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Mariology and the saints

What is mariology and the saints?

Mariology and the saints is the study of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Scripture, doctrine, worship and devotion, joined with the study of the saints: the communion of saints in the creeds, the honor given to holy people, the cult of martyrs, relics and pilgrimage, and the ways churches recognize saints. Mariology begins from Christology.

  • 94Sources
  • 15Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 15Minutes

Study v1.1, 6 November 2026

Mariology and the saints

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Mary and the saints are central for Catholic and Orthodox believers and disputed by others.

What the study found

The New Testament gives Mary a brief, pivotal role. Ephesus confirmed her as Theotokos (431); Rome defined two Catholic dogmas (1854, 1950); honour of the saints grew from remembering the martyrs.

Where traditions divide

They divide on calling Mary Mother of God, her perpetual virginity, the 1854 and 1950 dogmas, asking Mary and the saints to pray, apparitions, and relics and images.

How the traditions compare

  • Mariology and the saints

    What place do Mary and the saints hold?

    • calling Mary Mother of God
    • her perpetual virginity
    • the 1854 and 1950 dogmas
    • asking Mary and the saints to pray
    • apparitions
    • relics and images
    Points of division

  • Catholic Church

    Holds four Marian dogmas: Mary as Mother of God, from the Council of Ephesus (431); her perpetual virginity, from the title "ever-virgin" used by the Second Council of Constantinople (553); the Immaculate Conception, defined by Pius IX on 8 December 1854; and the Assumption, defined by Pius XII on 1 November 1950.

    The last two are papal definitions binding Catholics. Chapter 8 of Lumen Gentium says Mary's role "in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ" and that her cult "differs essentially" from the adoration offered to the Word. Catholics ask Mary and the saints to pray for them, and the Pope alone declares that public cult may be given to a saint. The doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis (2025) calls the title "Co-redemptrix" always inappropriate and commends "Mother of the faithful".

    Sources1–10

  • Eastern Orthodox Church

    Confesses Mary as Theotokos and ever-virgin and keeps the Dormition on 15 August after a two-week fast.

    The Orthodox Church in America teaches that Mary passed away as all people do, was raised and taken by her Son into the Kingdom, was without personal sin and still needed salvation through Christ, and that the feast rests on Tradition. Most Orthodox did not accept the 1854 definition; Lev Gillet records that an official text first listed it among the differences with Rome in 1896. Saints are recognized by local veneration first and then by the Holy Synod, without a requirement of verified miracles: the Church says it does not make a saint, "Only God can do that".

    Sources11–13

  • Coptic Orthodox Church

    Keeps a fifteen-day Virgin's Fast from 7 August, the feast of the Assumption of her body on 16 Mesra (22 August), a monthly commemoration on the 21st and the Zeitoun apparitions from 2 April 1968, and places Mary's intercession "before the intercession of the angels and archangels".

    It holds perpetual virginity but does not accept the Immaculate Conception: a diocesan lecture drawn from Pope Shenouda III says "the only one who was Immaculately Conceived is our Lord Jesus Christ". It keeps its own synaxarium of saints and martyrs and recognizes saints by synod and liturgical tradition rather than by a central process.

    Sources14–15

  • Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

    Keeps more Marian feasts than any of the other churches compared here: the Conception, Nativity, Presentation, her passing, the Assumption (Filseta) after a sixteen-day fast, a monthly feast on the 21st, and Kidane Mehret, the Covenant of Mercy, on 16 Yekatit.

    By Ethiopian tradition, Kidane Mehret commemorates a covenant in which Christ promised mercy to those who call on his mother's name or do good in it. The church asks the intercession of its saints and martyrs, with Mary first among them.

    Sources16–17

  • Church of the East

    Did not receive the Council of Ephesus and prays to Mary as "the Mother of Christ our God and Saviour".

    In 1994 John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV recognized "the legitimacy and rightness" of both that form and "the Mother of God".

    Sources18

  • Lutheran

    Luther kept the traditional titles, and the Smalcald Articles (1537) confess the Son born of the Virgin Mary; perpetual virginity, kept by Luther, varies among Lutherans today.

