Mariology
A wide range of views on Mary exist at multiple levels of differentiation within distinct Christian belief systems.
Over the centuries, Roman Catholic Mariology has been shaped by varying forces ranging from sensus fidelium to Marian apparitions to the writings of the saints to reflection by theologians and papal encyclicals.
The Orthodox Mariological approach emphasizes the sublime holiness of Mary, her share in redemption and her role as a mediator of grace.
[11][12] Eastern Orthodox mariological thought dates as far back as Saint John Damascene who in the 8th century wrote on the mediative role of Mary and on the Dormition of the Mother of God.
[11] More recently Eastern Orthodox Mariology achieved a renewal among 20th century theologians in Russia, for whom Mary is the heart of the Church and the center of creation.
[23] A better mutual understanding among different Christian groups regarding their Mariology has been sought in a number of ecumenical meetings which produced common documents.
[27] The popularity of Mary as an individual object of devotion, however, only began in the fifth century with the appearance of apocryphal versions of her life, interest in her relics, and the first churches dedicated to her name, for example, S. Maria Maggiore in Rome.
[28] A sign that the process was slower in Rome is provided by the incident during the visit of Pope Agapetus to Constantinople in 536, when he was upbraided for opposing the veneration of the theotokos and refusing to allow her icons to be displayed in Roman churches.
[29][failed verification] Early seventh-century examples of new Marian dedications in Rome are the dedication in 609 of the pagan Pantheon as Santa Maria ad Martyres, "Holy Mary and the Martyrs",[30] and the re-dedication of the early Christian titulus Julii et Calixtii, one of the oldest Roman churches, as Santa Maria in Trastevere.
The medieval development of chivalry, with the concept of the honor of a lady and the ensuing knightly devotion to it, not only derived from the thinking about the Virgin Mary, but also contributed to it.
[8] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a number of traditions revolve around the Ever – Virgin Mary and the Theotokos, which are theologically paramount concepts.
The Second Vatican Council document Lumen gentium summarized the views on Roman Catholic Mariology, its focus being on the veneration of the Mother of God.
This new orientation was continued by Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II with the additional creation of the Pontifica Academia Mariana Internationale and the Centro di Cultura Mariana, a pastoral center to promulgate Marian teachings of the Church, and the Societa Mariologica Italiana, an Italian mariological society with an interdisciplinary orientation.
The disadvantage of this method is that it cannot assess Mary to the full extent of her role and her person, and the inherent connections between various Mariological assertions can not be highlighted.
[36] As a field of study, Mariology uses the sources, methods and criteria of theology, beginning with the Marian reference in the Apostles' Creed.
Of importance to Mariological methodology is a specific Vatican II statement that these reports are not allegories with symbolic value but historical revelations, a point further emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI.
[citation needed] The concept that by being the "Mother of God", Mary has a unique role in salvation and redemption was contemplated and written about in the early Church.
[42] In recent centuries, Roman Catholic Mariology has come to be viewed as a logical and necessary consequence of Christology: Mary contributes to a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he did.
[citation needed] In the Roman Catholic context, patrology and dogmatic history have provided a basis for popes to justify Marian doctrine, veneration, and dogmas such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.
Thus, in Fulgens corona and Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII explained the two dogmas in terms of existing biblical references to Mary, the patristic tradition, and the strong historical faith of believers (sensus fidelium) using a deductive theological method.
