name
, kept on 8 December.
The
Eastern Orthodox
reject the Immaculate Conception principally because their
understanding of ancestral sin (the Greek term corresponding to the Latin
“original sin”) differs from that of the Roman Catholic Church.

The
Perpetual Virginity
of Mary, asserts Mary’s real and perpetual
virginity

even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made Man. The term Ever-Virgin
(Greek ἀειπάρθενος) is applied in
this case, stating that Mary remained a virgin for the remainder of her life,
making Jesus her biological and only son, whose
conception
and
birth
are held to be miraculous.

Perspectives on Mary

Blessed Virgin Mary
Annunciation , Philippe de Champaigne , 1644
West: Mother of God , Queen of Heaven , Mother of the Church East: Theotokos
Honored in	Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Anglicanism , Lutheranism
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Major shrine	Santa Maria Maggiore (See Marian shrines )
Feast	See Marian feast days
Attributes	Blue mantle, crown of 12 stars, pregnant woman, roses, woman with child
Patronage	See Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Christian
perspectives on Mary

Christian Marian perspectives include a great deal of diversity. While some
Christians such as Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox have well established
Marian traditions, Protestants at large pay scant attention to Mariological
themes.
Roman Catholic
,
Eastern Orthodox
,
Oriental Orthodox
,
Anglican
,
and Lutherans

venerate

the Virgin Mary. This veneration especially takes the form of
prayer
for
intercession with her Son, Jesus Christ. Additionally it includes composing
poems and songs in Mary’s honor, painting icons or carving statues of her, and
conferring titles on Mary that reflect her position among the saints.

Catholic view

Madonna of humility
by
Domenico di Bartolo
, 1433; one of the most innovative
Marian images
from the early
Renaissance
.

In the
Catholic Church
, Mary is accorded the title “Blessed,” (from
Latin
beatus,
blessed, via
Greek
μακάριος, makarios and Latin facere, make) in
recognition of her
ascension
to Heaven and her capacity to intercede on behalf of those who
pray to her. Catholic teachings make clear that Mary is not considered divine
and prayers to her are not answered by her, they are answered by God.^[106]
The
four Catholic dogmas
regarding Mary are:
Mother of God
,
Perpetual virginity of Mary
,
Immaculate Conception
(of Mary) and
Assumption of Mary.

The
Blessed Virgin Mary
, the mother of Jesus has a more central role in
Roman Catholic teachings and beliefs than in any other major Christian group.
Not only do Roman Catholics have more theological doctrines and teachings that
relate to Mary, but they have more festivals, prayers, devotional, and
venerative practices than any other group.
The
Catholic Catechism
states: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is
intrinsic to Christian worship.”

For centuries, Roman Catholics have performed acts of
consecration and entrustment to Mary
at personal, societal and regional
levels. These acts may be directed to the Virgin herself, to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
and to the
Immaculata
. In Catholic teachings, consecration to Mary does not diminish or
substitute the love of God, but enhances it, for all consecration is ultimately
made to God.

Following the growth of Marian devotions in the 16th century, Catholic saints
wrote books such as
Glories of Mary
and
True Devotion to Mary
that emphasized Marian veneration and taught that “the
path to Jesus is through Mary”.
Marian devotions are at times linked to
Christocentric
devotions, e.g. the
Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
.^[113]

 

The chapel based on the claimed
House of Mary
in Ephesus

Key Marian devotions include:
Seven Sorrows of Mary
,
Rosary and scapular
,
Miraculous Medal
and
Reparations to Mary
.
The months of May and October are traditionally “Marian months” for Roman
Catholics, e.g. the daily
Rosary
is
encouraged in October and in
May Marian devotions
take place in many regions.
Popes have issued a number of
Marian encyclicals and Apostolic Letters
to encourage devotions to and the
veneration of the Virgin Mary.

