Manila, Philippines (July 27, 2011)- Happy Iglesia Ni Cristo Day!! Happy 97th [...]]]> Happy 97th year Anniversary to all my brothers and sisters in the faith!

Praise be to Almighty God and His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ!

The following is a greeting from a member of another religious group who did not identify himself.

Manila, Philippines (July 27, 2011)- Happy Iglesia Ni Cristo Day!! Happy 97th Anniversary to all INC members around the world and we wish more show of unity specially on political endorsements with united bloc-voting. Just like every year, Pinoyworld.org, Manila Bulletin and Sunstar.com.ph will be greetings the Iglesia Ni Cristo. Almost all politicians will also greet you via newspaper greetings to Iglesia Ni Cristo (dateline, inquirer). It’s not even new to see that there will be also centerfold greetings for the Manalo family and other church followers for their Anniversary. Most of the times, this important church event of the INC appears to be a parade of politicians wanting to send their greetings to the Manalo family. Press releases will be everywhere about the global expansion of INC but we all know that the INC population is greatly increasing. You can even see many Caucasian or non Filipino INC members. Most of the foreigners who join INC is not because of marriages because non INC members cannot marry INC members. Salvation can only be attain by entering the fold, the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Below are some of the greetings mentioned by unidentified admirer. From the Inquirer

Govs cite Iglesia Ni Cristo on anniversary
Philippine Daily Inquirer
5:38 am | Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) composed of governors has cited the phenomenal growth nationally as well as globally of the Iglesia ni Cristo religious sect which is celebrating its 97th anniversary on July 27.
The INC has 5,000 churches, 717 of them outside the Philippines, with followers comprising 108 nationalities and ethnic origins.
“On behalf of my fellow governors, I would like to congratulate INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo Manalo and its members for the phenomenal growth of this homegrown church that is now present in 89 countries and four territories worldwide,” said Oriental Mindoro Gov. and LPP president Alfonso Umali Jr.
The LPP also lauded Manalo for immediately reaching out to INC members to edify the church following the death of his father, Executive Minister Eraño Manalo, in August 2009.

Iglesia Ni Cristo Celebrates 97th Anniversary
Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), a prominent and unified religious organization from the Philippines, will celebrate its 97th founding anniversary.
In 2010, INC had grown to more than 5,000 congregations in the Philippines and more than 600 abroad. The INC now has local congregations in 96 countries and territories, and its members belonging to more than 102 nationalities and ethnic groups,as quoted from an earlier report.

The declaration of July 27 as a special working holiday.

A WORKING SPECIAL HOLIDAY
On May 27, 2009, an act was approved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines declaring July 27 of every year as a special national working holiday in recognition of the founding anniversary of the Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines.
On July 7, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared July 27 as “Iglesia ni Cristo Day,” a national working holiday commemorating the founding anniversary of the sect.
In Section 2 of Republic Act 9645, “It is the declared policy of the State to observe the founding anniversary of the Iglesia ni Cristo every 27th of July in recognition of its exemplary feat of leading its members towards spiritual enlightenment and good citizenry.”

And here is a copy of the Republic Act RA 9645 proclaiming July 27 a special national working holiday.

Republic Act 9645

The Iglesia ni Cristo
By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

On [...]]]> What follows is a verbatim copy of an article written by Quennie Ann J. Palafox and published online by the National Historical Institute. As far as I know, this article is not endorsed nor approved by the Iglesia ni Cristo.

The Iglesia ni Cristo
By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

On the fateful day of June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. This gave Austria-Hungary a pretext to launch a war against Serbia. While the possibility of war was about to become a reality between Austria-Hungrary and Serbia because of the latter failure to comply with the demands of the former, the Philippines on the other hand, witnessed the birth of Iglesia ni Cristo on the historic day of July 27, 1914. One day after, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and several weeks thereafter, the great powers of Europe were at war with one another, spreading the conflict in other parts of the world. Thus, these series of events culminated in the First World War. The year 1914 marked not only the outbreak of the first global war but the beginning of the religion called Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines.

