Lutheran Mariology

As documented in the Book of Concord, in the Lutheran churches she is honored as the Blessed Virgin Mary, a reference found in Scripture. The Marian doctrines of the virgin birth, perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Theotokos are taught by the Lutheran Confessions, being named in the Formula of Concord and the Smalcald Articles. The Lutheran churches celebrate several Marian feast days, including the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Theologians agree that Luther adhered to the Marian decrees of the ecumenical councils and dogmas of the church. He held fast to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin and the Theotokos, the Mother of God. Special attention is given to the assertion that Luther, some 300 years before the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854, was a firm adherent of that view. Others maintain that Luther in later years changed his position on the Immaculate Conception, which at that time was undefined in the Church; however, he maintained belief in Mary's lifelong sinlessness. Regarding the Assumption of Mary, he stated that the Bible did not say anything about it. Important to him was the belief that Mary and the saints do live on after death. This canticle continues to have an important place in Lutheran liturgy. ==Doctrines==

Mother of God Lutherans believe that the person Jesus is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, who was incarnated in the womb of his mother Mary as a human being, and since, as a person, he was "born of the Virgin Mary". Lutherans have always believed that Mary is the Theotokos, the God-bearer, with this dogma being codified in the Formula of Concord. and Hartmann Grisar, a Roman Catholic biographer of Luther, concurs that "Luther always believed in the virginity of Mary, even post partum, as affirmed in the Apostles' Creed, though afterwards he denied her power of intercession, as well as that of the saints in general, resorting to many misinterpretations and combated, as extreme and pagan, the extraordinary veneration which the Catholic Church showed towards Mary." The Smalcald Articles, a confession of faith of the Lutheran churches, affirm the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary as "ever virgin” (semper virgo). The Formula of Concord declares: As such, this belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary was held by the Lutheran scholastics, including Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe. For this reason Confessional Lutheran scholars, such as Franz Pieper (1852–1931) refused to follow the tendency among non-Lutheran Protestants to insist that Mary and Joseph had marital relations and children after the birth of Jesus. It is implicit in his Christian Dogmatics that belief in Mary's perpetual virginity is the older and traditional view among Lutherans. Some American Lutheran groups such as the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, however, later "found no difficulty with the view that Mary and Joseph themselves together had other children". Another American Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Catholic Church, on the other hand, considered "Saint Mary Ever Virgin, a title affirmed in The Smalcald Articles (Part One, IV [Latin]), and She recognizes her as that Most Praiseworthy Virgin (Augsburg Confession III, 1 [German]; Formula of Concord VIII; Solid Declaration 100 [Latin])." Intercession of Mary for the Church The Apology of the Augsburg Confession teaches that "blessed Mary prays for the Church". The Commentary on the Magnificat implores that the prayer "may not only illumine and teach, but burn and live in body and soul; may Christ grant us this intercession and assistance of his dear Mother, Mary. Amen." ==Veneration==

, Strasbourg , associated with the Diocese of Visby of the Church of Sweden, on display in the Pilgrim's Chapel of Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral. The Lutheran churches celebrate several Marian feast days, including the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 1522 Betbüchlein (Prayer Book) retained the Ave Maria. The 'Evangelical Praise of the Mother of God' prayer and the pre-Trent 'Hail Mary' prayer are used by certain Lutherans who pray a form of the rosary. ==Comparison to Roman Catholic and Reformed views==

Luther came to criticize Roman Catholics for blurring the distinction between high admiration of the grace of God wherever it is manifested in human beings and religious service offered to them and other mere creatures. In some instances he considered the Roman Catholic practice of making intercessory requests addressed especially to Mary and other departed saints to be idolatry. , Germany. This distinction separates Lutheran views from Roman Catholic Mariology. It is also significant in the context of Roman Catholic claims that modern Protestants deserted Luther's Mariology. Roman Catholics and Protestants may have held some similar views on Mary in the 16th century, but for Luther it was a "passive" Mariology, while for Roman Catholics it was "active" in suggesting devout veneration ("hyperdulia") and constant prayers for intercession. Questions have been raised as to whether the Marian views of Martin Luther could bring separated Christians closer together. There seems to be scepticism on both sides. The eighth "Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue" addressed these issues. Throughout Luther's life, he called Mary by the title Theotokos, Mother of God. Martin Luther as well as Martin Chemnitz, "the other Martin" of early Lutheranism, are said to have prayed the pre-Trent Hail Mary, and very likely other suddenly-ex-Catholic Lutheran priests who were contemporaries of the two Martins likewise did. In the present-day, many Lutheran synods usually reject or at least do not actively recommend the practice of directly addressing Mary and other saints in prayers of admiration or petition as part of their religious worship of God. Other Lutheran denominations (particularly those of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship), such as the Lutheran Orthodox Church, and congregations in various Lutheran synods encourage Marian Lutheran prayers such as the pre-Trent Hail Mary, or the Evangelical Praise of the Mother of God. When a Reformed preacher came to Saint Bartholomew's Lutheran Church in 1589 and preached against images, the Lutheran Church Fathers responded by placing a statue of the Virgin Mary on the high altar of the church, causing the preacher to retire to a quieter parish. At Saint Marien Church in Danzig, Lutheran clergy retained sacred artwork depicting the Coronation of the Virgin Mary and lit candles beside it during the period of Calvinist dominance in the region. When concentrating specifically on Mary herself as the Mother of God, Luther acknowledges God's singular action in bringing her into the world, but in making general comments about the universality of human sinfulness, he includes her among all the rest of humanity. The Book of Concord does not mention the Immaculate Conception. Queen of Heaven In his earlier years, Luther referred to Mary as the "Queen of Heaven", but he warned against people using the term too much. Luther later rejected this title due to its lack of scriptural evidence and the fact that he felt that Mary's accomplishments should be ultimately attributed to Christ. Mediatrix Before 1516, Luther's belief that Mary is a mediatrix between God and humanity was driven by his fear of Jesus being the implacable judge of all people. "The Virgin Mary remains in the middle between Christ and humankind. For in the very moment he was conceived and lived, he was full of grace. All other human beings are without grace, both in the first and second conception. But the Virgin Mary, though without grace in the first conception, was full of grace in the second ... whereas other human beings are conceived in sin, in soul as well as in body, and Christ was conceived without sin in soul as well as in body, the Virgin Mary was conceived in body without grace but in soul full of grace." Luther later rejected the stance of Mary as a mediator between Christ and humanity. Luther claimed that though Mary possessed many virtues, she could not intercede for sinners. He claimed that the evidence for Mary's powers as a mediatrix was a result of improper translation of the Annunciation. Instead, Luther believed that Mary's lack of power to intercede is seen in her praising God and his blessings, not in taking credit for herself. ==See also==