Catholics place high emphasis on Mary’s roles as protector and intercessor
and the
Catholic Catechism
refers to Mary as the
“Mother of God to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and
needs”
Key Marian prayers include:
Hail Mary
,
Alma Redemptoris Mater
,
Sub Tuum Praesidum
,
Ave Maris Stella
,
Regina
Coeli
,
Ave Regina Coelorum
and the
Magnificat
.

Mary’s participation in the processes of
salvation
and redemption has also been emphasized in the Catholic tradition,
but they are not doctrines.^{[125][126][127][128]}
Pope John Paul II
‘s 1987 encyclical
Redemptoris Mater
began with the sentence: “The Mother of the Redeemer
has a precise place in the plan of salvation.”

In the 20th century both popes John Paul II and
Benedict XVI
have emphasized the Marian focus of the Church. Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger
(later Pope Benedict XVI) wrote:

It is necessary to go back to Mary if we want to return to that “truth
about Jesus Christ,” “truth about the Church” and “truth about man”.

when he suggested a redirection of the whole Church towards the program of
Pope John Paul II in order to ensure an authentic approach to
Christology
via a return to the “whole truth about Mary”.

Orthodox view

Our Lady of Vladimir
, one of the holiest medieval
representations of the
Theotokos

Orthodox Christianity
includes a large number of traditions regarding the
Ever Virgin Mary, the
Theotokos
.
The Orthodox believe that she was and remained a virgin before and after
Christ’s birth.
The
Theotokia
(i.e.
hymns
to the Theotokos
) are an essential part of the
Divine Services
in the
Eastern Church
and their positioning within the liturgical sequence
effectively places the Theotokos in the most prominent place after Christ.
Within the Orthodox tradition, the order of the saints begins with: The
Theotokos, Angels, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers, Martyres, etc. giving the Virgin
Mary precedence over the angels. She is also proclaimed as the “Lady of the
Angels”.

The views of the
Church Fathers
still play an important role in the shaping of Orthodox
Marian perspective. However, the Orthodox views on Mary are mostly
doxological
,
rather than academic: they are expressed in hymns, praise, liturgical poetry and
the veneration of icons. One of the most loved Orthodox
Akathists

(i.e.
standing hymns
) is devoted to Mary and it is often simply called the
Akathist Hymn
.
Five of the twelve
Great Feasts
in Orthodoxy are dedicated to Mary.The
Sunday of Orthodoxy
directly links the Virgin Mary’s identity as Mother of
God with icon veneration.
A number of Orthodox feasts are connected with the miraculous icons of the
Theotokos.

The Orthodox view Mary as “superior to all created beings”, although not
divine.
The Orthodox venerate Mary as conceived immaculate and assumed into heaven, but
they do not accept the Roman Catholic dogmas on these doctrines.
The Orthodox celebrate the
Dormition of the Theotokos
, rather than Assumption.

The
Protoevangelium of James
, an
extra-canonical
book, has been the source of many Orthodox beliefs on Mary.
The account of Mary’s life presented includes her consecration as a virgin at
the temple at age three. The
High Priest

Zachariah blessed Mary and informed her that God had magnified her name among
many generations. Zachariah placed Mary on the third step of the altar, whereby
God gave her grace. While in the temple, Mary was miraculously fed by an angel,
until she was twelve years old. At that point an angel told Zachariah to betroth
Mary to a widower in Israel, who would be indicated. This story provides the
theme of many hymns for the Feast of
Presentation of Mary
, and icons of the feast depict the story.
The Orthodox believe that Mary was instrumental in the growth of Christianity
during the life of Jesus, and after his Crucifixion, and Orthodox Theologian
Sergei Bulgakov
wrote: “The Virgin Mary is the center, invisible, but real,
of the Apostolic Church”

Theologians from the Orthodox tradition have made prominent contributions to
the development of Marian thought and devotion.
John Damascene
(c 650─c 750) was one of the greatest Orthodox theologians.
Among other Marian writings, he proclaimed the essential nature of Mary’s
heavenly Assumption or Dormition and her mediative role.

