Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)

context: According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Mary was the daughter of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Before Mary's conception, Anne had been barren and was far advanced in years. Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much like Hannah took Samuel to the Tabernacle as recorded in the Old Testament. Some apocryphal accounts state that at the time of her betrothal to Joseph, Mary was 12–14 years old, and he was thirty years old, but such accounts are unreliable.
qas: answers: text: Saint Joachim and Saint Anne
question: Who were Mary's parents?

answers: text: three years old
question: How old was Mary when she was consecrated as a virgin?

answers: text: Joseph
question: Who was Mary betrothed to?

answers: text: 12–14 years old
question: When she was betrothed to Joseph, approximately how old was Mary?

answers: text: the Temple in Jerusalem
question: Where was Mary consecrated as a virgin?

context: The Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to gospel accounts, Mary was present at the Crucifixion of Jesus and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to Apocryphal writings, at some time soon after her death, her incorrupt body was assumed directly into Heaven, to be reunited with her soul, and the apostles thereupon found the tomb empty; this is known in Christian teaching as the Assumption.
qas: answers: text: Gabriel
question: Which angel appeared to Mary?

answers: text: assumed directly into Heaven
question: What happened to Mary's body at death?

answers: text: her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus
question: What did Gabriel announce to Mary at the Annunciation?

answers: text: mother of Jesus
question: How was Mary related to Jesus?

answers: text: Gospel of Luke
question: Which goespel begins its story of Mary with the Annunciation?

context: The doctrines of the Assumption or Dormition of Mary relate to her death and bodily assumption to Heaven. The Roman Catholic Church has dogmaically defined the doctrine of the Assumption, which was done in 1950 by Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deus. Whether the Virgin Mary died or not is not defined dogmatically, however, although a reference to the death of Mary are made in Munificentissimus Deus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is believed, and celebrated with her Dormition, where they believe she died.
qas: answers: text: 1950
question: When was the Assumption dogmatically define by the Catholic Church?

answers: text: Munificentissimus Deus
question: In which papal document was the dogma of the Assumption defined?

answers: text: Pope Pius XII
question: Which pope authored Munifentissimus Deus?

answers: text: Eastern Orthodox Church
question: Other than the Roman Catholic Church, which church holds the doctrine of the Assumption to be true?

answers: text: Dormition
question: What is another name for the Assumption of Mary?

context: After Mary continued in the "blood of her purifying" another 33 days for a total of 40 days, she brought her burnt offering and sin offering to the Temple in Jerusalem,[Luke 2:22] so the priest could make atonement for her sins, being cleansed from her blood.[Leviticus 12:1-8] They also presented Jesus –  "As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord" (Luke 2:23other verses). After the prophecies of Simeon and the prophetess Anna in Luke 2:25-38 concluded, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and "returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth".[Luke 2:39]
qas: answers: text: 40 days
question: How long in total was the "blood of her purifying" for Mary?

answers: text: the Temple in Jerusalem
question: Where did Mary bring a burnt offering and sin offering?

answers: text: Jesus
question: Who was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem?

answers: text: Simeon and the prophetess Anna in
question: Who prophesized in Luke 2:25-38?

answers: text: Nazareth
question: To which Galilean city did Joseph and Mary take Jesus?

context: According to the writer of Luke, Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah, who was herself part of the lineage of Aaron and so of the tribe of Levi.[Luke 1:5;1:36] Some of those who consider that the relationship with Elizabeth was on the maternal side, consider that Mary, like Joseph, to whom she was betrothed, was of the House of David and so of the Tribe of Judah, and that the genealogy of Jesus presented in Luke 3 from Nathan, third son of David and Bathsheba, is in fact the genealogy of Mary,[need quotation to verify] while the genealogy from Solomon given in Matthew 1 is that of Joseph. (Aaron's wife Elisheba was of the tribe of Judah, so all their descendants are from both Levi and Judah.)[Num.1:7 & Ex.6:23]
qas: answers: text: priest
question: What was Zechariah's occupation?

answers: text: Levi
question: Which tribe did Elizabeth belong to?

answers: text: Elisheba
question: Who was Aaron's wife?

answers: text: Judah
question: Which tribe did Elisheba belong to?

answers: text: Nathan
question: Who was the third son of David and Bathsheba?

context: Mary is also depicted as being present among the women at the crucifixion during the crucifixion standing near "the disciple whom Jesus loved" along with Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene,[Jn 19:25-26] to which list Matthew 27:56 adds "the mother of the sons of Zebedee", presumably the Salome mentioned in Mark 15:40. This representation is called a Stabat Mater. While not recorded in the Gospel accounts, Mary cradling the dead body of her son is a common motif in art, called a "pietà" or "pity".
qas: answers: text: Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene
question: Name the two women present with Mary at the Crucifixion of Jesus?

