What do Christians believe about Mary?

Christians who confess the Trinity agree that Mary is the mother of Jesus and that Jesus is God. They do not agree about calling on Mary, about whether she was free from original sin, about whether she remained a virgin after his birth, or about whether she was taken up body and soul into heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1) teaches those claims and says devotion to her “differs essentially from the adoration” given to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Augsburg Confession, Article XXI (4) says the Scriptures “do not teach that we are to call on the saints.” This page quotes the texts. It does not decide.

Key points

• Luke 1:42–43^1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ^1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?King James Version (6): Elizabeth calls Mary “the mother of my Lord.” Catechism 495 (1) says that from this the Church confesses Mary “Mother of God” (Theotokos).
• Catechism 491 (1) says Mary “was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
• Catechism 499 (1) confesses “Mary’s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth.” Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.King James Version (7) and Matthew 13:55Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?King James Version are the verses readers set beside that sentence.
• Catechism 966 (2) says the Immaculate Virgin, “when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.”
• Catechism 971 (2) says special devotion to Mary “differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit.” The fetched paragraph does not use the word hyperdulia.
• An Orthodox Church in America clergy answer (3) says Orthodox Christians “seek her intercession before her Son,” that she was “sinless of her own free will” and “remains ever-virgin,” and that the Immaculate Conception is “foreign to Orthodox Christianity.” The page is a clergy answer, not a synod.
• Augsburg XXI (4) says Christ “is to be prayed to.” Article XXII (5) says the Romish doctrine of “invocation of Saints” is “repugnant to the Word of God.” 1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;King James Version (9) says there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Mary in the King James text

Luke 1:28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.King James Version (6): “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

Luke 1:34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?King James Version: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”

Luke 1:38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.King James Version: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

Luke 1:42–43^1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ^1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?King James Version (6): “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Luke 1:46–48^1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, ^1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ^1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.King James Version, the Magnificat, King James Version:

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Luke 2:7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.King James Version: “And she brought forth her firstborn son.”

John 2:1And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:King James Version: “the mother of Jesus was there” at the marriage in Cana. John 19:25–27^19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. ^19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! ^19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.King James Version (8):

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

John 20:17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.King James Version, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father,” is said to Mary Magdalene. John 20:1The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.King James Version names her: “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early.” It is not a sentence to his mother.

Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.King James Version and Matthew 1:23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.King James Version are the virgin texts The deity of Christ treats with the claim that Jesus is God. Galatians 4:4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,King James Version: “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.”

What the Catechism teaches

Catechism 495 (1):

Called in the Gospels “the mother of Jesus”, Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the mother of my Lord”. In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of God” (Theotokos).

Catechism 491 (1), the Immaculate Conception, as the page says Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

The Catechism spells Saviour. The next paragraph says that splendour “comes wholly from Christ” and that she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son.”

Catechism 499 (1):

The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.” and so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the “Ever-virgin”.

Catechism 500 (1) answers the brothers of Jesus: “The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, “brothers of Jesus”, are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls “the other Mary”. They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.”

Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.King James Version (7): “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

Matthew 13:55Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?King James Version: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”

Mark 6:3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.King James Version: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?”

The Catechism reads “brothers” as close relations, not as other children of Mary, and reads the birth as leaving her virginity intact. Readers who reject perpetual virginity read “till” in Matthew 1:25 and the named brothers and sisters as later children. This page does not decide that reading.

Catechism 966 (2), the Assumption:

Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.

Devotion, and the question of worship

Catechism 971 (2):

The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs…. This very special devotion … differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.”

The same paragraph calls the rosary an “epitome of the whole Gospel.” The fetched text does not use the word hyperdulia. It distinguishes this devotion from adoration.

Catechism 969 (2) says Mary “is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” Catechism 970 (2): “Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power.”

Luke 1:48For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.King James Version is the sentence the Catechism quotes as “All generations will call me blessed.” The King James line is “all generations shall call me blessed.”

The Orthodox clergy answer

The Orthodox Church in America (3) answer is a clergy question-and-answer, not a synodal definition:

We believe that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God. Through her He Who was God before the ages took on our human nature without relinquishing His divine nature or confusing or “meshing” it with the human nature in any way.

We believe that the Mother of God was sinless of her own free will, that she remains ever-virgin, and that she is the “living tabernacle” of God.

Properly speaking, Orthodox Christians do not “pray to” the Mother of God instead of God; we seek her intercession before her Son, asking her to pray on our behalf.

With regard to certain teachings about the Mother of God held by other bodies, such as the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, such are foreign to Orthodox Christianity.

The same answer: “Non-Orthodox should never assume that the Orthodox doctrine concerning the Mother of God is identical with that of Roman Catholicism, nor should they condemn Orthodox teaching based on what they know of Roman Catholic doctrine on the Virgin Mary.” Prayer for the dead on that page is quoted in Is purgatory biblical?.

What the Augsburg Confession and Article XXII say

Augsburg XXI (4):

Our churches teach that the history of saints may be set before us so that we may follow the example of their faith and good works, according to our calling. But the Scriptures do not teach that we are to call on the saints or to ask the saints for help. Scripture sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Atoning Sacrifice, High Priest, and Intercessor. He is to be prayed to.

The article then quotes 1 John 2:1: “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father.” The King James line at 1 John 2:1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:King James Version (11) is: “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;King James Version (9): “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Article XXII (5):

The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

That is the article’s sentence, including “Romish” and “a fond thing.” It is not this page’s description of Catholic Christians. Article II (5) still confesses “one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried,” and that the Son “took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance.”

Readers who reject the Immaculate Conception set Romans 5:12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:King James Version (10) beside it: “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” They also cite Mary’s own line in Luke 1:47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.King James Version, “my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,” and 1 John 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.King James Version (11): “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The Catechism’s answer is that Mary was preserved by the merits of Christ, not that she had no need of a Saviour. The OCA answer says she was sinless of her own free will and still calls the Immaculate Conception foreign. This page does not decide.

Frequently asked questions

Do Catholics worship Mary?

Catechism 971 (2) says the special devotion “differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” Catechism 969 (2) still gives her the titles Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. Augsburg XXI (4) says the Scriptures do not teach calling on the saints, and that Christ is to be prayed to. The page quotes both.

What is the Magnificat?

Luke 1:46–48^1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, ^1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ^1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.King James Version: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Catechism 971 (2) quotes the blessing of all generations from that song.

Was Mary always a virgin?

Catechism 499 (1) says yes, including in the act of giving birth, and Catechism 500 (1) says the brothers in the Gospels are not other children of Mary. Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.King James Version (7) and Matthew 13:55Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?King James Version are the verses the other reading uses. The OCA clergy answer also says she “remains ever-virgin.”

What is the Immaculate Conception?

Catechism 491 (1): preserved immune from all stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception, by the merits of Jesus Christ. The OCA answer says that doctrine is foreign to Orthodox Christianity. Romans 5:12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:King James Version (10) is the verse readers cite against it.

What is the Assumption?

Catechism 966 (2): when the course of her earthly life was finished, she “was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.”

The churches on this site

• Catholic
• Eastern Orthodox
• Lutheran
• Anglican
• Christianity
• The deity of Christ
• Catholic vs Protestant
• Is purgatory biblical?
• Common arguments