Marian apparition
In Apparitions is vision in which witnesses report that they Maria , the mother of Jesus had appeared. Alleged Marian apparitions are attested for the entire Christian era. Already James the Elder , one of the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth , Jesus' mother said to have appeared on 2 January of the year 40 AD in Zaragoza, Spain. Of the hundreds of reports of apparitions that are said to have occurred over the centuries, only very few are ecclesiastically recognized. Churches, monasteries and places of pilgrimage can often develop in places with Marian apparitions .
phenomenon
Up until the end of the late Middle Ages , it was mostly men and among them mostly clerics to whom Mary is said to have appeared. As early as the 11th century, however, there was already the motif of the simple woman in literature , who was given a special experience in the form of a vision . In the 18th century, which was shaped by the Enlightenment, the number of reports of Marian apparitions decreased. In the 19th century, however, the number increased again against the background of a renewal of the Catholic Church and a stronger emphasis on emotional piety. The cult of the Virgin Mary was at the center of the new piety. The historian David Blackbourn , who examined the Marpinger apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the second half of the 19th century, among other things , has shown on the basis of a series of ecclesiastically approved and unapproved apparitions that the seers of the 19th century have characteristics such as a life of dependence, rough treatment, early separation from the family or loss of a parent, an outsider and, in the majority of cases, depressing poverty are common. For many of the seers the appearance therefore meant emotional support and consolation. Even the pious descriptions of the Marian apparitions of the 19th century have always emphasized that the seers of the great, ecclesiastically recognized Marian apparitions were members of the poorest classes. This applies to Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, the seers from La Salette , and Bernadette Soubirous from Lourdes . The nun Cathérine Labouré , who came from a petty-bourgeois and therefore materially better off situation, is one of the few exceptions.
The visionary events that the seers allegedly or actually experienced affected the lives of their fellow human beings, in some cases considerably. Accordingly, the seers often initially met with rejection and distrust. In many cases this also applied to the pastors, to whose congregation the seers belonged. On the part of their bishops, clergymen were urged to await the church examination and a decision on the apparition. Seers found a high degree of local acceptance where the pilgrimages to be expected promised the prospect of material gain. However, the presence of many pilgrims often had undesirable side effects. In particular, the intervention of the authorities could lead to an impairment of local life. French authorities threatened the residents of Lourdes with a planned railway line around Lourdes if the city did not regain its senses.
The phenomenon of the apparition of Mary occurs mostly among Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians; in isolated cases, even in supposedly unbelievers who then mostly due to this phenomenon converted . The individual reports of Marian apparitions are varied. Sometimes individual phenomena are reported that do not repeat themselves or are not known any further. More well-known are repeated apparitions of the Virgin Mary, which, if announced accordingly, can attract a large audience ( Fátima ).
The sensual perception of individual appearances is also different: in most cases, at least the people who had the first apparition of Mary can both see and hear them. Other sensory perceptions , such as a common rose smell, are also known. The messages conveyed can also be of various kinds and contain prophecies as well as encouragement in individual life crises.
There are also cases in which the apparitions of Mary were allegedly predicted and their subsequent appearance was testified by several people. It is claimed that the lack of such predictions or repeated appearances may be caused by the seers' doubts or by doubts or pronounced prohibitions by church authorities.
Scoring and assessment
Marian apparitions are viewed as miracles by many believers . Others in turn generally reject these phenomena, either as unimportant for the personal experience of faith, as charlatanism or as occultism . Of scientists , these phenomena are often called hallucination evaluated. In the meantime, however, primarily political and social scientists repeatedly refer to the specific social functions of Marian apparitions in the context of a globalized modernity . These are mostly the origin of social movements that are based on political and social resistance. In this sense, appearances have stabilizing effects on emotional bonding forces within societies.
Like all phenomena potentially wonderful origin are also apparitions of the Roman Catholic Church to its authenticity verified. For this purpose, three assessment formulas have been established:
- constat de supernaturalitate - It is certain that it is something supernatural .
- non constat de supernaturalitate - It is not clear whether it is supernatural or
- constat de non supernaturalitate - It is certain that the appearances are not supernatural.
These assessments are usually issued after a thorough examination by the diocesan bishop , but can also be transferred to other authorities. Reports of Marian apparitions, including those recognized by the Church as supernatural, are not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Every Catholic is therefore free to believe in the authenticity of a Marian apparition or not.