answers: text: pietà
question: In art, what is the name for the motif of Mary cradling the body of Jesus?

answers: text: Salome
question: In Matthew, who else besides Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene are with Mary at the Crucifixion?

answers: text: pity
question: What does pieta mean?

answers: text: a Stabat Mater
question: What is a representation of Mary at the Crucifixion called?

context: The adoption of the mother of Jesus as a virtual goddess may represent a reintroduction of aspects of the worship of Isis. "When looking at images of the Egyptian goddess Isis and those of the Virgin Mary, one may initially observe iconographic similarities. These parallels have led many scholars to suggest that there is a distinct iconographic relationship between Isis and Mary. In fact, some scholars have gone even further, and have suggested, on the basis of this relationship, a direct link between the cult of Mary and that of Isis." 
qas: answers: text: Isis
question: Which Egyptian goddess do some scholars ascribe similarities to?

answers: text: Egyptian
question: What type of goddess is Isis?

answers: text: iconographic
question: What kind of relationship do some scholars believe exists between Isis and Mary?

context: In the 19th century, a house near Ephesus in Turkey was found, based on the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, an Augustinian nun in Germany. It has since been visited as the House of the Virgin Mary by Roman Catholic pilgrims who consider it the place where Mary lived until her assumption. The Gospel of John states that Mary went to live with the Disciple whom Jesus loved,[Jn 19:27] identified as John the Evangelist.[citation needed] Irenaeus and Eusebius of Caesarea wrote in their histories that John later went to Ephesus, which may provide the basis for the early belief that Mary also lived in Ephesus with John.
qas: answers: text: Turkey
question: In which country is Ephesus?

answers: text: Anne Catherine Emmerich
question: Whose visions led to the identification of the House of the Virgin Mary?

answers: text: John the Evangelist
question: Which disciple is known as "the Disciple whom Jesus loved?"

answers: text: John
question: With whom is it believed that Mary lived with in Ephesus?

answers: text: 19th
question: In which century was the House of the Virgin Mary found?

context: Devotions to artistic depictions of Mary vary among Christian traditions. There is a long tradition of Roman Catholic Marian art and no image permeates Catholic art as does the image of Madonna and Child. The icon of the Virgin Theotokos with Christ is without doubt the most venerated icon in the Orthodox Church. Both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians venerate images and icons of Mary, given that the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 permitted their veneration with the understanding that those who venerate the image are venerating the reality of the person it represents, and the 842 Synod of Constantinople confirming the same. According to Orthodox piety and traditional practice, however, believers ought to pray before and venerate only flat, two-dimensional icons, and not three-dimensional statues.
qas: answers: text: 787
question: In which year was the Second Council of Nicea?

answers: text: 842
question: In which year did the Synod of Constantinople confirm the veneration of images of Mary?

answers: text: icon of the Virgin Theotokos
question: Which icon is most venerated in the Orthodox Church?

answers: text: Marian art
question: What is the name given to artistic depictions of Mary?

answers: text: flat, two-dimensional icons
question: In the Orthodox church, what types of icons are allowed to be venerated and prayed before?

context: Ephesus is a cultic centre of Mary, the site of the first Church dedicated to her and the rumoured place of her death. Ephesus was previously a centre for worship of Artemis a virgin goddess. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus being regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The cult of Mary was furthered by Queen Theodora in the 6th Century. According to William E. Phipps, in the book Survivals of Roman Religion "Gordon Laing argues convincingly that the worship of Artemis as both virgin and mother at the grand Ephesian temple contributed to the veneration of Mary."
qas: answers: text: Ephesus
question: Where is the site of the first Church dedicated to Mary?

answers: text: Artemis
question: Which goddess was worshipped in Ephesus before Mary?

answers: text: William E. Phipps
question: Who was the author of the book, "Survivals of Roman Religion?"

answers: text: Queen Theodora
question: Which Queen furthered the cult of Mary in the 6th Century?

answers: text: Ephesus
question: Where was Mary rumored to have died?

context: Some titles have a Biblical basis, for instance the title Queen Mother has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to his lineage of King David. The biblical basis for the term Queen can be seen in the Gospel of Luke 1:32 and the Book of Isaiah 9:6, and Queen Mother from 1 Kings 2:19-20 and Jeremiah 13:18-19. Other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions for calling on Mary, e.g., Our Lady of Good Counsel, Our Lady of Navigators or Our Lady of Ransom who protects captives.
qas: answers: text: King David
question: Jesus was known as the "King of Kings" because of his lieage from who?

answers: text: Our Lady of Ransom
question: Which name is given to Mary because of her role as a protector of captives?

