Some descriptives of Mary are properly titles, dogmatic in nature, while some are invocations. Other descriptives are poetic or allegorical or have lesser or no canonical status, but form part of popular piety, with varying degrees of acceptance by Church authorities. Another class of titles refer to depictions of Mary in Catholic Marian art and in art generally. A rich range of Marian titles also are used in musical settings of pieces dedicated to her.[1]
The relatively large number of titles given to Mary may be explained in several ways.[2] Some titles grew due to geographic and cultural reasons, e.g., through the veneration of specific icons. Others were related to Marian apparitions.
Mary's intercession is sought for a large spectrum of human needs in varied situations. This has led to the formulation of many of her titles (good counsel, Help of the Sick, etc.). Moreover, meditations and devotions on the different aspects of Mary's role in the life of Jesus have led to additional titles, such as Our Lady of Sorrows.[3] Still further titles have been derived from dogmas and doctrines, such as, the Assumption of Mary, Dormition of the Mother of God and Immaculate Conception.
The veneration of Mary was consolidated in the year 431 when, at the Council of Ephesus, the descriptive, Theotokos, or Mary the bearer (or mother) of God, was declared a dogma. Thereafter Marian devotion, centred on the subtle and complex relationship between Mary, Jesus, and the Church, began to flourish, first in the East and later in the West.
The Reformation diminished Mary's role in many parts of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent and Counter Reformation intensified Marian devotion among Roman Catholics. Around the same period, Mary became an instrument of evangelisation in the Americas and parts of Asia and Africa, e.g. gaining impetus from reported apparitions at Our Lady of Guadalupe, which resulted in a large number of conversions to Christianity in Mexico.
Mother of God: The Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is Theotokos ("God-bearer") because her son Jesus is both God and man: one Divine Person with two natures (divine and human).[5] This name was translated in the West as "Mater Dei" or Mother of God. From this derives the title "Blessed Mother".
Virgin Mary: The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary developed early in Christianity and was taught by the early Fathers, such as, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria (and others).[6] In the fourth century "ever-virgin" became a popular title for Mary.[7] Variations on this include the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", and "Spouse of the Holy Spirit". The perpetual virginity of Mary was declared a dogma by the Lateran Council of 649.
Assumption: The belief that the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven upon completing the course of her earthly life was declared a dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. The titles "Our Lady of Assumption" and "Queen Assumed Into Heaven" derive from this. This dogma is also reflected in devotion to Our Lady of Ta' Pinu on Malta.
In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches the Assumption of Mary may be celebrated as the Dormition, or the "Falling Asleep" of the Mother of God, it is an important feast day, not based on a scriptural canon but affirmed by tradition.
Early titles of Mary
Madonna and Child among Ethiopian saints, Ethiopia mid 17th c.
"Our Lady" is a common title to give to Mary as a sign of respect and honor. In French she is called "Notre Dame" and in Spanish she is "Nuestra Señora".[9]
Mary was identified as the "New Eve" at least as early as the later half of the Second Century. Justin Martyr (100–165) draws the connection in his Dialogue with Trypho. This idea is later expanded by Irenaeus.[10]
Stella Maris or Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, used to emphasize her role as a sign of hope and a guiding star for Christians. It is attributed to Jerome and cited by Paschasius Radbertus.
English
Latin
Greek
Notes
"Our Lady"
Nostra Domina
Commonly used to prefix many Marian titles
"Full of Grace", "Blessed", "Most Blessed", "Blessed Virgin Mary"
Gratia plena, Beata, Beatissima, Beatae Mariae Virginis (BMV)
lit. "one who bears the One who is God"; a common title in Eastern Christianity with christological implications; adopted officially during Council of Ephesus (431) in response to Nestorianism, which questioned the Church's teaching that Jesus Christ's nature was unified;
Parallels have been drawn between the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Mother. She travels to the hill country of Judea, where John leaps at her approach, Elizabeth cries out and says "Who Am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me", stays in Zechariah's home for three months, blessing it. Afterward she goes to Jerusalem.
As the mother of Jesus, who in mainstream Christianity is God and King of Heaven, multiple Christian denominations give her the title "Queen of Heaven". Mary is identified with the figure in Revelation 12:1;
In 1960, Pope John XXIII changed the title of the "Feast of the Holy Rosary" (formerly the "Feast of Our Lady of Victory") to the "Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary."
Several Papal actions over the centuries decreed the appellation "Queen of Poland" for Mary, following the solemn vows of King John Casimir Vasa before the papal legate and assembled episcopate, proclaiming Mary "Queen" of all his lands, at Lwów Cathedral on 1 April 1656.[21] The last act was of John Paul II on 1 April 2005, on the eve of his death.[22] The feast of The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland is on 3 May.
