Immaculate Conception
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The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic doctrine which asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved by God from the transmission of original sin at the time of her own conception, i.e. she was not afflicted by the privation of sanctifying grace which afflicts mankind, but was instead filled with grace by God, and furthermore lived a life completely free from sin. It is commonly confused with the doctrine of the virgin birth, though the two doctrines deal with separate subjects.
The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus, published December 8, 1854 (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception). From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe that Mary was subject to original sin or not, after having introduced the celebration; this freedom had been reiterated by the Council of Trent.
The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture and by the writings of many of the Church Fathers, either directly or indirectly, and often calls Mary the Blessed Virgin (Luke 1:48). Roman Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, she needed to be completely free of sin to bear the Son of God, and that Mary is "redeemed 'by the grace of Christ' but in a more perfect manner than other human beings" (Ott, Fund., Bk 3, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §3.1.e).
The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by Protestantism. Protestantism rejects the doctrine because it is not explicitly spelled out in the Bible, and because Protestantism has less regard for the speculative clarification of dogmatic theology. Protestants rarely praise Mary, which Orthodox and Catholics routinely do. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox also believe that the immaculate conception of the Theotokos would contradict the doctrine of the redemption of humanity, as the Virgin Mary would have been cleansed before Christ's own incarnation, making his function superfluous. Orthodox Christians say that St Augustine [1] (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until perhaps the 17th and 18th centuries, [2] has influenced the theology of sin that has generally taken root through the Holy See. Eastern Orthodoxy does not share Rome's or most Protestants' view of original sin, and considers unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Eastern Orthodox theologians believe that the references among the Greek and Syrian Fathers to Mary's purity and sinlessness may refer not to an a priori state but to her conduct after birth.
Roman Catholics counter with Scripture (e.g., Romans 5, Wisdom 2:24, I Corinthians 15:21, the experience of St John the Baptizer in his mother's womb, etc.) and the writings of Church Fathers prior to St Augustine. As usual, they rely more on external texts than on the Holy Scriptures.
In the Roman Catholic church, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December is generally a Holy Day of Obligation, and a public holiday in countries where Catholicism is predominant.
History of the doctrine
Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, is the history of its development within the Roman Catholic Church. Duns Scotus in the 13th century was influential in this area. St Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject but said that he would accept the determination of the Church (he believed that the soul of Mary was sanctified in the womb, but didn't make clear that the soul was never unsanctified by the body).
See also
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Immaculate Conception
- Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Original Sin
- On Mary
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