The Holy Theotokos
After contrasting the views of Zechariah in Surah 19 and the Gospel of Luke, we will now discuss the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary is given the title Theotokos which literally translates as God bearer. In Greece to this day the Virgin Mary is referred to as the Theotokos. Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church who speak English as a first language refer to the Virgin Mary as Theotokos. An Arab friend of mine who was raised in the Antiochian Orthodox Church told me that in the Arabic liturgy they transliterate the Greek word into the prayers. The Russian Church refers to her as Bogoroditsa and I assume the other slavic churches use that or something similar. I’m not sure if the Georgians have their own word or use Theotokos. Greek Catholics use the word, and I would imagine that at least some Oriental Orthodox do as well.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was dogmatically declared to be the Theotokos at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. In Islam, they’re horrified of this title because according to them, Mary didn’t bear God, only a prophet. In Surah 19 Mary points to the newborn baby Jesus and he declares himself to be a prophet in front of a group of people.
So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to an infant in the crib?” He said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet.
– Surah 19: 29-30
Nothing about bearing God. The baby that Mary was bearing not long before this episode is merely a prophet. Is Mary just the mother of a prophet or the Theotokos?
We have the 5th century Council of Ephesus versus the 7th century Quran. Since Mary lived in the 1st century, both of these sources are late. A Christian or a Muslim could stick to whichever late source they please. But is there an earlier source?
So far we’ve been using the Gospel of Luke. Let’s now use the Gospel of Matthew. In Chapter 1, verse 23, it talks about the Blessed Virgin giving birth to the Messiah. It sounds pretty normal in English but in Greek we see some new evidence. Does it point us to Mary being the mother of a prophet or the Theotokos? Here’s the verse with the two key words in Greek:
“A virgin shall conceive and bear(tikto) a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel,” which means, God(theos) with us.
– Matthew 1:23
We look at the Greek word for bear and the Greek word for God; when we put them together we get our glorious Greek word Theotokos. It’s no longer the 5th century vs the 7th century for a 1st century figure. It’s now the 1st century vs the 7th century for a 1st century figure. I think at this point, we can disregard the Quran as a late document and look at what the first century document gives us. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Theotokos; the God bearer. Make sure to have an icon of her in your home; I have several.
Dear Mr Ruhl
On the Subject of the veneration of Our Lady St Mary in the eastern Christian regions, the sheer scale pf devotion to her in Ethiopia did come as a surprise to me. It makes the devotions of the Roman Church almost pale in comparison. This is an entirely pleasant surprise that many of our Protestant brethren are sadly unaware of.
E.G – From an Ethiopian Orthodox Website : “The Virgin Mother of God has a very special place in the Ethiopian cult, and devotion to our Mother holds the highest place. Ethiopia is known as the country of Mary, her protectress. Among the saints in heaven she is venerated in a special way. She is loved by her Son so dearly that He will grant her every prayer. Because of the mission she received from God, her life is most closely linked with the mysteries of Jesus Christ, and there is no one who has followed in the footsteps of the Incarnate Word more closely and with more merit than she; and no one has more grace and power over the heart of the Son of God, and through Him with the Heavenly Father. Holier than the Cherubim and Seraphim she enjoys unquestionably greater glory than all the other saints for she is full of grace, she is the Mother of God, who happily gave birth to the Redeemer for us.
She is a glorified human soul, more perfect and more lovable than any other. She is worthy of the highest place and the most exalted honor that a creature can attain to in heaven, for through God’s choosing of her for the destiny of being His Mother, through abundance of grace which He bestowed upon her, and through her fidelity in corresponding with this grace, she has reached a degree of glory which place her higher than God’s angels or His other Saints.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is constantly referred to in the Liturgy. Special prayer to her in the form of Ave Maria or Hail Mary is recited during the Liturgy immediately before the Lections:
Hail, O Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Pray and intercede for us with thy beloved Son,
That he forgives our sins.
Very moving is the prayer of the priest after the reading of the Acts of Apostles. Here it is:
”Rejoice, O thou of whom we ask healing, O Holy, full of honor, ever-virgin, parent of God, mother of Christ, offer up our prayer on high to thy beloved Son that he may forgive us our sins.
“Rejoice, O thou who didst bear for us the Very light of Righteousness, even Christ our God. O Virgin pure, plead for us unto our Lord that he may have mercy upon our souls and forgive us our sins.
“Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, very Queen; rejoice, O pride of our kind; rejoice O thou that barest for us Emmanuel our God. We ask thee to remember us, O true Mediatrix, before our Lord Jesus Christ that he may have mercy upon our souls and forgive us our sins.”
Our Lady is commemorated every month and there are more than thirty feasts of Mary in one year. The name of Mary is the most popular, both for men and women. Innumerable churches are erected in her honour. The Nagara Maryam, or History of Mary, is a collection of stories about her life arranged for the twelve months of the year. There are two collections of homilies to be read on the Festivals of the Virgin, arranged for the different days of the week: the Praises of Mary (Weddase Maryam) and the Organ of the Virgin or Organ of Praises (Arganona Dengel, Arganona Weddase). One of the Anaphoras is called “Of our Lady Mary”. Plenty of pictures of the Virgin are to be seen in the churches and sleeping places. Another important book we have in connection with the Mother of God is called the Wonders of Mary. Ethiopia is a daughter of Mary, her star in peace and war and her last resort in everything. Nothing can be taught to the Church in devotion and honour to the Blessed Virgin. Finally the Church teaches that our Lady was taken to Heaven soul and body where she prays for us until the last Judgement”
Glory Be to the Father!
Glory Be to the Son!
Glory Be to the Holy Spirit!
One God, now and forever, Amen.