answers: text: Mary
question: Who was the mother of Jesus?

answers: text: Luke
question: Which New Testament book provides a basis for the term Queen when referring to Mary?

context: Despite Martin Luther's harsh polemics against his Roman Catholic opponents over issues concerning Mary and the saints, theologians appear to agree that Luther adhered to the Marian decrees of the ecumenical councils and dogmas of the church. He held fast to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin and the Theotokos or Mother of God. Special attention is given to the assertion that Luther, some three-hundred years before the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854, was a firm adherent of that view. Others maintain that Luther in later years changed his position on the Immaculate Conception, which, at that time was undefined in the Church, maintaining however the sinlessness of Mary throughout her life. For Luther, early in his life, the Assumption of Mary was an understood fact, although he later stated that the Bible did not say anything about it and stopped celebrating its feast. Important to him was the belief that Mary and the saints do live on after death. "Throughout his career as a priest-professor-reformer, Luther preached, taught, and argued about the veneration of Mary with a verbosity that ranged from childlike piety to sophisticated polemics. His views are intimately linked to his Christocentric theology and its consequences for liturgy and piety." Luther, while revering Mary, came to criticize the "Papists" for blurring the line, between high admiration of the grace of God wherever it is seen in a human being, and religious service given to another creature. He considered the Roman Catholic practice of celebrating saints' days and making intercessory requests addressed especially to Mary and other departed saints to be idolatry. His final thoughts on Marian devotion and veneration are preserved in a sermon preached at Wittenberg only a month before his death:
qas: answers: text: Martin Luther
question: Who wrote polemics regarding Roman Catholic beliefs about Mary?

answers: text: 1854
question: In which year was the Immaculate Conception dogmatized?

answers: text: Pope Pius IX
question: Which pope was responsible for the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception?

answers: text: Mother of God
question: What does Theotokos mean?

answers: text: Wittenberg
question: Where did Martin Luther preach a sermon on Marian devotion a month before his death?

context: Differences in feasts may also originate from doctrinal issues—the Feast of the Assumption is such an example. Given that there is no agreement among all Christians on the circumstances of the death, Dormition or Assumption of Mary, the feast of assumption is celebrated among some denominations and not others.  While the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, some Eastern Catholics celebrate it as Dormition of the Theotokos, and may do so on August 28, if they follow the Julian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox also celebrate it as the Dormition of the Theotokos, one of their 12 Great Feasts. Protestants do not celebrate this, or any other Marian feasts.
qas: answers: text: August 15
question: On what date does the Catholic Church celebrate the Feast of the Assumption?

answers: text: Dormition of the Theotokos
question: What do Eastern Catholics call the Feast of the Assumption?

answers: text: August 28
question: On what date of the Julian calendar do Eastern Catholics celebrate the Domition of the Theotokos?

answers: text: 12
question: How many Great Feasts does the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate?

answers: text: do not
question: Do Protestants celebrate Marian feasts or not?

context: In paintings, Mary is traditionally portrayed in blue. This tradition can trace its origin to the Byzantine Empire, from c.500 AD, where blue was "the colour of an empress". A more practical explanation for the use of this colour is that in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, the blue pigment was derived from the rock lapis lazuli, a stone imported from Afghanistan of greater value than gold. Beyond a painter's retainer, patrons were expected to purchase any gold or lapis lazuli to be used in the painting. Hence, it was an expression of devotion and glorification to swathe the Virgin in gowns of blue.
qas: answers: text: blue
question: Which color is traditionally used to portray Mary in paintings?

answers: text: lapis lazuli
question: What rock was used as the source of blue pigment in paints in Medieval and Renaissance Europe?

answers: text: Afghanistan
question: From which country was lapis lazuli imported?

answers: text: gold
question: Lapis lazuli was thought to be more valuable than which precious metal?

answers: text: Byzantine Empire
question: Which ancient empire is thought to have started the tradition of portraying Mary in paintings using the color blue?

context: Nontrinitarians, such as Unitarians, Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses also acknowledge Mary as the biological mother of Jesus Christ, but do not recognise Marian titles such as "Mother of God" as these groups generally reject Christ's divinity. Since Nontrinitarian churches are typically also mortalist, the issue of praying to Mary, whom they would consider "asleep", awaiting resurrection, does not arise. Emanuel Swedenborg says God as he is in himself could not directly approach evil spirits to redeem those spirits without destroying them (Exodus 33:20, John 1:18), so God impregnated Mary, who gave Jesus Christ access to the evil heredity of the human race, which he could approach, redeem and save.
qas: answers: text: biological mother
question: According to Nontrinitarian belief, what is Mary's relationship to Jesus?