For so many years, the Iglesia ni Cristo continues to expand in and across the Philippines because of the staunch leadership of Felix Manalo, its first Executive Minister. Its leader suffered persecution from his detractors in the first few years of his mission work. This religion began as a small congregation with a handful of followers in Sta. Ana, Manila. From this small congregation Manalo established in Sta. Ana, the church followers spread like fire in other parts of Luzon such as Cavite, Bataan, Bulacan, Laguna, Pampanga and Quezon.

In celebrating its 95 years of foundation, a special national working holiday mandated by Republic Act 9645 was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 12, 2009 declaring July 27 of each year as Iglesia ni Cristo Day. It was a phenomenal religion being acclaimed by many as being strong and dynamic, it remains responsive in addressing social concerns such as peace and order and poverty in the country.

Source:http://www.nhi.gov.ph/

Happy 97th Anniversary!

Catholic church dragged into public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through Italian government

* Tom Kington in Rome
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 June 2010 22.24 BST

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe The archbishop of Naples, Cardinal [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]
Corruption and criminals within the Catholic church hierarchy, will it ever stop?
(Reprinted from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/20/vatican-cardinal-corruption-inquiry-rome-property-deals)

Catholic church dragged into public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through Italian government

* Tom Kington in Rome
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 June 2010 22.24 BST

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe The archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, delivered a fiery sermon after hearing of the investigation. Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

A senior Vatican cardinal is under investigation for corruption, dragging the Catholic church into a public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through the Italian government.

Italian media reported today that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, was suspected of striking cosy deals while head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Vatican congregation that uses proceeds from a property empire including 2,000 Rome apartments to fund missionary efforts.

Sepe allegedly oversaw the sale in 2004 of a building in Rome to the then transport minister, Pietro Lunardi, for the suspiciously low price of €4.16m, newspapers reported, adding that magistrates wanted to know why Lunardi then freed up €2.5m in state funding the following year for the congregation to create a museum in its headquarters, and why that museum never opened.

Magistrates are reportedly looking into Sepe’s links to builder Diego Anemone and former public works official Angelo Balducci, both suspected of being at the centre of a web of alleged kickbacks and corrupt state construction contracting.

Italy’s industry minister, Claudio Scajola, has already resigned after claims that Anemone paid €900,000 to subsidise the purchase of his luxury Rome flat.

Newspapers said magistrates suspected Sepe and Anemone were involved in furnishing accommodation on Rome’s Via Giulia to Guido Bertolaso, Italy’s powerful civil protection chief.

The case has shed light on the links between Roman politics and the Vatican.

Balducci was a papal usher but was dismissed when the corruption inquiry brought to light his suspected involvement with a Vatican chorister in a male prostitution ring. The Vatican said it hoped the investigation could be wrapped up fast “to eliminate any shadows, be they on the person [Sepe] or church institutions”.

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The Philippines is on the verge of a major upheaval. With all the presidential candidates going all in and betting everything including the kitchen sink, it isn’t hard to imagine a strong reaction will not be displayed for any hint of a failure of election. Pray for peace.

INC flock urged to [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]

The Philippines is on the verge of a major upheaval. With all the presidential candidates going all in and betting everything including the kitchen sink, it isn’t hard to imagine a strong reaction will not be displayed for any hint of a failure of election. Pray for peace.

INC flock urged to pray for peaceful, honest elections
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:47:00 04/27/2010
Read original here.

MANILA, Philippines—Even the leader of the Iglesia ni Cristo is wary of a failure of elections.

INC executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo sent a pastoral letter to all of its churches nationwide which was read last Saturday and Sunday urging his flock to pray for peaceful and honest elections. The INQUIRER obtained a copy of the letter from its Bel-Air Makati locale.

“We join the nation in aspiring for a clean, honest, and peaceful election and in hoping that there will be no problems so serious as to result in a failure of elections that others might use to instigate public unrest. In view of this, we are instructing you not to get involved in any baseless speculations that could only cause fear and apprehension,” said Manalo, the son of the late Eraño “Ka Erdie” Manalo who transformed this Christian sect into a major force in the elections with the disciplined, bloc-voting of its members.

