Semper Reformanda Radio recently produced a series of five podcasts on the Roman Catholic view of Mary under the title Roman Catholics and their Queen. The purpose of this blog series is to provide the supporting data behind the podcasts. We hope this will be helpful to those who would like to become familiar with the Roman Catholic claims to apostolicity for their Marian position, and the historical and biblical data showing that the apostles and the Early Church knew nothing of it.

We continue this week with the supporting data for Episode 4.

Episode 4: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Roman Catholics call Mary by the title, ἀειπαρθένου, or Ever Virgin because she is alleged to have remained a virgin for her entire life—prior to Christ's birth (pre partum), during Christ's birth (in partu), and after Christ's birth (post partum). Her post partum virginity assumes that she and Joseph neither had any other children, nor ever consummated their marriage. Her in partu virginity assumes that Jesus' miraculously passed through Mary's womb into her arms, leaving her physical virginity completely uncompromised—no birth pangs, no tearing, no bleeding, nor any other discomfort associated with physical act of giving birth. The belief in the "perpetual virginity" of Mary is that she is the Ever Virgin—always, and in every stage, pre partum, in partu and post partum.

• That Mary was a virgin until Christ's birth the Scriptures plainly teach (Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:27-34).
• The Roman Catholic support for her in partu and post partum virginity comes from the following argument:
  1. Typologically, as the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary's physical body was as inviolable by men as the Ark of the Old Covenant was inviolable.
  2. In Ezekiel 44, the "east gate" is shut, and remains shut, "because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it" (Ezekiel 44:2).
  3. The Protogospel of James taught that a midwife was present for Christ's delivery, and that she inspected Mary afterward and found her physical virginity to be intact.
  4. The Early Church Fathers are alleged to have taught that Mary physically remained a virgin in perpetuity.
• We list them first in summary form, and will now refute them in the same order, below.

Mary the Untouchable Ark

• Roman Catholics believe that Mary's identification as the Ark of the New Covenant supports their belief that she remained a virgin perpetually. Roman Catholic apologist, Tim Staples, makes the argument:
  • "According to multiple parallel texts in Scripture, Mary is depicted as the New Testament Ark of the Covenant. ... According to the Old Testament, no one except the high priest could touch the ark or even look inside it. If anyone else touched or looked inside the ark, the punishment was death.... If this was the case for the Old Testament type, which, according to Hebrews 10:1, is no more than a shadow of the true New Testament fulfillment, then it would seem fitting that Mary would remain 'untouched' by Joseph as well." (Tim Staples, More Reasons for Mary's Perpetual Virginity)
  • Counterevidence:
  • As we showed in part 2, the Scriptures do not identify the Ark as a type of Mary, and further, it is not until the latter part of the 4th century that we begin to see such references from patristic sources. Any evidence alleged to be earlier than that has proven to be fraudulent. The Early Church thought the Old Testament Ark signified many different things—Christ, His ministry, His people—but what is conspicuous by its absence is any reference to the Ark signifying Mary.
  • Even after the 4th century there continued to be differing opinions on what it signified:
    • Cyril of Alexandria (412 – 444 A.D.) said the ark was "the image and symbol of Christ” (Cyril of Alexandria, de Adoratione in Spiritu et Veritate, Book 9 (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, 68, col. 597-598), and that Christ "is presented in figure and image" by the ark (Cyril of Alexandria, In Joannis Evangelium, Book IV, (Migne, P.G. 73, col. 619-622))
    • Even as late as the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great asked, “What but the holy Church is figured by the ark?” (Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, Book II, chapter 11).
    • In sum, the Roman Catholic claim that Mary's perpetual virginity has long been established by her identify as the Ark lacks even minimal evidence that the early church considered her to be the Ark at all—at least not until the latter part of the 4th century.

Mary, the East Gate

• Roman Catholics believe that Mary was in view when Ezekiel says the "east gate" is shut, and remains shut, "because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it" (Ezekiel 44:2). Roman Catholic apologist, Taylor Marshall, makes the argument:
  • "As the Catholic Church teaches, the Blessed Virgin Mary is perpetually a virgin – she did not have relations with Joseph after Christ’s birth in accordance with the prophecy of Ezekiel: 'and no man shall enter by [the east gate]; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.'" (Taylor Marshall, The Virgin Mary’s Womb as Ezekiel’s Closed Gate of the Messiah)
  • Counterevidence:
  • The context of this passage is that Israel had defiled the sanctuary by allowing gentiles and other unclean people to enter it (Ezekiel 44:7), so the Lord instructs Ezekiel on how Israel is to regulate "the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof" (Ezekiel 43:11, c.f. 44:5). Ezekiel is taken to a properly constructed temple (Ezekiel 40:1-3), and in the vision "the glory of the LORD came into the house" from the east, all the way "into the inner court" (Ezekiel 43:1-5). Ezekiel 44:1 refers to "the [eastern] gate of the outward sanctuary," and the angelic narrator explains to Ezekiel that the eastern gate of the outer sanctuary "shall be shut, it shall not be opened ... because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it" (Ezekiel 44:2). Roman Catholics end their analysis at this point and take the closed eastern gate of the outer court to refer to Mary. But the vision continues, and Ezekiel describes the eastern gate of the inner court, and that gate is opened every sabbath and every new moon, and was to remain so all day:
    • "The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. ...the gate shall not be shut until the evening." (Ezekiel 46:1-2)
    • Roman Catholics only assign typological significance to the gate that remains shut, passing over the one that remains open, providing no explanation as to what the inner eastern gate signifies—even though the glory of the Lord entered by that gate, too. It is a highly selective interpretation that merely assumes, rather than proves, that the "shut gate" refers to Mary. In other words, the Roman Catholic must first assume that Mary's womb was closed in order to derive a typological connection; it is not something the text suggests to us. The Scriptures offer no connection between Mary and either of eastern gates—inner or outer—and nothing in the passage even hints that the outer gate signifies Mary's womb.
    • Second, when Roman Catholics attempt to find support for their interpretation of Ezekiel 44 in the early church, all they can come up with in the first three centuries is Origen (c. 185 - c. 234 A.D) who believed that the shut gate of Ezekiel 44:2 signified the Scriptures and their correct interpretation (Origen, Homilies on Ezekiel, Homily 14.1-3). Evidence of an early interpretation of  Ezekiel 44 as a prefiguration of Mary dates to the latter part of the 4th century. Taylor Marshall, cited above, only quotes Ambrose (340 - 397 A.D.) and Augustine (354 – 430 A.D.). As Kenneth Stevenson and Michael Glerup show in their commentaries on Daniel and Ezekiel, there is simply no evidence for the Roman Catholic interpretation prior to the latter part of the 4th century:
      • "Overview [of Ezekiel 44:1-3]: The east gate is closed, which means the importance of the right interpretation of the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as revealed by Christ (Origen), but it also may mean the womb of the Virgin Mary (Jerome [347 - 430 A.D.], Theodoret [393 - 457 A.D.], Ambrose [340 - 397 A.D.], Rufinus [c. 340 - 410], Cyril of Alexandria [c. 376 – 444 A.D.], John of Damascus [c. 675 – 749 A.D.])." (Kenneth Stevenson and Michael Glerup, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, vol. 13, "Ezekiel, Daniel," (Intervarsity Press, 2008) p. 141)
      • In sum, the interpretation of Ezekiel 44:2 referring to the shutting of Mary's womb and Mary's perpetual virginity is highly selective and inconsistent with the whole of Ezekiel's vision. It is a novelty dating to the latter part of the 4th century.