answers: text: Emanuel Swedenborg
question: Which Nontrinitarian theologian says that God cannot approach eveil spirits to redeem them?

answers: text: Nontrinitarians
question: Unittarians, Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses are examples of what kind of church?

answers: text: Marian
question: "Mother of God" is an example of what kind of title?

context: The Qur'an relates detailed narrative accounts of Maryam (Mary) in two places, Qur'an 3:35–47 and 19:16–34. These state beliefs in both the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Virgin birth of Jesus. The account given in Sura 19 is nearly identical with that in the Gospel according to Luke, and both of these (Luke, Sura 19) begin with an account of the visitation of an angel upon Zakariya (Zecharias) and Good News of the birth of Yahya (John), followed by the account of the annunciation. It mentions how Mary was informed by an angel that she would become the mother of Jesus through the actions of God alone.
qas: answers: text: Maryam
question: By what name is Mary referred to in the Qur'an?

answers: text: 19
question: Which Sura in the Qur'an describes the visitation of an angel upon Zakariya?

answers: text: two
question: In how many places does the Qur'an give detailed accounts of Mary?

answers: text: Luke
question: Which Gospel provides an identical account of the Virgin Birth as Sura 19 in the Qur'an? 

answers: text: Zakariya
question: Who was visited by an angel in Sura 19 of the Qur'an?

context: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary asserts Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made Man. The term Ever-Virgin (Greek ἀειπάρθενος) is applied in this case, stating that Mary remained a virgin for the remainder of her life, making Jesus her biological and only son, whose conception and birth are held to be miraculous. While the Orthodox Churches hold the position articulated in the Protoevangelium of James that Jesus' brothers and sisters are older children of Joseph the Betrothed, step-siblings from an earlier marriage that left him widowed, Roman Catholic teaching follows the Latin father Jerome in considering them Jesus' cousins.
qas: answers: text: Ever-Virgin
question: What term is used to describe the belief that Mary remained a virgin for her entire life?

answers: text: Jerome
question: Which Latin father described the belief that Jesus' siblings were his cousins?

answers: text: Orthodox Churches
question: Which churches teach that Jesus' brothers and sister were step-siblings from a previous marriage of Joseph the Betrothed?

answers: text: Protoevangelium of James
question: What document teaches that Jesus' brothers and sisters were older children of Joseph from a previous marriage?

answers: text: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary
question: Which doctrine describes the belief that Mary remained a virgin, even though she gave birth to Jesus?

context: Orthodox Christianity includes a large number of traditions regarding the Ever Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. The Orthodox believe that she was and remained a virgin before and after Christ's birth. The Theotokia (i.e., hymns to the Theotokos) are an essential part of the Divine Services in the Eastern Church and their positioning within the liturgical sequence effectively places the Theotokos in the most prominent place after Christ. Within the Orthodox tradition, the order of the saints begins with: The Theotokos, Angels, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers, Martyrs, etc. giving the Virgin Mary precedence over the angels. She is also proclaimed as the "Lady of the Angels".
qas: answers: text: Angels
question: In Orthodox tradition, what comes next in precdence after The Theotokos in the order of the saints?

answers: text: The Theotokia
question: What are hymns to the Theotokos called in Orthodox tradition?

answers: text: the Theotokos
question: In the liturgical sequences of the Eastern Church, who is placed next in prominence after Christ?

answers: text: "Lady of the Angels"
question: What is Mary proclaimed to be in the Orthodox tradition?

answers: text: a virgin
question: What do the Orthodox believe Mary remained to be before and after she gave birth to Christ?

context: The multiple churches that form the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement have different views on Marian doctrines and venerative practices given that there is no single church with universal authority within the Communion and that the mother church (the Church of England) understands itself to be both "catholic" and "Reformed". Thus unlike the Protestant churches at large, the Anglican Communion (which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States) includes segments which still retain some veneration of Mary.
qas: answers: text: the Church of England
question: What is the mother church of the Angican Communion?

answers: text: the Episcopal Church
question: Which church in the United States is associated with the Angican Communion?

answers: text: veneration of Mary
question: What practice differentiates the Angican Communon from Protestant churches at large?

answers: text: Protestant
question: What branch of Christianity does the Angican Communion fall under?

context: Although Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli honored Mary as the Mother of God in the 16th century, they did so less than Martin Luther. Thus the idea of respect and high honor for Mary was not rejected by the first Protestants; but, they came to criticize the Roman Catholics for venerating Mary. Following the Council of Trent in the 16th century, as Marian veneration became associated with Catholics, Protestant interest in Mary decreased. During the Age of the Enlightenment any residual interest in Mary within Protestant churches almost disappeared, although Anglicans and Lutherans continued to honor her.
qas: answers: text: venerating Mary
question: For what practice did the first Protestants criticize the Roman Catholics?

