Immaculate Conception

This article is about the doctrine that Mary was conceived free from original sin. For the conception of Jesus, see Virgin birth of Jesus. For other uses, see Immaculate Conception (disambiguation).
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Immacolata (disambiguation), Immaculata (disambiguation), Immaculate (disambiguation), and Mary Immaculate (disambiguation).

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception (1767–1769)
by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Venerated inCatholic Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Major shrineBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
FeastDecember 8 (Latin liturgical rites)
December 9 (Byzantine Rite)
August 13 (Alexandrian Rite)
Attributes
PatronageSee Patronages of the Immaculate Conception
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Immaculate Conception by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (c. 1675)
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The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.[1] It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church.[2] Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a dogma until 1854,[3] by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.[4] While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary's freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin.[5]

The Immaculate Conception became a popular subject in literature,[6] but its abstract nature meant it was late in appearing as a subject in works of art.[7] The iconography of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception shows Mary standing, with arms outstretched or hands clasped in prayer. The feast day of the Immaculate Conception is December 8.[8]

Many Protestant churches rejected the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as unscriptural,[9] though some Anglicans accept it as a pious devotion.[10] Opinions on the Immaculate Conception in Oriental Orthodoxy are divided: Shenouda III, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church,[11] and the Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I of the Syriac Orthodox Church[12] opposed the teaching, while the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church accept it.[13] [1]

  1. ^ a b Tinsley 2005, p. 286.
  2. ^ Collinge 2012, p. 133.
  3. ^ Wright 1992, p. 237.
  4. ^ Collinge 2012, p. 209.
  5. ^ Fastiggi 2019, p. 455.
  6. ^ Twomey 2008, p. ix.
  7. ^ Hall 2018, p. 337.
  8. ^ Barrely 2014, p. 40.
  9. ^ Herringer 2019, p. 507.
  10. ^ "Immaculate Conception". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via Episcopal Church.
  11. ^ Shenouda III; Malaty, Tadros. "Lecture I: St. Mary's Perpetual Virginity & Immaculate Conception" (PDF). Diocese of the Southern United States. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Ignatius Zakka I; Ghattas, Sandy. "The Holy Virgin Mary in the Syrian Orthodox Church". Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, Archdiocese for the Eastern United States. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Eritrean was invoked but never defined (see the help page).