The Protoevangelium of James

• The "protogospel" of James is an apocryphal document of unknown origin, dated to the second century. The document attempts to establish Mary's in partu and post partum virginity. To establish the former, Christ's birth is said to have taken place in a flash of light as He simply appeared in Mary's arms and began to take her breast, with none of the painful labor of a normal delivery (Protoevangelium of James, 19). To establish the latter, the document claims that Jesus' brethren in the Scriptures were actually children of Joseph from a previous marriage (Protoevangelium of James, 9). The document is used by Roman Catholics to establish the antiquity and apostolicity of the belief in Mary's perpetual virginity.
  • By way of example, Roman Catholic Apologist James Akin, in this 3-minute video, asserts that the antiquity of the doctrine can be proven both by the Protoevangelim of James and the testimony of Jerome (Catholic Answers, How did the Church Fathers explain the perpetual virginity of Mary?)
  • Counterevidence:
  • First, the Protoevangelium essentially supports the docetic heresy that originated in apostolic times. Docetism comes from the Greek word, δοκεῖν (dokein), which means "to seem" or "to appear." The heresy alleged that Jesus had not really taken on a physical body, but only "seemed" to do so, and thus was not really incarnated, did not really suffer or die or physically rise from the dead. The early heretics attempted to pass off Jesus' body—the birth, suffering, death and resurrection—as only a phantom. Tertullian, by way of example, argued against such thinking and understood that teachings like that of the Protoevangelium of James would play right into the hands of the heretics. He thus argued against such a miraculous delivery, and countered the heretics by emphasizing the completely natural birth of Christ:
    • "At all events, he who represented the flesh of Christ to be imaginary was equally able to pass off His nativity as a phantom; so that the virgin's conception, and pregnancy, and child-bearing, and then the whole course of her infant too, would have to be regarded as putative. These facts pertaining to the nativity of Christ would escape the notice of the same eyes and the same senses as failed to grasp the full idea of His flesh." (Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, chapter 1).
    • Tertullian continued, describing Mary as "a woman in travail" at Christ's delivery (Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, chapter 4), and defends the incarnation as so real and so natural that in Mary's labor pain, her physical virginity was lost: “Indeed she ought rather to be called not a virgin than a virgin" (Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, 23)
    • Second, even Origen, who found the idea of Joseph's children from a previous marriage to be "in harmony with reason" (Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 10, chapter 17), rejected the other claim of the Protoevangelium, denying Mary's in partu virginity, for her womb had in fact been opened in childbirth the way a bride's is opened on her wedding night:
      • “In the case of every other woman, it is not the birth of an infant but intercourse with a man that opens the womb. But the womb of the Lord’s mother was opened at the time when her offspring was brought forth …” (Origen, Homilies on Luke, Homily 14, paragraphs 7-8).
      • Third, Jerome (c. 383 A.D.) at first ridiculed the teachings of the Protoevangelium of James as "an invention which some hold with a rashness which springs from audacity." He claimed instead that Jesus' brethren in the Scriptures were not Joseph's children from a previous marriage, but were Jesus' cousins. In the process he insisted that Christ's delivery had been perfectly normal and that Mary had travailed in pain, which is a material rejection of her virginity in partu:
        • “If we adopt possibility as the standard of judgment, we might maintain that Joseph had several wives because Abraham had, and so had Jacob, and that the Lord's brethren were the issue of those wives, an invention which some hold with a rashness which springs from audacity not from piety. ... Add, if you like ... the other humiliations of nature, the womb for nine months growing larger, the sickness, the delivery, the blood, the swaddling-clothes. … We do not blush, we are not put to silence.” (Jerome, Against Helvidius, paragraphs 19-20)
        • Fifth, between 383 A.D. and 393 A.D., Jerome changed his tune and concluded that Mary's virginity had in fact been preserved in partu, and adopted the view of the Protoevangelium of James, although he maintained his position that Jesus' "brethren" were in fact His "cousins." He insisted nonetheless that Jesus' body was no mere phantom—it had just miraculously translated through Mary the way Jesus' resurrected body walked through closed doors after the resurrection, essentially moving the beginning of Jesus' miracles that "manifested forth his glory" 27 years earlier than the Gospel of John informs us (John 2:11):
          • “Let my critics explain to me how Jesus can have entered in through closed doors when He allowed His hands and His side to be handled, and showed that He had bones and flesh, thus proving that His was a true body and no mere phantom of one, and I will explain how the holy Mary can be at once a mother and a virgin. A mother before she was wedded, she remained a virgin after bearing her son.” (Jerome (393 A.D.) to Pammachius (letter 48, paragraph 21)
          • Finally, even Roman Catholic apologists know that the Protoevangelium of James cannot possibly be construed to convey an apostolic doctrine. Esteemed Mariologist, Juniper Carol, informs us:
            • “Whatever their origins, we have no grounds for concluding that the Apocrypha contained and transmitted an authentic apostolic tradition concerning the dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity; in each instance such a tradition would have to be established—an impossible task with our present documentary sources. Moreover, in themselves, the apocryphal narratives scarcely measure up to the quality of sober objectivity characteristic of the transmission of a doctrine that is authentically apostolic in origin.” (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume II, p. 267)
            • In sum, the Early Church fathers who gave credence to the Protoevangelium of James regarding Joseph's children from a previous marriage nonetheless held that Mary had lost her virginity in partu, showing that the preservation of Mary's virginity in partu was not even imagined, much less defended, until the latter part of the 4th century. Even Jerome, who is invoked to prove early belief in Mary's perpetual virginity initially rejected the Protoevangelium as an audacious invention, and insisted that Mary's childbirth had been perfectly normal, complete with "the sickness, the delivery, the blood." Ten years later he changed his tune and began arguing for Mary's in partu virginity. Additionally, even esteemed Mariologist, Juniper Carol, insisted that the Protoevangelium carried no apostolic weight at all. As evidenced by Tertullian's about a miraculous passing of Jesus through Mary's womb as a phantom, the Protoevangelim was more suited to the docetic heresies of the subaposotlic era, and was not part of the faith once delivered. There is no case made for Mary's "ever virginity" until the end of the 4th century, three centuries removed from the apostles.