Places of Marian apparitions
Apparitions of Mary in the Roman Catholic Church
On February 24, 1978, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith established norms for the ecclesiastical assessment of Marian and other apparitions as well as private revelations .
Awarded supernatural
Supernatural is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church: Constat de supernaturalitate ("it is certain that the apparitions are supernatural").
- Akita (Japan), 1973
- Beauraing (Belgium), 1932
- Banneux (Belgium), 1933
- Dietrichswalde (Poland), 1877
- Fátima (Portugal), 1917
- Guadalupe , (now part of Mexico City )
- Kibeho (Rwanda), 1981
- Knock (County Mayo) Ireland, 1879
- La Salette (France), 1846
- Lourdes (France), 1858
- Notre-Dame du Laus (France), 1664-1718
- Paris, Rue du Bac (France), 1830
- Philippsdorf (Czech Republic), 1866
- Pontmain (France), 1871
- San Nicolás de los Arroyos (Argentina), 1983–1991
Supernatural not granted or doubtful
Supernatural is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church: "Constat de non supernaturalitate" ("it is certain that the apparitions are not supernatural"). Or: "Non constat de supernaturalitate" ("it is not certain whether the appearances are supernatural"):
- Amsterdam , Ida Peerdeman's publication reports from 1945 to 1959, Mary's title Lady of All Nations (Dutch: De Vrouwe van alle Volkeren )
- Bad St. Leonhard im Lavanttal , Austria (since 2009, twice a year)
- Dechtice , Slovakia (alleged apparitions are supposed to continue)
- Garabandal , Spain
- Heede (Emsland) (an investigation of the Roman Catholic Church has not yet taken place and, according to the Diocese of Osnabrück, is also not planned)
- Heroldsbach
- Marienfried , Markt Pfaffenhofen an der Roth in Bavaria
- Marpinger Marian Apparitions 1876/1877
- Meugorje in Herzegovina (alleged apparitions are supposed to continue and are being examined)
- Niklashausen
- Sievernich
- Soufanieh in Syria ( Melkite Greek Catholic Church uniied with Rome )
- Wigratzbad (district of Opfenbach , Lindau district)
Apparitions of Mary in the Orthodox and Coptic Churches
Apparitions of Mary are also reported in the Orthodox Churches and the Coptic Church .
Constantinople:
- According to Russian tradition, the Slavic ascetic Andreij, also known as "Fool in God", had a vision of the Blessed Mother emerging from the doors of the chancel on October 1st in the 10th century during midnight mass in the famous Blachernen Church in Constantinople came out and prayed for a long time through tears. The servant Epiphanius also claims to have seen how she finally spread her shawl over the people present. The Russian prince Andrej Bogoljubskij († 1174) took over the legend, built the Protective Mantle Madonna (Pokrov) his own church and made October 1st her feast day throughout Russia.
Russia:
- Kazan: On July 8, 1579, the “Theotokos” (“Theotokos”, as Mary is called in Orthodoxy) is said to have appeared to the nine-year-old girl Matrona in Kazan on the Volga. According to the report, she revealed the hiding place of a miraculous icon hidden from the Muslim Tatars. The miraculous image known as " Kazanskaya " became a symbol of Russia, and cathedrals were built in her honor in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Ukraine :
- Pochayiv : On April 17, 1198, the "Theotokos" appeared, according to the founding legend of the Basilian monastery of Pochayiv, a group of monks who fled from the famous cave monastery of Kiev (Pecherskaya Lavra) to the caves near Ternopyl before the invasion of the Mongols , "In a pillar of fire". She is said to have left her footprint in the rock. Since then, healing effects have been attributed to water from a nearby spring, and a monastery at the apparition site has become a popular place of pilgrimage.
- Hruschiw: On April 25, 1987, Mary is said to have appeared to the 11-year-old Marina Kisyn above the bell tower of the village church, which has been closed for 40 years. This was a place of pilgrimage more than 100 years ago because of a miraculous icon of Mary and a fountain with supposedly healing water. When the apparitions were repeated on the following days, up to 40,000 pilgrims came despite all the sabotages of the communist regime at the time. Almost all of them also want to have seen the apparition in orange-red and blue light.
Authenticity confirmed by the Coptic and Roman Catholic Patriarchs
Egypt:
- Zeitoun : On April 2, 1968 and weeks after that, every evening there were apparitions of a "woman in white light", which hundreds of thousands of Coptic Christians and Muslims watched over the dome of the Coptic Church of St. Mary in Zeitoun. According to legend, Zeitoun is the place where the Virgin Mary rested under a sycamore on her flight to Egypt . Many miraculous healings and conversions have been reported. On May 4, 1968, the Coptic Patriarch Kyrillos VI declared. the apparitions are credible, the Catholic Patriarch Stephen I agreed with him.
