Ah, but it has a Queen who trumps her Son.
Ah, but it has a Queen who trumps her Son.
The name "Mary" comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic name Maryam. During the Middle Ages Hebrew vowel systems were formed and the Hebrew vowel "a" changed (regularly) to "i" in a closed unaccented syllable, so that by the time the Jews began to use vowel points, they wrote it as Miryam. Mary's most common titles include The Blessed Virgin Mary (also abbreviated to "BVM"), Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa Senhora, Madonna), Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli). See Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei", (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication 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",[10] so as to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, is in fact God.
The title, Queen Mother, was given to Mary in early Christianity, since Mary was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to His lineage of King David. The biblical basis for this understanding is found in 1 Kings 2:19–20, where King Solomon made his mother, Bathsheba, his queen mother present in his royal court. This governmental practice is also found throughout 1 and 2 Kings and in Jeremiah 13:18–19. In ancient Middle Eastern cultures, it was common for a king to have more than one wife; however, the king only had one mother and she was an integral part of each royal court.[11]
Mary is also sometimes referred to as the New Eve, as her obedience to God's command (contrasted with Eve's disobedience) led, according to this system of belief, to the salvation of mankind through Jesus.[12]
If you would stop looking at things through 2010 American eyes and look at the context of the times and realize what was actually being described, then you might see that the reality of the OT (and surely you would appreciate the OT reference, would you not?) model is in fact what the earliest Christians including St. Luke, he of the famous icon of Mary, believed.
The Queen Mother is not a goddess, nor is she an object of worship. If you would read your Middle East and European history - including the example of the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - you would understand the role and cease the charges of goddess worship.
With that, the Catholic Church does not have priestesses. The Presbyterian Church does. The local presbyter is a priestess, at least the last time that I looked.