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity in the Early Church

Alleged Support from the Church Fathers

• Roman Catholics are unable to cite any authentic or authoritative sources on the doctrine until the latter part of the 4th century. By way of example, Mark Shea writes:
  • "Patristic sources who affirm that Mary’s perpetual virginity was taught by the apostles include the author of the Protoevangelium of James, Origen, Hilary of Poitiers, Athanasius, Epiphanius of Salamis, Jerome, Didymus the Blind, Ambrose of Milan, Pope Siricius I, Augustine, Leporius, Cyril of Alexandria, Pope Leo I, and the dogmatic teaching of the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople. And they’re only the beginning. For the entirety of Christian history until roughly the 17th century, Christians agreed with them – except for two guys." (Mark Shea, Perpetual Virginity as Prophetic Sign)
  • Others argue that Irenæus of Lyons (died c. 202 A.D.) and Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215 A.D.) also affirmed the doctrine (see, for example, Ask Father Mateo).
  • Counterevidence:
  • Regarding Irenæus of Lyons, esteemed Mariologist, Juniper Carol, writes,
    • “…according to those authentic writings of his which have come down to us … there is nothing in these translated passages to show that Irenaeus held the permanence of Mary’s virginity” (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume II, p. 266)
    • Regarding Origen, as we have already shown above, he believed that Mary did not have other children, but he insisted that Jesus' birth was completely natural, and that Mary's physical virginity was lost in childbirth.
    • Clement of Alexandria, initially appears to support Mary's perpetual virginity (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book VII, chapter 16), but as Juniper Carol acknowledges, we cannot completely trust the document because the Greek original is lost, and the Latin version dates to the 6th century and was written specifically to correct offending sentiments:
      • “We cannot rely absolutely on this text, since it is a [6th century] translated adaptation [by Cassiodorus], with the expressed intention of expurgating anything that might be offensive…” (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume II, p. 271)
      • Once the unreliable and questionable early sources are removed, the only remaining early support is from the latter part of the 4th century and later:
        • Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367). Became bishop after 350 A.D., and his 1st work, Commentary on Saint Matthew, was from about 356 A.D..
        • Athanasius (c. 296 — 373 A.D.) called Mary ἀειπαρθένου, or Ever Virgin in his Discourses Against the Arians, Discourse 2, chapter 70, in 360 A.D..
        • Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315 – 403 A.D.) makes an argument for her virginity in his Panarion (c. 374 A.D.).
        • Jerome (c. 347 – 420 A.D.)
        • Didymus the Blind (c. 313 – 398 A.D.)
        • Ambrose of Milan (c.340 – 397 A.D.)
        • Pope Siricius I (reigned 384 — 399 A.D.)
        • Augustine (354 – 430 A.D.)
        • Leporius (5th century monk)
        • Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 – 444 A.D.)
        • Pope Leo I (reigned 440 — 461 A.D.)
        • 2nd Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (553 A.D.)

Actual Evidence from the Church Fathers

• That the Early Church did not consider Mary to be "ever virgin" is shown not only by Roman Catholicism's inability to provide credible evidence in the first three centuries, but by the actual teachings of the early writers rejecting Mary's virginity in partu. If she lost her virginity in partu, then she ceased to be a virgin. We have already shown above that Origen and Tertullian rejected Mary's virginity in partu, and that Jerome initially rejected it, too. To these we add Eusebius and Chrysostom, both of whom believed that Jesus' birth was natural, and that Mary had suffered actual labor pains:
  • Eusebius (c. 260 – 340 A.D.) understood that Jesus' birth was almost as painful as His death because He was drawn out of His "travailing mother":
    • “[Jesus] knew that His original union with our flesh, and His birth of a woman that was a Virgin was no worse experience than the suffering of death, while He speaks of His death He also mentions His birth, saying to the Father: ‘… Thou, my God and Father, like a midwife didst draw the body that had been prepared for Me by the Holy Spirit from My travailing mother…” (Eusebius, Demonstration of the Gospel, Book X, Chapter 8 (c. 311))
    • John Chrysostom (c. 349 – 407 A.D.), based on Matthew 12:50, understood that obedience makes one more a mother to Christ than Mary's actual labor pains did:
      • “For behold, He has marked out a spacious road for us; and it is granted not to women only, but to men also, to be of this rank, or rather of one yet far higher. For this makes one His mother much more, than those pangs did. So that if that were a subject for blessing, much more this, inasmuch as it is also more real.” (John Chrysostom, Homilies in Matthew, Homily 44.2).
      • We conclude this section by invoking David G. Hunter—previously Monsignor James Supple Chair of Catholic Studies at Iowa State University, currently Cottrill-Rolfes Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Kentucky—and his work on celibacy and virginity in the early church. He observed that in the latter part of the 4th century, there was an inordinate focus on female virgins:
        • “In the later years of the fourth century the ascetic and monastic movements led male Christian writers to devote an extraordinary degree of attention to the bodies of women, especially celibate women. In the hands of ascetic authors the traditional biblical image of the virgin bride acquired new life. The ‘bride of Christ’ became the celibate Christian woman. … In the ascetic controversies of the late fourth century, the identity of the virgin bride—and specifically the question of the relationship between the individual Christian as virgin and the church as virgin—was clearly a point of contention.” (David G. Hunter, The American Society of Church History, June 2000 (283-84))
        • Hunter also highlights a man by the name of Jovinianus who was condemned by Pope Siricius I, Ambrose and Jerome for supporting married clergy and suggesting that Christ's birth was entirely normal. Hunter concluded, correctly, that Jovinianus—rather than his critics—reflected more accurately the teachings of the early church, and that the in partu virginity of Mary was built upon an untenable foundation:
          • “If there is a single conclusion to be derived from my study, it is that Jovinian stood much closer to the centre of the Christian tradition than previous critics have recognized; … Ambrose’s attraction to the ideal of virginal integrity, …, caused him to adopt a Marian doctrine (virginitas in partu) that had only a fragile basis in earlier Christian tradition.” Hunter, David G., Marriage, Celibacy and Heresy in Ancient Christianity (Oxford University Press (2007) 285).
          • That "fragile basis" is comprised of the Protoevangelium of James and the other sources that even the expert Mariologist acknowledges are unreliable.

We will continue this series with part 5, on Mary’s alleged bodily assumption into heaven, and conclude the series.

Semper Reformanda Radio recently produced a series of five podcasts on the Roman Catholic view of Mary under the title Roman Catholics and their Queen. The purpose of this blog series is to provide the supporting data behind the podcasts. We hope this will be helpful to those who would like to become familiar with the Roman Catholic claims to apostolicity for their Marian position, and the historical and biblical data showing that the apostles and the Early Church knew nothing of it.

