Anglican Marian theology

Part of a series on
Anglicanism
Theology Christian theology Anglican doctrine Thirty-nine Articles Books of Homilies Caroline Divines Chicago–Lambeth Quadrilateral Episcopal polity Sacraments Mary
Ministry and worship Eucharist King James Version (Book of Common Prayer) Liturgical year Churchmanship (High, Low, Central, Broad) Monasticism Saints Jesus Prayer
Christianity Jesus Christ Paul Christian Church First seven ecumenical councils
Background and history Celtic Christianity Augustine of Canterbury Bede Medieval cathedral architecture Apostolic succession Henry VIII English Reformation Thomas Cranmer Dissolution of the monasteries Church of England Edward VI Elizabeth I Matthew Parker Richard Hooker James I Charles I William Laud Nonjuring schism Latitudinarian Anglo-Catholicism (Liberal) Oxford Movement
Anglican Communion Anglican Communion history Archbishop of Canterbury Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings Lambeth Conference Bishops Anglican Consultative Council Ecumenism Ordination of women Windsor Report
Continuing Anglicanism Anglican realignment Bartonville Agreement Congress of St. Louis North American Anglican Conference
Christianity portal
v t e

Anglican Marian theology is the summation of the doctrines and beliefs of

Anglicans of evangelical or low church tradition tend to avoid honouring Mary. Other Anglicans respect and honour Mary because of the special religious significance that she has within Christianity as the mother of Jesus Christ. This honour and respect is termed veneration.

Mary always held a

Pre-Reformation England

In the 12th-century legends surrounding

One aspect of the English Reformation was a widespread reaction against Mary as a mediatrix alongside Christ, or sometimes even in his place. Such exaggerated devotions, in part inspired by presentations of Christ as an inaccessible Judge as well as Redeemer, were criticized by Erasmus and Thomas More and rejected by the Church of England. Together with a new emphasis on Scripture as the fundamental standard of faith, there was a renewed devotion by the Reformers to the belief that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God the Father and humanity. This rejected any overt devotion to Mary and diminished her place in the life of the Church.

The English Reformers' positive teaching about Mary concentrated on her role in the

Despite the lack of official devotion to Mary, starting in the 16th century, reverence for her continued in the use of the

The Cambridge theologian John Pearson, who was made Bishop of Chester in 1672, in his celebrated book An Exposition of the Creed affirmed both the Immaculate Conception and the perpetual virginity of Mary, writing, "We believe the Mother of our Lord to have been not only before and after his Nativity, but also for ever, the most immaculate and blessed Virgin." Pearson explicated the basis for a proper Marian devotion:

If Elizabeth cried out with so loud a voice, 'Blessed art thou among women,' when Christ was but newly conceived in Mary's womb, what expressions of honour and admiration can we think sufficient now that Christ is in heaven and that Mother with Him! Far be it from any Christian to derogate from that special privlilege granted her which is incommunicable to any other. We cannot bear too reverent a regard unto the Mother of our Lord, so long as we give her not that worship which is due unto the Lord Himself. Let us keep the language of the Primitive Church: Let her be honoured and esteemed, let him be worshiped and adored.^[4]

This re-appropriation can be traced into the next century, and into the Oxford Movement of the 19th century.

In 1922 the creation of a new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham under the aegis of Father Hope Patten, reignited Anglican interest in a revival of the pre-Reformation pilgrimage. From the early 1930s Walsingham became a centre of Anglican as well as Catholic Marian pilgrimage. This developed into the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in 1938.

Present

Mary has a new prominence in Anglicanism through the liturgical renewals of the 20th century. In most Anglican prayer books, Mary is again mentioned by name in the liturgical prayers. Further, August 15 has come to be widely celebrated as a feast or festival in honour of Saint Mary the Virgin with Scripture readings, collect, and proper preface. Other ancient feasts associated with Mary have also been renewed, and liturgical resources offered for use on these festivals. Marian devotions such as the

An Anglo-Catholic manual, Saint Augustine's Prayer Book: A Book of Devotion for members of the Episcopal Church, first published in 1947, includes a section containing devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This includes the Rosary, the four seasonal Marian antiphons, the Memorare, and litanies of the Blessed Virgin and Our Lady of Sorrows. A Revised Edition was published in 1967, and the book remains in print with Holy Cross Publications. The Anglo-Catholic Prayer book, a classic, was published in an entirely new edition in 2000, and it also includes a section of prayers to the Blessed Virgin, including to her Immaculate Conception and Assumption.

Anglican theologian Hugh Montefiore, former Bishop of Birmingham, while denying the immaculate conception and the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven, says "Christians rightly honour and venerate her as one of the great saints of God. God had signally honoured her by choosing her to be the mother of Jesus."^[5]

English Lady Chapels

The earliest Lady Chapel of certain historicity was that in the Anglo-Saxon cathedral at Canterbury. Unusually, at Ely the Lady Chapel is an almost separate building to the north of the Choir. The Lady Chapels at Norwich Wells Cathedral and Peterborough (in a similar position to Ely's) cathedrals were destroyed during the English Reformation.

