Was Mary free from sin, and from when?
a passage states it a passage rules it out
Common ground
These are affirmed by more than one position, so a passage saying only this counts for none of them.
- Mary is holy, blessed, highly favoured
- Mary as the new Eve, obedient where Eve disobeyed
- Mary needed and received God's grace
Mary had personal faults
What sets it apart: The passage attributes a sin, fault, doubt or weakness to Mary.
Formally defined: No confession defines it
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Free from personal sin
Catholic Orthodoxexcept by a special privilege from God, as the Church holds in regard of the Blessed VirginCouncil of Trent, Session 6, Canon 23 (1547)
What sets it apart: The passage says Mary committed no sin, or was wholly pure in her life, without saying anything about her conception.
Formally defined: Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 23 (1547); Synod of Jerusalem, Decree 6 (1672)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Immaculate Conception
Catholicthe most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sinPius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854)
What sets it apart: The passage says Mary was without original sin, or holy from her conception, not only free from personal sin.
Formally defined: Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854)
No early passage in the library states it yet.
Every deciding passage, earliest first
- No early passage decides between these positions yet.