Do Anglicans pray to Jesus through Mary?

Answer 1

Anglican's View of Blessed Virgin MaryI believe just as the vessel through which Christ came to earth. Not as much importance as Catholics place upon her. That's not to say she wasn't important, just that many sects focus more on the man himself than his earthly family. ButParticularly in the Anglican Communion there is a strong element that regards her in exactly the same way as the Catholic and Orthodox churches. I know may Anglicans who pray the rosary and the Angelus regularly (on that note John Wesley was a great fan of the Rosary). Additional Notes

In order to more fully understand how various Anglican or Episcopalian communties regard the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is helpful to first state what the 4 central Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church are; i.e. a) what dogmas are the salient points of discussion between Anglicans and Catholics? and b) how have they been received in the Anglican communities?

The 4 Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church are:

• The Immaculate Conception of Mary
• The Virgin Birth of Jesus
• The Perpetual Virginity of Mary
• The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

[N.B. While the Virgin Birth of Jesus is a dogma of Christian faith, it is not, per se, a Marian dogma. It should be replaced with the following statement:

• Mary is the Mother of God; i.e. Theotokos. cf. Council of Ephesus, 431 AD.

My apologies for this error. (cmvaughan) ]

One of the most celebrated theologians in both Anglican and Catholic communities is the renowned Oxford-trained scholar John Henry Cardinal Newman. He offers several significant paths for ecumenical dialogue with Catholics on a variety of topics, including the four Marian dogmas listed above.

The Virgin Birth

The Virgin Birth of Jesus is perhaps the most widely held belief not only between Anglicans and Catholics, but indeed among all Christians. The common reference point is found in the Gospel of Luke: Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son...But Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?' Luke 1:31,34 NAB

Here it is sufficient to note that during his Anglican years, Newman draws not only on Sacred Scripture but also on Sacred Tradition as expressed briefly in various Christian creeds over the millenia (e.g. The Apostle's Creed, The Athanasian Creed, The Nicene Creed, etc.) to indicate that the Virgin Birth has been a commonly accepted tenet of faith for Christians in every age:As in the beginning, woman was formed out of a man by Almighty power, so now, by a like mystery, but a reverse order, the new Adam was fashioned from the woman. He was, as had been foretold, the immaculate "seed of the woman," deriving His manhood from the substance of the Virgin Mary; as it is expressed in the articles of the Creed, "conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. (Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. II - The Incarnation)

The Immaculate Conception of Mary

In speaking of the Virgin Birth above, it is worth noting that Newman refers to Jesus as the new Adam. This indicates his familiarity with and close study of the early Church Fathers who developed this terminology from St. Paul's (cf. 1 Cor 15:45) to help explain the Faith. Newman draws again from the Church Fathers in making note of a reverse order in which salvation history unfolds - i.e. Where Eve received her flesh from Adam, Christ the New Adam takes His flesh from Mary, making Mary the analogical New Eve.

However, Newman also learned that by calling Mary the New Eve, the Church Fathers were closely linking her state of grace to Adam and Eve's state of grace before The Fall. Namely, as the New Eve, Mary's state of grace is comparable to that of Adam and Eve before The Fall; i.e. Mary's state of grace is similar to what theologians refer to as preternatural grace. Just as God formed the body of the first Adam from the immaculately created cosmos, the body of Jesus, the New Adam, was formed from the body of His Immaculately created Mother (cf. Madrid 2001, pp. 67-68).

Following the early Church Fathers' understanding of kecharitomene (Lk 1:28) as meaning not only intensively full of grace, but extensively both forward and backward in time, Newman would later assent to the fittingness of The Immaculate Conception of Mary, the New Eve, as well: Was Solomon on his birth called "dear to the Lord"? and shall not the destined Mother of God be dear to Him from the moment she was born? But further still; St. John Baptist was sanctified by the Spirit before his birth; shall Mary be only equal to him? is it not fitting that her privilege should surpass his? is it wonderful, if grace, which anticipated his birth by three months, should in her case run up to the very first moment of her being, outstrip the imputation of sin, and be beforehand with the usurpation of Satan? Mary must surpass all the saints; the very fact that certain privileges are known to have been theirs persuades us, almost from the necessity of the case, that she had the same and higher. Her conception was immaculate, in order that she might surpass all saints in the date as well as the fulness of her sanctification. (Newman, Discourse 18. On the Fitness of the Glories of Mary - addressed to Mixed Congregations)

The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Here, Newman sees another analogy of faith that provides a starting point for an ecumenical dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics. In this case he notes how both the miracles wrought in, and the sacrifices made by, the lives of the matriarchs throughout salvation history find their perfect reflection in Mary. Both the miraculous births and the sacrificial aspects of womens' lives in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of Mary's miraculous birth and lifelong sacrifices (e.g. the intensity of Mary's devotion to her virginity): no limits but those proper to a creature can be assigned to the sanctity of Mary. Therefore, did Abraham believe that a son should be born to him of his aged wife? then Mary's faith must be held as greater when she accepted Gabriel's message. Did Judith consecrate her widowhood to God to the surprise of her people? much more did Mary, from her first youth, devote her virginity. (Discourse 18. On the Fitness of the Glories of Mary - Addressed to Mixed Congregations)

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

Enoch

In describing the fittingness of the Assumption, Newman recalls that being assumed, or caught up into heaven is not without precedent. He recalls how "Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him." (Gn 5:24 NAB), and again that "By faith Enoch was taken up that he should not see death, and 'he was found no more because God had taken him.' Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God." (Heb 11:5 NAB)

Just as Enoch pleased God, Mary herself rejoices in having pleased God through her Canticle: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name." Lk 1:46-49. Indeed, her walk with God would become intimately physical and spiritual by giving birth to God the Incarnate Word, and walking with Him through His life, death, and resurrection. In this sense, Mary's walk with God takes on a superlative character that surpasses that of Enoch's walk with God.

Elijah

Similarly, Newman recalls "When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwhind...on their way from Gilgal", and that "as they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." (cf. 2 Kings 2:1,11).

Here it is worth noting that writers in the Old as well as the New Testaments frequently used flames or fire to indicate the presence of the Divine (cf. Ex 3:2-3, Ex 13:21-22, Is 6:1-7, Ez 1:4). Thus, Elijah's being taken up to heaven by flaming horses and a flaming chariot indicates a fitting consummation of the life of a holy person consumed, engulfed and overshadowed by sacred flames of the Holy Spirit. In this comparison, there is again a superlative character in which Mary was consumed, engulfed or overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, allowing her to receive the very Incarnate Word into her being - body and soul, as no other person ever has. cf. Lk 1:35; Acts 1:13-14; Acts 2:3-4. Considering the Incarnation of Christ alone, the superlative character of her receptivity of the flame of the Holy Spirit surpasses that of even Elijah.

Also, just as Elijah was engulfed in flames and taken to heaven, we see a similar image of Mary engulfed in the Divine flame represented by the sun: A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Rev 12:1.

Development of Doctrine

Moreover, given that the Immaculate Conception of Mary entails freedom from the taint of original sin, and the consequences of original sin are corruption and death of the body (cf. Gn 3:19, Rom 6:23), Mary's freedom from original sin indicates a fittingness for her Assumption as well; i.e. in Newman's words It was surely fitting then, it was becoming, that she should be taken up into heaven and not lie in the grave till Christ's second coming, who had passed a life of sanctity and of miracle such as hers. (Discourse 18. On the Fitness of the Glories of Mary - Addressed to Mixed Congregations)

A Closing Note on Newman

As a brilliant Anglican scholar, Newman was very reasoned and methodical in all his considerations of the Catholic faith. In his own words, "to understand the full consistency and harmony of Catholic teaching requires study and meditation." (Newman, Discourse 17. The Glories of Mary for the Sake of Her Son - Addressed to Mixed Congregations)

After a careful and prayerful study of the Catholic faith, Newman converted to the Catholic faith while simultaneously documenting his conversion. Works from the Anglican period of his life that are helpful in understanding his conversion are An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine and Retraction of Anti-Catholic Statements. These works are not of course, to the exclusion of others. An important book from his Catholic period that helps explain his conversion experience is his Apologia Pro Vita Sua. These are, however, only a small sampling of his prolific writings. Having lived both the Anglican and Catholic faith traditions, all of Newman's works are an excellent resource for deepening and enriching the dialogue between the Catholic Church and Anglican communities. He is currently in the beatification process of being named a saint, and has received the title of Venerable John Henry Newman.

Great resources for more information include The New American Bible and Where Is That in the Bible? by Patrick Madrid.

Answer 2

Within the Anglican communion there are many congregations who regularly ask for the prayers of Mary.

Only God is entitled to worship (latria) the Saints are venerated (dulia) and the Virgin receives hyperdulia.

Answer 3

Anglicans do in fact pray to saints, or at least may pray to saints; just as they did when they were still Catholic. Many, if not most, houses of worship in the Anglican Communion are named after Catholic saints-eg, St. Paul, St. Andrew, St. Bartholomew-although very few are named after Anglican saints, because Anglicanism is a fairly new sect and does not have a formal canonization process. (The first and most famous Anglican saint is Charles the First, King and Martyr, who was beheaded by the Puritans in 1649.)

Some people confuse "praying to" a saint with "worshipping" a saint, but these are two very different things. If one truly believes in the Communion of Saints mentioned in the Apostles' Creed, then one must believe that saints are perfectly sentient, and in Heaven, and that they are able to hear one's prayers and act as intercessors with the Almighty. Asking for a saint's help is quite a different thing from making the saint a God-substitute. If you ask your neighbor to drive you to church, it doesn't mean you think your neighbor is God!

(Side note: The main reason certain people disparage the idea of praying to saints is that they want to make you believe that the saints are just dead people in pictures and they can't really do anything for you; and in fact there's probably no reason to pray at all, because it's all a big con game... That's what they're really driving at.)

Answer 4

The multiple churches that form the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement have different views on Marian doctrines and venerative practices given that there is no single church with universal authority within the Communion and that the mother church (the Church of England) understands itself to be both "catholic" and "Reformed". Thus unlike the Protestant churches at large, the Anglican Communion (which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States) includes segments which still retain some veneration of Mary.

Anglican Marian theology is the summation of the doctrines and beliefs of Anglicanism concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Anglicans believe that Jesus was both human and God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, within the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglican churches, Mary is accorded honour as the theotokos, literally the "God-bearer" or "one who gives birth to God".

Anglicans of evangelical or low church tradition tend to avoid honouring Mary. Other Anglicans respect and honour Mary because of the special religious significance that she has within Christianity as the mother of Jesus Christ. This honour and respect is termed veneration.

Mary always held a place of honour within the English Church

Historically, there has been enough common ground between Roman Catholics and Anglicans on Marian issues that in 2005 a joint statement called Mary: grace and hope in Christ was produced through ecumenical meetings of Anglicans and Roman Catholic theologians. This document, informally known as the "Seattle Statement", is not formally endorsed by either the Catholic Church or the Anglican Communion, but is viewed by its authors as the beginning of a joint understanding of Mary

The the "Anglican view" in the link below

Answer 5

Yes, some do.

Answer 6

No