The Church Fathers- Mary: Ever Virgin

The Church Fathers ^ | 120AD-450AD

[marshmallow]

The Protoevangelium of James

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by [St. Anne], saying, ‘Anne! Anne! The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.’ And Anne said, ‘As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall minister to him in the holy things all the days of its life.’ . . . And [from the time she was three] Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there” (Protoevangelium of James 4, 7 [A.D. 120]).

“And when she was twelve years old there was held a council of priests, saying, ‘Behold, Mary has reached the age of twelve years in the temple of the Lord. What then shall we do with her, lest perchance she defile the sanctuary of the Lord?’ And they said to the high priest, ‘You stand by the altar of the Lord; go in and pray concerning her, and whatever the Lord shall manifest to you, that also will we do.’ . . . [A]nd he prayed concerning her, and behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him saying, ‘Zechariah! Zechariah! Go out and assemble the widowers of the people and let them bring each his rod, and to whomsoever the Lord shall show a sign, his wife shall she be. . . . And Joseph [was chosen]. . . . And the priest said to Joseph, ‘You have been chosen by lot to take into your keeping the Virgin of the Lord.’ But Joseph refused, saying, ‘I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl’” (ibid., 8–9).

“And Annas the scribe came to him [Joseph] . . . and saw that Mary was with child. And he ran away to the priest and said to him, ‘Joseph, whom you did vouch for, has committed a grievous crime.’ And the priest said, ‘How so?’ And he said, ‘He has defiled the virgin whom he received out of the temple of the Lord and has married her by stealth’” (ibid., 15).

“And the priest said, ‘Mary, why have you done this? And why have you brought your soul low and forgotten the Lord your God?’ . . . And she wept bitterly saying, ‘As the Lord my God lives, I am pure before him, and know not man’” (ibid.).

Origen

“The Book [the Protoevangelium] of James [records] that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that body of hers which was appointed to minister to the Word . . . might not know intercourse with a man after the Holy Spirit came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it in harmony with reason that Jesus was the firstfruit among men of the purity which consists in [perpetual] chastity, and Mary was among women. For it were not pious to ascribe to any other than to her the firstfruit of virginity” (Commentary on Matthew 2:17 [A.D. 248]).

Hilary of Poitiers

“If they [the brethren of the Lord] had been Mary’s sons and not those taken from Joseph’s former marriage, she would never have been given over in the moment of the passion [crucifixion] to the apostle John as his mother, the Lord saying to each, ‘Woman, behold your son,’ and to John, ‘Behold your mother’ [John 19:26–27), as he bequeathed filial love to a disciple as a consolation to the one desolate" (Commentary on Matthew 1:4 [A.D. 354]).

Athanasius

“Let those, therefore, who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary” (Discourses Against the Arians 2:70 [A.D. 360]).

Epiphanius of Salamis

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit” (The Man Well-Anchored 120 [A.D. 374]).

“And to holy Mary, [the title] ‘Virgin’ is invariably added, for that holy woman remains undefiled” (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 78:6 [A.D. 375]).

Jerome

“[Helvidius] produces Tertullian as a witness [to his view] and quotes Victorinus, bishop of Petavium. Of Tertullian, I say no more than that he did not belong to the Church. But as regards Victorinus, I assert what has already been proven from the gospel—that he [Victorinus] spoke of the brethren of the Lord not as being sons of Mary but brethren in the sense I have explained, that is to say, brethren in point of kinship, not by nature. [By discussing such things we] are . . . following the tiny streams of opinion. Might I not array against you the whole series of ancient writers? Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and many other apostolic and eloquent men, who against [the heretics] Ebion, Theodotus of Byzantium, and Valentinus, held these same views and wrote volumes replete with wisdom. If you had ever read what they wrote, you would be a wiser man” (Against Helvidius: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary 19 [A.D. 383]).

“We believe that God was born of a virgin, because we read it. We do not believe that Mary was married after she brought forth her Son, because we do not read it. . . . You [Helvidius] say that Mary did not remain a virgin. As for myself, I claim that Joseph himself was a virgin, through Mary, so that a virgin Son might be born of a virginal wedlock” (ibid., 21).

Didymus the Blind

“It helps us to understand the terms ‘first-born’ and ‘only-begotten’ when the Evangelist tells that Mary remained a virgin ‘until she brought forth her first-born son’ [Matt. 1:25]; for neither did Mary, who is to be honored and praised above all others, marry anyone else, nor did she ever become the Mother of anyone else, but even after childbirth she remained always and forever an immaculate virgin” (The Trinity 3:4 [A.D. 386]).

Ambrose of Milan

“Imitate her [Mary], holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of material virtue; for neither have you sweeter children [than Jesus], nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son” (Letters 63:111 [A.D. 388]).

Pope Siricius I

“You had good reason to be horrified at the thought that another birth might issue from the same virginal womb from which Christ was born according to the flesh. For the Lord Jesus would never have chosen to be born of a virgin if he had ever judged that she would be so incontinent as to contaminate with the seed of human intercourse the birthplace of the Lord’s body, that court of the eternal king” (Letter to Bishop Anysius [A.D. 392]).

Augustine

“In being born of a Virgin who chose to remain a Virgin even before she knew who was to be born of her, Christ wanted to approve virginity rather than to impose it. And he wanted virginity to be of free choice even in that woman in whom he took upon himself the form of a slave” (Holy Virginity 4:4 [A.D. 401]).

