Queen of Heaven
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Queen of Heaven is a Roman title used in antiquity for the Ancient Egyptian goddess, Isis. The term later was used in Roman Catholicism as one of many titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The term also may refer to a Christian hymn first dating from the thirteenth century.
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[edit] Antiquity
The Roman writer, Apuleius, in his Transformations of Lucius, gives an understanding of Isis as the Queen of Heaven in the first century B.C. The following paragraph is particularly significant.
- "You see me here, Lucius, in answer to your prayer. I am nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are, my nod governs the shining heights of Heavens, the wholesome sea breezes. Though I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless names. . . some know me as Juno, some as Bellona . . . the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning and worship call me by my true name...Queen Isis."
Queen of Heaven is a natural title for goddesses central to many religions of antiquity. In Sumer Inanna was hailed as "Queen of Heaven" in the 3rd millennium BC. In Akkad to the north, she was worshipped later as Ishtar. In the Sumerian Descent of Inanna, when Inanna is challenged at the outermost gates of the underworld, she replies
- I am Inanna, Queen of Heaven,
On my way to the East.
Her cult was deeply embedded in Mesopotamia and among the Canaanites to the west.
In the early 6th Century BC, some of the Israelites worshipped the Queen of Heaven. (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:16-30)
[edit] In Old Testament & Ancient Judaism
The Hebrew Tanakh or Old Testament refers to a religious belief in a "Queen of Heaven" dating back to at least around 628 BC at the time the book of Jeremiah was written.
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh forms the basis of Christianity as the Old Testament of the Christian Holy Bible, although Judaism and Christianity disagree over its interpretation. As an ancient document, the Tanakh is a source of historical information as those facts were believed by its authors as early as 300 BC. The general accuracy of current copies is confirmed by copies (lacking only the book of Esther) found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The historical references probably date to a much earlier time than 300 BC, as the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts are copies of much earlier manuscripts.
Worship of a "Queen of Heaven" is recorded in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, circa 628 BC, in the context of the Prophet condemning such religious worship as blasphemy and a violation of the teachings of the God of Israel. Jeremiah 7:18 records: "The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger." Similarly Jeremiah 44 records the worship of the Queen of Heaven as a pagan practice whch provokes the God of Israel to anger, as He warns the Israelites of coming destruction.
A similar and related title is used for the infamous apostate Queen Jezebel, who is called "Queen Mother" in 2 Kings 10. The concept of a "Queen Mother" is portrayed in 2 Kings chapters 8 through 10 as part of pagan idolatry and apostasy contrary to the religion of the Israelites, with the suggestion that Jezebel is being revered as a pagan priestess if not almost worshipped as a goddess. Similar criticism of a "Queen Mother" is recorded in Jeremiah 13, particularly verse 18.
[edit] Christianity
Queen of Heaven (Latin Regina Caeli) is one of a number of titles used particularly in the Roman Catholic Church for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary is also referred to as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
The title is with reference to the Catholic dogma that Mary was born without original sin by Immaculate Conception, remained a virgin throughout her marriage to Joseph even after Jesus' birth, and at the end of her earthly life, Mary was bodily assumed into heaven (that is, she did not die but was transported directly into heaven), and is there honoured as Queen, for the sake of her Son.
The concept of Jesus as King, and Mary as Queen Mother follows the biblical precedent of ancient Israel, whose crown of the throne of King David, it is held in Christianity, has passed to Jesus, a descendant of King David.
Luke 1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
The Queen Mother was known in Hebrew as the gebirah. Since Jesus is heavenly king, of the lineage of David and Solomon, many see Mary as Queen Mother, although under contrary views a queen mother is a surviving, former queen and widow of a now-deceased former king.
The Roman Catholic Church also sees Mary crowned as queen in heaven in the Revelation 12, verses 1-5: "1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads."
The Coronation of the Virgin is a subject in art going back to the Middle Ages, and is enacted in May crownings, traditional Roman Catholic rituals that occur in the month of May of every year. An image or likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is ceremonially crowned to signify her as Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God.
Catholics believe that Psalms 45 "A Song Celebrating the King's Marriage" refers to the Messiah, and thus in verse 9 suggests that Jesus, the Messiah, would have a queen at his right hand. Although Mary was Jesus' mother, not His bride, Mary is often portrayed as that queen.
Alternative interpretations arise from Psalms 45's explicit references to marriage, questioning the image of Jesus marrying His own mother Mary. Other views are that Psalm 45 refers to the marriage of Jesus to His people -- i.e., the church which is called the "Bride of Christ" or that Psalms 45 is simply a celebration upon the marriage of an earthly king, giving thanks to God but not referring to the Messiah.
It is also believed by those assigning a special to Mary and believing in her Annunciation that in Luke 1:26-35 of the New Testament, the Archangel Gabriel seems to praise Mary, although she would otherwise be inferior to him. The exact relationship of angels to man, whether angels are inferior or superior to humans is a question debated within Christian theology.
[edit] Christian hymn
The Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven) is an anthem of the Roman Catholic Church which replaces the Angelus at Eastertide (from Holy Saturday until the Saturday after Pentecost); it is named for its opening words in Latin.
Of unknown authorship, the anthem was in Franciscan use in the first half of the 13th century. Together with three other Marian anthems, it was incorporated in the Minorite Roman Curia Office, which the Franciscans soon popularized everywhere, and which by order of Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280) replaced all the older breviaries in the churches of Rome.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912.
