There's Somthing About Mary

At the last EfM meeting there was discussion about the belief that Mary was born sinless (the Immaculate Conception), and was taken directly into Heaven (The Assumption).  I think that we might have encouraged the impression that these ideas have been formulated relatively recently by modern Popes.  So I jumped down the rabbit hole of the internet to see why and how these have become beliefs.

The Council of Trent (a long one, 1545-1563) said that Mary, "by a special privilege of God" was born free from original sin.  Pope Pius XII in 1943 expanded this teaching by saying Mary was free from both original sin and from any personal sin throughout her life. Before that, Pope Pius IX in 1854 had stated that Mary was free from original sin "through the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ."                            

The early church fathers might have seen the uniqueness of Mary when comparing Christ's obedience to God with Adam's disobedience.  Eve was an accidental  virgin simply because there was no procreation in Eden; Mary's virginity was appropriate to her humble acceptance of God's call.  As Eve became complicit with Adam in sin, so Mary should be connected with Christ through sinlessness.  Tertullian wrote in 210 that "while Eve was still a virgin the word of the devil crept in to erect an edifice of death. Likewise through a virgin the Word of God was introduced to set up a structure of life."

And St. Ambrose of Milan in 387 wrote of "Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin."   Ephraim the Syrian, in a 361 prayer to Jesus, recognized that "there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother."   St. Augustine taught that everyone was guilty,  "except the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins."

In other words Mary received grace from Christ, before His incarnation, in order to become the  Mother of God.  If Christ was without sin, then it was only proper that Mary should be, "for the honor of the Lord".  An online Catholic tract makes this explicit.  "We will all one day be rendered immaculate (sinless), but Mary, as the prototypical Christian, received this grace early. God granted her freedom from sin to make her a fitting mother for his Son." https://www.catholic.com/tract/mary-full-of-grace

Yet, today the Roman Catholic Church appears to be the only branch of Christianity that insists on the doctrine.  Wikipedia points out that, for differing reasons, belief in the Immaculate Conception is not required in Eastern Orthodoxy or Protestantism generally.  "Belief in Mary's immaculate conception is not a doctrine within Anglicanism, although it is shared by many Anglo-Catholics." 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception#Anglicanism

The bodily assumption of Mary has a similar history.  It wasn't until 1950 that Pope Pius XII declared The Assumption to be an infallible dogma.  But an apocryphal writing called The Passing of the Virgin from the year 300 declared "it has appeared right to us your servants that, as you, having overcome death, do reign in glory, so you should raise up the body of your Mother and take her with you, rejoicing, into heaven."  Timothy of Jerusalem, in a homily given in 400, taught that “the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption”. 


Gregory of Tours provided more details when, in 584, he explained that after the death of Mary, "the apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb, and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; the holy body having been received, he commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise, where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary’s body] rejoices with the Lord’s chosen ones...."

As Gregory's account illustrates, many Catholics believe that Mary first died, but was miraculously resurrected before being taken up to Heaven.  Other Catholics believe in a direct assumption without Mary first having died.  Eastern Orthodox Christians believe the former explanation.  Catholics, though, can legitimately believe either way.  Again, Wikipedia explains that "within Anglican doctrine, the Assumption of Mary is either rejected or regarded as adiaphora (a thing indifferent)".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary

But the Anglo-Catholic International Commission in 2004 issued a non-binding declaration for study and discussion saying that both The Assumption and Immaculate Conception, "understood within the biblical pattern of the economy of hope and grace can be said to be consonant with the teaching of Scriptures and the ancient traditions."  The doctrines might be understood by both Catholics and Anglicans as part of scriptural tradition, without making more restrictive demands on faith.

I kind of like that last formulation.   Believe what you can and strive for a personal economy of hope and grace.

Join Us at St. Andrew's on Advent One

This Sunday, Advent I, is a big day at St. Andrew's.  We will celebrate the confirmation of a young member of the congregation and receive an adult member into the communion of our church.