Manalo and the INC elders are currently holding deliberations until Wednesday on who will be endorsed by the influential religious group.

Manalo has echoed the fears expressed by another religious leader, Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who said he has been getting “blurred visions” of the May 10 elections that could indicate an ominous sign of a failure of elections.

This was the reason why Quiboloy, who claims to have six million followers, has yet to name his “chosen one” in the elections which he was supposed to announce during his lavish birthday celebration on April 25.

A majority of the leading national candidates led by Liberal Party bet Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and civil society organizations have expressed fears that the automated polls was vulnerable to cheating and sabotage by forces that do not want the results of the voting to prevail.

Manalo urged his followers to continue to pray for peaceful and honest elections “from the casting and canvassing of votes to the proclamation of winners so that the nation’s decision will be respected by everyone.”

Since this would be the country’s first automated elections, the INC leadership has felt it necessary to send guidelines and information to its members on how to vote in a computerized system. “May all of us be able to exercise correctly and peacefully our right to vote in accordance with our faith,” said Manalo

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Mr Abe Arganiosa, a Catholic priest and blogger recently published a blog entitled “Katanungan tungkol sa pananalapi ng Vatican (Question about the finances of the Vatican)”.  He was supposed to be responding to a comment by an anonymous poster but  curiously,  instead of answering the questions with facts Mr Arganiosa started attacking the Iglesia [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]

Mr Abe Arganiosa

Mr Abe Arganiosa, a Catholic priest and blogger recently published a blog entitled “Katanungan tungkol sa pananalapi ng Vatican (Question about the finances of the Vatican)”.  He was supposed to be responding to a comment by an anonymous poster but  curiously,  instead of answering the questions with facts Mr Arganiosa started attacking the Iglesia Ni Cristo.  This really doesn’t surprise me as Mr Arganiosa is one of many Catholic bloggers on a smear campaign against the Iglesia. Sadly though that’s all they’re capable of and none of these so called  Catholic defenders will ever face an Iglesia Ni Cristo minister in a face to face debate. I can’t blame them since they can’t even defend their doctrines in forum debates.

Anyway, Mr Arganiosa started out his blog with a photo of what he wrote was the Vatican Museum. It was really impressive, very neon like  and honestly looked like something you see in Las Vegas. Curious also the caption “Meron ba ang mga (derogatory remark) nyan? Ha, ha, ha…Mamatay sila sa inggit!”.  Roughly in English this translate to “Do the (derogatory remark)? Ha, ha, ha…Let them die of jealousy!”.  Shocked? Surprised? I was. You wouldn’t expect this kind of speech from a so-called  “man of the cloth“. But Mr Arganiosa is not you regular “spiritual leader“. Nope. He’s of the Eli Soriano kind that is, they don’t guard their mouth. The same mouth they used to supposedly speak the words of God is the same mouth they use to slander, malign and derogate whom they perceive as their enemy. So much for loving you enemy. Anyway, as we try to ignore his abusive behaviour let’s see what Mr Abe has to say about the Catholic finances.

Vatican wealth? Investments

He said the Vatican is not the wealthiest of countries. While this may be true the Vatican is not poor either. And unlike purely religious organization such as the Iglesia Ni Cristo, the Catholic church is an investment machine! Very true. The Catholic church invest just like any corporation. In 1965, Time published the following:

Bankers’ best guesses about the Vatican’s wealth put it at $10 billion to $15 billion. Of this wealth, Italian stockholdings alone run to $1.6 billion, 15% of the value of listed shares on the Italian market. The Vatican has big investments in banking, insurance, chemicals, steel, construction, real estate. Dividends help pay for Vatican expenses and charities such as assisting 1,500,000 children and providing some measure of food and clothing to 7,000,000 needy Italians. Unlike ordinary stockholders, the Vatican pays no taxes on this income, which led the leftist Rome weekly L’Espresso last week to call it “the biggest tax evader in Italy.”

