The Memory of Mary
The Memory of Mary
The Fourth and Early Fifth Centuries
This chapter examines other evidence for Marian devotion in the fourth and early fifth centuries, including the writings of the church fathers and nonliterary evidence for the cult of the Virgin. It begins with a discussion of Marian cult and devotion in the works of fourth-century church fathers such as Peter of Alexandria, Alexander of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, and John Chrysostom. In particular, it considers the subject of Mary’s virginity and her role as an ascetic model in these writings as well as patristic evidence for Marian intercession and apparitions. It then explores liturgical evidence for the cult of the Virgin, including feast days and shrines in her honor, miracles, and prayer to her in the Sunday liturgies. It also assesses early hymnography and evidence from material culture for early devotion to the Virgin. Based on this evidence, the chapter shows that the cult of the Virgin had already begun by the second half of the fourth century.
Keywords: apparitions, Marian devotion, church fathers, Marian cult, Mary, virginity, feast days, liturgies, hymnography, material culture
Yale Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
