1.
Thomas Girtin
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Thomas Girtin was an English painter and etcher. A friend and rival of J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Girtin was born in Southwark, London, the son of a wealthy brushmaker of Huguenot descent. His father died while Thomas was a child, and his then married a Mr Vaughan. Girtin learnt drawing as a boy, and was apprenticed to Edward Dayes, certainly Dayes did not appreciate his pupils talent, and he was to write dismissively of Girtin after his death. While a youth, Girtin became friends with J. M. W. Turner, Girtin exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1794. He went on sketching tours, visiting the north of England, North Wales. By 1799, he had acquired influential patrons such as Lady Sutherland, and he was the dominant member of the Brothers, a sketching society of professional artists and talented amateurs. In 1800, Girtin married Mary Ann Borrett, the 16-year-old daughter of a well-to-do City goldsmith, and set up home in St Georges Row, Hyde Park, next door to the painter Paul Sandby. By 1801, he was a welcome houseguest at his patrons country houses such as Harewood House and Mulgrave Castle, and able to charge 20 guineas for a painting, but his health was deteriorating. In late 1801 to early 1802, he spent five and a months in Paris. They were published as Twenty Views in Paris and its Environs after his death, in spring and summer 1802, Girtin produced a panorama of London, the Eidometropolis,18 feet high and 108 feet in circumference which was exhibited with success that year. It was notable for its treatment of urban light and atmosphere. That November, Girtin died in his room, the cause was variously reported as asthma or ossification of the heart. Girtins early landscapes are akin to 18th-century topographical sketches, but in years he developed a bolder, more spacious, romantic style. The scenery of the north encouraged him to create a new palette of warm browns, slate greys, indigo. Girtins early death reportedly caused Turner to remark, Had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum have collections of his work. The British Museum was given significant Girtin watercolours by the collector Chambers Hall, in July 2002 Tate Britain organised an exhibition, Thomas Girtin, The Art of Watercolour which aimed to reveal his technical genius
2.
Augustinians
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The term Augustinians, named after Augustine of Hippo, applies to two distinct types of Catholic religious orders and some Anglican religious orders. Within Anglicanism the Rule of St Augustine is followed only by women, Augustine, a brief document providing guidelines for living in a religious community. The largest and most familiar, originally known as the Hermits of Saint Augustine, two other Orders, the Order of Augustinian Recollects and the Discalced Augustinians, were once part of the Augustinian Order under a single Prior General. The Recollect friars, founded in 1588 as a movement of the Augustinian friars in Spain, became autonomous in 1612 with their first Prior General. The Discalced friars became an independent congregation with their own Prior General in 1592 and they generally form one large community, which might serve parishes in the vicinity, and are organized into autonomous congregation, which normally are distinct by region. In a religious community, charism is the contribution that each religious order, congregation or family. The teaching and writing of Augustine, the Augustinian Rule, and it does not unduly single out the exceptional, especially favour the gifted, nor exclude the poor or marginalised. Love is not earned through human merit, but received and given freely by Gods free gift of grace and these same imperatives of affection and fairness have driven the order in its international missionary outreach. This balanced pursuit of love and learning has energised the various branches of the order into building communities founded on mutual affection, Augustine spoke passionately of Gods beauty so ancient and so new, and his fascination with beauty extended to music. He taught that to sing once is to pray twice and music is also a key part of the Augustinian ethos, the Canons Regular follow the more ancient form of religious life which developed toward the end of the first millennium and thus predates the founding of the friars. They represent a clerical adaptation of life, as it grew out of an attempt to organize communities of clerics to a more dedicated way of life. Historically it paralleled the lay movement of monasticism or the life from which the friars were later to develop. In their tradition, the added the commitment of religious vows to their primary vocation of pastoral care. As the canons became independent of the structures, they came to form their own monastic communities. The official name of the Order is the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, like the Order of Saint Benedict, it is not one legal body, but a union of various independent congregations. Though they also follow the Rule of St. Augustine, they differ from the friars in not committing themselves to corporate poverty, which is a defining element of the mendicant orders. Unlike the friars and like monks, the canon are generally organized as one community to which they are attached for life with a vow of stability. Their houses are given the title of an abbey, from which the canons then serve various surrounding towns, the religious superior of their major houses is titled an abbot
3.
