Main articles: Blessed Virgin Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic), Ecumenical views of Mary, and Mariology
Mary (Aramaic, Hebrew: מרים, Maryām Miriam Arabic:مريم, Maryam ), usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary , was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary. In Islam she is the mother of the Prophet Jesus, Issa عيسى in the Arabic language. The New Testament describes her as a virgin (Greek parthénos ). Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already the betrothed wife of Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of Jewish marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. Mary is also described in the Qur'an, the 19th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an Sura Maryam (Arabic: سورة مريم , Sūratu Maryam . It is named after Maryām, the Semitic name for Mary, Mother of Jesus (Issa).
The New Testament begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, the appearance to her of the angel Gabriel heralding her divine selection to be mother of Jesus. However, early non-biblical writings state that she was the daughter of Joachim and Saint Anne. The Bible records Mary's role in key events of the life of Jesus from his virgin birth to his crucifixion. Other apocryphal writings tell of her subsequent death and bodily assumption into heaven.
A number of important doctrines concerning Mary are held by Christian churches. Primary among these are that Mary lived a sinless life, and that as mother of Jesus, she became Theotokos, literally the "God-bearer", or "Mother of God". This doctrine was confirmed by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in the year 431. Christians of the major ancient traditions including the Catholic and the Orthodox offer prayers to God through Mary and venerate her as intercessor and mother of the church. Many Protestants, however, do not follow these devotions. Mary is also honoured in Islam as the virgin mother of Jesus. In Jewish Toledot Yeshu Jesus was recorded as the son of Mary and Joseph ben Pantera.
In ancient sources
New Testament
The New Testament tells little of Mary's early history. Her parents are not named in the canonical texts; however, apocryphal sources, widely accepted by later tradition, give their names as Joachim and Anne. Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah, who was herself part of the lineage of Aaron and so of the tribe of Levi. In spite of this, some speculate that Mary, like Joseph to whom she was betrothed, was of the House of David and so of the tribe of Judah, and that the genealogy presented in Luke was hers, while Joseph's is given in Matthew. She resided at Nazareth in Galilee, presumably with her parents and during her betrothal - the first stage of a Jewish marriage - the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah by conceiving him through the Holy Spirit. When Joseph was told of her conception in a dream by "an angel of the Lord", he was surprised; but the angel told him to be unafraid and take her as his wife, which Joseph did, thereby formally completing the wedding rites.
Since the angel Gabriel had told Mary (according to Luke) that Elizabeth, having previously been barren, was now miraculously pregnant, Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth, who was living with her husband Zechariah in a city of Judah "in the hill country". Once Mary arrived at the house and greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth proclaimed Mary as "the mother of Lord", and Mary recited a song of thanksgiving commonly known as the Magnificat from its first word in Latin. After three months, Mary returned to her house. According to the Gospel of Luke, a decree of the Roman emperor Augustus required that Joseph and his betrothed should proceed to Bethlehem for a census. While they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus; but because there was no place for them in the inn, she had to use a manger as a cradle.
After eight days, the boy was circumcised and named Jesus, in accordance with the instructions that the "angel of the Lord" had given to Joseph after the Annunciation to Mary. These customary ceremonies were followed by Jesus' presentation to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with the law for firstborn males, then the visit of the Magi, the family's flight into Egypt, their return after the death of King Herod the Great about 2/1 BC and taking up residence in Nazareth. Mary apparently remained in Nazareth for some thirty-four years. She is involved in the only event in Jesus' adolescent life that is recorded in the New Testament: at the age of twelve Jesus, having become separated from his parents on their return journey from the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, was found among the teachers in the temple.
After Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist and his temptations by the devil in the desert, Mary was present when, at her intercession, Jesus worked his first public miracle during the marriage in Cana by turning water into wine. Subsequently there are events when Mary is present along with James, Joseph, Simon and Judas, called Jesus' brothers, and unnamed "sisters". This passage is sometimes introduced to challenge the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, however both Catholic and Orthodox churches interpret the words commonly translated "brother" and "sister" as actually meaning close relatives (see Perpetual virginity). There is also an incident in which Jesus is sometimes interpreted as rejecting his family. "And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent in a message asking for him... And looking at those who sat in a circle around him, Jesus said, 'These are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.'"
Mary is also depicted as being present during the crucifixion standing near "the disciple whom Jesus loved" along with Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene (John 19:25-26), to which list Matthew 27:56 adds "the mother of the sons of Zebedee", presumably the Salome mentioned in Mark 15:40. Mary, cradling the dead body of her Son, while not recorded in the Gospel accounts, is a common motif in art, called a "pietà" or "pity".
In Acts (1:12-26, especially v. 14), Mary is the only one to be mentioned by name - other than the twelve Apostles and the candidates - of about 120 people gathered, after the Ascension, in the Upper Room on the occasion of the election of Matthias to the vacancy of Judas. (Though it is said that "the women" and Jesus' brothers were there as well, their names are not given.) From this time, she disappears from the Biblical accounts, although it is held by Catholics (as well as other Christian groups) that she is again portrayed as the heavenly Woman of Revelation (Revelation 12:1).
Her death is not recorded in scripture; however, tradition has her assumed (taken bodily) into Heaven. Belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is universal to Catholicism, in both Eastern and Western Churches, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Later Christian writings and traditions
According to the apocryphal Gospel of James Mary was the daughter of St Joachim and St Anne. Before Mary's conception St Anna had been barren. Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much like Hannah took Samuel to the Tabernacle as recorded in the Old Testament.
According to Sacred Tradition, Mary died surrounded by the apostles (in either Jerusalem or Ephesus) between three and fifteen years after Christ's ascension. When the apostles later opened her tomb it was found to be empty and they concluded that she had been assumed into Heaven.
The House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus in Turkey is traditionally considered the place where Mary lived until her assumption. The Gospel of
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