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Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is a central figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Other Protestant views on Mary vary, with some holding her to have lesser status. She has the highest position in Islam among all women and is mentioned numerous times in the Quran, including in a chapter named after her. The synoptic Gospels name Mary as the mother of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew and Luke describe Mary as a virgin who was chosen by God to conceive Jesus through the Holy Spirit. After giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, she raised him in the city of Nazareth in Galilee, and was in Jerusalem at his crucifixion and with the apostles after his ascension. Although her later life is not accounted in the Bible—Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant traditions believe that her body was raised into heaven at the end of her earthly life, which is known in Western Christianity as the Assumption of Mary and in Eastern Christianity as the Dormition of the Mother of God. Mary has been venerated since early Christianity, and is often considered to be the holiest and greatest saint. There is a certain diversity in the Mariology and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her Immaculate Conception and her bodily Assumption into heaven. Many Protestants hold less exalted views of Mary's role, often based on a perceived lack of biblical support for many traditional Christian dogmas pertaining to her. The multiple forms of Marian devotions include various prayers and hymns, the celebration of several Marian feast days in liturgy, the veneration of images and relics, the construction of churches dedicated to her and pilgrimages to Marian shrines. Many Marian apparitions and miracles attributed to her intercession have been reported by believers over the centuries. She has been a traditional subject in arts, notably in Byzantine art, medieval art and Renaissance art. Names and titles Mary's name in the original manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name מרים, transliterated as Maryam or Mariam. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, a shortened form of the name Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament. In Christianity In Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that the Holy Spirit impregnated her, thereby conceiving her first-born son Jesus miraculously, without sexual relations with her betrothed Joseph, "until her son [Jesus] was born". The word "until" has inspired considerable analysis on whether Joseph and Mary produced siblings after the birth of Jesus or not. Among her many other names and titles are the Blessed Virgin Mary (often abbreviated to "BMV" after the Latin Beata Maria Virgo), Saint Mary (occasionally), the Mother of God (primarily in Western Christianity), the Theotokos (primarily in Eastern Christianity), Our Lady (Medieval Italian: Madonna), and Queen of Heaven (Regina caeli; see also here). The title "queen of heaven" had previously been used as an epithet for a number of ancient sky-goddesses, such as Nin-anna, Astarte, Ishtar and Astoreth, the Canaanite sky-goddess worshipped during the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah's lifetime. Titles in use vary among Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestants, as well as Mormons, Catholics, Orthodox and other Christians. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos (Θεοτόκος or "God-bearer"), Aeiparthenos (ἀειπαρθένος) which means ever-virgin, as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, and Panagia (Παναγία) meaning "all-holy". Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. The title Theotokos, which means "God-bearer," was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The direct equivalents of title in Latin are Deipara and Dei Genitrix, although the phrase is more often loosely translated into Latin as Mater Dei ("Mother of God"), with similar patterns for other languages used in the Latin Church. However, this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God". Some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title "Queen Mother" has been given to Mary, as she was the mother of Jesus, sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to his ancestral descent from King David. This is also based on the Hebrew tradition of the "Queen-Mother," the Gebirah or "Great Lady." Other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals, or occasions for calling on Mary. In Islam In Islam, Mary is known as Maryam (Arabic: مريم, romanized: Maryam), mother of Isa (عيسى بن مريم). She is often referred to by the honorific title "Sayyidatuna", meaning "Our Lady"; this title is in parallel to "Sayyiduna" ("Our Lord"), used for the prophets. A related term of endearment is "Siddiqah", meaning "she who confirms the truth" and "she who believes sincerely completely". Another title for Mary is "Qānitah", which signifies both constant submission to God and absorption in prayer and invocation in Islam. She is also called "Tahira", meaning "one who has been purified" and representing her status as one of two humans in creation (and the only woman) to not be touched by Satan at any point. In the Quran, she is described both as "the daughter of Imran and "the sister of Aaron". Life in ancient sources New Testament The canonical Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are the primary sources of historical information about Mary. They are almost contemporary sources, as the synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are generally considered dating from around AD 66–90, while the gospel of John would date from AD 90–110. They provide limited information about Mary, as they primarily focus on the teaching of Jesus and on his apostles. The historical reliability of the Gospels and historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles are subject to debate, as it was common practice in early Christian writings to mix historical facts with legendary stories. The earliest New Testament account of Mary is in the epistle to the Galatians, which was written before the gospels. She is referred to as "a woman" and is not named: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Galatians 4:4). Mary is mentioned several times in the canonical Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles: The Gosp.... Discover the Mary Free popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mary Free books.