David I of Scotland
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David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots. The youngest son of Máel Coluim III and Margaret of Wessex, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, perhaps after 1100, he became a dependent at the court of King Henry I. There he was influenced by the Norman and Anglo-French culture of the court, when Davids brother Alexander I of Scotland died in 1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take the Kingdom of Scotland for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his rival and nephew, subduing the latter seems to have taken David ten years, a struggle that involved the destruction of Óengus, Mormaer of Moray. Davids victory allowed expansion of control over more distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom, after the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henrys daughter and his own niece, the former Empress-consort, Matilda, to the throne of England. In the process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his power in northern England, the term Davidian Revolution is used by many scholars to summarise the changes which took place in Scotland during his reign. The early years of David I are the most obscure of his life, because there is little documented evidence, historians can only guess at most of Davids activities in this period. David was born on an unknown in 1084 in Scotland. He was probably the son of King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada. He was the grandson of the ill-fated King Duncan I, in 1093 King Máel Coluim and Davids brother Edward were killed at the River Aln during an invasion of Northumberland. David and his two brothers Alexander and Edgar, both kings of Scotland, were probably present when their mother died shortly afterwards. According to later tradition, the three brothers were in Edinburgh when they were besieged by their uncle, Domnall Bán. It is not certain what happened next, but an insertion in the Chronicle of Melrose states that Domnall forced his three nephews into exile, although he was allied with another of his nephews, Edmund. John of Fordun wrote, centuries later, that an escort into England was arranged for them by their maternal uncle Edgar Ætheling, William Rufus, King of England, opposed Domnalls accession to the northerly kingdom. He sent the eldest son of Máel Coluim, Davids half-brother Donnchad, Donnchad was killed within the year, and so in 1097 William sent Donnchads half-brother Edgar into Scotland. The latter was successful, and was crowned King by the end of 1097. During the power struggle of 1093–97, David was in England, in 1093, he may have been about nine years old. From 1093 until 1103 Davids presence cannot be accounted for in detail, when William Rufus was killed, his brother Henry Beauclerc seized power and married Davids sister, Matilda
4.
Jedburgh
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Jedburgh (/ˈdʒɛdbərə/, Scots, Jeddart/Jethart, is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and former county town of Roxburghshire. Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot and it is 10 miles from the border with England, and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey. Other notable buildings in the town include Mary, Queen of Scots House, Jedburgh Castle Jail, now a museum, and the Carnegie library. Bishop Ecgred of Lindisfarne founded a church at Jedburgh in the 9th century, the abbey was founded in 1147, but border wars with England in the 16th century left it a ruin. The deeply religious Scottish king Malcolm IV died at Jedburgh in 1165 and his death is thought to have been caused by excessive fasting. David I built a castle at Jedburgh, and in 1174 and it was an occasional royal residence for the Scots, but captured by the English so often that it was eventually demolished in 1409, by which time it was the last English stronghold in Scotland. Alexander III was married in the abbey in 1285 and its proximity to England made it subject to raids and skirmishes by both Scottish and English forces but its strategic position also brought the town valuable trade. At various times and at various locations the town supported a market, a cattle market, a corn market. Farm workers and servants also attended hiring fairs seeking employment, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at a certain house in the town in 1566 and that house is now a museum. Lord of Jedburgh Forest was a Lordship of Parliament that was granted to George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus on his marriage to the Princess Mary and it is a subsidiary title of the present Earl of Angus, the Duke of Hamilton. The Duke of Douglas was raised to the position of Viscount Jedburgh Forest, in 1745, the Jacobite army led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart passed through the town on its way to England, and the Prince also stayed there. The Castle Prison opened in 1823, in 1787, the geologist James Hutton noted what is now known as the Hutton Unconformity at Inchbonny, near Jedburgh. Layers of sedimentary rock which are tilted almost vertically are covered by newer horizontal layers of red sandstone and this was one of the findings that led him to develop his concept of an immensely long geologic time scale with no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. The expression Jeddart justice or Jethart Justice, in which a man was hanged first, several notable people were born in the town, including Mary Somerville, the eminent scientist and writer, after whom Somerville College, Oxford is named. Others include Conservative MP Michael Ancram in 1945, James Thomson who wrote Rule Britannia, was born in Ednam, a village only twelve miles away, but he was educated in Jedburgh. David Brewster, physicist, mathematician, scientist, writer and inventor of the kaleidoscope, was born in Jedburgh in 1781, general Sir Bindon Blood was born nearby in 1842. Alexander Jeffrey was a solicitor in the town and was also the county historian and he died in Jedburgh in 1874. The author and broadcaster Lavinia Derwent was born in a farmhouse a few miles outside Jedburgh in 1909, the towns most famous rugby sons are the scrum-halves, Roy Laidlaw and Gary Armstrong
5.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
6.