It was necessary that the body of the one who preserved her virginity
intact in giving birth should also be kept incorrupt after death. It was
necessary that she, who carried the Creator in her womb when he was a baby,
should dwell among the tabernacles of heaven.

From her we have harvested the grape of life; from her we have cultivated
the seed of immortality. For our sake she became Mediatrix of all blessings;
in her God became man, and man became God.

More recently,
Sergei Bulgakov
expressed the Orthodox sentiments towards Mary as follows:

Mary is not merely the instrument, but the direct positive condition of
the Incarnation, its human aspect. Christ could not have been incarnate by
some mechanical process, violating human nature. It was necessary for that
nature itself to say for itself, by the mouth of the most pure human being:
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to Thy word.”

Protestant view

Protestants in general reject the veneration and invocation of the Saints.
Protestants typically hold that Mary was the mother of Jesus, but was an
ordinary woman devoted to God. Therefore, there is 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 are at times rejected, 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
wrote that: “Mary is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely
without sin. God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of
all evil”.
However, as of 1532 Luther stopped celebrating the feast of the
Assumption of Mary
and also discontinued his support of the
Immaculate Conception
.

In the text of the
Magnificat

(recorded in
Luke 1:46-55
), Mary proclaims “My soul rejoices in God my Savior”.
The personal need of a savior is seen by Protestants as expressing that Mary
never thought herself “sinnless”.

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.
However, Calvin firmly rejected the notion that anyone but Christ can intercede
for man.

Although Calvin and
Huldrych Zwingli
honored Mary as the Mother of God in the 16th century, they
did so less than Martin Luther.
Thus the idea of respect and high honor for Mary was not rejected by the first
Protestants; but, they came to criticize the Roman Catholics for venerating
Mary. Following the
Council of Trent
in the 16th century, as Marian veneration became associated
with Catholics, Protestant interest in Mary decreased. During the Age of the
Enlightenment any residual interest in Mary within Protestant churches almost
disappeared, although Anglicans and Lutherans continued to honor her.

Protestants acknowledge that Mary is “blessed among women”
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.

In the 20th century, Protestants reacted in opposition to the Catholic dogma
of the
Assumption of Mary
. The conservative tone of the
Second Vatican Council
began to mend the ecumenical differences, and
Protestants began to show interest in Marian themes. In 1997 and 1998 ecumenical
dialogs between Catholics and Protestants took place, but to date the majority
of Protestants pay scant attention to Marian issues and often view them as a
challenge to the
authority of Scripture
.

Other views

Pagan Rome

From the early stages of Christianity, belief in the virginity of Mary and
the virgin conception of Jesus, as stated in the gospels, holy and supernatural,
was used by detractors, both political and religious, as a topic for
discussions, debates and writings, specifically aimed to challenge the divinity
of Jesus and thus Christians and Christianity alike.
In the 2nd century, as part of the earliest anti-Christian polemics,
Celsus

suggested that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier named Panthera.
The views of Celsus drew responses from
Origen
, the
Church Father in
Alexandria, Egypt
who considered it a fabricated story.
How far Celsus sourced his view from Jewish sources remains a subject of
discussion.

In Judaism

The issue of the parentage of
Jesus in the Talmud
affects also the view of his mother. However the Talmud
does not mention Mary by name and is considerate rather than only polemic.
The story about Panthera is also found the
Toledot Yeshu
, the literary origins of which can not be traced with any
certainty and given that it is unlikely to go before the 4th century, it is far
too late to include authentic remembrances of Jesus.
The Blackwell Companion to Jesus states that the Toledot Yeshu has no historical
facts as such, and was perhaps created as a tool for warding off conversions to
Christianity.
The name Panthera may be a distortion of the term parthenos (virgin) and
Raymond E. Brown
considers the story of Panthera a fanciful explanation of
the birth of Jesus which includes very little historical evidence.
Robert Van Voorst
states that given that Toledot Yeshu is a medieval
document and due to its lack of a fixed form and orientation towards a popular
audience, it is “most unlikely” to have reliable historical information.