Annunciation of Mary A Significant Image in the Christian Theology - Essay Example

 Annunciation of Mary – A Significant Image in the Christian Theology Introduction Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ, has many representations in the various religious scripts, art and sculpture, that form a part of the Christian theology. The interpretation of Mary has also changed many times, over the years from being a mere member of the family of Jesus, to becoming a cult figure as the ‘Virgin Mother’, ‘Mother of God’ or ‘Mother Goddess’. Her images, right from the story of her birth, as written in the “Protevangelium of James” till her assumption to heaven, has inspired artists, writers and sculptors from time immemorial to create images of this eternal mother, according to their own interpretations and perspectives. This article will discuss in detail the image of 'Annunciation of Mary', starting from the story as given in "Protoevangelium of James" and moving on to later time periods. This writing will take a look at this particular picture of Mary as it gradually develops through the ages and represents her gradual rise in the minds and beliefs of Christian theology. It will also focus on the aspect of representing the perpetual 'virginity of Mary' through this image of ‘Annunciation of Mary’ to allay the fears in the minds of the orthodox creed. Body Early Christian literatures that are of the imaginative type and tell us stories of a religious nature are known as the apocryphal gospels. These were first written in the second century and a certain variation of these apocryphal scriptures are known as ‘proto-gospels’ which give us the first pictures of Mary, right from her birth. One of these proto gospels, known as the “Protevangelium of James”, is supposedly written by James, son of Joseph, from his first marriage, and dates even prior to that of Luke’s gospel. Here in James gospel, we get a beautiful picture of Mary’s annunciation with the archangel Gabriel, described by Knight, as, “And she took the pitcher, and went out to fill it with water. And, behold, a voice saying: Hail, you who hast received grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! And she looked round, on the right hand and on the left, to see whence this voice came. And she went away, trembling, to her house, and put down the pitcher; and taking the purple, she sat down on her seat, and drew it out. And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood before her, saying: Fear not, Mary; for you have found grace before the Lord of all, and you shall conceive, according to His word. And she hearing, reasoned with herself, saying: Shall I conceive by the Lord, the living God? And shall I bring forth as every woman brings forth? And the angel of the Lord said: Not so, Mary; for the power of the Lord shall overshadow you: wherefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of the Most High. And you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. And Mary said: Behold, the servant of the Lord before His face: let it be unto me according to your word” (Knight, New Advent, Protevangelium of James). The importance of this scene lies in the fact, that it sets the base for further development of the theory of Mary’s virginity, in the later stages. As Elser tell us “the way the Protevangelium develops the theme of Mary’s virginity is a major step on the way to the mariological doctrines of a later period. To the canonical Gospels’ claim that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus, the Protevangelium adds the claim that Jesus’ birth was miraculous, such that Mary’s virginity was preserved through it, while it also implies that Mary remained a virgin thereafter…”(Elser, 796). The scene of the annunciation is known to have taken place at Nazareth, the precise location of which is not known. The Annunciation of Mary and her thereafter remaining a virgin has also been described in other second century scriptures, and Protevangelium simply endorses and promotes the idea. Annunciation of Mary is also there in Luke’s gospel (Luke 1:26 – 38) and is an important part of it, as Laverdiere puts it “one of the most beautiful story in all of Luke-acts, indeed in the entire new testament , is the story of the annunciation to Mary” (Laverdiere, 3). Mary is slowly turned into a divine figure and moves towards Gnosticism in the gospel of Hebrews, where she is referred to as the holy spirit of the archangel Michael, who is entrusted by God to take care of Christ. As Tavard reports, “this process of angelization and divination of Mary is a characteristic of Gnostic speculation. It recurs in the gospel of Phillip, a Valentinian writing of the second century, where the orthodox belief, “Mary conceived from the holy spirit,” is refuted by the question. “When did a woman conceive by a woman?”(Tavard, 23). Annunciation of Mary thus becomes an image, or a proof of some sorts, that Mary was sinless, and Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Based on this image of the annunciation of Mary, perpetual virginity was bestowed upon her by Jerome, Tertullian and Clement, while the orthodox monasticism proposed veneration for Mary, giving her the status of a virgin deity, to allay any doubts in the minds of those who believe in strict moral values and virginity. It was in AD 431 in the council of Ephesus, where Mary was given the important title of theotokos meaning ‘god-bearer’. Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Christianity, Roman Catholicism all vetoed for this image of the ‘Virgin Mary’ and anyone who spoke against this was considered to be a heretic. In Christian art, the annunciation of Mary has been very frequently and very beautifully represented. The gospels of Luke and Matthews in the New Testament had laid great stress on the annunciation of Mary. These gospels have become the basis on which many painters, sculptors and artists have interpreted this narrative, and represented the story according to their own perspectives. The oldest amongst them is the fourth century fresco found in a Roman catacomb. In this picture, Mary is enthroned, while the wingless angel Gabriel stands with his right arm stretched towards Mary. Gabriel in the early Italian and German arts is represented in full glory and the outstretched hand in a sign of blessing or salutation. Mary with her eyes looking down and hands folded is a sign of complete submission. Sometimes the angel is represented as floating but always more glorious than Mary, as befits a more superior being. However, as Mary’s prominence rose in Christian religion we notice changes in the pictorial representations of the annunciation. From fourteenth century onwards we see that Mary becomes the principal and the superior person, in all the pictures. She is shown as the ‘Regina Angelorum’ while Gabriel bows or kneels down to her. At the famous alter picture in Cologne, Gabriel is shown to be kneeling with a scepter and a scroll in his hand and delivering the message to a superior being. In the later period the scepter is shown to be replaced by a lily representing virginity and purity. However the sixteenth century pictures lose much of the spiritual sensitivity and feeling of the older art, and become far too prosaic, too naturalistic, and lacking in grace. As Mary was given more prominence in Christian theology, it also became imperative that the image of perpetual virginity be given more importance. It is for this reason the feast of annunciation was started which is celebrated on the 25th of March, nine months previous to the day Christ was born. According to the New Testament the annunciation of Mary took place during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the mother of John the Baptist. The feast of the incarnation of Jesus is celebrated nine months before the scene of nativity, and is set in the vernal equinox as Christmas is set in the winter solstice. It is in fact one of the twelve great feasts celebrated in the year of the church and is of immense importance in the eastern Christianity, where the date of this feast remains always fixed. The day of annunciation is known the Lady Day in England, and is celebrated as a new year in many places. The importance of this day as Butler points out “it commemorates the most important embassy that was ever known: an embassy sent by the king of kings...directed…to a poor, unknown, retired virgin, who being, endowed with the most angelic purity of soul and body… was greater in his eyes than all the scepters in the world” (Butler, 246). Conclusion The ‘annunciation of Mary’ is an extremely important image in Christian theology. The significance of this image lays in the fact that it announces the conception of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and declaration of Mary as a perpetual virgin. Luke and Matthew in their gospels in the New Testament give stress on this particular incident to draw attention to the fact that Mary had committed no sin while conceiving Jesus, and had behaved correctly as per the religious and social norms and dictates of her times, in Galilee. It was essential that in venerating Christ, one must give religious sanctity to his birth and conception, and the endorsement and promotion of the ‘annunciation of Mary’ was one method of doing so. It was mainly done keeping the Christian Orthodox sects in mind, and to remove any doubt from the minds of believers as to whether Mary was actually sinless or not. The whole process started in a simple and holistic manner, and as Mary’s prominence in Christianity grew so did her pictorial representation in the annunciation which in the later stages depicted her as the queen. It culminated in giving her the status of ‘Virgin Mary’ or ‘Mother Goddess’, and starting the feast of annunciation in her honor. Annunciation of Mary has urged many of the famous artists and sculptors to produce beautiful representations of this incident, thus creating beautiful pictures of this simple yet timeless mother, who was chosen by the Holy Spirit himself, to carry his child. Thus, the significance of the image of the Annunciation of Mary lies in the fact, that it brings forth the message that Jesus is God’s own child, and was conceived in a manner that makes Mary blessed and sinless, and a perpetual virgin, the eternal ‘Virgin Mother Goddess’. Works cited Butler, A. The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints, Volume 3. Anglesea street: Duffy, 1845. Digitized May 9, 2008. Print. Elser, P. The Early Christian World, Volume 2. London: Taylor & Francis, 2000. Print. Knight, K. New advent. “Protevangelium of James”. Web. 25th February 2010. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm  Laverdiere, E. The Annunciation to Mary: A Story of Faith, Luke 1:26-38. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2004. Print. Tavard, G. The thousand faces of the Virgin Mary. Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1996. Print. Read More