Protestants believing in the Immaculate Conception and/or the Assumption?

[CatholicSam]

Which Protestant faiths believe in the Immaculate Conception and/or the Assumption? I seem to vaguely remember hearing something about the Anglican tradition formally accepting either one or both of these Catholic teachings, but I don’t remember exactly. Can anyone help me out, and possibly provide documentation? Thanks!!

 

[aicirt]

Luther had a devotion to Mary and I believe Calvin did too. I don’t think these were an issue with either. I believe the original beliefs of the churches they founded were gradually changed to what you have today. There are 30,000 various Protestant churches. Difficult to know what they believe.

 

[BernadetteM]

Many Anglo Catholics celebrate the Assumption and Immaculate Conception of Mary. In general the Anglican church doesn’t accept these dogmas. I think some of there churches have a feast day celebrating what they refer to as her Conception.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette

 

[Janet1983]

Which Protestant faiths believe in the Immaculate Conception and/or the Assumption? I seem to vaguely remember hearing something about the Anglican tradition formally accepting either one or both of these Catholic teachings, but I don’t remember exactly. Can anyone help me out, and possibly provide documentation? Thanks!!

I really couldn’t say whether there are any denominations that believe that…
Wikipedia for example was very inconclusive about this:
“Although Martin Luther taught that Mary was immaculately conceived, most Protestants today reject the doctrine”
(LINK)

About the assumption I found the following:
“The Assumption of Mary is a belief held by Christians of the Catholic Church, some Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodoxy, some Protestant churches (including Lutherans and Anglo-Catholics), that the Virgin Mary at the end of her life was physically taken up into heaven.”
(LINK)

And

“The Prayer Books of the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada mark 15 August as the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the day is observed as a Holy Day of St Mary the Virgin, and in the Church of England the day is a Festival of The Blessed Virgin Mary. In all churches of the Anglican Communion Anglo-Catholics often observe the feast day under the same name as Roman Catholics.
The Anglican-Roman Catholic agreed statement on the Virgin Mary assigns a place for both the Dormition and the Assumption in Anglican devotion.”
(LINK)

The document…
“PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY
ANGLICAN - ROMAN CATHOLIC INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION (ARCIC)”
(LINK)

 

[aicirt]

I really couldn’t say whether there are any denominations that believe that…
Wikipedia for example was very inconclusive about this:
“Although Martin Luther taught that Mary was immaculately conceived, most Protestants today reject the doctrine”
(LINK)

About the assumption I found the following:
“The Assumption of Mary is a belief held by Christians of the Catholic Church, some Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodoxy, some Protestant churches (including Lutherans and Anglo-Catholics), that the Virgin Mary at the end of her life was physically taken up into heaven.”
(LINK)

And

“he Prayer Books of the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada mark 15 August as the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the day is observed as a Holy Day of St Mary the Virgin, and in the Church of England the day is a Festival of The Blessed Virgin Mary. In all churches of the Anglican Communion Anglo-Catholics often observe the feast day under the same name as Roman Catholics.
The Anglican-Roman Catholic agreed statement on the Virgin Mary assigns a place for both the Dormition and the Assumption in Anglican devotion.”
(LINK)

Not that I expect you to know, but when I read that the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada believe she fell asleep, which I guess is a way of saying she died, where is her body?

I see the Protestants has having tweaked everything over the last 1500 years to a point I don’t know how they can be sure of what they believe. We have the Lord’s Prayer changed, Mary’s virginity etc. put in question, Real Presence changed,Saints outsted, confession dropped, females made ministers and priests, gays married, gays made ministers or priests, birth control and abortion allowed. Wonder what Luther would think of it all if he came back?

 

[Janet1983]

Not that I expect you to know, but when I read that the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada believe she fell asleep, which I guess is a way of saying she died, where is her body?

I don’t have a clue… I don’t believe in these things. I’d say that she continued her life and then died like everybody else… I strongly assume that she was saved.

 

[flograh]

I grew up as a Protestant and was even ordained as a Protestant minister before becoming Catholic. I can say with 100% certainly that is most Protestant denominations that the these teachings are taught. Those denominations that don’t teach this doctrine are not recognized churches in the Protestant community.

 

[CatholicSam]

Thanks for your replies!

 

[aicirt]

I grew up as a Protestant and was even ordained as a Protestant minister before becoming Catholic. I can say with 100% certainly that is most Protestant denominations that the these teachings are taught. Those denominations that don’t teach this doctrine are not recognized churches in the Protestant community.

I know little about Protestant denominations. Can you name some of the denominations that teach these doctrines? I would imagine they’d include the Lutheran Missouri Synod and the Anglican Church, guess the Episcopalian. What about the Presbyterian and Methodist?

 

[paperwight]

I grew up as a Protestant and was even ordained as a Protestant minister before becoming Catholic. I can say with 100% certainly that is most Protestant denominations that the these teachings are taught. Those denominations that don’t teach this doctrine are not recognized churches in the Protestant community.

Well, I was never a Protestant minister, but I certainly grew up as a Protestant, was confirmed in the Anglican church and have many Protestant contacts through my ecumenical work.

And I can say with 100% certainty that you are 100% wrong.

Have you ever read the 39 Articles of the Church of England, for instance?

It’s just occurred to me - are you perhaps confusing the Immaculate Conception with the Virgin Birth? And the Assumption with the Ascension?

 

[Contarini]

I grew up as a Protestant and was even ordained as a Protestant minister before becoming Catholic. I can say with 100% certainly that is most Protestant denominations that the these teachings are taught. Those denominations that don’t teach this doctrine are not recognized churches in the Protestant community.

No offense, but this just isn’t true. I know it’s impertinent to instruct a Catholic on the doctrines of their own Church, but are you sure you understand what these terms mean?

Immaculate Conception: That Mary was preserved by God from original sin from conception onwards.

Assumption: That Mary was taken up bodily into heaven either instead of dying or shortly after her death.

Are you sure that you didn’t hastily misread these as “virginal conception” and “Ascension” (both of Christ, not Mary)? Of course you are right that these are the common heritage of Christians (although I’m not quite sure what a “recognized church in the Protestant community” is by your definition).

But the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are dogmas peculiar to the Roman Communion. The Orthodox celebrate the Dormition (falling asleep) of the Mother of God but do not have a firm teaching on what happened to her body. They reject the Immaculate Conception, teaching that Mary was in the same boat as the rest of us in terms of the effects of Adam’s sin on her. However, since they don’t teach quite the same doctrine of original sin as the Western Church, this is not as big a deal (they do not regard all humans as being in any sense *guilty *for Adam’s sin, but rather affected by the disordered passions and general corruption and mortality brought about by that sin). The Orthodox do, however, believe that Mary was sinless, since they define sin as a conscious choice. And they celebrate what Catholics call the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, though they call it the Conception of St. Anne (they use the word “conception” actively rather than passively–i.e., St. Anne’s act of conceiving Mary).

Anglicans do not teach either of these dogmas in any official sense. You can certainly find Anglo-Catholics who believe one or both, but they are a fairly small minority. These two dogmas, along with papal infallibility, are the Catholic teachings most likely to be rejected by Anglicans (well, for the last century the teaching on birth control could be added to the list). Other Protestants are far less likely to do so. Episcopalians (and I believe many other Anglicans as well) do celebrate the “Feast of St. Mary the Virgin” on August 15, and I think some Anglo-Catholics celebrate the conception of the Blessed Virgin on Dec. 8, although I believe that this is purely a local, optional, and relatively uncommon practice.

Edwin