The term Theotokos (Greek: Θεοτόκος) is a Greek word meaning "God-bearer" or "Birth-giver to God". It is a principal title for the Virgin Mary, identifying her as the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son and Word of God.
The Virgin Mary conceived Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
She was cared for by her betrothed husband, Joseph, who took her and the child into his home. Jesus' birth was miraculous and left Mary's virginity intact, a sign also affirmed by the tradition that Joseph and Mary did not have relations after Jesus' birth.
The title Theotokos is of profound theological significance within the Orthodox Church.
It serves to emphasise that Mary's son, Jesus, is fully God as well as fully human. It affirms that Jesus' two natures, divine and human, were united in a single Person of the Holy Trinity.
*"He whom the entire universe could not contain was contained within your womb, O Theotokos".*
Adoption at the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus, 431): While the term Theotokos had been in use in the devotional and liturgical life of the Church for some time, it was officially recognised by the Orthodox Church at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431.
The Council was called to resolve a dispute primarily centred on the teachings of Nestorius, then Patriarch of Constantinople - Nestorianism. Nestorius advocated for calling Mary Christotokos ("Birth-giver to Christ") instead of Theotokos. His intent was to limit Mary's role to being the mother only of "Christ's humanity", not his divine nature.
##### Translation of Theotokos:
Translating Theotokos into English presents some difficulties. While the most literal translations are "Birth-giver to God" or "God-bearer", these can be awkward. "God-bearer" is also sometimes used for the Greek term Theophoros.
The most popular translation is "Mother of God". However, "Mother of God" is a literal translation of a different Greek phrase, Meter Theou (Μητηρ Θεου), which appears on icons of the Theotokos, usually abbreviated ΜΡ ΘΥ. Using "Mother of God" for both terms can obscure the distinction the hymnographer intended. "Mother of God" can be misinterpreted as suggesting Mary is Mother of God from eternity, whereas Theotokos limits her divine maternity to the Incarnation.
Full Title and Attributes:
In Orthodox services, Mary is often referred to with the full title: "Our All-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorified Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary".
##### - All-holy (Panagia):
This title, though not a dogmatic definition, is universally accepted and used by the Orthodox. It signifies her being the supreme example of cooperation between God and man's Free Will through her obedience. She is the New Eve because her obedience offset Eve's disobedience.
##### - Immaculate (achrantos):
This term means "pure" or "spotless". The Orthodox Church calls Mary immaculate but rejects the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Orthodox view is that Mary was born a sinner, with full human nature, like all mankind.
Her being human is essential so that Christians can follow her example. Christ took fallen human nature from her and redeemed humanity. The Roman Catholic doctrine is seen as separating Mary from the rest of humanity and relies on an understanding of original sin not held by the Orthodox Church.
##### - Most blessed and glorified Lady:
The Orthodox Church honours the Mother of God because of her Son. St Cyril of Alexandria and the Fathers at Ephesus insisted on the title Theotokos not just to glorify Mary, but to safeguard the correct doctrine of Christ's person, the Incarnation. Orthodox Christians believe one cannot truly believe in the Incarnation without honouring Mary.
##### - Ever-Virgin (Aeiparthenos):
The Orthodox Church holds the tradition that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and eternally after the birth of Jesus Christ.
This teaching is not meant to elevate her for worship as a creature, but as an affirmation of who Christ Jesus is. Because Christ chose her to be His mother, she is understood as a finite dwelling place for the infinite God.
As a "new Holy of Holies", her ever-virginity is seen as a natural characteristic of this reality. The whole tradition of the Orthodox Church has consistently held her to be Ever-Virgin, passing this truth from generation to generation.
Testimony for Ever-Virginity:
##### Scripture:
The principal understanding in Scripture is her being a new Ark of the Covenant, containing the uncontainable God.
St Joseph did not have marital relations with her because he understood her as set aside for God, her womb made a temple.
Language used for Mary in the New Testament parallels that for the Ark in the Old Testament, such as journeys to the hill country of Judah, greetings with "shouts of joy" (anafametezein), blessing the household upon arrival, reactions of awe ("How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me?" vs. "Why should the mother of the Lord come to me?"), and remaining in the house for three months.
The appearance of Jesus' "brothers" in Scripture is explained by the tradition that St Joseph was an older widower with children from a previous marriage, who would be Christ's step-brothers.
Alternatively, these "brothers" could be cousins, as the Hebrew and Greek terms for "brother" are used for various relatives. The word "until" (eos) in Matthew 1:25 ("...and he knew her not until her having brought forth her firstborn son...") does not necessarily imply that Joseph had relations with Mary after Christ's birth.
The Greek term eos ou indicates he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth, assuring that Joseph was not Jesus' father. As examples (2 Samuel 6:23, Genesis 8:7, Mark 12:36) where "until" does not imply a change in state afterwards.
Giving Mary into the care of the Apostle John at the cross (John 19:26) is seen as evidence that she had no other children, as Mosaic Law would have dictated she be cared for by other natural children if they existed.
##### - Ancient Church:
The Church continued to call Mary "the Virgin" and "Ever-Virgin" even after the time she supposedly would have had other children. She is continually called "Ever-Virgin" in the earliest liturgies.
Church Fathers such as Peter of Alexandria, Epiphanius, Athanasius, Didymus the Blind, Jerome, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo, Sophronius I of Jerusalem, John of Damascus, John Cassian, and Ephrem of Syria refer to her ever-virginity. St Hippolytus (c. A.D. 210) refers to her casually as "all-holy Mary, ever-virgin" and "spotless and God-bearing Mary," indicating these were common beliefs before he wrote.
The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 affirmed the birth of the Word from *"the holy and glorious Mary, Mother of God and always a virgin".*
##### - Protestant Reformers:
While the Orthodox Church does not follow their general teachings, many major Protestant figures, including John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther, and John Wesley, believed in the Ever-Virginity of the Theotokos. Protestants who deny this teaching are breaking with their own fathers in faith.
Feast Days:
The Orthodox Church observes several feast days commemorating the life of the Theotokos, including the Nativity (8 SEP), Presentation into the Temple (21 NOV), Annunciation (25 MAR), and Dormition ( 15 AUG). The liturgical year begins and ends with feasts of the Theotokos.
Relation to Modern Theology:
Some modern Evangelical Protestants, by refusing to venerate the Virgin Mary and denying the term Theotokos, engage in a form of "Crypto-Nestorianism". Their argument that Mary only gave birth to the man Jesus separates the human and Divine persons in Christ, which is an error stemming from a lack of understanding of Christology and the Incarnation.
A correct understanding of Mary is essential for a correct understanding of Christ: if Mary is not Theotokos, then Christ is not the God-man; conversely, if Christ is the God-man, then Mary is Theotokos.
Legacy:
The rejection of the title Theotokos and the related Christological views of Nestorius led to the schism with the churches that eventually formed the Assyrian Church of the East.
While the Assyrian Church today often denies teaching Nestorianism and a "Common Christological Declaration" was signed with the Catholic Church in 1994 affirming a shared understanding of the Son of God, the Assyrian Church recognises Theodore of Mopsuestia as a saint, whose Christology was condemned as Nestorian by the Orthodox Church.
The Chaldean Catholic Church originated from a group within the Assyrian Church that entered communion with the Roman Catholic Church.