The Worship of the Virgin Mary by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 19, 1914

The Worship of the Virgin Mary

By C. M. S.

“Rome Never Changes”—No. 2

In the former article the claim that “Rome never changes” was demonstrated to be an unwarranted claim. It was shown that upon two very important questions Rome has made a radical change; that is, upon the question of the Pope’s infallibility and upon the question of who is the authoritative spokesman of the church. Previous to 1870 the Pope’s infallibility was not conceded by the church; was, in fact, stoutly contested, and by the leading lights of the church utterly repudiated. Since that year the Catholic Church has acted as if the Pope had always been considered infallible.

Before 1870 the councils of the church were looked to as the final authority; but since that time the Pope has been considered as possessing all the authority the councils ever possessed, and has added to that the element of infallibility.

These are important matters, for they affect every branch of the church and ramify all its activities. Rome has changed, changed materially; but these are only two of many instances of change in both her doctrine and her modus operandi. We will consider another change.

The Worship of the Virgin Mary

The worship of the Virgin is not of recent origin, and yet it does not reach back to the apostles by hundreds of years. The early “Fathers of the church” knew nothing of it, and did not advocate it. Mary is not mentioned at all by the following

named writers of the ante-Nicene period: St. Barnabas, St. Hermes, St. Clement of Rome, St. Polycarp, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, St. Hippolytus, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, St. Cyprian, St. Firmilian, St. Dionysius, Arnobius, and St. Methodius. St. Justin Martyr mentions her twice in connection with the birth of Christ, and once in connection with the flight to Egypt, but gives no hint of our duty to worship her. Other writers of the early centuries mention her, but not to advocate her worship. Among these are Tertullian, Origen, and St. Irenæus. The silence of these ante-Nicene writers upon the question of the worship of Mary is the strongest of evidence that at least up to the time of the Council of Nice (A. D. 325) the “fathers” of the Catholic Church were not teaching the worship of Mary.

This side that date we have St. Cyril of Jerusalem (A. D. 347), whose writings and printed lectures are numerous, maintaining absolute silence upon the question of worshiping Mary. In fact, there seems to have been no such question being discussed at that time.

Later (A. D. 403) we have the testimony of St. Epiphanius against a cult which seems to have then been springing up which evidently had Mary worship in it. He says:—

Mary’s body was holy indeed, but she was not a deity. She was a virgin, too, and honored, but not given to us for worship, but worshiping Him born of her in the flesh, who came down from heaven and the Father’s bosom. Wherefore the gospel warns us, saying by the voice of the Lord himself, “Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” [He says this] in order that from the phrase, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” people might understand that the holy virgin was not more than human. So he called her “Woman,” as in prophecy, because of the heresies and schisms which were to come upon the earth, lest any one, through excessive adoration of that holy virgin, should fall into the silly nonsense (τὸ λημολόγημα) of that heresy. . . . For if Christ willeth not that the angels should be worshiped, how much more is he unwilling that worship should be paid to her who was born of Anna? . . . Let Mary be honored, but let the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be worshiped. Let no one worship Mary. . . . Let women who act thus be put to silence by Jeremiah, nor any longer trouble the world, nor say, “Let us honor the queen of heaven.”—Adv. Haer., LXXIX.

It is very plain from the above that this “father” of the Catholic Church was not an advocate of Mariolatry. It is also very evident that some had risen up in his day who were applying to the Virgin Mary that ancient heathen title queen of heaven. St. Basil the Great (A. D. 370), St. Ambrose (A. D. 370), St. Chrysostom (A. D. 407), St. Gregory Nyssen (A. D. 390), St. Augustine (A. D. 430), all are recognized as “fathers” of the Roman Church, all were copious writers, some of them bear the ecclesiastical title of doctor, and yet there is nothing in the writings of any of them to indicate that they were either advocates of the worship of Mary or understood that her worship was even permitted by the church. The writings of Pope St. Leo the Great (A. D. 461) and St. Gregory the Great (A. D. 604) may likewise be searched in vain for any expression which would indicate that they ever advocated or practiced the worship of the Virgin Mary.

Keeping these facts in mind, and especially the declarations of St. Epiphanius concerning what he terms “the silly nonsense of that heresy” and the positive prohibition, “Let no one worship Mary,” we turn to the utterances of Pio Nono (Pope Pius IX), in his decree concerning the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. He says:—

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by the faithful. Wherefore if any shall dare—which God avert—to think otherwise than it has been defined by us, they should know and understand that they are condemned by their own judgment, that they have suffered shipwreck of the faith, and have revolted from the unity of the church. . . . Let the children of the Catholic Church most dear to us hear these words, and with a more ardent zeal of piety, religion, and love proceed to worship, invoke, and pray to the most blessed Virgin Mary.—The Tablet, Jan. 27, 1855. (Italics mine.)

St. Epiphanius said, “Let no one worship Mary;” and in the early church there was no such worship.

Pope Pius IX said, “Let the children of the Catholic Church . . . proceed to worship . . . the blessed Virgin Mary;” and the whole Roman Church is faithfully following his injunction today.

Yet we are asked to believe the often-repeated declaration that “Rome never changes.” To ask one to believe that statement is asking him to stretch his credulity to the point of disintegration.

Does the thought come to one that it is not real worship that the church is now asking the faithful to perform? Then listen to these declarations of one of the great teachers of the church:—

All the earth doth worship thee, the Spouse of the Eternal Father. All the angels and archangels, all thrones and powers, do faithfully serve thee. To thee all angels cry aloud with a never-ceasing voice, Holy, holy, holy, Mary, Mother of God. Thou sittest with thy Son on the right hand of the Father. . . . In thee, sweet Mary, is our hope; defend us for evermore. Praise becometh thee, empire becometh thee, virtue and glory be unto thee forever and ever.—Bonaventura, “Te Deum.”

If this language is not the language of worship, then there is no language in which to express worship. But we give another sample of the language used in her worship:—

O immaculate queen of heaven and of angels! I adore you. It is you who have delivered me from the flames of hell! It is you from whom I look for my salvation.—“Glories of Mary,” by Liguori.

It will be noted that in this outburst of adulation, Mary is given the title of “queen of heaven,” a title conferred upon an idol anciently worshiped by the heathen with most wicked and abominable rites and ceremonies. It cannot be maintained that this was merely Liguori’s opinion, and not followed by the church. Alphonsus Liguori was one of the most renowned doctors of the Roman Church, whose writings were declared by Pope Pius VII in 1803 and by Pope Leo XII in 1825 to be without error; and he was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.

Not only is Mary worshiped today in spite of St. Epiphanius’s prohibition, but from the lips of the faithful adherent of the Roman Church she receives far more worship than does either the Father or the Son. For instance, the rosary is the most popular form of worship in the Roman Church; but in going through the devotion of the rosary the worshiper prays ten times to Mary for every once that he prays to God. Of the 433 public churches and chapels in Rome, five only are dedicated to the Trinity, fifteen only to Christ, two only to the Holy Spirit, and 121 to Mary. What a change does all this show in the Roman Church! It is more than a change; it is a complete metamorphosis, a complete overturning. The very foundation has been removed and another substituted. Man (or rather woman) has been put in the place of God; the human has been declared a deity; and the worship due the Creator has been lavished upon the creature. The most astounding feature of this situation is that with the facts as they are Rome still boasts that she “never changes.” C. M. S.