The cult of Mary in the middle ages

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THE CULT OF MARY IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Introduction
In the discussion of the role of the holy mother Mary in regards to the creations and growth of the Christ body, two extremes must always be avoided. There is the extreme of the Marian excess at one end and the extreme of the Marian defect on the other end. The Marianexcessusually places the Virgin Mary on the level of the most high, it ascribes the Virgin Mary to the level that are divine almost comparable to God. This phenomenonnormally violates the given truth about the exalted human nature of Mary. Although historically there have been occasions when the Virgin Mary had been referred to as goddess, this in itself was one of the manifestation of the Marian excess doctrine which poses a grave danger to the faith. It very important for the role of Mary in the growth of the church to be highlighted as the doctrine portrays her. There are two parallel forces that are equally important in the cult of Mary. They are the passionateand compassionate force. These forces must be used in the manner that does not raise the other above it revealed station and also there should be no room for belittling either.
The other extreme about person and role of Virgin Mary as the mother of Christ is the Marian defect. This in other words, is to greatly minimize the role of Mary in the Christian faith. Minimizing the role of Mary ascribes Mary the role of being only a disciple, a sister in the lord and a mere conduit of Jesus to the world but nothing beyond this. Unfortunately it is the second extreme that is majorly witnessed in these days. This role greatly suppresses the revealed role of Mary as the intercessor and as a spiritual mother. By denying Mary the role of a spiritual mother is to deny her the aspect that is so important to her own identity and her relationship with Christ and his followers, the church (Maunder and Chris, 2008).
The cult of Mary in the middle ages
A mother figure is a very important object of worship as it is portrayed in several known religions. Taking for example the Egyptian religion, there is the worship of Isis and her son Horus which can be linked to Mary and Jesus Christ. The major part of the history of Mary the mother of Jesus largely depends on the scripts from the gospel. The origin and embellishment of her legend began in the fifth century in Syria.
The life of the Mary was exceptional from the beginning; she was born free from original sin to Anne, through the immaculate conception, she was also taken to heaven after her death, like the doubting Thomas , she also doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ and lastly he doubted Mary’s assumption. The theologians have established and explained the existence of a parallel between the passion of Christ and the compassion of Mary. By the passion of Christ, he physically suffered through abuse and crucification on the cross. On the other hand, Mary by her compassion, she suffered emotionally through her spirit crucification.
In 431, the council of Ephesus sanctioned the cult of mother Mary as the mother of God. Later the dissemination of images of the child and the mother came to embody the church doctrine later.