    The Augsburg Confession (1530) allows the memory of the saints to be set before believers as examples of faith and good works, but says "the Scripture teaches not the invocation of saints", because it presents Christ as the one mediator and intercessor. Lutherans keep 15 August as a feast of Mary without naming it the Assumption ("Mary, Mother of Our Lord" in the ELCA, "St. Mary, the Mother of our Lord" in LCMS usage) and remember saints in commemorations, not by canonization.

    Sources19–22

  • Reformed

    The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) confesses Christ "born of the ever virgin Mary" and says "we do not adore, worship, or pray to the saints in heaven".

    Zwingli's Marian sermon of 1522, as Emidio Campi's study reads it, holds perpetual virginity but rejects Mary as mediator, advocate and intercessor and calls her the witness. Calvin judged that "no just and well-grounded inference can be drawn" from Matthew 1:25 about Mary's other children either way. Reformed confessions hold that invocation itself crosses the line, whatever the intent, and the Reformed tradition limits images.

    Sources23–25

  • Anglican

    Article XXII of the Thirty-nine Articles (agreed 1562, subscribed 1571) rejects the "Romish Doctrine" of worshipping images and relics and invocation of saints.

    The Church of England's Common Worship keeps the Blessed Virgin Mary as a festival on 15 August without calling it the Assumption, and the Anglo-Catholic liturgist Jeremy Haselock records that it restored the Conception on 8 December. Anglican practice ranges from Anglo-Catholic Marian devotion to Evangelical reserve, and the Articles, each province's prayer book and ARCIC carry different authority.

    Sources26–29

  • Methodist

    The Methodist Articles of Religion, adapted from the Anglican Articles, confess Christ born "in the womb of the blessed Virgin" and call invocation of saints "a fond thing, vainly invented" (Articles II and XIV).

    Sources30

  • Evangelical

    In the 2009 statement Do Whatever He Tells You, Evangelicals affirmed the virginal conception and the title Theotokos, called perpetual virginity "adiaphorous", the Immaculate Conception "unnecessary and unbiblical" and the Assumption without biblical warrant, and said they do not pray to Mary.

    Evangelical churches use "saints" in the Pauline sense of all who are in Christ, honor biblical figures as examples and address prayer to God through Christ alone; for Evangelicals Mary is a model of faith.

    Sources31–32

  • Baptist and Pentecostal

    The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), the Southern Baptist statement, confesses Christ "born of the virgin Mary" and "the One Mediator" and says nothing of the saints; other Baptist bodies have their own statements.

    The Assemblies of God's Statement of Fundamental Truths, the largest classical Pentecostal confession, lists "His virgin birth", does not name Mary and speaks of the church as "a body of saints". Neither teaches the later Marian dogmas.

    Sources33–34

  • Seventh-day Adventist

    Fundamental Belief 26 teaches that God "alone is immortal" and that until the resurrection "death is an unconscious state for all people".

    On that teaching the departed, Mary included, are not now conscious and cannot be asked to pray.

    Sources35

  • Jehovah's Witnesses

    Teach that Mary is not the mother of God, because Jesus is the Son of God and not God; that Mary and Joseph "had other children"; and that Mary is not to be worshipped or venerated.

    They apply "saints" to the 144,000 anointed and to holy ones generally, address prayer to the Father through Christ and reject relics. With the Latter-day Saints they form a Restorationist family of their own: both affirm the virginal conception from Scripture and do not accept the Marian dogmas or invocation.

    Sources36–37

  • Latter-day Saints

    The Book of Mormon calls Mary the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh and a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins (1 Nephi 11).

    In Latter-day Saint usage the saints are the members: the church's name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was given in a revelation of 26 April 1838. Perpetual virginity, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are not taught by the Church, which is not to say that it formally rejects them.

    Sources38–41

  • Islam (the Qur'an)

    The Qur'an honors Mary (Maryam) by name and tells the annunciation and the birth by a palm trunk.

    It also asks Jesus whether he told people to worship him and his mother as gods besides God. Muslims therefore affirm the virginal conception and reject both Mary's divine motherhood and any worship of her.

