The Immaculate Conception of Mary , also known as the Immaculate Conception , is a dogma of the Catholic Church proclaimed in 1854 which maintains that the Virgin Mary was free from original sin from the first moment of her conception through the merits of her son Jesus Christ , thus collecting the feeling of two thousand years of Christian tradition on the subject. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. 1 2 Debated by medieval theologians, it was not recognized as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus . While the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception affirms Mary’s freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) had previously affirmed that she was free from sin . 3
This dogma should not be confused with the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus , which maintains that Jesus was conceived without the intervention of a man while Mary remained a virgin before, during and after childbirth.
In developing the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic Church contemplates the special position of Mary as the mother of Christ, and maintains that God, in anticipation of the birth of her Son, preserved Mary, from the moment of her conception, from every stain or effect of original sin, inherited by all men from Adam and Eve . The doctrine reaffirms with the expression “full of grace” (in Latin : Gratia Plena ) contained in the greeting of the archangel Gabriel (Lk 1:28), and recorded in the prayer of the Hail Mary , this aspect of being free from sin by the grace of God .
Even more widely than dogma and outside of it, the Church teaches not only that the Virgin was conceived without original sin, but also that she remained throughout her life free from all stain of sin, even venial sin. 4 5
The Immaculate Conception became a popular subject in literature, but its abstract nature made it slow to appear as a subject in works of art. Iconography of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception shows Mary standing, with her arms outstretched or her hands clasped in prayer. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8. 6
Many Protestant churches reject the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as unscriptural, although some Anglicans accept it as a pious devotion. Opinions on the Immaculate Conception in Eastern Orthodoxy are divided: Shenouda III , Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church , opposed the doctrine, as did Patriarch Ignatius Zacchaeus I of the Syriac Orthodox Church . The Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo accept it. It is not accepted by Byzantine Orthodoxy due to differences in understanding of original sin, although they do affirm Mary’s purity and preservation from sin. Patriarch Anthimus VII of Constantinople (1827–1913) called the dogma of the Immaculate Conception a “Roman novelty”.