Where do we find the first flowerings of the cult of the Virgin Mary, which grew into such a great tree of many branches in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity throughout the medieval and on into the modern period? Do we see signs of Marian devotion in the Catacombs? When did Christians initially begin to see Mary as the object of prayers, hymns and visionary experiences? How much did they borrow ideas and practices from Pagan Goddess worship?

In this book, a group of scholars associated with the Centre for Marian Studies share their most recent research on these questions. They have provided chapters on the New Testament; the Catacombs; the Protevangelium of James; Mary and Goddess worship; the origin of Marian feasts and their Pagan connections; the Council of Ephesus; Mary as Wisdom; Marian Art. Their work sheds light onto fascinating and controversial areas of Marian history, which will stimulate any reader interested in the complex story of early Christianity.

John McGuckin, ‘The Early Cult of Mary and Inter-Religious Contexts in the 5th Century Church’
Chris Maunder, ‘Origins of the Cult of the Virgin Mary in the New Testament’
Geri Parlby, ‘The Origins of Marian Art in the Catacombs and the Problems of Identification’
J.K. Elliott, ‘Mary in the Apocryphal New Testament’
Stephen Shoemaker, ‘The Cult of the Virgin in the 4th Century: a Fresh Look at some Old and New Sources’
Richard Price, ‘The Theotokos and the Council of Ephesus’
Antonia Atanassova, ‘Did Cyril of Alexandria invent Mariology’
Margaret Barker, ‘The Life Bearing Spring’
Alistair MacGregor, ‘Candlemas: a Festival of Roman Origin’
Eileen Rubery, ‘Pope John VII’s Devotion to Mary: Papal Images of Mary from the 5th to the Early 8th Century’