The Church and Mary (review)

Volume 39 of the "Studies in Church History" series published by the Ecclesiastical History Society is dedicated to the theme of "The Church and Mary." The twenty-seven articles include the seven major papers and twenty shorter communications selected from the presentations at the July 2001 and January 2002 meetings of the Society. These articles, virtually all interdisciplinary in approach, are arranged roughly chronologically, their topics ranging from the development of Marian doctrines in early Christianity through studies of medieval Marian Latin poetry, Marian iconography and various popular devotions, Protestant Reformers' reactions to Mary, Marian revivalism around Our Lady of Walsingham, to contemporary Marian devotion in Ethiopia. The majority of authors hold positions at universities in the United Kingdom.

The strength of this volume is the wealth of historical detail provided in each article. D. F. Wright (University of Edinburgh), for example, carefully examines the linguistic shift from the title "God-bearer" to "Mother of God" in Greek and Latin Christian authors from the fourth to the eighth centuries, while Patrick Preston (University College, Chichester) provides a fascinating account of an early sixteenth-century moment in the debate over the Immaculate Conception. While articles like these may be of interest chiefly to Marian specialists, others will appeal to a broader readership. Iona McCleery (University of Edinburgh), for example, examines the changing role of Mary in the Theophilus legend as it was told and recorded in medieval and early-modern Spain and Portugal. This story of Mary's rescue of the sinner who had made a pact with the devil is one of the oldest and most widely circulated of the Marian miracle tales, and giving careful attention to the changes in detail that took place in the early-modern period as it became associated with historical figures, McCleery argues that Mary's role in the legend declined as more emphasis came to be placed on individual persons and their guardian angels who could effect and represent a more personal relationship with God. Here is a reminder that the variants of a simple folktale can reveal much about changing cultural trends and theological assumptions.

Perhaps the most tantalizing article, and the one that especially calls for further research, is Marta Camilla Wright's description of contemporary Marian devotion in Ethiopia based on her field research there in 1998-2000. Although few readers are likely to be well informed about the traditions of Ethiopian Christianity, the themes here will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of Marian doctrine, devotion, and controversy: Mary as the second Eve, her soteriological status in popular culture as a healer, her entanglement in the tension between purity and sexuality, her image as an empathetic and sensitive mother in contrast to a harsh, judgmental, and condemning image of her son. As a communication, this study is too short to provide any but the most cursory historical background, and so one is left wondering about precedents. For example, did a devotion to Isis lay the groundwork for, and later color, the acceptance of Mary into Ethiopian worship? This article, fittingly the last in the volume, leaves one wanting more studies on Marian devotion in non-Western settings.