Eastern Orthodoxy
While the Eastern Orthodox Churches have never accepted the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, they do celebrate December 9 as the Feast of the Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos. While the Orthodox believe that the Virgin Mary was, from her conception, filled with every grace of the Holy Spirit, in view of her calling as the Mother of God, they do not teach that she was conceived without original sin as their understanding of this doctrine differs from the Roman Catholic articulation. The Orthodox do affirm that Mary is "all-holy" and never committed a personal sin during her lifetime.
The Orthodox feast is not a perfect nine months before the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8) as it is in the West, but a day later. This feast is not ranked among the Great Feasts of the church year, but is a lesser-ranking feast (Polyeleos).
Read more about this topic: Feast Of The Immaculate Conception
Famous quotes containing the word eastern:
“The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,
Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)