Anglican Marian theology
Mary always held a place of honour within the English Church,[citation needed] but many of the doctrines surrounding her have been called into question over the centuries, most as the result of the Reformation.
While Protestantism generally is based upon interpretation of scripture by a variety of 16th century reformers, who mostly rejected the practice of speaking directly to Mary and other saints (except in certain hymns[citation needed], e.g. Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, canticles[citation needed], e.g. the Benedicite, and Psalms, e.g. Psalm 148), certain Anglican traditions, especially after the Oxford Movement, have allowed for Mary and the saints to be addressed.
In the 12th-century legends surrounding King Lucius, the apostles Fagan and Duvian were said to have erected the St Mary's at Glastonbury as the oldest church in Britain in the mid-2nd century.
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.
Scottish and Canadian revisions of the Prayer Book restored August 15 as the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Despite the lack of official devotion to Mary, starting in the 16th century, reverence for her continued[citation needed] in the use of the Magnificat[failed verification] in Evening Prayer, and the naming and dedication of churches and Lady Chapels.
[citation needed] Andrewes in his Preces Privatae[failed verification] borrowed from Eastern liturgies to deepen his Marian devotion.
[citation needed] 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."
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.
Further, August 15 has come to be widely celebrated[citation needed] as a feast or festival in honour of Saint Mary the Virgin with Scripture readings, collect, and proper preface.
Marian devotions such as the Rosary, Angelus, and Regina Coeli are most commonly associated with the Anglo-Catholic and High Church churchmanships within Anglicanism.
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.
[citation needed] Roman Catholic Mariology contends that a veneration (hyperdulia) should be given to Mary that is higher than the dulia given to the other saints.
[citation needed] 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.