We continue this week with the supporting data for Episode 3.

Episode 3: Mary, the Immaculate Conception

Roman Catholics teach that Mary, at the moment of her conception, in view of the merits of Christ's death on the cross, was preserved free of the stain of sin, and free of concupiscence —the inclination to sin—as well.

• The Roman Catholic support for this teaching stems from the following basic premises:
  1. Typologically, Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, and as such is holy and pure, just as the Ark of the Old Covenant was holy and pure (Exodus 26:33, 2 Chronicles 35:3).
  2. Typologically, Mary is the New Eve, just as Christ is the New Adam, and in that parallel, Mary's sinlessness is ostensibly revealed.
  3. Biologically, Mary is the source of Jesus' humanity, and because Jesus' flesh was sinless, He must have received it from someone sinless.
  4. The Early Church Fathers are alleged to have taught that Mary was sinless.
• We list them first in summary form, and will now refute them in the same order, below.

Mary as the New Ark of Holiness

• In the allegedly infallible proclamation of Pope Pius IX in 1854, Mary was declared to be sinless "in the first instance of her conception":
  • "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful." (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854))
  • In part, Pius IX based his claim on the belief that "The Fathers and writers of the Church ... celebrated the august Virgin ... as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built."
  • Counterevidence:
  • First, Scripture nowhere makes the Ark|Mary typological parallel.
  • Second, as we noted last week, all the evidence that the Early Church Fathers celebrated Mary as "the Ark of the New Covenant" has proven to be based on documents later found to be forgeries and frauds.
  • In sum, Mary did not become identified as the Ark of the New Covenant until the latter part of the 4th century, at the earliest, and therefore it follows that the Early Church could not have derived a belief in Mary's sinlessness based on this typology before the typology was even proposed.

Mary as the New Eve

• Roman Catholics believe that as Christ is to Adam, so Mary is to Eve, and if the Early Church acknowledged the Eve-Mary parallel, it is implicit evidence of early belief that Mary must have been sinless leading up to her obedience, just as Eve was sinless leading up to the fall. Esteemed Roman Catholic Mariologist, Juniper Carol, sought to find evidence of Mary's sinlessness in Irenæus' discussion of the "Eve-Mary" parallel:
  • "[T]he Eve-Mary analogy is relevant here. Our Lady's consent to the redemptive program implicit in the Incarnation was recognized by St. Irenaeus of Lyons as constituting an act not simply of singular significance but even of exceptional moral value; it was an act of obedience (Adv Haer, lib 3, cap 22, 1; PG 7:958-959)." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume I, p. 138)
  • Counterevidence:
  • Irenæus indeed found a typological connection between Mary and Eve (Against Heresies, Book III, chapter 22) but did not believe that the parallel implied Mary's sinlessness. For example, when expounding on the incarnation, Irenæus saw a long line of sinners between Adam and Christ, Christ being the sole exception:
    • "For if the flesh were not in a position to be saved, the Word of God would in no wise have become flesh. ... He thus points out the recapitulation that should take place in his own person of the effusion of blood from the beginning, of all the righteous men and of the prophets, and that by means of Himself there should be a requisition of their blood. Now this [blood] could not be required unless it also had the capability of being saved; nor would the Lord have summed up these things in Himself, unless He had Himself been made flesh and blood after the way of the original formation [of man], saving in his own person at the end that which had in the beginning perished in Adam." (Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 14).
    • Needless to say, if "his own person at the end" is the sole exception in a line of descent from Adam, then Mary is not exceptional.
    • Even Juniper Carol, who very much desired to find evidence of Mary's sinlessness in Irenæus' Eve-Mary parallel, acknowledged that the Eve-Mary parallel in the Early Church did not prove that the Early Church believed Mary to be sinless:
      • "Regrettably, Irenaeus' insight into the Second or New Eve is not paralleled by any conclusion in the texts with respect to the state of her soul prior to her fiat. Did the ante-Nicene Fathers glimpse a further consequence from the analogy, an indication of Mary's sanctity? Le Bachelet, for one, surrenders such investigation: 'Who could possibly give a certain answer, one way or the other?'"(Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume I, p. 138)
      • In sum, even Early Church Fathers who identified an Eve-Mary parallel spoke plainly of Mary being sinful and Christ being the only sinless person, thus showing that an Eve-Mary parallel does not imply that Mary was sinless.

Mary as the Source of Jesus' Sinless Flesh

• Roman Catholics teach that because Jesus' flesh was sinless, He must have received it from someone who was herself sinless. For example,
  • "Mary's sinlessness derives from the fact that she is the human vessel through which God himself became man. It was from her flesh that Christ received his human nature." (Catholic Answers, Mary had to be sinless to pass on a sinless human nature to Christ)
  • Counterevidence:
  • First, the Scriptures do not teach that Mary had to be sinless, and in fact when referring to Jesus' flesh, the Scriptures describe it as the same flesh as the flesh of sinners (Hebrews 2:14-15).
  • Second, even the Roman Catholic arguments for Mary's sinlessness acknowledge that "it wasn't strictly necessary that his mother be sinless for him to receive from her a sinless human nature. God could have done it another way" (See Catholic Answers).
  • Third, the early church did not believe Mary had to be sinless for Christ to be born a sinless man. Irenæus, for example, wrote that in order to save sinful flesh—in order to sum up "human nature in His own person"—He had to take his flesh from "the thing which had perished," and he took that flesh from Mary:
    • "But if the Lord became incarnate for any other order of things, and took flesh of any other substance, He has not then summed up human nature in His own person, nor in that case can He be termed flesh. For flesh has been truly made [to consist in] a transmission of that thing moulded originally from the dust. ... But the thing which had perished possessed flesh and blood. For the Lord, taking dust from the earth, moulded man; and it was upon his behalf that all the dispensation of the Lord's advent took place. He had Himself, therefore, flesh and blood, recapitulating in Himself not a certain other, but that original handiwork of the Father, seeking out that thing which had perished. And for this cause the apostle, in the Epistle to the Colossians, says, 'And though you were formerly alienated, and enemies to His knowledge by evil works, yet now you have been reconciled in the body of His flesh, through His death, to present yourselves holy and chaste, and without fault in His sight.' [Colossians 1:21, etc.] He says, 'You have been reconciled in the body of His flesh,' because the righteous flesh has reconciled that flesh which was being kept under bondage in sin, and brought it into friendship with God." (Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 14).
    • Needless to say, if Jesus of necessity took His flesh from "that which had perished ... under bondage in sin," then He clearly did not take His flesh from "that which had not perished" and was not "kept under bondage in sin," which of course means that Mary was not exceptional in regard to sin in Irenæus' view, and he did not think Mary had to be sinless for Christ to become incarnate.
    • Notably, Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367 A.D.) also considered Mary to be sinful and “destined to undergo the scrutiny of God’s judgment, of faults that are slight” (see Hilary of Portiers, Tractatus in Ps 118; Patrologia Latina Volume 9, c. 523). Because of this, Hilary believed that Jesus was "unique" in the sense that He "did not come into existence through the passions incident to human conception" and was "not born under the defects of human conception." Such statements of necessity contrast Jesus' conception with Mary's, for Mary was certainly conceived "through the passions incident to human conception":
      • “For Christ had indeed a body, but unique, as befitted His origin. He did not come into existence through the passions incident to human conception: He came into the form of our body by an act of His own power. He bore our collective humanity in the form of a servant, but He was free from the sins and imperfections of the human body: that we might be in Him, because He was born of the Virgin, and yet our faults might not be in Him, because He is the source of His own humanity, born as man but not born under the defects of human conception. … though He was formed in fashion as a man, He knew not what sin was. For His conception was in the likeness of our nature, not in the possession of our faults.” (Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity, Book X, chapter 25).
      • The statement is even more remarkable in its implicit denial of what Roman Catholicism teaches as an apostolic truth. Roman Catholicism teaches that Mary is the source of Jesus' humanity, and therefore Mary must have been sinless. Hilary, by way of contrast, thought Mary was sinful, and therefore that Jesus must have been "the source of His own humanity" so that "our faults might not be in Him." Whatever illogic may have driven Hilary to this conclusion, he clearly believed that Mary had faults to pass on, necessitating the unique occasion of Christ's conception in Mary by the Holy Spirit, a material denial of her immaculacy.
      • In sum, the Roman Catholic belief in the necessity of Mary's sinlessness based on Christ having receiving sinless flesh from her is not taught in Scripture, and was not taught in the three centuries after the apostles.

