There is simply a causal link between the truths of religion about the parent of Christ. The patriarchal and theological reflection from 1 dogma, from 1 fact concerning Mary, drew further conclusions or theological conclusions. In all marijuana the most basic fact of religion is the dogma of God's motherhood of Mary. From him comes another Marian truths. In this article I will not point to all these connections, but will focus on the presentation of foundations and arguments for the truthfulness of this component of the “credo” of the Catholic Church. This article is besides the beginning of a series on Marian dogma. Welcome to the reading.
"The parent of My Lord," or Holy Scripture on Mary's motherhood
The Scriptures of the fresh Testament are rather clear in favour of Mary’s privilege. The reading of Bible texts leaves no uncertainty as to the fact that Miss Mary was in fact the actual parent of Christ. Of course, Our woman is not the parent of Deity, but the parent of human nature of the individual of God, or Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel is clear erstwhile he recalls: “When his parent Mary was married to Joseph, before they had come together, she is found as having in her womb of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1, 18). The same Gospel reminds us of the prostrate of the wise men who, "entering the house, found a kid with Mary his mother" (Mt 2:11). The archangel Gabriel leaves no illusions erstwhile he tells Mary: “Behold, you will conceive in the womb, and you will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus” (Lk 1:31). These texts tell the fact about Mary’s motherhood. The Scriptures besides make clear that Jesus is the boy of God and God equal to the Father. That Mary is the parent of the boy of God is besides mentioned in the Bible. The archangel says to the parent of Jesus: "Thus besides that which shall be born of thee shall be called the boy of God" (Lk 1:35), and Elizabeth, the parent of John the Baptist, exclaims to Mary in a joyful cry: "And why is it that the parent of my Lord has come to me?" (Lk 1:43). The apostle Paul is besides a witness of the same religion erstwhile he declares that God "has sent down his boy made of woman" (Gal 4:4).
Many early centuries and the religion of the Fathers of the Church
The doctrine of God's motherhood of Mary was the Marian dogma, which brought the most dispute in patristic times. This teaching developed in opposition to popular Christian heresies of the early centuries. The Docets claimed that Christ had no real human body, and Mary was only seemingly His Mother. Arians, while denying Jesus ’ actual Deity, consistently did not accept Mary’s divine motherhood. However, the top movement opposed to the usage of the title “Mother of God” in relation to Mary was the Nestorian movement, which derived its name from Nestorius, a heretic monk from Antioch who was defended by the patriarch of Constantinople. On the 1 hand, he rightly opposed the evident heterodoxical explanation of the title, which indicated that Mary bore the Deity of the boy of God and, on the another hand, did not usage the word "Theotokos" due to the fact that it was not strict adequate and sufficient. Instead, he utilized the word “Christotokos” as he stated that Mary's motherhood was only about Jesus' humanity. He did not accept the alleged "communicatio idiomatum", or the anticipation of attributing the properties of 1 nature and another (Divine and Human) to 1 individual of Christ. His Christology seems to combine both natures only with external bonds. The Holy Council of Ephesus, in the anathematisms of Cyril of Alexandria, has clearly defined that anyone who "does not confess that Emanuel is truly God, and so the Holy Virgin is the parent of God (she has begotten according to the flesh the Word which is of God and has become flesh)" (BF, p. 63) is excluded from the Church. This confession was repeated by the Council in Chalcedon, who said that Jesus "was born of Mary, the Virgin (and) of the God-parent" (BF, p. 74). The same religion is confirmed and confessed by countless later Councils.
From among the Fathers of the Church, this dogma was best explained by Cyril, who was the theological champion of the title Theotokos and the opponent of Nestorius. The bishop of Alexandria explained that God’s motherhood of Mary does not mean that God’s nature of Jesus Christ “has begun with the holy Virgin, nor that second birth was essential through her, after those who became of the Father... These things confirm the teaching of actual religion everywhere, and we have besides found that the Holy Fathers thought so. So they did not hesitate to call the Holy Virgin a God-parent, not due to the fact that the nature of the Word or His Divinity had begun to be from the Holy Virgin, but due to her a holy body was born alive with a reasonable soul. The Word has become hypostatically united with this body, and, as it is said, was born according to the flesh" (DSP1, pp. 111-113, 117-119). But already much, before the earlier Ephesian Council, the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers spoke of God's motherhood of Mary. Ignatians of Antioch said that Jesus "was born of God and was born of Mary" (Letter to the Church at Ephesus 7:2), while the first author to call Mary the parent of God was Alexander of Alexandria, who stated that "Jesus Christ possessed indeed, and not simply seemingly, the body of Theotokos Mary" (PG 18:568). Later, Atanazy the large says that "The Word is born on lowness from Mary-Nine, the God-parent" (PG 26, 996), and Gregory from Nazianz warns that individual who "does not believe that Saint Mary is simply a God-parent is beyond Deity" (PG 37, 177). In the West, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan and teacher of St. Augustine, uses the word “Mother of God” erstwhile he asks “What is nobler than the parent of God?” (De Virginibus 1, 2, 2, 7 – EN 16, 209).
Properties of the Conception and Birth of Christ by Mary
The conception of Jesus and His birth were unique and wonderful. They were not like average human births. And this is due to the fact that this conception was accomplished without the participation of a man, but by the unusual action of the Holy Spirit. The conception was accomplished by the Holy Trinity, not simply by the Holy Spirit, despite his peculiar role. The Catechism of the Council of Trent says that "all the Persons of the Holy Trinity, and the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit did this secret" (KR1, p. 84). God made the actual human body for His boy of the Virgin Mary in an inexplicable and wonderful way. Roman Catechism, edited by St. Pius V, besides spoke of the soul being poured into Jesus' body at the minute of physical conception contrary to the average order of things, according to which "no body can be man's soul revived, only for a certain and intentional time" (KR1, p. 85). The birth itself besides had miraculous and extraordinary qualities, for Jesus was born "without violating His Mother's virginity" (KR1, p. 87), i.e. he did not violate the physical signs of Mary's virginity.
Dominic Bartsch
All Bible quotes for: “The Old and fresh Testament Scriptures in the Polish Translation
W. O. Jakub Wujek S. J., 3rd Edition revised, Kraków 1962".
List of abbreviations:
BF — Breviarium Fidei, Ignacy Bokwa (ed.), Poznań 2007
PL — Patrology of Latina
PG — Graeca Patrology
KR1 – Roman Catechism, Vol. 1, Comoros 2021
DSP1 – papers of the General Councils, Vol. 1, Kraków 2002