Abbey
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An abbey is a complex of buildings used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. It provides a place for activities, work and housing of Christian monks. The concept of the abbey has developed over centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them. Religious life in an abbey may be monastic, an abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors. The layout of the church and associated buildings of an abbey often follows a set plan determined by the religious order. Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat. There are many famous abbeys across Europe, the earliest known Christian monasteries were groups of huts built near the residence of a famous ascetic or other holy person. Disciples wished to be close to their man or woman in order to study their doctrine or imitate their way of life. In the earliest times of Christian monasticism, ascetics would live in social isolation and they would subsist whilst donating any excess produce to the poor. However, increasing religious fervor about the ways and or persecution of them would drive them further away from their community. For instance, the cells and huts of anchorites have been found in the deserts of Egypt, in 312 AD, Anthony the Great retired to the Thebaid region of Egypt to escape the persecution of the Emperor Maximian. Anthony was the best known of the anchorites of his due to his degree of austerity, sanctity. The deeper he withdrew into the wilderness, the more numerous his disciples became and they refused to be separated from him and built their cells close to him. This became a first true monastic community, Anthony, according to Johann August Wilhelm Neander, inadvertently became the founder of a new mode of living in common, Coenobitism. At Tabennae on the Nile, in Upper Egypt, Saint Pachomius laid the foundations for the life by arranging everything in an organized manner. He built several monasteries, each with about 1,600 separate cells laid out in lines and these cells formed an encampment where the monks slept and performed some of their manual tasks. There were nearby large halls such as the church, refectory, kitchen, infirmary, an enclosure protecting all these buildings gave the settlement the appearance of a walled village. This layout, known as the laurae, became popular throughout Palestine, as well as the laurae, communities known as caenobia developed
7.
Carter Bar
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Carter Bar is a point on the England–Scotland border, in Roxburghshire and Northumberland. Carter Bar is where the A68 road crosses the border and forms a pass located at the top of Redesdale in the Cheviot Hills at an elevation of 418 metres. The nearest Scottish towns are Jedburgh, Hawick, and Kelso, from Carter Bar, Newcastle upon Tyne is 45 miles away and the Scottish capital, Edinburgh,58 miles. The A696–A68 route is a scenic tourist route between Newcastle and Edinburgh. In 1575 Carter Bar was the scene of the Raid of the Redeswire, Carter Bar was the location of Truce days, that were held between the Lord Wardens of the Marches of both countries to dispense cross border justice in the Late Middle Ages and Early modern period. Truce days were held at Carlisle and Berwick upon Tweed. Carter Bar forms a point for tourists to stop and take photographs on the Anglo-Scottish border. There are two stones on either side of the A68 for this purpose, the original stone created by local Borders stonemason. Upper Redesdale, the Scottish Borders and to the east, the Cheviot hills are all visible from Carter Bar. However, its altitude means snow is even in late spring and early autumn. List of places in the Scottish Borders List of places in Northumberland RCAHMS, Martinlee Sike Scottish Borders Council, Carter Bar / Homecoming 2009 Scottish Borders Council, windfarm proposal
8.
Kingdom of Northumbria
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The Kingdom of Northumbria was a medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland, which subsequently became an earldom in a unified English kingdom. The name reflects the southern limit to the kingdoms territory. Northumbria was formed by Æthelfrith in central Great Britain in Anglo-Saxon times, at the beginning of the 7th century, the two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira were unified. At its height, the kingdom extended at least from just south of the Humber to the River Mersey, the later earldom came about when the southern part of Northumbria was lost to the Danelaw. The earldom was bounded by the River Tees in the south, much of this land was debated between England and Scotland, but the Earldom of Northumbria was eventually recognised as part of England by the Anglo-Scottish Treaty of York in 1237. On the northern border, Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is north of the Tweed but had changed many times, was defined as subject to the laws of England by the Wales. The local Environment Agency office, located in Newcastle Business Park, otherwise, the term is not the official name for the UK and EU region of North East England. See also, List of monarchs of Northumbria and Timeline of Northumbria Northumbria was originally formed from the union of two independent kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira, Bernicia covered lands north of the Tees, while Deira corresponded roughly to modern-day Yorkshire. Bernicia and Deira were first united by Aethelfrith, a king of Bernicia who conquered Deira around the year 604. He was defeated and killed around the year 616 in battle at the River Idle by Raedwald of East Anglia, who installed Edwin, the son of Ælla, a former king of Deira, as king. Edwin, who accepted Christianity in 627, soon grew to become the most powerful king in England, he was recognised as Bretwalda and conquered the Isle of Man and Gwynedd in northern Wales. He was, however, himself defeated by an alliance of the king of Gwynedd, Cadwallon ap Cadfan. After Edwins death, Northumbria was split between Bernicia, where Eanfrith, a son of Aethelfrith, took power, and Deira, cumbria tended to remain a country frontier with the Britons. Both of these rulers were killed during the year that followed, after the murder of Eanfrith, his brother, Oswald, backed by warriors sent by Domnall Brecc of Dál Riata, defeated and killed Cadwallon at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634. He incorporated Gododdin lands northwards up to the Firth of Forth and also extended his reach westward, encroaching on the remaining Cumbric speaking kingdoms of Rheged. Thus, Northumbria became not only part of modern Englands far north, King Oswald re-introduced Christianity to the Kingdom by appointing St. Aidan, an Irish monk from the Scottish island of Iona to convert his people. This led to the introduction of the practices of Celtic Christianity, a monastery was established on Lindisfarne. In 642, Oswald was killed by the Mercians under Penda at the Battle of Maserfield and this battle marked a major turning point in Northumbrian fortunes, Penda died in the battle, and Oswiu gained supremacy over Mercia, making himself the most powerful king in England
9.