    Sources42–44

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    2nd century

    The Martyrdom of Polycarp already distinguishes Christ, adored "as being the Son of God", from the martyrs, loved "as disciples and followers of the Lord". The church gathers Polycarp's bones and keeps "the anniversary of his martyrdom".45

  2. Early church
    2nd century

    Justin's Dialogue with Trypho records the dispute over Isaiah 7:14, where Trypho reads "young woman" and Justin defends "virgin", and contrasts Eve with "the Virgin Mary". Irenaeus writes that "the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary".46474849

  3. Late antiquity
    c. 383

    Helvidius, at Rome, reads the brothers and sisters of Jesus as children of Joseph and Mary; Jerome, writing against him, reads them as cousins, called brothers in a wider sense.5051

  4. Late antiquity
    431 to 433

    The Council of Ephesus opens under Cyril on 22 June 431 and confirms the title Theotokos, already in use. The Formula of Union of 23 April 433 confesses "the holy virgin to be the mother of God".1

  5. Late antiquity
    553

    The Second Council of Constantinople calls Mary ever-virgin in three anathemas (2, 6 and 14), using the title as an established one rather than defining it.2

  6. Medieval
    787

    The Second Council of Nicaea allows "salutation and respectful veneration" of images of Christ, Mary, the angels and the saints, and says this is not the full adoration, latria, which is properly paid only to the divine nature.52

  7. Reformation
    1530 to 1571

    The Reformation confessions keep the memory of the saints as examples and reject invoking them: the Augsburg Confession (1530), the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) and the Thirty-nine Articles (agreed 1562, subscribed 1571).202326

  8. Reformation
    3 December 1563

    The Council of Trent teaches that it is "good and useful suppliantly to invoke" the saints, that relics are to be honored, and that images are honored "not that any divinity, or virtue, is believed to be in them".53

  9. Modern
    8 December 1854

    Pius IX defines the Immaculate Conception in Ineffabilis Deus: Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception. Most Orthodox do not accept the definition, and Lev Gillet records that an official Orthodox text first listed it among the differences with Rome in 1896.412

  10. Modern
    1858

    Bernadette reports eighteen apparitions at Lourdes between 11 February and 16 July, and on 25 March the words "I am the Immaculate Conception". Bishop Laurence of Tarbes recognizes the apparitions on 18 January 1862.5455

  11. Modern
    1 November 1950

    Pius XII defines in Munificentissimus Deus that Mary, "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory"; the definition does not say whether she passed away first.5

  12. Modern
    21 November 1964

    The Second Vatican Council treats Mary in chapter 8 of Lumen Gentium, its constitution on the Church, as a type of the Church whose role "in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ".566

  13. Modern
    17 February 1990

    The Lutheran–Catholic dialogue in the United States unanimously approves The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary at Lantana, Florida, after seven years; the report affirms Christ as "sole mediator" and is published in 1992.5758

  14. Modern
    2005

    ARCIC publishes Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ on 16 May, with the permission of both communions but binding on neither. It judges that asking Mary and the saints to pray for us is not "communion-dividing".596029

  15. Modern
    2024

    New norms for discerning alleged supernatural phenomena take effect at Pentecost, 19 May, under which approved phenomena "do not become objects of faith". On 19 September a note approved by Pope Francis gives Medjugorje a nihil obstat without declaring it supernatural.616263

  16. Modern
    4 November 2025

    The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith publishes Mater Populi Fidelis, approved by Pope Leo XIV on 7 October, which says it "is always inappropriate" to use the title "Co-redemptrix" and commends "Mother of the faithful".1064

How to study mariology and the saints

The questions it asks

  • What do the few biblical texts about Mary establish, and what is a later reading or tradition?656667
  • Who holds each later teaching about Mary, and since when?
  • Is the woman clothed in the sun in Revelation 12 Mary, Israel, the Church or all three?68
  • Were the brothers and sisters of Jesus children of Joseph and Mary, children of Joseph by an earlier marriage, or cousins?50
  • How are honor and worship distinguished, and may the departed be asked to pray?52
  • How are apparitions and devotions judged, and how do the churches recognize saints?

Its method

Start

  1. Read the biblical texts first: the infancy narratives, Cana, the cross, Acts 1:14, Galatians 4:4 and, on some readings, Revelation 1265666970677168.

