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Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on Mary, mother of Jesus. They are used in devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.[citation needed]
Some have been adopted as Christmas hymns. Marian hymns are not popular among Protestants who see Marian veneration as idolatry.
The Eastern Orthodox yearly cycle of liturgy has more hymns to Mary than does the liturgy of Roman Catholicism,[1] which often uses them in month-of-May devotions.
These liturgies include the Magnificat hymn, which is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns—perhaps the earliest, according to historian Marjorie Reeves. It is named after its first word in the 4th-century Vulgate Bible, based on Luke 1:46–55, and is widely used by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and the Eastern Orthodox.[2]
Some Marian hymns are shared by different groups of Christians, or are influenced by other hymns. For instance, the second stanza of the Anglican hymn Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones is derived from the Eastern Orthodox hymn to the Theotokos.[3]
Some Marian hymns—e.g., the Akathist to the Theotokos—reflect the Mariological approach of their historical period.[4]
- ^ Mary Is for Everyone by William McLoughlin, Jill Pinnock 1998 ISBN 0-85244-429-X page 183
- ^ The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn-Tunes by David R Breed 2009 ISBN 1-110-47186-6 page 17
- ^ Mary, Mother of God by Carl E. Braaten, Robert W. Jenson 2004 ISBN 0-8028-2266-5 page 13
- ^ The image of the Virgin Mary in the Akathistos hymn by Leena Mari Peltomaa 2001 ISBN 90-04-12088-2 pages 25-27