Theological Word Of The Day: theotokos

Theotokos is a historic designation given to Mary in relation to her role as the mother of Christ. Theotokos means “God bearer.” This designation was approved by the third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. Nestorius apposed the use of the term theotokos, preferring christotokos (”Christ-bearer), believing that Mary was the mother of the human nature of Christ, not the divine nature. Most, however, felt that this would divide Christ into two persons. Led by Cyril of Alexandria, the council chose theotokos to acknowledge a belief in the dual-nature of Christ. It is important to note that this designation was not meant to venerate Mary, but to make a theological statement about Christ. He must be fully God and fully man if man is to have redemption

It is important to note that this designation was not meant to venerate Mary,....
Abso-goldarn-LUTEly! Veneration follows the consequences of the declaration but is not the motivation for it.

... but to make a theological statement about Christ. He must be fully God and fully man if man is to have redemption.
Well, it's a matter of 'not only "two natures" but also "one person".' That is, the consequences of Ephesus and Chalcedon are not merely to contradict those opinions which make Jesus less (or other) than fully human (e.g. Docetism) and/or less (or other) than fully divine (e.g. Adoptionism). There is also the assertion that He is, incomprehensibly a nd mysteriously, ONE "thing" so that, as in the critical example, May could not have conceived, been pregnant, and given birth to one nature without also having done all that to the other.

From our (Catholic) POV the conciliar theological declarations which establish the term "theotokos" may justify Marian veneration, but the primary and critical aspects of them is Christological.

In (barely) related news, as the proud but tired former owner of 100 ewes, I often dealt with what is called in the veterinary manuals "dystocia", difficult birth. The 'toc' there is the same root as the stem 'tok' in theotokos. I'm guessing the the drug pittocin sometimes given in labor (to human type females) gets the middle part of the name from the same stem.

THEOTOKOS

Mother of God. A term canonized by the Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) in defense of Mary's divine maternity, against Nestorius, who claimed that she was only the mother of the man Christ (christotokos).

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Well, there's a perfectly good Greek word for mother.

So there is a slight difference in connotation between "μητηρ θεου" and theotokos.

But that one term implies the other is clear. It is only with the perversions of modern reproductive medicine (which actually, as a shepherd, I used in my flock, having many of my ewes inseminated with imported semen -- but they're still perverse when applied to humans IMHO) that a "bearer" and a "mother" could be two different persons. The natural association is that the woman who bears and births a child is also the child's mother.

Even in the case of my ewes, though, they were still mother of the lambs. The lambs got chromosomes from my ewes and from the English, Finnish, or New Zealand rams from whom the semen came. However the same vet also imported cattle embryos from Italy and implanted them in US cows. There you have a "tokos" who is not also a "μητηρ".

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