The
Perpetual Virginity of Mary in Extra-Biblical Literature
Protoevangelium
of James, c. 120 AD (Memories of
Mary’s life were still
vivid in the minds of people.)
"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by [St.
Anne], saying, ‘Anne!
Anne! The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall
conceive and shall
bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all
the world.’ And Anne
said, ‘As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male
or female, I will
bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall
minister to him in the
holy things all the days of its life.’ . . . And [from
the time she was three]
Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a
dove that dwelt there"
(4, 7). "And when she was twelve years old there was held a council of priests,
saying, ‘Behold, Mary has reached the age of twelve
years in the temple
of the Lord. What then shall we do with her, lest
perchance she defile
the sanctuary of the Lord?’ And they said to the high
priest, ‘You stand
by the altar of the Lord; go in and pray concerning
her, and whatever
the Lord shall manifest to you, that also will we do.’
. . .
.
120