Probably the most famous Lady-chapel was the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, built by

Joint Anglican-Roman Catholic document

To encourage ecumenical cooperation despite differences over other matters, the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches issued a joint statement, "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ" (also known as the Seattle Statement) on the role of the Virgin Mary in Christianity. The document was released May 16, 2005 in

Much has been made of the difference between the Mariology of Anglicans and that of Roman Catholics. Because Anglicanism does not have an official view about these doctrines, it can be difficult to say with precision what Anglicans believe. The description here attempts to sketch out the areas where Anglicans are in agreement that there is no official binding doctrine.^{[citation needed]}

Roman Catholic Mariology contends that a veneration (

Anglicanism also does not accept the doctrines of the Assumption or the Immaculate Conception as binding, though some Anglicans consider these to be pious devotions.^[8] For example, the former Bishop of Chester, John Pearson, called Mary "a most pure immaculate Virgin".^[9] Even so, they are not held to the particular forms used by the Roman Catholic Church to define them. Many^[

as understood by the Orthodox.

Calendars

Principal feasts

• Presentation of Christ in the Temple, also the "Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary" or Candlemas
  , 2 February (Church of England, Church of Ireland)
• The Annunciation
  , 25 March (Church of England)

Festivals

• Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  - (31 May or 2 July)
• Saint Mary the Virgin, or the "Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary" - (15 August)

Various names are used for the observance of 15 August on official Anglican liturgical calendars, but Anglo-Catholics will generally prefer to follow the broader Catholic tradition of calling this the feast of the Assumption. It is thus named in the Anglican Missal,^[10] Saint Augustine's Prayer Book,^[11] and A Manual of Catholic Devotion^[12] published by The Church Union.

Lesser festivals and commemorations

• The
  Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  - (8 September)
• The
  Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  - (8 December)

The Society of Mary, an Anglican devotional society, asks that members keep a Rule of life which includes a pledge to "take part in the Mass on the principal Feasts of Our Lady."^[13]

Summary

This section reads like a quality standards . (September 2010)

• Anglicans recognize the dogma upheld at the Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of Chalcedon (451) that Mary is the Theotokos, the "God-Bearer". The reason Anglicans accept this statement is because it is primarily a Christological affirmation, affirming that Christ is God. The terms "Mother of God" and "God-Bearer," however, are not used in the official formularies of the Churches of the Anglican Communion, and some Anglicans would not wish to use these terms.
• Some Anglicans agree that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary is sound and logical, but without more scriptural proof it cannot be considered dogmatic.^{[citation needed]}
• No Anglican denomination accepts belief in Mary as Co-Redemptrix and any interpretation of the role of Mary that obscures the unique mediation of Christ.
• Anglicans typically believe that all doctrines concerning Mary must be linked with the doctrines of Christ and the Church.
• Anglicans recognize Mary as an example of holiness, faith and obedience for all Christians; and that Mary can be seen as a prophetic figure of the Church. As the
  Communion of Saints
• Churches of the Anglican Communion observe at least some of the traditional Marian festivals of the ancient Catholic Church. The Church of England, for example, in the Calendar of its
  Anglican Service Book
  , do allow them to be so observed and may even publish certain Marian devotions, and most recent Anglican Prayer Books include St Mary the Mother of the Lord as a major festival on August 15.

Gallery

• 
  A copy of Our Lady of Westminster by Sister Concordia Scott enshrined as "Our Lady of Pew" in Westminster Abbey
• 
  Our Lady of Walsingham shrine at Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
• 
  Virgin and Child statue at All Saints, Margaret Street

See also

• Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission
• Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
• History of Roman Catholic Mariology
• Islamic view of Virgin Mary
• Marian devotions
• Marian doctrines of the Catholic Church
• Mariology
• Mary (mother of Jesus)
• Our Lady of Ipswich
• Our Lady of Walsingham
• Protestant views of Mary
• Society of Mary (Anglican)
• Theotokos

References

1. J.A. Giles as William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Earliest Period to the Reign of King Stephen, p. 21.
   Henry G. Bohn (London), 1847.
2. ISBN 9781444302707
   .
3. ^ "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels -- Christmas season". www.eskimo.com. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
4. ^ Pearson, John (1715) [1659]. An Exposition of the Creed. (10th ed.). London: W. Bowyer. p. 173, 179.
5. ISBN 0-8028-3768-9
6. ^ Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ
7. ^ "Anglican Marian Theology" (PDF). Hymnsandchants.com. p. 3. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
8. ^ "Immaculate Conception". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Retrieved 3 May 2022 – via Episcopal Church.
9. ^ Bishop John Pearson, Exposition of the Creed, cited by Dr F Hastings Smyth in his essay on the Immaculate Conception at anglicanhistory.org
10. ^ Anglican Missal, in the American Edition (1961). "The Kalendar". Mount Sanai, New York: Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation. p. 32.
11. ^ Saint Augustine's Prayer Book: A Book of Devotion for members of the Episcopal Church (1947, Rev. 1967). "Holy Days of Obligation, and Special Days of Devotion". West Park, New York: Holy Cross Publications. p. 3.
12. ^ A Manual of Catholic Devotion: For Members of the Church of England (1950, Rev. 1969). The Church Union. London: Church Literature Association. p. 460.
13. ^ "About the Society of Mary". societyofmary.weebly.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

External links

• "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ" - Final document from ARCIC II on Mary