Authenticity confirmed by the Coptic Patriarch
- Assiut : On August 17, 2000, a series of Marian apparitions began over St. Numerous witnesses claim to have seen mysterious lights, doves made of light or the glowing figure of Our Lady, photos and videos are also available. The Coptic Patriarch Shenouda III. recognized the authenticity of the apparitions and referred to them as "signs of consolation" for the Christian minority in Egypt. Bishop Mina Hanna, chairman of the Assiut Council of Churches, said: “This is a blessing for both Muslims and Christians. It is a blessing for Egypt. "
literature
- Paul Badde : Mary of Guadalupe - how the appearance of the Virgin wrote world history . Ullstein 2004.
- David Blackbourn : When you see her again, ask who she is. Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Marpingen. The rise and fall of the German Lourdes . Rowohlt, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-498-00583-9 .
- David Blackbourn: "The girls most preferred by God" - Marian apparitions in the Bismarckian kingdom , in: Irmtraud Götz von Olenhusen (Hrsg.): Wonderful apparitions. Women and Catholic Piety in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 1995, pp. 171-201. ISBN 3-506-76178-1 . On-line
- Ramon DeLuca : Real or Fake? The Church's Criteria for Distinguishing Private Revelations . Verax, Müstair 1998, ISBN 3-909065-03-1 .
- Angelika Ebrecht: Truth, Delusion and Miracles - On the psychoanalytic social psychology of religious belief in miracles using the example of Franz Werfel's novel Das Lied der Bernadette , 2009. In: gender politik online queried on August 28, 2009.
- Johannes Fiebag , Peter Fiebag : Signs in the sky. UFOs and Marian apparitions . Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-548-35567-6 .
- Stefan Teplan, Valentin Reitmajer: Maria speaks in Medjugorje - All messages of the Blessed Mother . Reimo Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-9805810-7-1 .
- Josef Hanauer : Our Lady's Apparitions: Facts or Deception? Fischer, Aachen 1996, ISBN 3-89514-056-2 .
- Bernd Harder : Medjugorje - pilgrimage for millions . Pattloch, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-629-02105-0 .
- Monika Hauf: Marian apparitions. Background to a phenomenon . Patmos, Düsseldorf 2006. ISBN 3-491-72496-1 .
- Gottfried Hierzenberger , Otto Nedomansky: Apparitions and messages of the Mother of God Maria , Augsburg 1997, Bechtermünz, ISBN 3-86047-452-9 .
- Kevin O. Johnson : 20 questions about Medjugorje. What Rome really said . Verax, Müstair 2001, ISBN 3-909065-23-6 .
- Elvira Maria Slade: Maria - The unknown sides of the "Mother of God" . Verlag für Reformatorische Erneuerung, Wuppertal 2003, ISBN 3-87857-318-9 .
- Ivan Zeljko : Marian apparitions - appearance and being from theological and psychological point of view - illustrated using the example of the private revelations in Medjugorje . Dr. Kovač, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-8300-1448-1 .
Web links
General
- Sham or not sham ( memento from December 6, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) by Bernd Harder / Stephan Teplan
- Places of publication worldwide Maps per continent and links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Blackbourn, p. 32.
- ^ Blackbourn, pp. 62 and 63.
- ↑ Blackbourne, pp. 36 to 46.
- ↑ Blackbourne, p. 43.
- ↑ Blackbourne, p. 47.
- ↑ Elvira Maria Slade: Maria - The unknown pages of the "Mother of God" . Verlag für Reformatorische Erneuerung, Wuppertal 2003, ISBN 3-87857-318-9 .
- ↑ Angelika Ebrecht, 2009, Truth, Wahn and Miracle - On the psychoanalytical social psychology of religious belief in miracles using the example of Franz Werfel's novel Das Lied der Bernadette , in: gender politik online ( Memento from May 28, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) queried on August 28, 2009 .
- ↑ Norms for the Procedure for Judging Suspected Apparitions and Revelations on the Holy See's website .
- ↑ Recognition on May 4, 2008 , French Website .
- ↑ www.marienerscheinung.at
- ↑ Genesis ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Apparitions in Zeitoun (Eng.)
- ↑ comprehensive information (Engl.)
- ^ Published in Assiut Share International, November 2000