IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. In 1854 Pope Pius IX proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. The doctrine holds that Mary (q.v.) was born free of the stain and guilt of original sin (q.v.). Phrased in this way, the doctrine is unacceptable to the Orthodox Church whose understanding of original sin, and anthropology in general, differs significantly from that of the Roman Catholic Church (qq.v.). These differences go back in substance to the writings of Augustine of Hippo in contradistinction to the Greek Church Fathers (qq.v.).