Christian Saints and Feasts – Page 14 – St. Paul Anglican Church

Aug 15

2022

Mary, mother of JesusMary, mother of Jesus

Virgin & Child with angels

Mary (Greek: Μαρία, translit. María; Aramaic: ܡܪܝܡ‎, translit. Mariam‎; Hebrew: מִרְיָם‎, translit. Miriam‎; Arabic: مريم‎, translit. Mariam‎), also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth, and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran.

The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin (Greek: παρθένος, translit. parthénos) and Christians believe that she conceived her son while a virgin by the Holy Spirit. The miraculous conception took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

The Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary’s life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her earthly life her body was assumed directly into Heaven; this is known in the Christian West as the Assumption.

Mary has been venerated since early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion. She is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God (Greek: Θεοτόκος, translit. Theotokos, lit. ‘God-bearer’). There is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, and her Assumption into heaven. Many Protestants minimize Mary’s role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary (Arabic: مريم‎, translit. Maryām‎) also has a revered position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her.

Jul 15

2022

Saint SwithunSaint Swithun

Sculpture of St. Swithun at Stavanger Cathedral

Swithun (or Swithin; Old English: Swīþhūn; Latin: Swithunus; died 863 AD) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. According to tradition, if it rains on Saint Swithun’s bridge (Winchester) on his feast day (15 July) it will continue for forty days. The name was originally spelt Swithhun (Old English: “strong bear-cub”).

Mar 25

2022

The AnnunciationThe Annunciation

Sandro Botticelli’s Annunciation, painted from 1489-1490, is an example of Quattrocento art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Annunciation (anglicised from the Latin Vulgate Luke 1:26-39 Annuntiatio navititatis Christi), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian Celebration of the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Yehoshua, meaning “YHWH is salvation”. Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, nine full months before Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. According to Luke 1:26, the Annunciation occurred “in the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) of Lyon regarded the conception of Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the Passion.

Approximating the northern vernal equinox, the date of the Annunciation also marked the New Year in many places, including England, where it is called Lady Day. Both the Roman and Orthodox Catholic Churches hold that the Annunciation took place at Nazareth, but slightly differ as to the precise location. The Basilica of the Annunciation marks the site preferred by the former, while the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation marks that preferred by the latter.

The Annunciation has been a key topic in Christian art in general, as well as the Marian art in the Catholic Church, particularly during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Jul 26

2021

Saint Anne and Saint JoachimSaint Anne and Saint Joachim

Saint Anne with the Virgin Mary

Saint Anne, of David’s house and line, was the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus according to the apocryphal Christian and Islamic tradition. Mary’s mother is not named in the canonical gospels, but is mentioned as the daughter of Faqud in Quran. Anne’s name and that of her husband Joachim come only from apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James (written perhaps around 150) seems to be the earliest that mentions them.

May 30

2021

Trinity SundayTrinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The “Hospitality of Abraham” by Andrei Rublev. The three angels symbolize the Trinity, which is rarely depicted directly in art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)