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,833509,00.html#ixzz0aszryQKU

Vatican Museum

Impressive! And that is in 1965. For a country with a population of less than a thousand that’s a lot of money! Aside from the investments the Vatican also makes money by charging admission to that museum Mr Arganiosa talked about not to mention tourist dollars and sale of postage stamps and mementos. One could say it has self generating income much like any other tourist destination. Admission to the Vatican Museum is € 14,00 about the same as the Hollywood Wax Museum.

One would think that with all these wealth the Catholic church would be able to help it’s needy members for something as essential in the practice of religion as a chapel. After all, Diocese do indeed send money to the Vatican however small that money is it still adds up over the years. But does the Vatican help out small Catholic congregations for such essential need as financing the building of a chapel where the faithful can practice their faith?

Drug money funds chapel renovation

Drug addiction ruins lives

In October 1995 a series of news articles rock the religious world when a Mexican bishop of the Catholic Church admitted to receiving money from drug traffickers. And he wasn’t shy admitting to it but was actually proud. He argued that the money is “purified” once it passes through the parish doors! Catholics can rationalize anything and had done it all throughout history. From burning innocents during the Inquisition to in action in World War II and now by accepting money tainted by the blood and wasted lives of souls who fell victim to drugs sold to them by the very benefactor of the Catholic church. The newspaper account goes like this

Tainted Church cash rocks Mexico
AP, MEXICO CITY
Thursday, Oct 06, 2005, Page 7

When a Mexican bishop told reporters recently that drug traffickers often donate to the Catholic Church, shock waves ran through this predominantly Catholic nation, not because the news was a surprise, but because admitting it was tantamount to confessing that nothing is sacred — not even God — when it comes to organized crime in Mexico.

Provoking the uproar were declarations by Bishop Ramon Godinez of the central state of Aguascalientes, who remarked earlier this month that donations from drug traffickers are not unusual, but that it was not the Church’s responsibility to investigate. He argued that the money is “purified” once it passes through the parish doors.

“Just because the origin of the money is bad doesn’t mean you have to burn it,” Godinez said. “Instead, you have to transform it … We live on this, on the offerings of the faithful.”

Then again in 1997, another report came out concerning the same issue that is the Catholic church taking money from drug traffickers.

October 21, 1997

DRUG LORDS BUY WAY INTO CHURCH’S HEART
MEXICO: PRIEST’S PRAISE FOR TRAFFICKERS BRINGS ‘NARCO-CHARITY’ INTO OPEN. BISHOPS DENY TAKING FUNDS BUT SAY THEY WON’T POLICE COLLECTION PLATE.

MARY BETH SHERIDAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BAMOPA, Mexico

Abelino Ortiz needed a miracle. The farmer, a devout Catholic, had rallied the peasants in this mountain village to build a chapel, but the project was short of cash–until the local drug lord happened by, briefcase in hand.

“He threw out 100,000 pesos,” then about $ 3,500, recalled Ortiz, sitting on his porch overlooking the tiny red-brick church he built 15 years ago. Because of Rafael Caro Quintero, a local boy who had become Mexico’s marijuana king, the people of Bamopa could now praise God.

Caro Quintero is now in a Mexican prison, convicted of drug trafficking and the murder of Enrique Camarena, a U.S. drug agent. But in Bamopa, he enjoys a saintly status. “The good memories he left will not be erased,” Ortiz said.

And there you go. I’m sure Mr Arganiosa would be able to come up with a rationalization of this shameful acts. He might even disown his Catholic brethren and of course he would again aim his diatribe at the Iglesia Ni Cristo complete with slander about the Iglesia’s leaders. Nothing new as he has always done the same in the past. But one thing is also sure: The Vatican where the Catholic hierarchy lives has enought money to fund a small chapel in Mexico but elected not to, forcing a poor constituent to take money from a criminal.  So much for a shepherd taking care of its flock.

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San Fernando Giant Lantern Festival/Fiesta ng Parol – celebrated the whole month of December in San Fernando, Pampanga. The festival culminates in a judging contest of the best, biggest and most beautiful Christmas lantern made by the local craftsmen in San Fernando.