Mary's Sinlessness in the Early Church

Alleged Support from the Church Fathers

• Roman Catholicism claims that Mary's sinlessness was taught in the Early Church. Three primary examples are Justin Martyr, Irenæus of Lyons and Hippolytus of Rome:
  • Justin Martyr (c. 100 - 165 A.D.) identified the Eve-Mary parallel, as follows:
    • "...He became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled [incorrupt], having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her..." (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 100)
    • Counterevidence:
    • In context, Justin's parallel does not encompass Eve's sinlessness in the comparison between Eve and Mary but her sexual innocence. All that is observed in the parallel is their respective physical virginity. Even Mariologist Juniper Carol reluctantly acknowledges his own inability to derive Mary's sinlessness from Justin Martyr's Eve-Mary parallel, finding only the "seeds" of later Roman Catholic teachings, not the "full flower":
      • "It is argued that, in St. Justin the Martyr's description of Eve as 'virgin incorrupt' there is question of Eve exempt from all corruption, and so the parallelism demands a similar exemption for Mary. The seeds of future development with respect to Mary's sanctity may be contained in the patristic Eve-Mary analogy, but they are seeds and not the full flower." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Vol. I, p. 138n)
      • Irenæus of Lyons (early 2nd century - 202 A.D.), as noted above, is also invoked because of the Eve-Mary parallel in his writings.
      • Counterevidence:
      • As also noted above, the parallel does not require that Mary be sinless, something Juniper Carol also acknowledges reluctantly:
        • "Regrettably, Irenaeus' insight into the Second or New Eve is not paralleled by any conclusion in the texts with respect to the state of her soul prior to her fiat." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume I, p. 138)
        • Hippolytus of Rome (170 – 235 A.D.), among others, is said to have used the word "holy" in regard to the Virgin Mary.
          • "...the adjective 'holy' is prefixed to 'Virgin.' Not often; still, it is used. St. Hippolytus of Rome, for example, states, without explanation, that 'God the Word descended into the holy Virgin Mary.' (Contra Noetum, cap 17; PG 10:825)" (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume I, p. 139)
          • Counterevidence:
          • First, the Scriptures use the same term "holy" (ἅγιος, hagios) in 1 Peter 2:9 in the context of a "holy nation" comprised of sinful people redeemed from their personal sins, showing that the use of the term holy does not of necessity imply utter sinlessness.
          • Second, even esteemed Mariologist, Juniper Carol, reluctantly acknowledges that Hippolytus' use of the term cannot be taken as proof of belief in the Immaculate Conception in the Early Church:
            • "The difficulty is, such a usage is ill-defined. The word sanctus or hagios has not always been able to boast of a clearly delimited meaning in ecclesiastical use. Does Hippolytus use hagios as a rather vague laudatory epithet, or as a title of dignity, or to imply moral excellence, or to signify the respect reserved for one who is segregated from profane things and belongs to God by some sort of consecration? The answer must, in the state of the evidence, be a confession of ignorance." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, Volume I, p. 139)