In this 12th c. depiction by an unknown artist, Mary holds her baby's face to her cheek as an expression of maternal tenderness. The evocative pose was copied two centuries later by the great Russian painter Andrei Rublev. The original was saved from destruction several times in its history. After the Russian Revolution it was housed in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, but representations from the Russian Orthodox Church ensured it is once again in a nearby church, where services are held;
Based loosely on Byzantine Hodegetria iconography; typically depicts a standing, smiling Mary and playful Christ Child; considered one of the earliest depictions of Mary that is strictly Western;[23]
The Virgin is depicted breastfeeding the Holy Infant. Our Lady Nursing, as painted in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome, c. A.D. 250, is one of the earliest depictions (if not the earliest depiction) of Mary;[24] Discouraged by the Council of Trent and rare subsequently.
A regal, celestial Mary is depicted covering the faithful in her protective mantle; first arose in the late 13th century in Central Europe and Italy; depiction is commonly associated with plague monuments.[25]
Maestà
"Majesty"
of the Virgo Deipara
"Virgin God-bearer"
Mary cradles the dead body of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion; this type emerged first in the 13th century in Germany as an Andachtsbild or devotional icon relating to grief; Italian Pietàs appeared in the 14th century;[26] Michelangelo's Pietà (1498–1499) is considered a masterpiece;
Iconic Western depiction with many variations; based loosely on Byzantine Glykophilousa ("sweet kisses") iconography; Mary turns her gaze away from the Christ Child as she contemplates His future Passion; Renaissance emphasis on classical ideal types, realistic human anatomy, and linear perspective are evident;
Mary with toddlers Jesus and his cousin, John the Baptist, looking on, painted 1513-1514 during Raphael's Roman period. The unusual non-linear style and colouring is more reminiscent of Titian and Sebastiano del Piombo and bears out their influence. This painting has been greatly admired by many people, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, and by subsequent painters of the stature of Ingres.[27]
Devotional titles
In the Loreto Litanies Mary's prayers are invoked under more than fifty separate titles, such as "Mother Most Pure", "Virgin Most Prudent", and "Cause of Our Joy".[28]
With the exception of Jesus Christ, who is believed to have a twofold nature, both human and divine, (dyophysitism), the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered among many Christians to be the unique human being about whom there is a dogma. She is connected to four different dogmas and numerous Marian titles. Christian invocations, titles, and art bear witness to the prominent role she has been accorded in the history and programme of salvation in parts of Christendom, although this is not shared by many (mainly reformed) Christian churches.
In the Hail Mary prayer, she is addressed as "full of grace" by Archangel Gabriel of the Annunciation speaking in the Name of God. The Nicene Creed, declares that Jesus was "incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man,". This has given rise to the descriptive, "spouse of the Holy Spirit".
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mother of God was anointed by the Holy Spirit, hence putting her on a par with the anointing of the Kings, Prophets, Judges, and High Priests of Israel, as Jesus Christ is said to have been.
This in turn opens the way to titles such as:
Advocate of the Church (like the judges of Israel)
Queen of Angels (like the kings of Israel): the Coronation of the Virgin paintings represent the hierarchy of angels of God while starting to serve Mary forever, after she has accepted to become the Mother of God.
In the Roman Catholic and in the Orthodox Churches, the Virgin Mother of God is venerated in a special form expressed in Greek as hyperdulia, that is, secondary only to the adoration reserved for the Triune God. She is venerated and honoured in this way since no other being--whether angelic or human--has greater power than Mary to intercede with God in the distribution of Grace to His children.
Mother of Good Counsel (Latin: Mater boni consilii) is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy.
Mother Thrice Admirable refers to Mary depicted in a painting as Our Lady Refuge of Sinners. Devotion to this invocation of Mary is significant to the Schoenstatt Movement.
A number of titles of Mary found in Latin America pertain to cultic images of her represented in iconography identified with a particular already existent title adapted to a particular place. Our Lady of Luján in Argentina refers to a small terracotta image made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May, 1630. Its appearance seems to have been inspired by Murillo's Immaculates. Our Lady of Copacabana (Bolivia): is a figure related to devotion to Mary under the title "Most Blessed Virgin de la Candelaria, Our Lady of Copacabana". About four feet in height, the statue was made by Francisco Tito Yupanqui around 1583 and is garbed in the colors and dress of an Inca princess.[32]
Theotokos means "God-bearer" and is translated as "Mother of God". This title was given to Mary at the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus in 431 AD.(cf. Luke 1:43).[35]
^"... Byzantine inscriptions from Palestine ... in the sixth [century] ... fourteen inscriptions invoke "Holy Mary" (Hagia Maria), eleven more hail her as Theotokos; others add the attribution of "Immaculate" (Akeratos), "Most Blessed" (Kecharitomene), "Mistress" (Despoina), "Virgin" or "Ever-Virgin" (Aei-Parthenos)." (Frend 1984, p. 836)
International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton. The Institute, a leading center for research and scholarship on the Blessed Virgin Mary, has a vast presence in cyberspace.
Marian Library at the University of Dayton. The Marian Library is the world's largest repository of books, periodicals, artwork, and artifacts on Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
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