Mary, mother of Christ

Identity

Mary of Nazareth is the Virgin who bore Christ our Lord. The Church confesses her as Theotokos — 'God-bearer' — a title defined at the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) not to elevate Mary above her Son but to guard the truth that the child she bore is truly God. She is called blessed by every generation (Luke 1:48).

Name and titles

'Mary' — Miryam in Hebrew, Mariam in Greek — may mean 'beloved' or carry the sense of 'bitter' or 'exalted' (the etymology is debated in every good commentary). The Church has called her Theotokos, Ever-Virgin, Mother of God, Handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38), the Queen of Heaven (a title drawn from Psalm 45 and Revelation 12), and the New Eve (a title as old as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, second century).

Historical period

• c. 20 BC (est.) — Born of Joachim and Anna according to the Protoevangelium of James (second-century tradition; not canonical Scripture).
• c. 6-4 BC — The Annunciation at Nazareth (Luke 1:26-38). The Visitation to Elisabeth (Luke 1:39-56). The birth of Christ at Bethlehem (Luke 2).
• c. 4 BC — The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) and the return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).
• c. AD 8 — Finds the twelve-year-old Christ in the temple (Luke 2:41-52).
• c. AD 27 — At the wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11).
• c. AD 30 or 33 — At the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-27). Received into the household of the beloved disciple, John.
• Pentecost, c. AD 30 or 33 — Present with the twelve apostles in the upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14).
• Tradition — Ancient traditions (both Ephesian and Jerusalem) preserve accounts of her later years and her dormition. The New Testament itself is silent on her death.

Scripture appearances

• Luke 1:28-38 (KJV) The Annunciation — 'Hail, thou that art highly favoured' — and the fiat, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord.'
• Luke 1:46-55 (KJV) The Magnificat — Mary's song of the Lord who scatters the proud and exalts the humble.
• Matthew 1:18-25 (KJV) The Nativity from Joseph's side.
• Luke 2:1-20 (KJV) The Nativity from Mary's side.
• Matthew 2:11 (KJV) The wise men adore Christ, whom they find with Mary his mother.
• John 2:1-11 (KJV) The wedding at Cana — Mary tells the servants, 'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.'
• John 19:25-27 (KJV) At the Cross — 'Behold thy mother.'
• Acts 1:14 (KJV) Praying with the disciples before Pentecost.

Connected Places

• Nazareth — the town of the Annunciation and the hidden years.
• Bethlehem — the town of the Nativity.
• Jerusalem — the city of the presentation and the Cross.
• Ephesus — where a very ancient tradition places her later years, in the household of John.

Connected People

• Christ Jesus — her Son and her Lord.
• Joseph of Nazareth — her husband.
• Elisabeth — her kinswoman, mother of John the Baptist.
• John the Baptist — the child who leaped in his mother's womb at Mary's greeting.
• John the beloved disciple — into whose care she was given from the Cross.

Salvation history role

• The New Eve who says 'Yes' where the first Eve said 'No' (Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.22).
• The vessel of the Incarnation. Because of her free consent, the eternal Word takes flesh from her flesh.
• The first Christian — she believes the word of the angel before any of the apostles believe.
• The witness at the Cross, and one of the witnesses to the earliest life of the Church at Pentecost.

Christian tradition

• The Theotokos title was defined at the Council of Ephesus (AD 431).
• The Magnificat has been sung at Vespers every day since the fourth century.
• The Hail Mary prayer combines the words of the angel (Luke 1:28) and Elisabeth (Luke 1:42) with a petition of the Church.
• The Marian feasts — the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Mary, the Presentation, the Dormition/Assumption — walk the household through her life every year.
• Icons of the Theotokos are among the oldest images in the Church.

Household reflection

Mary is the model of every soul who hears the word of God and keeps it (Luke 11:28).

Teach the children the Magnificat. It is the household's song when the world seems too loud and the proud seem too strong.

In this house we honour her not to worship her but to imitate her fiat: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.'

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Luke 1-2 as a household — the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Magnificat, and the Nativity.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray the Angelus at morning, noon, and evening — a habit that keeps the Incarnation always before us.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — At Christmas, place Mary and Joseph at the centre of the table — the family beneath the star.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing the Magnificat, 'The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came', 'Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly.'
• Learn (Workshop) — Study the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) and the Marian feasts of the liturgical year.

Further reading

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke — the only two Gospels that narrate the infancy.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.22.

The Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos (sixth or seventh century).

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Christ Jesus
• Joseph of Nazareth
• Nazareth
• Bethlehem
• Cana — "whatsoever he saith unto you, do it"
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.