There is always a fiesta (festival) going on somewhere in the Philippines [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]

The parol bears a striking resemblance to the Pentacle, a pagan symbol

San Fernando Giant Lantern Festival/Fiesta ng Parol – celebrated the whole month of December in San Fernando, Pampanga. The festival culminates in a judging contest of the best, biggest and most beautiful Christmas lantern made by the local craftsmen in San Fernando.

There is always a fiesta (festival) going on somewhere in the Philippines as every city and barrio holds at least one each year. The fiesta is usually to honor the local Roman Catholic patron saint and pay homage to the barrio’s namesake for good harvest and health. It is a mixture of both pagan and Catholic beliefs. These fiestas are marked by feasting and celebration of holy mass, music, dance and song.

Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the Philippines. Filipinos take pride in having the longest Christmas celebration in the world … as soon as the month ending with “ber” rolls around, preparations for Christmas begins. September signals the start of the Christmas season and you begin to hear Christmas carols everywhere and Christmas lanterns of all shapes and sizes light up the streets of Metro Manila. Filipinos buy star-shaped lanterns called “parol” (pronounced pah-role) to hang outside their homes. The “parol” represents the Star of Bethlehem that led the three Wise Men to the infant Jesus more than two thousand years ago.

The PENTACLE

Other names:

Five-pointed star. Star of the Microcosm. Witch’s Foot. The Morning Star. The Evening Star. Endless knot.

History:

Pentacle - a pagan symbol

The five-pointed star is the result of astrological research done over 6,000 years ago resulting in no connection whatsoever to Satanism or Christianity. Pythagoras utilized the Pentacle to represent the human being with the points of the star representing the head, arms and legs, adding the circle unifies and creates Spirit. On a side note, the Pentacle or Pentagram represents phi: 1.618, the perfect number. This number symbolizes perfection in all things that exist on this plane, for one instance, the human face, broken down in shape has the basic core and structure of a Pentagram. How’s that for perfection?

The Elements:

The Pentacle represents the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit.

Magical Uses:

As a protective device: Wear a pentacle around your neck to protect yourself.

Ritual Use:

A Pentacle is synonymous with Wiccan Rituals. It represents Spirit and Protection. A Pentacle is one of the most important devices in your Ritual Circle and can be simply represented by drawing a Pentacle in the air above your working space, in the dirt if working outside, or on a piece of paper to be discarded later.

sources:

www.goldentreewands.com – Wiccan Symbols

www.vtaide.com – Philippine Celebrations.

www.philsite.net – Philippine Fiesta

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Christmas Revelry

Millions of people from virtually every country of the world celebrate the holiday season during the Winter Solstice, and this has been true even before Christmas as we now know it existed. Pagans , farmers and common folk celebrated [...]]]> What do people do at Christmas? what else but merry making, eating and drinking!

Christmas Revelry

Saturnalia

Millions of people from virtually every country of the world celebrate the holiday season during the Winter Solstice, and this has been true even before Christmas as we now know it existed. Pagans , farmers and common folk celebrated the coming of spring during ancient times with festivals such as the Roman Saturnalia or rituals such as the Scandinavian Yule Log. These celebrations formed the backbone of holiday traditions that we all follow to this day. 

source:www.christmasrevelry.com

Hard as it may be to believe, I’m not a complete curmudgeon. I sort of like Christmas. The eating, the drinking

source: Tim Hayward, guardian.co.uk

Christmas Party

We all know that the origin of Christmas is pagan. Is this against teachings of the bible? Here’s the verse:

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”

There you go. plain and clear.

The Catholic tradition of decorated trees did not come from Christianity as laid out in scriptures but from Norse mythology similar to the eggs and bunny of Easter.

The world tree is an enormous ash that grew in the middle of the world and was sacred to Odin the chief God in Norse paganism. [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]

Christmas tree at St Peter's Square

The Catholic tradition of decorated trees did not come from Christianity as laid out in scriptures but from Norse mythology similar to the eggs and bunny of Easter.

The world tree is an enormous ash that grew in the middle of the world and was sacred to Odin the chief God in Norse paganism. The mythical embodiment of the universe, its survival was necessary for the survival of the Aesir world or the Norse Pantheon. Three Norns (trinity!) lived at the foot of this tree who decided the fate of every human being, they were all knowing.

