Books Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion by Stephen J. Shoemaker (Author)

"Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion" by Stephen J. Shoemaker is a scholarly exploration of the emergence and growth of Marian devotion in the early Christian centuries, tracing how Mary, the mother of Jesus, became a central figure in Christian belief and practice well before the medieval period. Shoemaker utilizes a wide array of sources, including early liturgical texts, apocryphal writings about Mary’s Dormition and Assumption, and less commonly studied manuscripts from Coptic, Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Slavonic traditions.

The book argues that Marian devotion was not a late medieval invention or solely a product of church councils but played a vital role in early Christianity starting as early as the latter half of the second century. Shoemaker highlights how popular devotion and prayer to Mary ("lex orandi") preceded the formal doctrinal definitions ("lex credendi"). He revisits well-known controversies, such as the Council of Ephesus' declaration of Mary as Theotokos, showing it as the culmination of popular piety rather than its origins.