The Great Schism of 1054

Holy Trinity Website ^ | Unknown | Bishop Kallistos Ware

[George W. Bush]

Mary was only the mother of Jesus as man, and not the mother of Jesus as God.

This is pure Nestorian heresy. It was specifically for this statement that Nestorius was condemned at Ephesus. I will note simply that the Archangel Gabriel says Mary's son will be the "Son of the Most High" (Luke 1.32-32), and that St. Elizabeth calls her "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1.43). The Divine Child born of Blessed Mary is the God-Man Christ Jesus. He is a Divine Person, and Blessed Mary gave birth to a person, not a nature.

Hardly. If you believe, as scripture tells us, that all of creation was created by and through Christ, then Mary was nowhere to be found at that time. Your position necessarily entails making Mary co-existent with the Trinity, prior to all other creation. Your other objections aren't worth parsing as they are commonplaces and not in controversy.

Was Mary present at the Creation or not? Is Mary a fourth member of the Trinity or not? Did Mary create herself?

MOTHER OF THE CHURCH -- Mary is the Mother of the Church.

If the Church is the Body of Christ, as St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 12, and Mary is the Mother of Christ, Mary also becomes the Mother of the Church. Its a simple logical chain.

No, it's simple Roman hogwash to support their demand that all Christians join in their mariolatry. It is notable how often Mary is magnified as Queen of Heaven and intercessor and source of salvation and co-redemptrix and mother of the church and our Lord is so seldom mentioned by the modern Roman church. In the early centuries, this was not the case. Rome has strayed far from its roots.

In chapters four and five of the Book of Revelation, we are given a quite detailed picture of Heaven. God is seated on the throne, surrounded by 24 elders and four living creatures. The Lamb (Jesus) is standing in the center of the throne. Thousands upon thousands of angels circle the throne, singing God's praises. And Mary is not in the picture at all.

If Jesus Christ is our King, and is "King of Heaven", than Blessed Mary, as his Mother, is the Queen Mother, and rightfully has the title "Queen of Heaven."

What? Is this British royalty? Mary is Queen Mum? This is grossly ahistorical. I suspect you know it too.

How many instances of a queen mum can you assemble from the ancient Roman empire, either from secular or religious accounts?

The queen is always considered the wife of the king or, more rarely, his widow. Is Rome now suggesting an incestuous relationship between Christ and His mother? Such would seem to be the case as in Christian tradition and practice, the queen is joined in holy matrimony to the king.

Mary is not Jesus' wife. The Church is Christ's only bride. It is only by Christ's betrothel to the Church that the Church may enter into the Father's family, to be children of God.

As for scriptural references to a 'queen of heaven', let's look at the only example in the canon, found in Jeremiah. To save a long discourse, I'll summarize by saying that God was displeased with the blasphemous worhip of the 'queen of heaven'. Whether this signifies the sun or the moon or an actual queen of heaven is disputed but Jerome considered the proper translation to be 'queen of heaven'. At any rate, worship of false gods always displeases the Father. Even improper worship of the Father offends Him.

As to this being taught in the Book of Revelation, read Chapter 12. "And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And being with child, she cried travailing in birth: and was in pain to be delivered. ... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her son was taken up to God and to his throne." (Revelation 12.1-2,5). Preeminently this passage MUST refer to Blessed Mary, who is shown wearing a royal crown, and not the Church, as Protestants like to claim. The reason being the Church did not give birth to Christ, rather, Christ gave us the Church.

You'll have to forgive me but I summoned a few Calvinist friends to enjoy your ludicrously self-serving reading of Revelation. Naturally, given the recurring evangelical nuttiness over Revelation, I guess we can't deny you a convenient reading of this passage. We'll skip the other readings from Revelation that you might not like to deal with.