Advent I is also the day that the resolution of  General Convention becomes effective giving all congregations and couples access to the blessing of marriage - sacramental equality!  It is coincidental that Bishop Love will be visiting a
our parish on this day.  It was scheduled many months in advance of his directive denying the work of General Convention.  But it gives us an opportunity to show him that many members of the diocese welcome the fresh breeze blowing in The Episcopal Church, and claim the blessing!

Our main service, along with Confirmation by the bishop, begins at 10:00.  We are at 10 N. Main Avenue, Albany, right next to the College of St. Rose, corner of Main and Madison.  Come prepared to worship, celebrate, and show our bishop that we are committed to radical welcome of all.  God Bless!

You Shall Not Pass

In a recent letter sent to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, and shared with the Facebook group Voices in the Diocese of Albany, Ann Carlson of St. Mark's, Malone said that "it is widely rumored within the diocese that the bishop will not allow clergy to be employed here unless they vow to maintain and support strict theological positions on abortion, homosexuality, the nature of marriage, etc."

The diocese has chosen not to comment on the questions that it asks clergy seeking to enter the diocese, so the rumor that the answers to these questions determine a candidate's acceptability could not be confirmed.  That is, until now. 

A priest from another province of the Church who responded to a clergy search this past summer contacted me about a troubling experience.  This priest's initial approach to the parish vestry was greeted positively.  The senior warden responded: "Rev. ---; Thank you. This is great. I am excited about moving forward and determining if we have a call to work together."  But before the applicant could speak further with the parish or see diocesan officers, Beth Strickland, Transition Officer for the Diocese, conducted a telephone interview, which the applicant thought went well.  The only additional requirement before proceeding were answers to written "supplemental questions."  These questions were:

1.   With respect to your theological views, what is your position on biblical authority?

2.  Do you believe in the virgin birth?  

3.  Do you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus?

4.  Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father? 

5. The teaching of the Church since the beginning has been that sexual relations are appropriate only between a man and a woman – and then, only within the context of their marriage.  That was most recently ratified at Lambeth in 1998 and has been reaffirmed in subsequent meetings of the Anglican Primates.  This is the mainstream Anglican teaching.  

Where do you stand on the morality of homosexual practice?

Where do you stand on the blessing of same sex unions?

Where do you stand on the ordination of those involved in same gender unions?

6.  Please describe your prayer life. 

7.  The Episcopal Church holds that Episcopalians should consider abortion only after prayer, deliberation and the counsel of the church. In 2007, the Convention of the Diocese of Albany passed a resolution that affirms the sanctity of human life as a gift of God from conception to natural death. Under what circumstances do you think it would be acceptable for a woman to have an abortion? 

I was privileged to see the applicant's replies, which appeared to be both theologically sound and well expressed.   This priest had every reason to advance to the next round of interviews, saying "keep in mind I was already talking to the head of the vestry church and he was very excited about the chance to talk to me."   But, instead,  "I never got to talk to them... I received a letter saying I was not a good fit for the diocese."  Our applicant appeared to attribute this rejection to the supplemental questions, "in which some of the questions ask about my views on same-sex relations, interesting."  The priest continued, "I consider myself an evangelical, but in this issue I think it's less a biblical issue and more civil rights." 

Even after this personal rejection and disappointment, the applicant was able to recognize that the real loss was to the diocese.  A church without a rector, eager to interview a qualified candidate, was denied that opportunity.  "It is sad that a diocese with at least 10 empty churches will not give me at least a chance."  

So, is there a "litmus test" for applicants to clergy positions in the Diocese of Albany?  Are there arbitrary questions above and beyond the Prayer Book responses that have to be answered "correctly" in the Diocese of Albany?  We wondered what questions the diocese required before a parish seeking a new rector would even be able to interview the candidate: now we have them.  And if the answers are not sufficiently "orthodox", the response will be:

You Shall Not Pass!