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| General Information | How We Began | The Reason for the Society |
| Next Meeting | Membership | Some Links of Interest |
The Ecumenical Society
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
||
| General Information | How We Began | The Reason for the Society |
| Next Meeting | Membership | Some Links of Interest |
The purpose of the Society is to advance theological and pastoral understanding of the place of
the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church and to promote ecumenical devotion.
The Society usually meets on the first Saturday of May and October, typically in or near
Washington, DC. Special meetings are also arranged for common worship and exploration of
Mary's role.
Our next meeting is Saturday, May 1, 1999, at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Washington, DC. Members are encouraged to attend all meetings. Others interested in the field of Marian dialogue are also welcome. Would you like further information?
A newsletter announces the exact time, date, location, and presenter(s) to the members in advance. In addition, members of the American Society receive the British Society newsletters and invitations to the biennial international congresses in Britain as well as various papers published in both countries.
The American Society is governed by an Executive Committee, consisting of elected officers who represent several different Christian traditions. They are elected for a two-year term. Past presidents are ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary was born as an idea in Brussels during the
1966 celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of the completion of the Malines Conversations
(1921). These were unofficial in-depth talks between Roman Catholic and Anglican Church
leaders.
These leaders agreed to turn such a problem as Mariology "from a cross to a joy." In 1967 the
first official meeting was called in London.
The growth of the ESBVM in England was rapid. Its early supporters included leaders in the
Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and Orthodox Churches.
In 1976 an American Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in
Washington, DC, by a group of friends in several Christian traditions who had participated in the
British Society.
The Society provides its members with the opportunity to advance the theological and pastoral
understanding of the Virgin Mary for Christian faith and life, and to promote ecumenical
devotion.
From the Reformation tradition:
And this is the greatest praise we know how to give her. . . that we avow Mary as our teacher and that we are her disciples. —John Calvin, Sermon XI on the Harmony of the Gospels
Chapter Eight, "On the Blessed Virgin Mary," of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution On the Church leaves no doubt as to the importance of ensuring that in all current dialogue towards Christian unity, Mary's place in the Church be given full consideration.
The name of the Mother of God (Theotokos) contains the whole history of the divine economy in the world.
Everywhere in the Christian world where she is known, Mary's name is associated with joy. She is the joy of joys, the cause of our joy, the joy of all creation. —A. M. Allchin
Membership in the ESBVM is open to all who are willing to support its aims and to accord
equal respect to all Christian traditions. Members are entitled to vote at annual meetings and to
receive newsletters and other publications as they occur.
A membership application is part of this Web site, where you can apply for or continue
membership, or make a copy for a colleague.
SOME LINKS OF INTEREST
(to be updated)
British Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Mariological Society of America's 50th annual program, May 25-28, Washington, DC, at the Theological College and National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Summer workshop: "Understanding Mary Today," by Sister Mary Maher, SSND, at Washington Theological Union, Washington, DC, June 28-July 2, 1999 ("a critical investigation of Mary from scriptural, ecumenical, feminist, and doctrinal prospectives, integrated with consideration of the devotional and socio-political meanings of the representations of Mary in the arts")
The University of Dayton's noted Marian Library