Comparative Theology
Mary and the Saints
Comparative Mariology, the invocation of the saints, ecumenical dialogue
Mariology is among the deepest points of divergence between Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It concentrates ecclesiological, soteriological and hermeneutical differences of the first order.
The four Marian dogmas
| Dogma | Catholic definition | Orthodox position | Protestant position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theotokos | A dogmatic title since Ephesus (431), and the foundation of all Mariology. | A fundamental title; Lossky calls her the highest among creatures. Icons of the Theotokos pervade the liturgy. | Acceptable, and accepted by Luther, as a christological affirmation: Mary is the mother of Jesus, who is God. It carries no mediatorial role. |
| Perpetual virginity | Defined: virginity before, during and after the birth of Christ (553). | Held unanimously: ἀειπάρθενος, ever-virgin. The “brothers of Jesus” are cousins or sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage. | Luther held it and Calvin was indifferent to it. Modern Protestants generally take the “brothers of Jesus” (Mark 6:3; Matt 12:46) to be biological siblings. |
| Immaculate Conception | Defined by Pius IX in 1854: Mary was preserved from original sin from her conception, by anticipated application of Christ’s merit. | Not dogmatised in the Roman sense; certain churches keep the feast liturgically without the Latin construal. | Rejected as lacking direct scriptural warrant. Luke 1:28 does not entail it. |
| Bodily Assumption | Defined by Pius XII in 1950: Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven; the only Marian dogma defined in the twentieth century. | The feast of the Dormition (Κοίμησις) is ancient and universal; bodily glorification is affirmed without precise dogmatic definition. | Rejected as unscriptural and as a late development without New Testament support. |
The invocation of the saints, asking their intercession, is the practical heart of the disagreement. The divergence reflects fundamentally different ecclesiologies and theological anthropologies.
The invocation of the saints
The practice is rejected on four grounds. No New Testament text teaches prayer to the departed. It attributes to creatures omniscience, in hearing all prayers, and ubiquity, both divine attributes. It encroaches on the sole mediation of Christ (1 Tim 2:5). And Heb 9:14-15 presents Christ as the one mediator of the new covenant. For Calvin the cult of the saints is manifest idolatry, substituting creatures for God.
Christ is the sole mediator in the absolute sense. The glorified saints nevertheless pray with us and for us, in an intercession that is not a saving mediation. If Rom 8:26 teaches that the Spirit intercedes for us, and Jas 5:16 that we pray for one another, the prayer of the glorified is a coherent extension of fraternal prayer. Those who have died in Christ are not dead but alive to God (Luke 20:38).
Christ is the sole mediator in the absolute sense (1 Tim 2:5), but the saints share in a derived and subordinate mediation within the order of the Mystical Body. The Church is one, the living and the departed forming a single body. The titles Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix are widespread in devotion but have not been formally defined, and their definition remains debated.
Ecumenical dialogue on Mary
Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ (2004)
The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission published a substantial statement in 2004 seeking common ground on Mary. It distinguishes the Theotokos, held in common, from the two recent dogmas of 1854 and 1950, which the Commission judged insufficiently grounded in the ancient Tradition, while proposing that they might be understood as consonant with Scripture rather than as required by it.
Luther on Mary
Luther’s position was more nuanced than is often supposed. He kept the feast of the Annunciation to the end of his life, employed language of veneration in his sermons, notably in his commentary on the Magnificat of 1521, and accepted the title Theotokos. What changed decisively was the invocation of Mary as mediatrix in private and liturgical prayer. For Luther, any honour paid to Mary that does not refer immediately to Christ alone is idolatry.
Bibliography
- Luther, Martin. The Magnificat (1521). LW 21.
- Calvin, John. Institutes III.20.21-22 (1559). LCC 21.
- ARCIC II. Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ. London: Continuum, 2005.
- Boss, Sarah Jane, ed. Mary: The Complete Resource. London: Continuum, 2007.
- Lossky, Vladimir. In the Image and Likeness of God. Crestwood: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1974.
Quiz — Mary and the Saints
Which Marian dogma was defined by Pius XII in 1950?
- The Immaculate Conception
- The bodily Assumption
- Perpetual virginity
- Divine motherhood (Theotokos)