Actual Evidence from the Church Fathers

• Pope Pius IX claimed that "illustrious documents of venerable antiquity, of both the Eastern and the Western Church, very forcibly testify [of] this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin" (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus). In fact, the opposite is the case. The only sure evidence we have of the teachings of the Early Church Fathers reflects a belief in Mary's utter sinfulness:
  • Tertullian (160 – 225 A.D.) has Jesus censuring Mary's faults, and finds in Mary a "figure of the synagogue" of unbelieving Jews, and has Jesus unwilling to acknowledge His mother because of her "offense":
    • “In this very passage indeed, their unbelief is evident. … while strangers were intent on Him, His very nearest relatives were absent. … but they prefer to interrupt Him, and wish to call Him away from His great work. … When denying one’s parents in indignation, one [Jesus] does not deny their existence, but censures their faults. … in the abjured mother there is a figure of the synagogue, as well as of the Jews in the unbelieving brethren. In their person Israel remained outside, while the new disciples who kept close to Christ within, hearing and believing, represented the Church, which He called mother in a preferable sense and a worthier brotherhood, with the repudiation of the carnal relationship.” (Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, chapter 7)
    • “Besides, His admission of His mother and His brethren was the more express, from the fact of His unwillingness to acknowledge them. That He adopted others only confirmed those in their relationship to Him whom He refused because of their offense, and for whom He substituted the others, not as being truer relatives, but worthier ones. Finally, it was no great matter if He did prefer to kindred (that) faith which it did not possess. ” (Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book IV, chapter 19).
    • Origen (185 – 254 A.D.), based on Romans 3:23, taught that the sword that would pierce Mary's heart (Luke 2:35) was unbelief:
      • “If she did not suffer scandal at the Lord’s Passion, then Jesus did not die for her sins. But, if ‘all have sinned and lack God’s glory but are justified by his grace and redeemed,’ (Romans 3:23) then Mary too was scandalized at that time.” (Origen, Homilies on Luke, 17.6-7)
      • As noted above, Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367 A.D.) also considered Mary to be sinful and “destined to undergo the scrutiny of God’s judgment, of faults that are slight” (see Hilary of Portiers, Tractatus in Ps 118; Patrologia Latina Volume 9, c. 523).
      • Basil (329-379 A.D.) agreed that the "sword" of Luke 2:35 was doubt and that Mary was not healed of her sin until after Christ died for her:
        • “The Lord was bound to taste of death for every man—to become a propitiation for the world and to justify all men by His own blood. Even you yourself, who hast been taught from on high the things concerning the Lord, shall be reached by some doubt. This is the sword. ... after the offense at the Cross of Christ a certain swift healing shall come from the Lord to the disciples and to Mary herself, confirming their heart in faith in Him” (Basil, Letter 260.8-9)
        • John Chrysostom (c. 349 – 407 A.D.) had Jesus healing Mary of her sin of "vainglory," answering her "vehemently" for attempting to take credit for His miracles, and instructing her to correct this sinful behavior in the future—so "superfluous" was she her "vanity":
          • “He both healed the disease of vainglory, and rendered the due honor to His mother” (John Chrysostom, Homilies in Matthew, Homily 44.3)..
          • “For she desired both to do them a favor, and through her Son to render herself more conspicuous; perhaps too she had some human feelings, like His brethren, when they said, ‘Show yourself to the world’ (John 17:4), desiring to gain credit from His miracles. Therefore He answered somewhat vehemently…” (John Chrysostom, Homilies in John, Homily 21.2)
          • “And so this was a reason why He rebuked her on that occasion, saying, ‘Woman, what have I to do with you?’ instructing her for the future not to do the like; because, though He was careful to honor His mother, yet He cared much more for the salvation of her soul, and for the doing good to the many, for which He took upon Him the flesh.” (John Chrysostom, Homilies in John, Homily 21.3)
          • “For in fact that which she [Mary] had [tried] to do, was of superfluous vanity; in that she wanted to show the people that she has power and authority over her Son, imagining not as yet anything great concerning Him; whence also her unseasonable approach. See at all events both her self-confidence and theirs. Since when they ought to have gone in, and listened with the multitude; or if they were not so minded, to have waited for His bringing His discourse to an end, and then to have come near; they call Him out, and do this before all, evincing a superfluous vanity, and wishing to make it appear, that with much authority they enjoin Him.” (John Chrysostom, Homilies in Matthew, Homily 44.1).
          • [We note here for good measure that Chrysostom here has criticized Mary for wanting "to show the people that she has power and authority over her Son," the very thing a Queen Mother would be perfectly entitled to do, as we discussed in part 1 of this series. When Mary appears to act in such a manner toward Christ, Chrysostom not only rejects any inherent claim of Marian authority over Christ but also considers it a gross sin for Mary even to attempt to exercise such. Thus we find that even at the latter part of the 4th century, Mary was still not considered Queen Mother of Christ the King.]
          • In a remarkably candid analysis of why Gabriel announced the incarnation to Mary prior to Christ's conception, but to Joseph afterward, Chrysostom explained that Joseph was sufficiently level-headed to bee able to handle the situation, but Mary, in her "perfect delicacy," was neither so perfect nor so delicate that she could not have entertained killing herself and Jesus with her. So Gabriel gave her advance warning—which is not the kind of thing one writes about Mary if one thinks she was free even of the inclination to sin:
            • “Why then, it may be asked, did he not so in the Virgin’s case also, and declare the good tidings to her after the conception? Lest she should be in agitation and great trouble. For it were likely that she, not knowing the certainty, might have even devised something amiss touching herself, and have gone on to strangle or to stab herself, not enduring the disgrace.  … Now she who was of such perfect delicacy would even have been distracted with dismay at the thought of her shame, not expecting, by whatever she might say, to convince any one who should hear of it, but that what had happened was adultery. Therefore to prevent these things, the angel came before the conception.” (Chrysostom, Homilies in Matthew, Homily 4.9)
            • Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 A.D.) had Mary as ranking lower even than the doubting apostle, reasoning that Mary simply must have doubted. After all, even Thomas doubted:
              • “And Symeon further said to the holy Virgin, 'Yea, a sword shall go through thy own soul also,' meaning by the sword the pain which she suffered for Christ, in seeing Him Whom she brought forth crucified; and not knowing at all that He would be more mighty than death, and rise again from the grave. Nor mayest thou wonder that the Virgin knew this not, when we shall find even the holy Apostles themselves with little faith thereupon: for verily the blessed Thomas, had he not thrust his hands into His side after the resurrection, and felt also the prints of the nails …” (Cyril of Alexandria, Sermons on Luke, Sermon IV)
              • In sum, Pope Pius IX's claim that "illustrious documents of venerable antiquity" testify "forcibly" of Mary's Immaculate Conception is easily refuted. Attempts by Roman Catholics to find Mary's sinlessness in Justin Martyr, Irenæus of Lyons and Hippolytus of Rome come up empty handed, and what the Early Church writers actually do say plainly is that Mary was sinful—sometimes embarrassingly so. The Roman Catholic encyclopedia acknowledges this early evidence for Mary's sinfulness, but conveniently relegates it to the category of "stray private opinions" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Immaculate Conception). As esteemed Mariologist Juniper Carol wryly acknowledges, the earlier writings touch on the matter of Mary's holiness "with a disinterest which is disconcerting and at times a familiarity which borders on discourtesy" (Juniper Carol, Mariology, vol. 2 (125)). In fact, Carol reports that hard evidence only surfaces three centuries after the apostolic era:
                • "A significant turning point in the Mariological consciousness of the West does not occur until 377 [A.D.], with the publication of St. Ambrose's three books On Virginity, addressed to his sister, Marcellina. ... … the attitude of Ambrose toward Mary is something novel in Latin literature." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, vol 1 (140-2))
                • "...with respect to Our Lady's holiness, the year 431 [A.D.] marks a turning point for Eastern patristic thought. Before Ephesus, Oriental theology is apparently unaware of a problem in this regard." (Juniper Carol, Mariology, vol. 2, 125)
                • The novelty of Mary's sinlessness does not arrive on the scene until 377 A.D. in the West, and even later in the East. That is a far cry from Pius IX's pretentious claim that "illustrious documents of venerable antiquity ... very forcibly testify" of Mary's Immaculate Conception. To arrive at an allegedly apostolic doctrine of Mary's sinlessness, Roman Catholicism has to ignore the early evidence for a widespread belief in Mary's sinfulness, and must import later novelties into earlier Patristic statements that cannot possibly bear the weight of Roman Catholicism's late 4th century novelties.