answers: text: 16th
question: In which century did the Council of Trent occur?

answers: text: Anglicans and Lutherans
question: Which Protestant churches still honor Mary?

answers: text: Age of the Enlightenment
question: During which historical era did Protestant interest in Mary almost disappear?

answers: text: Catholics
question: Marian veneration became associated with which Christians after the Council of Trent?

context:  In Methodism, Mary is honored as the Mother of God. Methodists do not have any additional teachings on the Virgin Mary except from what is mentioned in Scripture and the ecumenical Creeds. As such, Methodists believe that Mary was conceived in her womb through the Holy Ghost and accept the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, although they, along with Orthodox Christians and other Protestant Christians, reject the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. John Wesley, the principal founder of the Methodist movement within the Church of England, believed that Mary "continued a pure and unspotted virgin", thus upholding the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Contemporary Methodism does hold that Mary was a virgin before, during, and immediately after the birth of Christ. In addition, some Methodists also hold the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary as a pious opinion.
qas: answers: text: the Immaculate Conception
question: Which doctrine about Mary do Methodists reject?

answers: text: John Wesley
question: Who was the founder of the Methodist movement?

answers: text: Scripture and the ecumenical Creeds
question: What are the sources of beliefs about Mary held by Methodists?

answers: text: the Church of England
question: The Methodist movement began in which church?

answers: text: the perpetual virginity of Mary
question: Which Marian doctrine did John Wesley uphold in founding Methodism?

context: She is the only woman directly named in the Qur'an; declared (uniquely along with Jesus) to be a Sign of God to humanity; as one who "guarded her chastity"; an obedient one; chosen of her mother and dedicated to Allah whilst still in the womb; uniquely (amongst women) Accepted into service by God; cared for by (one of the prophets as per Islam) Zakariya (Zacharias); that in her childhood she resided in the Temple and uniquely had access to Al-Mihrab (understood to be the Holy of Holies), and was provided with heavenly "provisions" by God.
qas: answers: text: Allah
question: To whom was Mary dedicated while still in the womb?

answers: text: Zakariya
question: Which prophet cared for Mary?

answers: text: Al-Mihrab
question: What is understood to be the Holy of Holies in Islam?

answers: text: the Temple
question: Where did Mary reside in her chilhood?

answers: text: heavenly "provisions"
question: What did God provide for Mary?

context: From the early stages of Christianity, belief in the virginity of Mary and the virgin conception of Jesus, as stated in the gospels, holy and supernatural, was used by detractors, both political and religious, as a topic for discussions, debates and writings, specifically aimed to challenge the divinity of Jesus and thus Christians and Christianity alike. In the 2nd century, as part of the earliest anti-Christian polemics, Celsus suggested that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier named Panthera. The views of Celsus drew responses from Origen, the Church Father in Alexandria, Egypt, who considered it a fabricated story. How far Celsus sourced his view from Jewish sources remains a subject of discussion.
qas: answers: text: Celsus
question: Who suggested that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier?

answers: text: Panthera
question: What was the name of the Roman soldier said by Celsus to be the father of Jesus?

answers: text: Alexandria
question: Origen was a Church Father in which Egyptian city?

answers: text: 2nd
question: In which century did Celsus suggest that Jesus' father was a Roman soldier?

answers: text: to challenge the divinity of Jesus
question: For what purpose did detractors use the idea of Mary's virginity and the virgin conception of Jesus?

context: Mary had been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches believe that Mary, as Mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God and the Theotokos, literally "Giver of birth to God". There is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas; namely her status as the mother of God; her Immaculate Conception; her perpetual virginity; and her Assumption into heaven. Many Protestants minimize Mary's role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary (Maryam) also has a revered position in Islam, where a whole chapter of the Qur'an is devoted to her, also describing the birth of Jesus.
qas: answers: text: Giver of birth to God
question: What is the literal meaning of Theotokos?

answers: text: Protestants
question: Which branch of Christianity gives a diminished role to Mary?

answers: text: Maryam
question: What is Mary called in Islam?

answers: text: brevity of biblical references
question: What is the basis for Mary's diminished role in Protestantism?

answers: text: Anglican, and Lutheran
question: Which two Protestant churches, along with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, believe that Mary is the Mother of God?

context: Mary resided in "her own house"[Lk.1:56] in Nazareth in Galilee, possibly with her parents, and during her betrothal — the first stage of a Jewish marriage — the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah by conceiving him through the Holy Spirit, and she responded, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to your word." After a number of months, when Joseph was told of her conception in a dream by "an angel of the Lord", he planned to divorce her; but the angel told him to not hesitate to take her as his wife, which Joseph did, thereby formally completing the wedding rites.[Mt 1:18-25]
qas: answers: text: betrothal
question: What is the first stage of Jewish marriage?