  2. Where a word is disputed, read the Hebrew or Greek: at Isaiah 7:14, hā-ʿalmāh, glossed "young woman", and the Greek "virgin" that Matthew follows727374.

  3. Begin from Christology: in Catholic teaching, what the Church believes about Mary rests on what it believes about Christ, and the title Theotokos is a statement about Christ31.

  4. Label the early sources by kind: the Protoevangelium of James is in no canon, and the Sub tuum praesidium papyrus is given with its disputed range of dates757677.

  5. Keep the earliest witness, the council's confirmation and the modern definition apart, and name each later teaching with its holder and date1245.

  6. Name the level of every claim: biblical text, early witness, ecumenical council, papal definition, confession, liturgical tradition, permitted devotion, dialogue conclusion or scholarly view29.

  7. Keep rejection apart from non-acceptance: a church "rejects" a teaching only where it says so; otherwise it does not accept the Roman definition, or does not teach it.

  8. Attribute polemical sources by name and date, as sources from their age rather than a present-day view7879.

  9. Combine the field's three tracks: historical reading of the New Testament, the history of devotion and culture, and constructive theology8081.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The Gospel texts on Mary: Matthew 1, Luke 1 to 2, Mark 3 and 6, and John 2 and 1966658283846970.
  • Acts 1:14, Galatians 4:4 and Revelation 12677168.
  • Isaiah 7:14 in Hebrew and in the Septuagint7274.
  • The Protoevangelium of James, source of Joachim and Anna, the older Joseph with children and much later Marian tradition75.
  • Justin's Dialogue with Trypho and Irenaeus's Against Heresies464849.
  • The Sub tuum praesidium papyrus, P.Ryl. III 470, in the John Rylands Library77.
  • The Martyrdom of Polycarp, from the second century45.
  • The accounts of Mary's passing, the Transitus Mariae85.
  • The decrees of Ephesus (431), Constantinople II (553), Nicaea II (787) and Trent (1563)125253.
  • The papal definitions Ineffabilis Deus (1854) and Munificentissimus Deus (1950)45.
  • The Reformation confessions: the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Thirty-nine Articles, the Second Helvetic Confession and the Methodist Articles of Religion2019262330.
  • The Qur'an's passages on Maryam (3:42, 19:16 to 25 and 5:116)424344.

Standard reference works

  • Mary in the New Testament (1978), the joint Protestant and Catholic volume and the standard example of historical reading80.
  • Jaroslav Pelikan's Mary Through the Centuries (Yale, 1996), a widely used survey, criticized for neglecting popular piety81.
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church 484 to 511 and 963 to 97538.
  • Lumen Gentium chapter 8 (1964) and Mater Populi Fidelis (2025)5610.
  • The Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena (2024)61.
  • Divinus Perfectionis Magister (1983), on the Catholic process for recognizing saints9.
  • The Groupe des Dombes, Mary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of Saints (1997 to 1999; in English, Paulist Press, 2002)8687.
  • The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary (Augsburg, 1992)58.
  • ARCIC, Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ (2005)29.
  • Evangelicals and Catholics Together, Do Whatever He Tells You (2009)31.
  • Elizabeth A. Johnson's Truly Our Sister (2003) and Ivone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer's Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor (1989)8889.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 1978Mary in the New TestamentR. E. BrownMary in the New Testament (1978)R. E. Brown, with K. P. Donfried, J. A. Fitzmyer and J. ReumannSources80
  • 1989Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the PoorIvone GebaraMary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor (1989)Ivone Gebara, with Maria Clara BingemerSources89
  • 1992The One Mediator, the Saints, and MaryH. G. AndersonThe One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary (1992)H. G. Anderson, with J. F. Stafford and J. A. BurgessSources57–58
  • 1996Mary Through the CenturiesJaroslav PelikanMary Through the Centuries (1996)Jaroslav PelikanSources81
  • 1997Zwingli und MariaEmidio CampiZwingli und Maria (1997)Emidio CampiSources24
  • 1997 and 1998Mary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of SaintsGroupe des DombesMary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of Saints (1997 and 1998)Groupe des DombesSources86–87
  • 2003Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of SaintsElizabeth A. JohnsonTruly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints (2003)Elizabeth A. JohnsonSources88
  • 2005Mary: Grace and Hope in ChristARCIC IIMary: Grace and Hope in Christ (2005)ARCIC IISources2959–60
  • 2009Do Whatever He Tells You: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian Faith and LifeEvangelicals and Catholics TogetherDo Whatever He Tells You: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian Faith and Life (2009)Evangelicals and Catholics TogetherSources31

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The study of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Scripture, doctrine, worship and devotion.

