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The Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to as the Theotokos, Greek for "God bearer" or "Birth-giver of God." As one of the earliest doctrines in the Church, it is a cornerstone of our faith as Catholics.
That is why the Solemnity—highest celebration in the Catholic Church—of Mary, Mother of God is celebrated annually on the 1st of January.
The dogma of the Mary, Mother of God was defined in the Council of Ephesus during the 5th century, 431 AD. In that council, Holy Mother Church decreed:
If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is God in truth, and therefore that the holy virgin is the mother of God (for she bore in a fleshly way the Word of God become flesh, let him be anathema.
– Council of Ephesus, 431 AD
To be anathema means to be accursed and cut off from the Church. Essentially, this person is no longer in communion with the body of Christ. He has been excommunicated.
These are serious words, and no wonder, for the Church understands that without this teaching, it is impossible for a person to come to the fullness of Truth.
Why We Need This Dogma
At first glance, it may seem that the Church is simply contradicting herself. For she teaches that there is only One God, the Supreme and Eternal Spirit, Who has neither a beginning nor an end.
But then she turns around and tells us that this God has a mother, implying that there was someone who preceded the Godhead.
This, however, is NOT at all what the Church is teaching.
There is only One Eternal Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There has never been anything before God, neither has there been a time when God did not exist.
The Father has always existed as God. The Son has always existed as God. The Holy Spirit has always existed as God. These three persons have always existed, coequal, coeternal, in perfect unity, one God for ever and ever.
And in the heart of that teaching lies the seed of this dogma, namely, the Son has always been God.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has never not been God. He didn't start being God from His resurrection and ascension. No, He was always God. He also didn't start being God from his incarnation. He was always God.
He was God before he came to earth, while he was in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and during his passion, crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension.
The Divinity of Christ is part of His essence in that He didn't lose it when He became flesh and dwelt amongst us.
By saying that Mary is the Mother of God, we are reinforcing the belief that Jesus is God—and has always been God, worthy of worship and adoration.
This dogma does not deify Mary. Instead, it highlights the truth that Mary did not compromise the dignity of Christ in any way. She did not make a demigod or any less worthy of a worship equal to that due to God the Father.
And yet, by conceiving, bearing, and giving birth to Him, she is literally his biological mother.
The Errors of Misunderstanding This Truth
Before this dogma was formally defined by the Church, and the matter put to bed once and for all, there was a man named Nestorius who kept spreading a false doctrine.
According to him, Mary should not have been called Theotokos ("Mother of God") as was common, but instead, Christotokos ("Mother of Christ"). He argued that Mary only gave birth to the human nature of Christ, and not his divine nature.
Nestorius believed that Jesus has 2 separate natures inside him and the practically operated in different ways and at different times. He believed that it was impossible for the Divine nature of God to be born, suffer, and die.
To reconcile his beliefs with the fact that Jesus did die and resurrect, he concluded that there must have been a human Jesus separate from the divine Jesus, and both Jesuses were not born by Mary.
Jesus then, as an ordinary human, would not be worthy of worship, unless one were to somehow specifically address that worship to the divine Jesus.
Nestorius's teachings were completely rejected by the Church for even the Bible itself debunks his false doctrines.
In Sacred Scriptures, we see Elizabeth greeting Mary with these words:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy."
– Luke 1:41–44
Here, Jesus, the son of Mary, is referred to as "my Lord." More-so, this revelation through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Elizabeth was speaking the God's word as led by the Holy Spirit.
In another verse, we read:
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
– John 20:26–28
Here, Jesus is called God. He isn't part God, demigod, God-human hybrid, or any other kind of permutation or combination.
He is fully God, and fully man.
Begotten of the Father before all ages. God from God. Light from Light. True God from True God. Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.
– The Nicene Creed
Key Takeaways
So, when next you hear Mother of God, remember the following:
- It emphasizes the Divine nature of Christ as truly God,
- It shines light on his human nature too, having a biological mother, and
- It honors the Blessed Virgin Mary inasmuch as God the Father honored her to be the bearer of the Savior of the whole world.
