Mary As the Early Christians Knew Her
The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts
By (author) Frederica Mathewes-Green
- ISBN: 9781612613437
- Trim size: 5.37 x 8 inches
- Weight: 7 ounces.
- Pages: 176
- Publication Date: 02 Jan 2013
- Format: Paperback
Mary is the flower of femininity to some, a woman of power to others. She has been seen as a paragon of obedience as well as an instrument of liberation. Some have piled her status so high that it rivals that of her Son. Other do their best to ignore her. Behind all of those images is a girl who grew up to be the mother of Christ.
- How did the first Christians view Mary?
- What did they believe about her early life, her childhood and marriage to Joseph, before the Annunciation?
Frederica Mathewes-Green presents three of the earliest texts about Mary -- a story, a prayer, and a hymn -- and provides new translations and commentary. As we see Mary the way the early Christians did, we gain new and sometimes startling awareness. Mathewes-Green opens up “The Gospel of Mary” to see her early life, offering a window into her centrality to the Christian Faith in new ways.
(This book was published in hardcover as The Lost Gospel of Mary.)
"Do you want to get to know Mary a bit better? Are you interested in entering a faithful Marian spirituality? Let Frederica Mathewes-Green facilitate a rich, traditional, authentic meeting of Mary. When it comes to spending time with the mother of our Lord, this book is second only to Scripture." -- Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex
"The Mary that Frederica Mathewes-Green gives us in these winsome texts–a palpably real woman, at once humble and exalted--transcends the differences that persist even today among the main streams of the Christian tradition, not least because this Mary points beyond herself to the ultimate source of our hope and our joy. -- John Wilson, editor, Books & Culture
"Frederica Mathewes-Green is a sparkling writer. In The Lost Gospel of Mary, not only is her material fascinating, but so is her perspective as a thoughtful and irenic Orthodox Christian. There is much here to warm the heart as it engages the mind from here to warm the heart as it engages the mind from early in our common Christian tradition." - Brian McLaren, author of A Generous Orthodoxy and www.brianmclaren.net.
