Immaculate Conception

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This article refers to the dogma of the immaculate conception of Mary, Mother of Jesus. For the doctrine of the virginal conception of Jesus Christ, see Virgin Birth (Christian doctrine).

The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma that asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved by God from the stain of original sin at the time of her own conception. Specifically, the dogma says she was not afflicted by the lack of sanctifying grace that 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 deal with separate subjects. According to the dogma, Mary was conceived by normal biological means, but her soul was acted upon by God (kept "immaculate") at the time of her conception.

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), and consecrated by Pope Pius XII in 1942.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary had been established in 1483 by Pope Sixtus IV who stopped short of defining the doctrine as a dogma of the Catholic Faith, thus giving Catholics freedom to believe in this or not; this freedom had been reiterated by the Council of Trent. The existence of the feast was a strong indication of the Church´s belief in the Immaculate Conception, even before its 19th century definition as a dogma.

The Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture (e.g. her being greeted by Angel Gabriel as "full of Grace"), and by the writings of many of the Church Fathers, either directly or indirectly, and often calls Mary the Blessed Virgin (Luke 1:48). 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).

In the 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. Prior to the spread of this doctrine, December 8 was celebrated as the Conception of Mary, since September 8 is the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.

1 History of the doctrine
2 Protestant and Eastern Orthodox opinion
3 Scriptural sources
4 Parallelisms in other religions
5 Common misinterpretation
6 See also
7 References
8 Opinion

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History of the doctrine

Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, there is the history of its development within the Catholic Church. The Conception of Mary was celebrated in England from the ninth century. Eadmer was influential in its spread. The Normans suppressed the celebration, but it lived on in the popular mind. It was rejected by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Alexander of Hales, and St. Bonaventure (who, teaching at Paris, called it "this foreign doctrine", indicating its association with England). St Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject, but said that he would accept the determination of the Church. These famous churchmen had problems with the doctrine due to their understanding of human conception. They did not believe that the soul was placed in the body at the moment of implantation in the womb. Aquinas and Bonaventure, for example, believed that Mary was completely free from sin, but that she was not given this grace at the instant of her conception.

The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially Blessed John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine, despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Scotus proposed a solution to the theological problems involved with reconciling the doctrine with that of universal redemption in Christ, by arguing that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ, but rather was the result of a more perfect redemption given to her on account of her special role in history. Furthermore, Scotus said that Mary was redeemed in anticipation of Christ's death on the cross. This was similar to the way that the Church explained the Last Supper (since Catholic theology teaches that the Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary made present on the altar, and Christ did not die before the Last Supper). Scotus' defense of the immaculist thesis was summed up by one of his followers as potuit, decuit ergo fecit (God could do it, it was fitting that he did it, and so he did it). Following his defense of the thesis, students at Paris swore to defend the thesis, and the tradition grew of swearing to defend the doctrine with one's blood.

Popular opinion was firmly behind accepting this privilege for Mary, but such was the sensitivity of the issue and the authority of Aquinas, that it was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic Bishops that he, after private consultations during the 1850 Jubilee, surveid during the 1851-1853 period, pronounced the doctrine infallible.

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Protestant and Eastern Orthodox opinion

The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by Protestantism.

Protestants generally reject the doctrine, because they do not consider the development of dogmatic theology to be authoritative apart from Biblical exegesis, and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is not explicit in the Bible. It is accepted by some Anglo-Catholics, but is rejected by most in the Anglican Communion. In the Book of Common Prayer, December 8 is a "lesser commemoration", whose observance is optional. However, members of the Society of Mary are required to attend mass that day.

Orthodox Christians do believe that Mary was without sin for her entire life, but they do not share the Catholic Church's views on original sin. They note that St. Augustine (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until after the 17th century, has exerted considerable influence over the theology of sin that has generally taken root through the Holy See, and since Eastern Orthodoxy does not share Rome's (or most Protestants') view of original sin, it considers unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Instead, Eastern Orthodox theologians suggest 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. Although this is not a dogma in the Orthodox Church, there is the universal belief that there was a pre-sanctification of Mary at the time of her conception, similar to the conception of Saint John the Baptist. However, there was no cleansing of original sin, since Orthodox Christians believe that that one cannot inherit original sin, or any sin for that matter; instead, 'original sin' in Orthodoxy refers to the general tendency towards sin and pain in the world, caused by the fall of Adam.

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Scriptural sources

In his Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus (December 8, 1854), which officially defined the Immaculate Conception as dogma for the Catholic Church, Pope Pius IX primarily appealed to the text of Genesis 3:15, where the serpent was told by God, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed." According to the Catholic understanding, this was a prophecy that foretold of a "woman" who would always be at enmity with the serpent — that is, a woman who would never be under the power of sin, nor in bondage to the serpent.

Some Catholic theologians have also found Scriptural evidence for the Immaculate Conception in the angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary at the Annunciation, recorded by Saint Luke in Luke 1:28. The English translation, "Hail, Full of Grace," or "Hail, Favored One," is based on the Greek of Luke 1:28, Χαιρε κεχαριτωμενη Chaire kecharitomene. The latter word has the verb "to grace" as its root, and the Greek syntax indicates that the action of the verb was passive, fully completed in the past, with results continuing into the future. Put another way, it means that the subject (Mary) was graced fully and completely at some time in the past, and continued in that fully graced state.

The Church Fathers, almost from the beginning of Church History, found further Scriptural evidence by comparing the figure of Eve to the figure of Mary. St. Justin Martyr said that Mary was a kind of New Eve, "in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin." (Dialogue with Trypho, 100) Tertullian argued in the same manner, saying, "As Eve had believed the serpent, so Mary believed the angel. The delinquency which the one occasioned by believing, the other by believing effaced." (On the Flesh of Christ, 17) St. Irenaeus declared that Mary became "the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race," because "what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith." (Against Heresies, Book III, cap. 22, 4) St. Jerome coined the phrase, "Death came through Eve, but life has come through Mary." (Letter XXII, To Eustochium, 21)

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Parallelisms in other religions

In Islam, the prophet Muhammed is considered the sinless bearer of the kalam of Allah (speech of God), just as in definitive Catholic formulation, Mary is the sinless bearer of Christ, the Word of God.

Anahita (or Nahid in Modern Persian), the mother of Mitra, whose name means "unstained" or "immaculate", was an ancient Persian deity. Her cult was strongest in Western Iran, and had parallels with that of the Semitic Near Eastern "Queen of Heaven", deification of the planet Venus. The largest temple with a Mithraic connection is the Seleucid temple at Kangavar in western Iran (c. 200 BC), dedicated to "Anahita, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of the Lord Mithras".

Isis was also sometimes described as immaculate. "Immaculate is our Lady Isis," is the legend around an engraving of Serapis and Isis, described by C W King, in The Gnostics and their Remains.

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Common misinterpretation

There is a widespread misunderstanding of the term immaculate conception. Many people, even many Catholics, believe this refers to the conception of Jesus by Mary. Nearly every time this term is used in the mass media, it is in reference to the conception of Jesus by Mary. The conception of Jesus by Mary is more properly called the Incarnation of Christ. The phrase "Immaculate Conception," by Catholic interpretation, is not directly connected to the concept of the "Virgin Birth." The Catholic Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception on 8 December, exactly nine months before the official birthday of Mary. The Incarnation of Christ, also known as The Annunciation, is celebrated on 25 March, nine months before Christmas Day.

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