Bishop of Durham
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The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords, paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham since his election was confirmed at York Minster on 20 January 2014. The previous bishop was Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop is one of two who escort the sovereign at the coronation. He is officially styled The Right Reverend Father in God, by Divine Providence Lord Bishop of Durham, in signatures, the bishops family name is replaced by Dunelm, from the Latin name for Durham. In the past, Bishops of Durham varied their signatures between Dunelm and the French Duresm, prior to 1836, the Bishop of Durham was a prince-bishop and had significant temporal powers over the Liberty of Durham and later the County Palatine of Durham. The bishop lived in Durham Castle from its construction in the 11th century, the bishop continues to have offices in Auckland Castle but no longer resides there. The Bishop of Lindisfarne is a title which takes its name after the tidal island of Lindisfarne. The title was first used by the Anglo-Saxons between the 7th and 10th centuries, in the reign of Æthelstan the bishop was known as the Bishop of Chester-le-Street or the Bishop of the Church of St Cuthbert. According to George Molyneaux, it was in all probability the greatest landholder between the Tees and the Tyne and it is now used by the Roman Catholic Church for a titular see. The Anglo-Saxon bishops of Lindisfarne were ordinaries of several early medieval episcopal sees in Northumbria, the first such see was founded at Lindisfarne in 635 by Saint Aidan. The bishop appointed all officials and maintained his own court. After the Norman Conquest, this power was retained by the bishop and was recognised with the designation of the region as the County Palatine of Durham. As holder of office, the bishop was both the earl of the county and bishop of the diocese. Though the term prince-bishop has become a way of describing the role of the bishop prior to 1836. Except for a period of suppression during the Glorious Revolution
10.
Lindisfarne
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The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England. It is also known just as Holy Island and it constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a history from the 6th century AD. It was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, after the Viking invasions and the Norman conquest of England, a priory was reestablished. A small castle was built on the island in 1550, the island of Lindisfarne appears under the Old Welsh name Medcaut in the 9th century Historia Brittonum. Following up on a suggestion by Richard Coates, Andrew Breeze proposes that the name derives from Latin Medicata. Both the Parker Chronicle and Peterborough Chronicle annals of AD793 record the Old English name, the soubriquet Holy Island was in use by the 11th century when it appears in Latin as Insula Sacra. The reference was to Saints Aidan and Cuthbert, the name Lindisfarne has an uncertain origin. The first part, Lindis-, may refer to people from the Kingdom of Lindsey in modern Lincolnshire, alternatively the name may be Celtic in origin, with the element Lindis- meaning stream or pool. It is not known if this is a reference to the nearby River Low or a lake on the island. The second element, -farne, probably comes from farran, meaning land, There is also a supposition that the nearby Farne Islands are fern like in shape and the name may have come from there. The island measures 3 miles from east to west and 1.5 miles from north to south, the nearest point of the island is about 1 mile from the mainland of England. The island of Lindisfarne is located along the northeast coast of England and it is accessible, most times, at low tide by crossing sand and mud flats which are covered with water at high tides. These sand and mud flats carry an ancient pilgrims path, and in recent times. Lindisfarne is surrounded by the 8, 750-acre Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, which protects the islands sand dunes, as of 27 March 2011 the island had a population of 180. Warning signs urge visitors walking to the island to keep to the path, check tide times and weather carefully. For drivers, tide tables are prominently displayed at both ends of the causeway and also where the Holy Island road leaves the A1 Great North Road at Beal. The causeway is generally open from about three hours after high tide until two hours before the high tide, but the period of closure may be extended during stormy weather
11.
Augustine of Hippo
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Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
12.
Mary, mother of Jesus
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Mary, also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin, the miraculous birth took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the Gospel of Luke begins its account of Marys life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her life her body was assumed directly into Heaven. Mary has been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion and she is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, there is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, many Protestants minimize Marys role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary also has a position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her. Marys name in the manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name ܡܪܝܡ. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a form of Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament, in Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husbands involvement. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos, Aeiparthenos as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. For example, the title Our Lady of Sorrows has inspired such masterpieces as Michelangelos Pietà, the title Theotokos was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. However, this phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God, some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title Queen Mother has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, the scriptural basis for the term Queen can be seen in Luke 1,32 and the Isaiah 9,6. Queen Mother can be found in 1 Kings 2, 19-20 and Jeremiah 13, other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions for calling on Mary