We will continue this series with part 4, on Mary’s alleged "perpetual virginity."

Semper Reformanda Radio recently produced a series of five podcasts on the Roman Catholic view of Mary under the title Roman Catholics and their Queen. The purpose of this blog series is to provide the supporting data behind the podcasts. We hope this will be helpful to those who would like to become familiar with the Roman Catholic claims to apostolicity for their Marian position, and the historical and biblical data showing that the apostles and the Early Church knew nothing of it.

We continue this week with the supporting data for Episode 2.

Episode 2: Mary, Ark of the Covenant

Roman Catholics teach that the Ark of the Old Covenant is a prefiguration of Mary, and that Mary, having carried in her womb the Heavenly Manna, the incarnation of the Word, and the Rod of Aaron blossoming, is therefore the Ark of the New Covenant, imperishable, holy and pure.

It is important to be familiar with Roman Catholic arguments on the Ark because the belief undergirds other Marian doctrines: Mary's sinlessness (see episode 3), Mary's perpetual virginity (see episode 4), and Mary's bodily Assumption into Heaven (see episode 5).

• The Roman Catholic support for this comes from five basic premises.
  1. Mary was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), just as the Ark was ostensibly "covered" by a cloud in the Old Testament (Exodus 40:34).
  2. The Ark's stay in the hill country of Judæa for "three months" as depicted in 2 Samuel 6 is taken as a prefiguration of Mary’s journey to the hill country of Judæa to visit Elizabeth for "about three months" (Luke 1:39-56).
  3. The Contents of the Ark (Manna, Tablets of the Law, Rod of Aaron) are taken as prefigurations for the contents of Mary's womb, making her the new Ark.
  4. Revelation 11:19 depicts "the Ark of His testament" in heaven, followed immediately by Revelation 12:1 depicting a woman in heaven, crowned with twelve stars. The woman is taken to be Mary, making her "the ark of His testament."
  5. The Early Church ostensibly taught that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant
• Due to the amount of data to be provided under each premise, we list them first in summary form, and will now refute them in the same order, below.

Mary Overshadowed

• According to Roman Catholics, the language describing the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary at the moment of Christ's conception (Luke 1:35) is considered so similar to that used for the glory of God covering the tent of the congregation (Exodus 40:34) that it is assumed that the Holy Spirit intended to link the two. In fact, the word in Exodus 40:34 in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) is the same word used in Luke 1:35. By way of example, one Roman Catholic apologist attempts to make the connection for us:
  • "It is clear, then, that the angel Gabriel drew a parallel between God's presence in the Sanctuary and in Mary. She is the new, living Ark chosen to bear the God-Messiah; just as the glory of the Lord overshadowed and dwelt in the Old Covenant Ark, the glory of the Lord overshadowed and dwelt in Mary." (emphasis added)
  • Counterevidence:
  • We note first of all that the Roman Catholic apologist has taken the liberty of filling in for us what is actually missing in the text. Exodus 40:34 says "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filledthe tabernacle." It says nothing about the cloud covering or filling the ark, and yet the apologist writes, "just as the glory of the Lord overshadowed and dwelt in the Old Covenant Ark...". The text says nothing like this at all, and yet the Roman Catholic apologist informs us of the link on Gabriel's high authority, i.e., "It is clear, then, that the angel Gabriel drew a parallel between God's presence in the Sanctuary and in Mary." But the parallel was not alleged by the apologist to be Sanctuary|Mary or Tent|Mary or Tabernacle|Mary, but rather Ark|Mary, and that specific parallel is precisely what is missing in the attempt to link Exodus 40:34 with Luke 1:35.
  • Second, we note that there was nothing particularly special about the word used in the Hebrew text. In the Hebrew, the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to use the word, ḵāsâ (כָּסָה), for "covered" in Exodus 40:34, the same word used to say that frogs covered Egypt (Exodus 8:8), locusts covered the earth (Exodus 10:5, 15), waters covered the chariots (Exodus 14:28) and quail covered the camp (Exodus 16:13). This shows that the Hebrew word has no intrinsic prophetic meaning apart from context.
  • Additionally, in the Greek the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to use the word episkiazo (ἐπισκιάζω), for "overshadow" in Luke 1:35, the same word used to describe the cloud overshadowing Jesus and the apostles at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:34). But it is also used in Acts 5:15 to say that Peter's shadow "might overshadow" the sick—again showing that the Greek word has no intrinsic prophetic meaning apart from context.
  • In sum, the Roman Catholic attempt to make a link between Exodus 40:34 and Luke 1:35 to make Mary the Ark is exceedingly difficult because first, in Exodus 40:34 it is not the Ark that is "overshadowed," and second, the words used for "cover" or "overshadow" in the two verses are not used exclusively to describe the manifestation of the presence and glory of God, so the apologist is left trying to construct a link out of nothing by importing events and forcing parallels that are absent from the text.

