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The name "Ave Maria" is Latin and comes from the Angelic greeting to Mary, the Mother of God, and it means, "Hail Mary." As the charter of our order establishes the object of the order to be the promotion of "love and devotion towards the Blessed Virgin Mary," it is important that we develop an understanding of Our Lady's importance and a proper devotion to her amongst ourselves. The Council of Ephesus, in 431 A.D., formally established devotion to our Blessed Mother, as the Mother of God
(Gk. Theotokos, meaning God bearer). However, prior to the council's ruling, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was already widespread throughout Christianity. The Church Fathers described her as the "new eve" who said yes to God as Eve had said no. As early as 150 A.D., many already advocated her perpetual virginity and she was deemed to be a compassionate mediator between suffering mankind and her son, Jesus.

In the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we encounter an archetype of the Christian life. As Mary said yes to God, so too Christians say yes to God. As Mary allowed herself to be a vessel for God's use in bringing peace and light to the entire world, so Christians allow themselves to be vessels for God's use to accomplish the same. As Christ grew in Mary, so Christ grows in every Christian; in every child of God. As Mary remained faithful to God's plan for her life in the midst of the suffering of her Son, so too all of God's children must struggle to remain faithful to God's vision in the midst of suffering. And, finally, as Mary continues to intercede on behalf of the children of God before the throne of God, so all Christ followers are to intercede on behalf of the children of God, that all our brothers and sisters might find peace and love. In contemplating the mystery of the Most Holy Mother of God (Hyperagia Theotokos), we contemplate the mystery of our own redemption and of our own union with God.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Love! O Gentle, O Kind, O Blessed Mary, Your children on earth call unto you. We pray O Beloved Mother, to cast forth your net of woven starlight. Fling it wide across the ocean of the universe to gather us home to the realms of Light. .To you do we lift up our hearts. Turn then most gracious Mother, your eyes of compassion toward us, and lead us unto the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Therefore, in order that love and devotion for the Mother of God may flourish all the more in our own lives and in the lives of all God's children, we do hereby establish this rule of life. A. Mariology While all of God's children are free, both in conscience and in action, to pursue God and to come to a knowledge of their union with God, there are certain teachings about our Blessed Mother that members of the Order should give careful thought to in their contemplation of the mystery of The Virgin. This being so, the following doctrines are recommended to the order's members as gates to greater devotion and love of the Blessed Virgin.

Being the oldest doctrine concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary and being a doctrine upheld by the ecumenical Council of Ephesus, this is the cornerstone upon which all honour and affection is due our Blessed Mother. The Council confessed "the holy virgin to be the mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man and from his very conception united to himself the temple he took from her."This doctrine is therefore commended to the consciences of the children of God as the true and proper centre of all Marian devotion. Members, who ascribe to this rule, do hereby acknowledge this divine mystery as the chief mystery of all mysteries concerning The Theotokos.

Though this doctrine was taught by St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine and the Lateran Synod of 649,members’ consciences are not bound to give assent to it. While members are encouraged to contemplate the mysteries of virginitas mentis (mental virginity), virginitas sensus (sensual virginity), and virginita scorporis (corporal virginity) in their life as children of God and as devotees to our Blessed Mother, for such contemplation shall surely lead to a more chaste and holy life, there is no requirement here placed upon them to ascribe to this dogma in any literal or figurative sense. However, all members are encouraged to consider the nature of our Blessed Mother's virginity as a model of spiritual and moral purity. The Immaculate Virgin Promulgated by the Roman Pope Pius IX, in the Papal Bull Ineffabilis Deus (1854),

Has served as the centre of some controversy in the Church Catholic. According to the doctrine, Mary was born without sin, was free from Original Sin, and never sinned throughout her life. Members are not constrained to give assent to this teaching of the Roman church. In the Eastern traditions, Mary is described as being “all-holy” from birth and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit throughout her life in such a manner as she was assisted in avoiding sin. In either case, when contemplating this mystery members are exhorted to give consideration to the role of lawlessness and imperfection in their own lives, meditating upon the virtues of a life filled with all the love of God towards all of God's children. Members’ lives should be so marked by the love of mankind that they may be models of Christ’s law of love to all people.

A dogma held by both the Roman and Orthodox traditions within Christianity, members are exhorted to give careful attention to this teaching. According to both traditions, Mary, after her death, was taken directly into Heaven. Being found without sin, like Jesus, Benjamin, Amram, Jesse, and Kieab, her body and soul were assumed into Heaven. In the Byzantine Liturgy, on the Feast of the Dormition, we read: "In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death." Within this dogma the great mystery of our own accent into full union of God is revealed in part. While members are not required to ascribe to this teaching, they are encouraged to contemplate the nature of this mystery as a source of hope in their own spiritual journeys up the mountain of God and into union with the Divine. Held before us in this mystery is the hope of all God's children; the goal and end of our journey through this valley of tears.