answers: text: Gabriel
question: Which angel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Messiah?

answers: text: divorce her
question: What did Joseph plan to do when told of Mary's coneption in a dream?

answers: text: in Nazareth in Galilee
question: Where did Mary live when she was visited by the angel Gabriel?

answers: text: an angel of the Lord
question: In his dream, who told Joseph about Mary's conception?

context: The Virgin birth of Jesus was an almost universally held belief among Christians from the 2nd until the 19th century. It is included in the two most widely used Christian creeds, which state that Jesus "was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary" (the Nicene Creed in what is now its familiar form) and the Apostles' Creed. The Gospel of Matthew describes Mary as a virgin who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, mistranslating the Hebrew word alma ("young woman") in Isaiah 7:14 as "virgin", though.[citation needed] The authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke consider Jesus' conception not the result of intercourse and assert that Mary had "no relations with man" before Jesus' birth.[Mt 1:18] [Mt 1:25] [Lk 1:34] This alludes to the belief that Mary conceived Jesus through the action of God the Holy Spirit, and not through intercourse with Joseph or anyone else.
qas: answers: text: Matthew
question: Which Gospel says that Mary fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah?

answers: text: alma
question: What Hebrew word is used to describe Mary in Isaiah 7:14?

answers: text: 19th
question: Until which century was the Virgin birth of Jesus held almost universally among Christians?

answers: text: 1:34
question: Which verse in Luke states that Mary had "no relations with man" before Jesus' birth?

answers: text: the Apostles' Creed
question: Along with the Nicene Creed, which other Christian creed asserts the Virgin birth of Jesus?

context: 
In the Catholic Church, Mary is accorded the title "Blessed", (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek μακάριος, makarios and Latin facere, make) in recognition of her assumption to Heaven and her capacity to intercede on behalf of those who pray to her. Catholic teachings make clear that Mary is not considered divine and prayers to her are not answered by her, they are answered by God. The four Catholic dogmas regarding Mary are: Mother of God, Perpetual virginity of Mary, Immaculate Conception (of Mary) and Assumption of Mary.
qas: answers: text: Blessed
question: What title is given to Mary in the Catholic Church?

answers: text: beatus
question: What is the Latin word from which Mary's title of Blessed is derived?

answers: text: four
question: How many Catholic dogmas are there regarding Mary?

answers: text: Perpetual virginity of Mary
question: Along with Mother of God, Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary, what is the other Catholic dogma related to Mary?

context: The views of the Church Fathers still play an important role in the shaping of Orthodox Marian perspective. However, the Orthodox views on Mary are mostly doxological, rather than academic: they are expressed in hymns, praise, liturgical poetry and the veneration of icons. One of the most loved Orthodox Akathists (i.e. standing hymns) is devoted to Mary and it is often simply called the Akathist Hymn. Five of the twelve Great Feasts in Orthodoxy are dedicated to Mary. The Sunday of Orthodoxy directly links the Virgin Mary's identity as Mother of God with icon veneration. A number of Orthodox feasts are connected with the miraculous icons of the Theotokos.
qas: answers: text: standing hymns
question: What are Akathists?

answers: text: Five
question: How many of the Orthodox Great Feasts dedicated to Mary?

answers: text: the Akathist Hymn
question: What is name of the Orthodox hymn devoted to Mary?

answers: text: Sunday of Orthodoxy
question: Which event on the Orthodox calendar is related to Mary and icon veneration?

context: Mary's special position within God's purpose of salvation as "God-bearer" (Theotokos) is recognised in a number of ways by some Anglican Christians. All the member churches of the Anglican Communion affirm in the historic creeds that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and celebrates the feast days of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. This feast is called in older prayer books the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary on February 2. The Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin on March 25 was from before the time of Bede until the 18th century New Year's Day in England. The Annunciation is called the "Annunciation of our Lady" in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Anglicans also celebrate in the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin on 31 May, though in some provinces the traditional date of July 2 is kept. The feast of the St. Mary the Virgin is observed on the traditional day of the Assumption, August 15. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin is kept on September 8.
qas: answers: text: Annunciation of our Lady
question: What is the name given to the Annunciation in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer?

answers: text: 31 May
question: On what date do most Anglicans celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin?

answers: text: the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
question: What is another name for the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple in the Anglican Communion?

answers: text: February 2
question: On what date is the Presentation of Christ in the Temple celebrated by Anglicans?

answers: text: New Year's Day
question: On what day was the Annunciation tradtionally celebrated in England until the 18th century?