Mother of God, the title confirmed at Ephesus in 431 as a statement about Christ: that the one born of Mary is God the Word incarnate1.

The title of Mary's perpetual virginity, used by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 as an established title rather than defined2.

The Catholic dogma, defined by Pius IX on 8 December 1854, that Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace of God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ4.

The Assumption, defined by Pius XII in 1950, is Mary's being taken body and soul into heavenly glory; the Orthodox keep her passing as the Dormition on 15 August, as Tradition511.

The reading of Mary as the counterpart of Eve, made by Justin and Irenaeus: the knot of Eve's disobedience loosed by Mary's obedience4849.

Confessed in the Apostles' Creed; the New Testament calls all believers saints, and Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant churches understand the communion to include the faithful departed32.

Latria is the adoration paid only to God; dulia is the honor given to creatures; hyperdulia is the later name for what Aquinas called the highest species of dulia, the honor given to Mary5290.

Asking Mary or the saints in heaven to pray; Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist confessions reject it20262330.

Under the Catholic norms of 2024, a verdict that permits prudent devotion to an alleged phenomenon without declaring it supernatural or requiring belief61.

Where it sits

Builds on

Mariology and the saints

Questions people ask

The Council of Ephesus confirmed the title Theotokos, Mother of God, in 431, and Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches and most Protestants who keep the councils hold it1. Evangelicals affirmed the title with Catholics in 200931. The Church of the East prays to Mary as "the Mother of Christ our God and Saviour", and in 1994 John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV recognized both forms18. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Mary is not the mother of God, because Jesus is the Son of God and not God36. The Qur'an honors Mary, and Muslims reject her divine motherhood4244.

The Gospels name four brothers, James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, and unnamed sisters, and Paul calls James the Lord's brother849192. Three historic readings followed: Helvidius read them as children of Joseph and Mary, most Greek writers as children of Joseph by an earlier marriage, and Jerome and most Latin writers as cousins5150. The Catechism calls them "close relations", Jehovah's Witnesses read them as Mary's other children, and Evangelicals in 2009 treated the question as open33631.

Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians ask Mary and the saints to pray for them and distinguish this from worship85214. The Second Council of Nicaea reserved the full adoration, latria, to God, and Lumen Gentium states that Mary's cult "differs essentially" from the adoration offered to the Word527. Lutheran and Reformed confessions hold that invocation itself crosses the line, whatever the intent2023.

No: under the 2024 norms approved phenomena "do not become objects of faith", and the faithful may adhere "in a prudent manner"61. Cardinal Ratzinger wrote in 2000 that "an assent of Catholic faith is not due to revelations approved in this way"93. Lourdes was recognized by its bishop in 1862, while Medjugorje received a nihil obstat in 2024 without a declaration of supernatural character5563.

The Hebrew has hā-ʿalmāh, which the lexicon glosses "young woman"; the Septuagint, which Matthew follows, reads "virgin", and the Berean Standard Bible prints Behold, the virgin will be with child with the footnote "Or young woman"7273746694. The dispute is ancient: in Justin's Dialogue with Trypho, Trypho says the text reads "young woman" and refers to Hezekiah, and Justin defends "virgin"4647. The difference lies in translation, not in a changed text.