As the Ancient Catholic Church has roots in Spiritualism, the supernatural appearances of Mary, in which our Blessed Mother gives some private revelation that may emphasize some facet of divine truth, are considered congruent with the thought of Mar Joannes I. However, given that it is possible for such appearances to be hallucinations or pareidolia, rather than a kind of theophany, members are not required to accept these apparitions as factual. As in all things, members are left free to determine for themselves the importance of these apparitions to their spiritual journey.

If members deem an apparition worthy of belief, they are encouraged in their devotion and should contemplate with all seriousness the specific purpose of the revelation and how that purpose may be manifested in their life. As the tradition of Liberal Catholicism is one of that is not filled with dogmatism and allows its participants the freedom of conscience and the freedom of belief and understanding, members are only expected to allow the mysteries associated with the Blessed Virgin to be sources of contemplation. There is no requirement laid on any of the members to ascribe to any of the doctrines above in a manner that would infringe upon their personal freedom. Members are encouraged to explore the various traditions and understandings (e.g. Eastern Orthodox, Gnostic, etc.) surrounding our Blessed Mother and to utilize them as means to greater devotion. Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As our charism is centred in the personal devotion and the corporate promotion of said devotion to our Blessed Mother, members are thereby expected to be faithful in the performance of Marian devotions. This being so, the following devotions are hereby recommended or prescribed.

Given that shrines to Aeiparthenos Maria mark a place associated with a miracle or apparition of our Blessed Mother, the visiting of a shrine can be a source of great affirmation in members’ devotion to Our Lady. Members are therefore encouraged to make pilgrimages or to visit local shrines to The Virgin Mary. As the support of Marian shrines supports our charism, members are encouraged but not required to volunteer or assist at local shrines or cathedrals dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

Junior members, unless they choose to wear the blue scapular, are only required to wear a Marian medal that reflects their devotion and loyalty to our Blessed Mother.

Senior members, unless they choose to wear the blue scapular, are also required to wear a Marian medal that reflects their devotion and loyalty to our Blessed Mother. Those Senior Members who have been ordained to the sacred order of Deacons and Priests may wear the Marian medal as a pectoral medal with their cassock or clericals. Members of the Order may wear the badge of the order sewn on to a cassock or blue scapular. The scapular may be full, that is from neck to knee, front and back (and must be worn with a white alb with white cincture), or it may be two pieces of blue cloth 6 inches square connected by blue ribbons and worn over the shoulders, front and back. This miniature scapular may be worn under lay clothes or over lay clothes at meetings of the order or services of the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church. The wearing of the order's badge either on a cassock or scapular is a sign of the member's particular consecration to Our Lady and is also entirely optional.

As the order is centred in the devotion to our Blessed Mother, and as Our Lady is the Mother of all of God’s children, ecumenism is an inherent part of the order. Members are encouraged to involve themselves with other people and groups that share in the order’s devotion to The Virgin. Members may join other orders’, confraternities, groups, and lay organizations that they feel further assist them in promoting devotion, within themselves and others, to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Members may be from any religious or spiritual tradition and are free to practice and believe in accordance with those traditions. Our Mother’s love transcends religious and spiritual boundaries. So, too, the order and its members are free to work for the continued advancement of God’s children toward union with God, through a growing love of Our Lady, across religious and spiritual boundaries.

In the Principles of Spiritual Foundation, we read: “Because men are sons of God they are brothers and inseparably linked together. That which harms one harms the entire brotherhood. Hence a man owes it as a duty to the God both within himself and others, first, to endeavour constantly to live up to the highest that is in him, thereby enabling that God within himself to become more perfectly manifest; and secondly, to recognize the fact of that brotherhood by constant effort towards unselfishness, by love of, consideration for, and service to his fellow-men. The service of humanity, reverence for all life and the sacrifice of the lower self to the higher are laws of spiritual growth.” As all of humanity is inseparably linked in brotherhood and all are children of God, so all have the same Mother. Our Lady serves as the premier example of a life lived in purity and love. Therefore, as an extension of our devotion to our Blessed Mother, all members are expected to take to heart the truths from the Principles of Spiritual Foundation and the Commandments of Jesus, that their lives may reflect the divine light of love that shines forth from the Blessed Virgin and her Son. For those members who are part of the Liberal Catholic, Roman, Orthodox, or Anglican traditions, as a means of better assisting in the development of devotion to Our Blessed Mother and in a morality informed by a regular spiritual practice, it is highly recommended that they attend Mass on Sundays (or on whatever day it is regularly offered in the parish) and maintain holy days of obligation; and that they participate in those liturgical feasts that honour our Lord and the saints.

May our lives, through the keeping of this rule, grow ever more in love and devotion to The Blessed Virgin Mary, that through her intercession and the love of God shining abroad in our hearts all of Gods children may join hands together in love, further transforming all of creation into the Kingdom of God, through Christ our Lord.