context: Protestants in general reject the veneration and invocation of the Saints.:1174 Protestants typically hold that Mary was the mother of Jesus, but was an ordinary woman devoted to God. Therefore, there is virtually no Marian veneration, Marian feasts, Marian pilgrimages, Marian art, Marian music or Marian spirituality in today's Protestant communities. Within these views, Roman Catholic beliefs and practices are at times rejected, e.g., theologian Karl Barth wrote that "the heresy of the Catholic Church is its Mariology".
qas: answers: text: Karl Barth
question: Which theologian described Mariology as "the heresy of the Catholic Church?"

answers: text: mother
question: Protestants hold that Mary had what relationship to Jesus?

answers: text: veneration and invocation
question: Protestants reject what practices in relation to the Saints?

answers: text: God
question: Protestants describe Mary as devoted to whom?

context: The statement that Joseph "knew her not till she brought forth her first born son" (Matthew 1:25 DouayRheims) has been debated among scholars, with some saying that she did not remain a virgin and some saying that she was a perpetual virgin. Other scholars contend that the Greek word heos (i.e., until) denotes a state up to a point, but does not mean that the state ended after that point, and that Matthew 1:25 does not confirm or deny the virginity of Mary after the birth of Jesus. According to Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman the Hebrew word almah, meaning young woman of childbearing age, was translated into Greek as parthenos, which only means virgin, in Isaiah 7:14, which is commonly believed by Christians to be the prophecy of the Virgin Mary referred to in Matthew 1:23. While Matthew and Luke give differing versions of the virgin birth, John quotes the uninitiated Philip and the disbelieving Jews gathered at Galilee referring to Joseph as Jesus's father.
qas: answers: text: Virgin Mary
question: Who do Christians believe is prophesized in Isaiah 7:14?

answers: text: 1:23
question: Which verse in Matthew is believed to refer to Isaiah's prohecy of the Virgin Mary?

answers: text: Luke
question: Which Gospel writer provided a version of the virgin birth that was different than Matthew's?

answers: text: virgin
question: What is the English tranlation of the Greek word "parthenos?"

answers: text: until
question: What is the meaning of the Greek word "heos?"

context: The hagiography of Mary and the Holy Family can be contrasted with other material in the Gospels. These references include an incident which can be interpreted as Jesus rejecting his family in the New Testament: "And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent in a message asking for him ... And looking at those who sat in a circle around him, Jesus said, 'These are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother'."[3:31-35] Other verses suggest a conflict between Jesus and his family, including an attempt to have Jesus restrained because "he is out of his mind", and the famous quote: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home." A leading Biblical scholar commented: "there are clear signs not only that Jesus's family rejected his message during his public ministry but that he in turn spurned them publicly".
qas: answers: text: Whoever does the will of God
question: Who did Jesus say were his "brother, and sister, and mother?"

answers: text: A prophet
question: According to Jesus, who is "without honor except in his own town?"

answers: text: rejected
question: What do some Biblical scholars claim that Jesus' family did with his message during his ministry?

context: Although the Catholics and the Orthodox may honor and venerate Mary, they do not view her as divine, nor do they worship her. Roman Catholics view Mary as subordinate to Christ, but uniquely so, in that she is seen as above all other creatures. Similarly Theologian Sergei Bulgakov wrote that the Orthodox view Mary as "superior to all created beings" and "ceaselessly pray for her intercession". However, she is not considered a "substitute for the One Mediator" who is Christ. "Let Mary be in honor, but let worship be given to the Lord", he wrote. Similarly, Catholics do not worship Mary as a divine being, but rather "hyper-venerate" her. In Roman Catholic theology, the term hyperdulia is reserved for Marian veneration, latria for the worship of God, and dulia for the veneration of other saints and angels. The definition of the three level hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia and dulia goes back to the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.
qas: answers: text: hyperdulia
question: What is the term used for veneration of Mary in Roman Catholic theology?

answers: text: 787
question: In what year was the hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia and dulia established?

answers: text: other saints and angels
question: Who is venerated in the Roman Catholic practice of dulia?

answers: text: Sergei Bulgakov
question: Which theologian wrote that Mary is considered to be "superior to all created beings," but is not to be the object of worhip?

answers: text: latria
question: What is the Roman Catholic term used to denote the worship of God?

context: Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei" (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God".
qas: answers: text: 431
question: In what year did the Third Ecumenical Council occur in Ephesus?

answers: text: Nestorius
question: Whose teachings were addressed at the Third Ecumenical Council?

answers: text: Mother of God
question: What does the phrase "Mater Dei" mean?

answers: text: "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix"
question: What are the two Latin equivalents of the Greek term "Theokotos?"

