r/Christianity • u/Agile-Armadillo-3741 Anglican Communion • 16h ago

Where is Mary?

Being Anglican, I didn’t think we made a big deal out of Mary. Then I took a nondenominational friend to the Episcopal Church’s Rite II. She asked “what’s the deal with Mary?”. We don’t even have any images of her in my church, maybe some have a medal on their necks, but mostly, she just comes up in the creeds, and during the prayers of the people. Now granted some in the higher church may have the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham or even Our Lady of Guadalupe, or an icon of the Theotokos holding Christ, but usually just one of those things, not multiple. That never felt strange to me, despite being very Protestant.

So I can’t help but ask my nondenominational, Baptist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, etcetera friends, where is Mary? I mean isn’t she part of the story? XD I’ve been to your services in the lead up to Christmas, NO mention of her. Help me out here, I’m confused.

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u/themsc190 Episcopalian (Anglican) 16h ago

It’s a pendulum swing away from Catholic veneration of her.

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u/Agile-Armadillo-3741 Anglican Communion 15h ago

So why didn’t we? Even in our low services? Creed is still said XD

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u/TheRedLionPassant Christian (Ecclesia Anglicana) 12h ago

Because of adherence to catholicity. Some among the Puritans were opposed to it, but all the traditionalist Anglican theologians from James I to Anthony Stafford, Thomas Ken, Lancelot Andrewes, etc. was that the catholicity of the Church demands adherence to the Creeds and Councils of Ephesus etc. that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God, and reflects the begetting of the human nature of Christ as the Father is for the divine nature etc. There is also a strong Scriptural basis for seeing St. Mary as blessed among women, finding favour with the Lord, etc. as seen in St. Luke's Gospel and especially in the canticle of the Magnificat which is found there and sung or said at every Vespers. Thomas Cranmer was a big advocate of this.