Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture

Jary Pelikan was once the dean of the Yale graduate school but he was also, and more importantly, the dean of church historians. The author of over thirty books, a number of which touched on the themes and materials of this book, he distilled his knowledge of Mariology for a wide audience in Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture. The book begins at the literal beginning and comes down to contemporary times.Mary’s place in the life of the Roman church is explored at length. The virgin birth, her continuing virginity, her immaculate conception and her assumption into heaven, where she serves as queen or empress are subjects of faith that have arisen through dialogue, debate, special pleading, dissent and formal papal definition. Thus, her story is, in many ways, the church’s story and the story of the reformation and counter-reformation. With the Roman church’s focus on both revelation and tradition, Pelikan takes us through the thought of the church fathers, the church councils and successive papacies. He also takes us through the pertinent biblical texts. In doing so, he works in Aramaic, Latin, Greek and, in other contexts, French, English and, occasionally, Russian.This is thus a very learned book but one that is written with a very light touch in a totally accessible style. Those who had the privilege of knowing Jary will attest to the fact that he often spoke in the street vernacular (not in any crude way, but in a down-to-earth one). Thus, he is sometimes given to popular references and popular expressions which also make the book attractive and accessible to general readers.Mary’s place in the ‘history of culture’, of course, entails a great deal of focus on the plastic arts as well as on classical music. At one point in his life Jary considered becoming a classical pianist and one of his primary collaborators and friends was the great Yo-Yo Ma. In other words, he was not just a great polyglot historian, he was also an expert on cultural history. One of the particularly interesting sections of this book is his exploration of the Mariology of Goethe’s Faust, a subject on which he had written extensively.The book consists of 16 chapters. While the material therein is sometimes subtle and complex it is presented straightforwardly. The chapters are generally about 12 pp. in length, which makes for convenient reading.Bottom line: a fascinating book on a very important subject, done by a master scholar with a very human touch. Note that while the author was trained as a Lutheran minister (who was later received into the Orthodox Church in America) he writes as a historian. The book is conceived as an exploration of a historical subject, not as an aid to piety, though the piety of its author is not consciously suppressed. Note that he has written a comparable book on Jesus.

Book Review:Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of CultureJaroslav PelikanDuring his final year of teaching history at Yale University, Jaroslav Pelikan composed Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture, a comprehensive survey of the cultural and doctrinal influences of Mary, the mother of Jesus, upon the West. In a succinct and eloquent account, Pelikan invites the reader to consider the impact of this religious figure upon the landscape of the Western religious and cultural ideologies. From the development of orthodox Christianity during the third and fourth centuries until the postmodern search for identity during the twentieth century, myths, doctrines, and devotions about Mary have captured the interest and imagination of scholars, religious leaders, and the populous alike. He writes: "the doctrine of Mary proved to be one of the most important places to observe and test the processes by which great ideas have developed" (p. 200). For the Christianize West, Pelikan traces the relationship of the doctrine of the Incarnation to the unfolding of the legacy of Mary as the Virgin Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, and the Eternal Feminine whose very body was assumed into heaven. As his documentation proves, Christianity's interpretation of Mary has influenced almost every aspect of Western religious history.Pelikan's research reveals the breadth of his knowledge not only about the religious and cultural history of Mary, but also his expansive awareness of the multifaceted influences that impacted the construction of the Western religious milieu. He leaves few stones unturned, few doors unopened, and few texts uncited. Being a survey encompassing over two thousand years of history, he rarely delves deeply into exegetical research; yet, with his mastery of the English language, he is able to pack each sentence with an overwhelming amount of information. This would be an excellent introduction for the undergraduate or master's level college student, while serving as a guidepost for doctoral students in their search for pivotal documents relating to the development of the doctrine of the Incarnation.

Dense and confusing writing style, but not enough detail for my taste. Still, interesting if you can slightly through the language. I recommend Pelikan's History of Doctrine series instead.

book though - not fault of the seller - typeset is very small and hard to readbut the seller was perfect

Great book. Good author, very well thought out.Spiritual learning for me. Book arrived in good shape and on time.