The Christmas tree descends from the world tree, and many of its traditional decorations were adapted from Norse mythology. Candles, and in the age of electricity, Christmas lights symbolizes Thor’s flashing lightnings. Garlands and ribbons are symbols for the rainbow bridge to Asgard. At the top instead of the pagan eagle, the Christmas angel keeps watch; and at the bottom, the Christ child in his crib replaces the Norns as the Christian ‘s arbiter of human destiny. The pagan eagle at the top of the tree fanned the air with his wings which causes winds to blow.

Yggdrail - the World tree

Some writers think the Christmas tree was adopted by Catholics of German descent such as Martin Luther. Legends say that Luther on his way home from a midnight mass saw light reflecting from icicles on a small evergreen tree. He cut down the tree brought it home and decorated it with candles, ribbons and sweets. In the morning, he read religious stories under it. The Christmas tree was first mentioned in 1605 at Strasburg and introduced to France and Englad in 1840.

Even the Catholic Pope John Paul II found it necessary to explain the Catholics’ use of the pagan symbol. Quite supprisingly, his explanation bore a striking similarity to the pagan symbolism. He said the Christmas tree is a symbol of “the tree of life, a figure of Christ, God’s greatest gift to all men.”

Asherah Pole

Tree worship is not unique to Norse mythology nor Catholic tradition, and is one of the oldest form of animism and paganism. It was among the most common form of idolatrous veneration in Ancient Assyria and is a true form of Tree Worship. It would not be hard to believe that this was the same Asherah poles or Grove mentioned frequently in the Bible.

“Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going.
If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.

Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles”

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source:
D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths
Ingri D’Aulaire

Legend of the Christmas Tree
Matuszak, Pat

newadvent.org

Tree and serpent worship
James Ferguson

Goddess worship is found in almost all the [...]]]>

Cybele, Mother Earth

Goddess worship is found in almost all the pagan religions throughout history, including the ancient middle east countries, Egypt, Sumeria and Canaan not to mention India, Europe and Africa. The Goddess has a long history as proven by stone statuettes indicating Goddess worship as early as the Paleolithic ages.

By the time of Jesus’ ministry, the worship of Goddesses such as Artemis and Aphrodite was prevalent in the Middle East, Greece and Rome. The pagan goddess Cybele, or the “Earth Mother/Magna Mater” was brought to Rome to “protect it” from foreign foes. It was also for Cybele where the tradition of procession was observed when the statue was brought from Pessinos to Rome. Under Emperor Augustus, Cybele’s prominence so much so that the emperor restored her temple on Palatine hill, the centermost of the seven hills of Rome. The Basilica di Santa Maria now occupies the spot.

Cybele, also known as Kubile, worship spread from Phrygia now modern day Turkey (think Constantinople) and well into Greece, Rome and neighboring countries. Like the Ephesian Artemis (see Acts 19) Cybele was worshiped in the Roman Empire until the 4th Century well after the death of Christ’s Apostles. Her full Roman name was “Mother of the Gods”. She was deified as a great single parent not only of gods but also of human beings. In 431 at the Council of Ephesus, the devotion tot he Virgin Mary was formally sanctioned by the Catholic church. It was through this council that Mary was declared the “Mother of God”.

Stephen Benko specializes in early Christianity in its pagan environment. In The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology, he traces the development of the cult of Mary from Greek and Roman mythology through to recent times. Benko avoids anti-Catholic polemics and is sympathetic to the place of the “queen of heaven” in Christianity. That said, he unerringly traces Mary’s roots to the pagan, pre-Christian heavenly queens of Greece, Rome and the wider Mediterranean—those mutable goddesses whose ranks include Artemis, Astarte, Celeste, Ceres, Cybele, Demeter, Diana, Ishtar, Isis and Selene.

Source: The Rise of the Queen of Heaven; vision.org

It is interesting to know that the first basilica dedicated to Mary is located in Ephesus where the ancient pagan goddess of Artemis was worshiped.