answers: text: Godbearer
question: What is the literal translation of Theokotos?

context: Roman Catholics believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, as proclaimed Ex Cathedra by Pope Pius IX in 1854, namely that she was filled with grace from the very moment of her conception in her mother's womb and preserved from the stain of original sin. The Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church has a liturgical feast by that name, kept on December 8. Orthodox Christians reject the Immaculate Conception dogma principally because their understanding of ancestral sin (the Greek term corresponding to the Latin "original sin") differs from the Augustinian interpretation and that of the Roman Catholic Church.
qas: answers: text: December 8
question: On what date is the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church?

answers: text: Pope Pius IX
question: Which pope proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of Mary?

answers: text: 1854
question: In what year did Pope Pius IX make his Ex Cathedra proclamation of the Immaculate Conception of Mary?

answers: text: in her mother's womb
question: According to the doctrine of Immaculate Conception, where was Mary when she first become filled with grace?

answers: text: ancestral sin
question: What is the Greek term that means the same thing as "original sin?"

context: The Protoevangelium of James, an extra-canonical book, has been the source of many Orthodox beliefs on Mary. The account of Mary's life presented includes her consecration as a virgin at the temple at age three. The High Priest Zachariah blessed Mary and informed her that God had magnified her name among many generations. Zachariah placed Mary on the third step of the altar, whereby God gave her grace. While in the temple, Mary was miraculously fed by an angel, until she was twelve years old. At that point an angel told Zachariah to betroth Mary to a widower in Israel, who would be indicated. This story provides the theme of many hymns for the Feast of Presentation of Mary, and icons of the feast depict the story. The Orthodox believe that Mary was instrumental in the growth of Christianity during the life of Jesus, and after his Crucifixion, and Orthodox Theologian Sergei Bulgakov wrote: "The Virgin Mary is the center, invisible, but real, of the Apostolic Church."
qas: answers: text: The Protoevangelium of James
question: What book is considered to be the source of many Orthodox beliefs regarding Mary?

answers: text: three
question: At what age was Mary consecrated?

answers: text: Zachariah
question: Which priest officiated at Mary's consecration?

answers: text: an angel
question: While Mary lived in the temple, who was said to have fed her?

context: In the Islamic tradition, Mary and Jesus were the only children who could not be touched by Satan at the moment of their birth, for God imposed a veil between them and Satan. According to author Shabbir Akhtar, the Islamic perspective on Mary's Immaculate Conception is compatible with the Catholic doctrine of the same topic. "O People of the Book! Do not go beyond the bounds in your religion, and do not say anything of Allah but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was but a Messenger of God, and a Word of His (Power) which He conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah (as the One, Unique God), and His Messengers (including Jesus, as Messenger); and do not say: (Allah is one of) a trinity. Give up (this assertion) â€" (it is) for your own good (to do so). Allah is but One Allah ; All-Glorified He is in that He is absolutely above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah suffices as the One to be relied on, to Whom affairs should be referred." Quran 4/171
qas: answers: text: Islamic
question: Which religion believes that God put a veil between Satan and Mary?

answers: text: a Messenger of God
question: According to Shabbir Akhtar, what role does Islam believe Jesus to hold?

answers: text: Allah
question: Who does the Islamic religion hold to be the One, Unique God?

answers: text: People of the Book
question: What term is used to refer to Christains by author Shabbir Akhtar?

context: The issue of the parentage of Jesus in the Talmud affects also the view of his mother. However the Talmud does not mention Mary by name and is considerate rather than only polemic. The story about Panthera is also found in the Toledot Yeshu, the literary origins of which can not be traced with any certainty and given that it is unlikely to go before the 4th century, it is far too late to include authentic remembrances of Jesus. The Blackwell Companion to Jesus states that the Toledot Yeshu has no historical facts as such, and was perhaps created as a tool for warding off conversions to Christianity. The name Panthera may be a distortion of the term parthenos (virgin) and Raymond E. Brown considers the story of Panthera a fanciful explanation of the birth of Jesus which includes very little historical evidence. Robert Van Voorst states that given that Toledot Yeshu is a medieval document and due to its lack of a fixed form and orientation towards a popular audience, it is "most unlikely" to have reliable historical information.
qas: answers: text: the Toledot Yeshu
question: Where in Jewish literature is the story about Panthera found?

answers: text: warding off conversions to Christianity
question: According to the Blackwell Companion to Jesus, for what purpose was the Toledot Yeshu written?

answers: text: virgin
question: What is the meaning of the term "parthenos?"

answers: text: medieval
question: During what historical period was the Toledot Yeshu written?

answers: text: the birth of Jesus
question: What event does Raymond E. Brown believe the Toledot Yeshu describes?