Titles of Mary


is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations and names associated with places,.
All of these descriptives refer to the same woman named Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ and are used differently by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and some Anglicans.
Some descriptives of Mary are properly titles, dogmatic in nature, some of them are invocations. Other descriptives are poetic or allegorical or have lesser or no canonical status, but form part of popular piety, with varying degrees of acceptance by Church authorities. There is another class of titles which refer to depictions of Mary in Catholic Marian art and in art generally. A rich range of Marian titles also belong to musical settings.

Historical and cultural context

The relatively large number of titles given to Mary may be explained in several ways. Some titles grew due to geographic and cultural reasons, e.g., through the veneration of specific icons. Others were related to Marian apparitions.
Mary's intercession is sought for a large spectrum of human needs in varied situations. This has led to the formulation of many of her titles. Moreover, meditations and devotions on the different aspects of Mary's role in the life of Jesus have led to additional titles, such as Our Lady of Sorrows. Still further titles have been derived from dogmas and doctrines, such as, the Assumption of Mary, Dormition of the Mother of God and Immaculate Conception.
The veneration of Mary or "devotional cult" was consolidated in the year 431 when, at the Council of Ephesus, the descriptive, Theotokos, or Mary the bearer of God, was declared a dogma. Thereafter Marian devotion, centred on the subtle and complex relationship between Mary, Jesus, and the Church, began to flourish, first in the East and later in the West.
The Reformation diminished Mary's role in many parts of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent and Counter Reformation intensified Marian devotion in the Western Europe. Around the same period, Mary became an instrument of evangelisation in the Americas and parts of Asia and Africa, e.g. gaining impetus from reported apparitions at Our Lady of Guadalupe, which resulted in a large number of conversions to Christianity in Mexico.
Following the Reformation, baroque literature on Mary experienced unprecedented growth, with over 500 instances of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone. During the Age of Enlightenment, the emphasis on scientific progress and rationalism put Catholic theology and Mariology often on the defensive later in the 18th century. Books, such as The Glories of Mary by Alphonsus Liguori, were written in defence of the cult of Mary.

Dogmatic titles

In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches the Assumption of Mary may be translated as the Dormition of the Mother of God, it is an important feast day, not based on a scriptural canon but, affirmed by tradition.

Early titles of Mary

“Our Lady” is a common title to give to Mary as a sign of respect and honor. In French she is called "Notre Dame" and in Spanish she is "Nuestra Señora".
EnglishLatinGreekNotes
MaryMariaMariam, Maria Arabic: Maryām, Chinese:, Coptic: Maria, French: Marie, German: Maria, Italian: Maria, Judeo-Aramaic: Maryām, Maltese: Marija, Portuguese: Maria, Russian: Marija, Spanish: María, Syriac: Mariam, Vietnamese: Maria
"Full of Grace", "Blessed", "Most Blessed"Gratia plena, Beata, Beatissimakecharitomene from the angel's greeting to Mary in ;
"Virgin", "the Virgin"VirgoParthenos Greek parthenos used in ; Ignatius of Antioch refers to Mary's virginity and motherhood ;
"Cause of our Salvation"causa salutisaccording to Irenaeus of Lyons ;
"Mother of God"Mater DeiMeter Theou often abbr. ΜΡ ΘΥ in Greek iconography;
"God-bearer"Deipara, Dei genitrixTheotokos lit. "one who bears the One who is God"; a common title in Eastern Christianity with christological implications; adopted officially during Council of Ephesus in response to Nestorianism, which questioned the Church's teaching that Jesus Christ's nature was unified;
"Ever-virgin"semper virgoaei-parthenos
"Holy Mary", "Saint Mary"Sancta MariaHagia Maria Greek invocation is infrequent in contemporary Eastern Christianity;
"Most Holy"Sanctissima, tota SanctaPanagia
"Most Pure"Purissima
"Immaculate"immaculataakeratos
"Lady", "Mistress"DominaDespoina related, "Madonna" ; also, "Notre Dame" ;
"Queen of Heaven"Regina Coeli, Regina CaeliMary is identified with the figure in ;

Papal actions

Devotional titles

In the Loreto Litanies Mary's prayers are invoked under more than fifty separate titles, such as "Mother Most Pure", "Virgin Most Prudent", and "Cause of Our Joy".
Other devotional titles include:
With the exception of the Jesus Christ, who is believed to have a twofold nature, both human and divine,, the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered among many Christians to be the unique human being about whom there is a dogma. She is connected to four different dogmas and numerous Marian titles. Christian invocations, titles, and art bear witness to the prominent role she has been accorded in the history and programme of salvation in parts of Christendom, although this is not shared by some Christian churches.
In the Hail Mary prayer, she is addressed as "full of grace" by Archangel Gabriel of the Annunciation speaking in the Name of God. The Nicene Creed, declares that Jesus was "incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man,". This has given rise to the descriptive, "spouse of the Holy Spirit".
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mother of God was anointed by the Holy Spirit, hence putting her on a par with the anointing of the Kings, Prophets, Judges, and High Priests of Israel, as Jesus Christ is said to have been.
This in turn opens the way to titles such as:
In the Roman Catholic and in the Orthodox Churches, the Virgin Mother of God is venerated in a special form expressed in Greek as hyperdulia, that is, secondary only to the adoration reserved for the Triune God. She is venerated and honoured in this way since no other being--whether angelic or human--has greater power than Mary to intercede with God in the distribution of Grace to His children.

Titles associated with devotional images

Titles of images related to epithets include:
Titles of images related to places of worship include:

Titles associated with apparitions

Latin America

A number of titles of Mary found in Latin America pertain to cultic images of her represented in iconography identified with a particular already existent title adapted to a particular place. Our Lady of Luján in Argentina refers to a small terracotta image made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May, 1630. Its appearance seems to have been inspired by Murillo's Immaculates. Our Lady of Copacabana : is a figure related to devotion to Mary under the title "Most Blessed Virgin de la Candelaria, Our Lady of Copacabana". About four feet in height, the statue was made by Francisco Tito Yupanqui around 1583 and is garbed in the colors and dress of an Inca princess.

Titles in the Orthodox Church

means "God-bearer" and is translated as "Mother of God". This title was given to Mary at the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus in 431 AD..

Titles of Mary in Islam

The Qur'an refers to Mary by the following titles: