Welcome to Ask the Church, our series where we seek to answer your questions about church worship, practice, or theology in under five minutes.
Today’s question, by the way, will definitely stretch that 5-minute mark!
The question is: What do Anglicans believe about Mary? I want to answer this by dividing it into three parts:
What must Anglicans believe about Mary?
What can Anglicans believe about Mary?
What don’t Anglicans believe about Mary?
Honoring Mary
Before diving in, I want to say that many Anglicans—like most Protestants—don’t think about Mary enough, or think highly enough of her.
Mary was chosen by God for the highest honor ever given to a human being. She was favored by God, chosen to bear in her womb, to give birth to, and to be the mother of the Son of God Himself (Luke 1:28, 31–32). No other human has that place. We ought to think highly of her because God thought highly of her.
We should also honor her because she shows us what sainthood looks like: complete submission to the will of God—even when she didn’t understand, even when it cost her her freedom and reputation. A saint is someone who says “Yes” to God, no matter the cost. And when things don’t make sense, instead of shaking a fist at God, a saint gathers them into the heart and wrestles with them before God, trusting that in time He will make them clear (Luke 2:19).
Mary is the prototype of a saint—and in many ways, the greatest of the saints.
What Anglicans Must Believe
First, Anglicans must believe that Mary is Theotokos. Don’t be thrown off by the old Greek word! It simply means “the bearer of God.” This title, used by the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, affirms the truth that Jesus Christ, from the moment of conception, was both fully divine and fully human. From that moment, Mary bore God Himself in her womb.
To deny this is to imply that there was a time when Jesus was not divine. So, we must confess that she is Theotokos—the God-bearer.
We must also confess that she was a virgin at the birth of Christ (Luke 1:34–35; Matthew 1:23, 25).
What Anglicans May Believe
Now, what are Anglicans permitted—but not compelled—to believe?
1. Perpetual Virginity
The first is Mary’s perpetual virginity—the belief that she remained a virgin until the day of her death. This was the ordinary belief of the Early Church, and until the Reformation, pretty much everybody held it. To this day, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics believe it—the two largest branches of Christianity in the world. It’s also ordinary belief in Lutheranism and in Anglicanism.
The idea is that Mary never again had any other children after giving birth to Jesus. Why would she have done this? The thinking comes from a Jewish concept of consecration. She had been devoted to God in a unique way—she had borne God Himself. In that sense, she was like a living “Holy of Holies,” and no one had the right to enter that space.
This idea means Joseph would be seen as something like a Levite, guarding the tabernacle of the Lord. Mary was God’s, and God’s alone.
But what about the “brothers” of Jesus? Well, the New Testament never calls them the children of Mary—only the brothers of Jesus (e.g., Matthew 13:55–56). In the Early Church, the common belief was that James, “the brother of the Lord,” was actually Joseph’s son from a previous marriage, making him Jesus’s older half-brother. The others may have been cousins, since the word “brother” was often used very loosely in tribal societies.
2. Bodily Assumption
Another belief Anglicans may hold is the bodily Assumption of Mary—that she was lifted directly into heaven, like Enoch or Elijah, and was spared the pains of death because of her faithfulness (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). This isn’t a widespread teaching, but Christians were talking about it as early as the 400s. Anglicans aren’t required to believe it, but one can, without contradicting Scripture.
What Anglicans Do Not Believe
There are also things Anglicans do not believe about Mary.
The Immaculate Conception
The Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception says that Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin so she could be a fitting vessel for Christ. While the impulse is understandable, Anglicans—along with the Eastern Orthodox—reject it.
Why? Because it nullifies her sainthood. Mary’s sainthood rests on her willing “Yes” to God. If she had no possibility of saying “No,” her obedience becomes less a free act of faith and more an inevitability. It also undermines her need for redemption, which Scripture says applies to all (Romans 3:23–24).
Titles Rejected
Co-Redemptrix: that Mary shared in Christ’s redeeming work. Anglicans reject this, since Christ alone is Redeemer (1 Timothy 2:5–6).
Mediatrix: that Mary serves as a kind of unique mediator of grace. While all Christians intercede for one another, Scripture teaches Christ is the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
Queen of Heaven: in Roman Catholic devotion, this is given to Mary. Anglicans reject this title, since Scripture teaches it is the Church who is the Bride of Christ and thus “Queen” (Revelation 21:2, 9).
Mary as Prototype of the Church
Even though Anglicans reject some of these titles, we do recognize Mary as the prototype of the Church. She shows us what the Church is meant to be: saying “Yes” to God, bearing Christ until He is formed in us (Galatians 4:19), and bringing Him to the world.
Mary does this literally. The Church—and each of us—is meant to do it spiritually.
A Final Word
I hope these answers have helped and not confused!
As always, if you have more questions, send them to steven@incarnationrichmond.org.
And now—go in the grace of our Lord.