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  1. 1Council of Ephesus 431, ed. N. P. Tanner (papalencyclicals.net)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum03.htm (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Second Council of Constantinople 553, ed. N. P. Tanner (papalencyclicals.net)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum05.htm (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Catechism of the Catholic Church 484 to 511 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1K.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854 (papalencyclicals.net)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9ineff.htm (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus.html (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Lumen Gentium 60 to 65 (IntraText)https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0037/_PH.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Lumen Gentium 66 to 67 (IntraText)https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0037/_PI.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Catechism of the Catholic Church 963 to 975 (Holy See archive)https://press.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2C.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9John Paul II, Divinus Perfectionis Magister, 25 January 1983 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister.html (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Mater Populi Fidelis, 4 November 2025 (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20251104_mater-populi-fidelis_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-year/dormition-of-the-theotokos (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Lev Gillet, The Immaculate Conception and the Orthodox Church (John Sanidopoulos, 8 September 2016)https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/09/the-immaculate-conception-and-orthodox.html (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Joseph Frawley, The Glorification of the Saints in the Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/fs/glorification-of-saints (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14The Virgin's Fast (St Mary and St Moses Abbey, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States)https://abbey.suscopts.org/?p=1306 (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Lecture I, St. Mary's Perpetual Virginity and Immaculate Conception (Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States)https://cdn.suscopts.org/files/messages/lectures/marilecture1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Religious Holidays and Calendar (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Faith and Order)http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/calendar.html (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Juan González Núñez, on Ethiopian devotion to Mary and Kidane Mihiret (Comboni Missionaries, 10 May 2025)https://www.comboni.org/contenuti/116882 (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, 11 November 1994 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1994/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19941111_dichiarazione-cristologica.html (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Smalcald Articles, Part I (Book of Concord)https://bookofconcord.org/smalcald-articles/part-i/ (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Augsburg Confession, Article XXI (Book of Concord)https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/article-xxi/ (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Mary, Mother of our Lord, Kyle K. Schiefelbein-Guerrero (Living Lutheran, 31 August 2018)https://www.livinglutheran.org/2018/08/mary-mother-of-our-lord/ (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Christopher D. Hall, devotional for 15 August (The Lutheran Witness, LCMS, 4 August 2010)https://witness.lcms.org/?p=808 (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23Second Helvetic Confession (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/creeds/helvetic.htm (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Christine Christ-v. Wedel, review of Emidio Campi, Zwingli und Maria (Zwingliana)https://zwingliana.ch/article/download/8007/6538/17962 (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, on Matthew 1:18 to 25 (Lectionary Central)https://lectionarycentral.com/christmas1/CalCommGospel.html (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Articles of Religion, Article XXII (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/liturgy/book-of-common-prayer/articles-religion (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Common Worship: Festivals, The Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/node/3696 (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28Jeremy Haselock, Celebrating Mary with Common Worship (New Directions, 7 October 2017)https://ndarchive.forwardinfaith.com/2017/10/07/celebrating-mary-with-common-worship/ (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29ARCIC II, Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/comunione-anglicana/dialogo/arcic-ii/en.html (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church (The United Methodist Church)https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Do Whatever He Tells You: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian Faith and Life, Evangelicals and Catholics Together (First Things, November 2009)https://firstthings.com/?p=12868 (opens in a new tab)
  32. 321 Corinthians 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_corinthians/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Southern Baptist Convention)https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Statement of Fundamental Truths, General Council of the Assemblies of God (creeds.net)https://www.creeds.net/Misc/AOGtruths.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Fundamental Belief 26, Death and Resurrection (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/death-and-resurrection/ (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Is Mary the Mother of God? (Jehovah's Witnesses, jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/mother-mary-theotokos (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Reasoning From the Scriptures, Saints (Jehovah's Witnesses, jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Reasoning-From-the-Scriptures/Saints/ (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 11 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/11?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Book of Mormon, Alma 7 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/7?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Doctrine and Covenants 115 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/115?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Gaye Strathearn, Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Ensign, January 2019, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2019/01/mary-the-mother-of-jesus?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42The Qur'an 3:42 (quran.com)https://quran.com/3/42-47 (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43The Qur'an 19:16 to 25 (quran.com)https://quran.com/19/16-34 (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44The Qur'an 5:116, The Clear Quran (quran.com)https://quran.com/5/116 (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45The Martyrdom of Polycarp, ANF vol. 1 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 55 to 68, ANF vol. 1 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01285.htm (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69 to 88, ANF vol. 1 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01286.htm (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 89 to 108, ANF vol. 1 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01287.htm (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.22, ANF vol. 1 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103322.htm (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50The Brethren of the Lord, Florentine Bechtel (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02767a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Jerome, Against Helvidius, NPNF2 vol. 6 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Second Council of Nicaea 787, ed. N. P. Tanner (papalencyclicals.net)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum07.htm (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Council of Trent, Session 25 (papalencyclicals.net)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fifth-session.htm (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54The Apparitions (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes)https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/the-apparitions/ (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55The recognition of the Lourdes Apparitions (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes)https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/the-recognition-of-the-lourdes-apparitions/ (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Lumen Gentium, 21 November 1964 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57News release on The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary, 23 February 1990 (USCCB)https://www.usccb.org/resources/lu20 (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary: Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue VIII, library record (Universidad Loyola)https://colectivo.uloyola.es/Record/T214819 (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59ARCIC issues text on Mary, 4 February 2004 (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/2004/arcic-issues-text-on-mary/ (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Donald Bolen, An Introduction to the Mary Document, 16 May 2005 (IARCCUM)https://iarccum.org/doc/?d=1519 (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, 17 May 2024 (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240517_norme-fenomeni-soprannaturali_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62The Queen of Peace: Note about the spiritual experience connected with Medjugorje, 19 September 2024 (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240919_nota-esperienza-medjugorje_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Vatican sees spiritual value of Medjugorje, doesn't judge it supernatural, Cindy Wooden (Catholic Review, 19 September 2024)https://catholicreview.org/vatican-sees-spiritual-value-of-medjugorje-doesnt-judge-it-supernatural/ (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Doctrinal Note on Marian titles: Mother of the faithful, not Co-redemptrix (Vatican News, 4 November 2025)https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-11/doctrinal-note-mother-of-the-faithful-not-co-redemptrix.html (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Luke 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66Matthew 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67Acts 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/acts/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68Revelation 12, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/revelation/12.htm (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69John 2, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70John 19, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/19.htm (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Galatians 4, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/galatians/4.htm (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72Isaiah 7:14, Hebrew interlinear (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/text/isaiah/7-14.htm (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73Strong's Hebrew 5959, ʿalmāh (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5959.htm (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74The Septuagint, Isaiah 7, tr. L. C. L. Brenton (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/sep/isaiah/7.htm (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75The Protoevangelium of James, tr. Alexander Walker, ANF vol. 8 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76Theotokos: A review of the scholarship on the paleographical date of P.Ryl. III 470 (Sub Tuum Praesidium) (Roger Pearse, 24 August 2023)https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2023/08/24/theotokos-a-review-of-the-scholarship-on-the-paleographical-date-of-p-ryl-iii-407-sub-tuum-praesidium/ (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Manuscript M1115, P.Ryl. Gr. III 470 (Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts, University of Würzburg)https://www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/manuscript/kyp-m1115 (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78Daniel J. Lasker, Mary in Jewish Tradition (Veritas, PUCRS)https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/veritas/article/download/29652/16737/126216 (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79Ruth Langer, review of Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud (Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Boston College)https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/scjr/article/download/1434/1323/1603 (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80Raoul Dederen, review of Mary in the New Testament (Andrews University Seminary Studies, 1980)https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/1980-2/1980-2-08.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81Review of Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries (Kirkus Reviews)https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jaroslav-pelikan/mary-through-the-centuries/ (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Luke 2, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83Mark 3, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/3.htm (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84Mark 6, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/6.htm (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85The Passing of Mary (Transitus Mariae), tr. Alexander Walker, ANF vol. 8 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0832.htm (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Presentation of the Groupe des Dombes (Groupe des Dombes)https://groupedesdombes.eu/?p=301 (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87List of publications in English (Groupe des Dombes)https://groupedesdombes.eu/list-of-publications (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88Elizabeth A. Johnson, Truly Our Sister, publisher listing (Library Supply)https://librarysupply.co.nz/shop/philosophy-and-religion/religion-and-beliefs/christianity/truly-our-sister-a-theology-of-mary-in-the-communion-of-saints_10390 (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89Ivone Gebara and Maria Clara Bingemer, Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor (Yale University Library record)https://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/3015785 (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II q. 103 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3103.htm (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91Matthew 13, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/13.htm (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92Galatians 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/galatians/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93The Message of Fatima, 26 June 2000 (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Isaiah 7, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/isaiah/7.htm (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 6 November 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.