Mary was a Judean lady from Nazareth who lived in the first century. She was Jesus’ mother and Joseph’s wife. She is a key figure in Christianity, revered by many by monikers like queen or virgin, many of which are listed in the Litany of Loreto. As Jesus’ mother, Mary is regarded by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches as the Mother of God. There are differing Protestant perspectives on Mary; some believe she is much less important than others. Mary was a young virgin[d] who was selected by God to conceive Jesus via the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the New Testament. Since the beginning of Christianity, Mary has been revered, and millions of people believe that she is the greatest and holiest saint. Mary is known as the Virgin Mary in Christianity because it is believed that she was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to her first child, Jesus, “until her son [Jesus] was born”—all without having any sexual intercourse with her fiancé, Joseph. The term “until” has sparked a great deal of debate regarding whether or not Joseph and Mary had siblings following the birth of Jesus. The two main sources of historical knowledge concerning Mary are the Acts of the Apostles and the canonical Gospels. Given that the gospel of John would date around AD 90–110 and the synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are widely accepted to date from approximately AD 66–90, these are nearly contemporaneous sources. They don’t give much background about Mary.