“It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth, made visible for us, by whom, when he was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this, O man?” (Sermons 186:1 [A.D. 411]).

“Heretics called Antidicomarites are those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary and affirm that after Christ was born she was joined as one with her husband” (Heresies 56 [A.D. 428]).

Leporius

“We confess, therefore, that our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, born of the Father before the ages, and in times most recent, made man of the Holy Spirit and the ever-virgin Mary” (Document of Amendment 3 [A.D. 426]).

Cyril of Alexandria

“[T]he Word himself, coming into the Blessed Virgin herself, assumed for himself his own temple from the substance of the Virgin and came forth from her a man in all that could be externally discerned, while interiorly he was true God. Therefore he kept his Mother a virgin even after her childbearing” (Against Those Who Do Not Wish to Confess That the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God 4 [A.D. 430]).

Pope Leo I

“His [Christ’s] origin is different, but his [human] nature is the same. Human usage and custom were lacking, but by divine power a Virgin conceived, a Virgin bore, and Virgin she remained” (Sermons 22:2 [A.D. 450]).

[Quix]

Thanks for your fine refined words.

You are by far the better orator/author.

AS you can tell, I’m a NMex farm hick street fighter . . . but only with words. LOL.

[Quix]

Thanks for your KIND words as well.

[papertyger]

Your post 675 calls into question the claim Joseph had a previous marriage by noting said claim is not demostrable from scripture.

The implicit premise of such a question is that the narrative of scripture is exhaustive.

Scripture makes no such claim.

So while one might reasonably claim Jesus had no moles, one can make no such assertion, positive or negative, for say, John the Revelator.

[Quix]

UNMITIGATED NONSENSE.

.

Just because a self-serving committee of Johnny come 300-400 year latelies gather and in their political power-mongering best Scripture mangling DECREE something

does NOT make it true.

Christ talked about the kind of faith in Peter without which, it's impossible to please God.

To think that Christ supports the creation of a worse version of the RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE PHARISEES that He spent so much time castigating and condemning

is absurd idiocy and Biblical ignorance to the max.

[Quix]

NONSENSE.

There’s no need to pretend or assume that Scripture is exhaustive.

It is wise to understand that Scripture includes all the significant points about a life of faith and a RELATIONSHIP with God.

[papertyger]

In general, do proddys call someone a liar, then immediately demonstrate the truth of exactly what they called “liar” for...?

[Quix]

Naw.

That would be an RC habit.

[papertyger]

There is when one denies an issue predicated on the silence of scripture.

I would think you understood something so fundamental.

[Alamo-Girl]

Truly, if God wanted us to be exactly alike He could have made it so.

[Iscool]

I've never known anyone to post with such lack of knowledge as your posts show

I don't believe I'm going to lose a lot of sleep over what you think you know...

I know how and have gotten saved by Jesus Christ and know enough to let others know how...

And the way you talk, it seems that you know everything there is to know, except that...

[papertyger]

As always, I am content with my polemics when my opposition is reduced to “I know you are.”

[ctdonath2]

If X is not in scripture, and the is no other historical evidence of it, how can you use it as justification for an extraordinary claim?

[caww]

That would mean that posting on this board, you are praying to caww.

R-e-a-l-l-y?...I blush... (chuckle) But as with Mary, not a thing I can do about answering anyones prayers. Maybe make a pie, give flowers, box of candy to make someone feel better....but the answers are all in Christ.

[Quix]

There is when one denies an issue predicated on the silence of scripture.

OHHHHHHHHHHH!

LIKE THE WHOLE VATICAN CULT EDIFICE!

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about a long list of Ishtar-Mary idolatries and blasphemies the Vatican Cult is dogmatic about

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about a self-serving committe of Magicsterical political power-mongers.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about a RELIGIOUS KING IN ROME LORDING IT OVER OTHERS IN DIRECT VIOLATION TO CHRIST'S WORDS.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about indulgences.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about Purgatory.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE and actually prohibitions against praying to anyone but God for anything.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about the Vatican Cult's holy water institution and rituals.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE about the Vatican Cult's last rites.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE--and actually contrary Sciptural instructions about priests only administering the Lord's Supper.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE and actually Scriptural exhortations to the contrary about a formal priesthood lording it over the priesthood of all believers.

--SCRIPTURAL SILENCE and actually opposite instructions about Papal infallibility nonsense dogma.

. . .

I'm sure other Proddys can add to the list.

[Quix]

INDEED.

And as so many have asserted over my 64 years . . . God knows 1 of me is enough for the world to bear! LOL.

[Claud]

Welllllllll, even Proddy KJV addicts don’t go running around saying that to their children. At least not in public! LOL.

Maybe they should! It'd help the kids with their Shakespeare. :)

My attitude is, if it was good enough for great-great-great-great-grandpa, it's good enough for me.

[Quix]

WELL AND ACCURATELY PUT,
imho.

[Quix]

INDEED.

[Quix]

It’s conceivable I haven’t sequenced back through enough posts.

Please lay out post by post the 3-5 sequences of posts in one new post, that you’re so adament about on this issue. I’m not seeing it.

[Quix]

Hmmmm

There is that, alright.

Pray-thee . . . don’t waltz into my classroom and say such things. 98% of the students would think you were speaking in tongues or a different language entirely.