Mary, the Mother of Jesus
christianity - Jesus - mother - virgin
The Annunciation (c. 1472-1475) - Leonardo da Vinci
image sourced here.
The Virgin Mary
Most, though not all, historians accept that Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure, even if they accept nothing or almost nothing of the account given of his life in the Christian Gospels. Mary (Miriam in Hebrew, Mariam in Greek) is mentioned by name in three of the four Gospels, and the Book of Acts, although not by name in the Gospel of John. As such his mother holds some interest as a historical figure, and there seems to be no reason not to accept the Christian tradition that her name was Miriam.It is generally agreed that she was a young woman when she first became a mother. Some insight into traditions concerning her later life, e.g., that she died between three and 15 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, can be found in the Apocrypha. Assuming that Jesus died in his 30s, there is also no reason to doubt that his mother could be still alive at the time of his death, or that she could have witnessed it. Beyond the accounts given in the Gospels and a few other early Christian sources, however, there is no independent or verifiable information about any aspect of Mary's life. An account of the childhood of Mary is given in the mid-2nd century Gospel of James.The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions built around the figure of Mary, and the centuries of Marian cult in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, are based on faith, traditions of the Church Fathers, and their interpretations of the Scriptures. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_the_mother_of_Jesus#Historicity [Aug 2004]
The Annunciation
The Annunciation (c. 1570-1575) - El Greco
Annunciation
The Annunciation of Mary, the mother of Jesus is the pronouncement by the archangel Gabriel the she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation [Apr 2005]
Mother's day
In catholicism, August 15th is the day of the Assumption of Mary, for some of us in Belgium, this means mother's day. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_15 [Aug 2004]Dormition and Assumption
For Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics alike, Mary's assumption, i.e., the lifting up of her body into Heaven after her death, is seen as a concrete and present instance of the resurrection of the body, a belief integral to Christian theology and found in the creeds. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_the_mother_of_Jesus#Dormition_and_Assumption [Aug 2004]
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