Fundamental doctrine of orthodox Christianity that Jesus had no natural father but was conceived by Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit .
Based on the infancy narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the doctrine was universally accepted in the Christian church by the 2nd century. It remains a basic article of belief in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, most Protestant churches, and Islam. A corollary of its dogma is the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, accepted by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and by some Lutheran and Anglican theologians. See also Immaculate Conception .