Mary's Journey

• According to Roman Catholics, Mary's journey to the hill country of Judæa (Luke 1:39-56) is so similar to the Ark's temporary stay in the hill country of Judæa (2 Samuel 6), that it is assumed that the Holy Spirit intended to link the two. By way of example, one Roman Catholic apologist explains the relation:
  • "Mary and the ark were both on a journey to the same hill country of Judea.
    • When David saw the ark he rejoiced and said, 'How can the ark of the Lord come to me?' Elizabeth uses almost the same words: 'Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' ...
    • When David approached the ark he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the ark. ... When Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, approached Elizabeth, John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb ... .
    • The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months, and Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months. ...
    • When the Old Testament ark arrived—as when Mary arrived—they were both greeted with shouts of joy. ...
    • The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sm 6:12; 1 Kgs 8:9-11). Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple.
    • It seems clear that Luke has used typology to reveal something about the place of Mary in salvation history." (Lk 1:56; 2:21-22)." (Steve Ray, Mary, Ark of the New Covenant)
    • Counterevidence:
    • First, David refused to receive the Ark saying, “How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9) and Elizabeth welcomed Mary saying, “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). “Refusing” is not a type of, and does not foreshadow, “welcoming.”
    • Second, the Scripture does not say David danced before the Ark, but rather "before the LORD" (2 Samuel 6:14), and John leapt at the sound of Mary's voice, not at the presence of Jesus (Luke 1:44); additionally, David danced after the Ark had stayed "three months" in the house of Obed-edom (2 Samuel 6:11), and John leapt in Elizabeth's womb before Mary stayed "about three months" with Elizabeth (Luke 1:44), showing that there is nothing but a forced parallel to be found here.
    • Third, we note that the Ark and Mary did not both remain in the hill country of Judæa for three months.
      • The “the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months” (2 Samuel 6:11) and Mary went to visit Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah for “about three months” (Luke 1:56). "Three months" and "about three months" are not the same thing.
      • If such rough equivalents are sufficient for finding a prophetic connection, we can easily use the same flawed Roman Catholic thinking in order to prove that John the Baptist is the Ark. For example:
        • The ark was in the country of the Philistines for “seven months” (1 Samuel 6:1), before it came to the field of Joshua where there was a great stone (1 Samuel 6:14). Elizabeth “hid herself for 5 months” (Luke 1:24), and then in the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy Mary found out about it (Luke 1:36), and then had to travel about 100 miles to visit her cousin. That would be "about seven months" that John waited in Elizabeth's womb before meeting Jesus, Yeshua, the Cornerstone, and "about seven months" is close enough for the Roman Catholic apologist.
        • The Ark remained in Kirjathjearim for “twenty years” (1 Samuel 7:2), and John the Baptist as a Levitical priest would have waited until he was 20 years old to begin his priestly ministration (1 Chronicles 23:24, 31:17).
        • Thus, the “seven months” the Ark was in the country of the Philistines signified "about seven months" that John waited in Elizabeth's womb to meet Jesus in Mary's womb. Also, the 20 years the Ark spent in Kirjathjearim signified John’s youth until he became a priest, making John the Baptist the Ark of the New Covenant.
        • That is foolishness. Yet the methodology used is the same used by Roman Catholics to conclude that Mary is the New Ark.
        • Fourth, it is true that the Ark was brought to Jerusalem with shouts of joy (2 Samuel 6:15), and Elizabeth greeted Mary in "a loud voice" (Luke 1:42). However, we note that the Roman Catholic argument is a very selective one. Notice that the apologist had drawn a parallel with regard to how David greeted the Ark before its three month stay with Obed-edom (“How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?”, 2 Samuel 6:9) and Elizabeth welcomed Mary before her three month visit ("And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?", Luke 1:43). In that case, David's greeting was of dread, and Elizabeth's of joy. Lacking a sufficient parallel with regard to that greeting, the Roman Catholic apologist instead shifts to the period after the three month stay with Obed-edom, and shows the Ark greeted "with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet" (2 Samuel 6:15), trying to connect it with Elizabeth greeting Mary before the three months. In 2 Samuel the ark is greeted with shouting and joy, including trumpets, but in the case of Elizabeth's greeting, there were no trumpets.
        • Finally, we notice again how selective the Roman Catholic apologist is in his analysis of Mary's journey. When the Ark is returned after its three months in the hill country of Judæa, it is taken directly to Jerusalem and placed in the Tabernacle (2 Samuel 6:17) "where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple," but here the Roman Catholic apologist refers to an event that took place nearly 40 years later (1 Kings 8:9-11). When Mary returns from her stay of "about three months" in the hill country of Judæa, she returns not to Jerusalem but to Nazareth (Luke 1:26, 56), and then does not go to the Temple for six more months to present Jesus there. When the Ark and Mary both are depicted going to the hill country of Judæa for roughly equal amounts of time, geography and time were extremely important to the Roman Catholic apologist. But here, lacking a geographic parallel (Jerusalem vs. Nazareth), and lacking a time parallel (40 years vs. six months), suddenly time and geography are of no consequence, and the Roman Catholic apologist settles for both the Ark and Mary returning "home," and the presence of God manifesting in the Temple "eventually." That is a very loose "parallel."
        • In sum, the Roman Catholic attempt to find a parallel between 2 Samuel 6 and Mary's journey in Luke 1 is so presumptuous and selective that one would first have to believe that Mary is the Ark before one could find a parallel in the passages, just as we demonstrated with John the Baptist. That ostensible parallel is only maintained by a highly selective use of the Scriptures, and ignoring the significant differences. Further, nothing is said in the Scriptures about Mary being the fulfillment of the Ark as a type.

The Contents of the Ark

• According to Roman Catholics, having carried in her womb the Heavenly Manna, the incarnation of the Word, and the fulfillment of the Rod of Aaron blossoming, Mary is therefore the Ark of the New Covenant. Roman Catholic apologist, Steve Ray, attempts to make the argument as follows:
  • "Notice the amazing parallels: In the ark was the law of God inscribed in stone; in Mary’s womb was the Word of God in flesh. In the ark was the urn of manna, the bread from heaven that kept God’s people alive in the wilderness; in Mary’s womb is the Bread of Life come down from heaven that brings eternal life. In the ark was the rod of Aaron, the proof of true priesthood; in Mary’s womb is the true priest." (Steve Ray, Mary, Ark of the New Covenant)
  • Counterevidence:
  • We grant that the Heavenly Manna signifies Christ, for the Scriptures inform us of this (John 6:32). Likewise, we grant that the law signifies Christ, for the Scriptures inform us that Jesus is the incarnation of the Word of God (John 1:14). But we cannot grant that the Rod of Aaron signifies Christ, for the Scriptures explicitly rule out the signification. The Rod of Aaron actually signifies a genetic lineage from Aaron:
    • "Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. ... but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. ... And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ... unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever." (Numbers 18:1-8)
    • What is more, the Scriptures explicitly deny that Jesus is of the genetic lineage of Aaron:
      • “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar." (Hebrews 7:11-13)
      • In sum, while the Manna and the Law prefigure Christ (for the Scriptures say as much), the Rod of Aaron cannot possibly signify Christ's priesthood (for the Scriptures tell us this), and therefore, the Rod's presence in the Ark cannot possibly signify Christ's presence in Mary, and in fact the Scriptures never identify Christ with the Rod of Aaron. Thus, the attempt to find a parallel between the Ark and Mary based on the Ark's contents is shown to be untenable.

The Ark in Revelation 11

• Roman Catholics observe that the reference to the Ark in Revelation 11:19 immediately precedes the mention of the Woman of Revelation 12, whom Roman Catholics take to be Mary. The close proximity of the mentions of the Ark in heaven and the Woman in heaven is taken to mean that the Ark mentioned in Revelation 11:19 is Mary. Roman Catholic apologist, Steve Ray, makes the connection:
  • "What did John say immediately after seeing the Ark of the Covenant in heaven? "And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child" (Rv 12:1-2). The woman is Mary, the Ark of the Covenant, revealed by God to John." (Steve Ray, Mary, Ark of the New Covenant)
  • Counterevidence:
  • The Woman of Revelation 12 is shown to be "travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered" (Revelation 12:2). Labor pains are evidence of sin (Genesis 3:16), showing that the Woman of Revelation 12 is sinful, something that Roman Catholics cannot countenance if she is Mary, for Roman Catholicism teaches that Mary is sinless.
  • Additionally, the Woman of Revelation 12 is in pain, and thus her physical virginity is being compromised. This, too, is something that Roman Catholics cannot countenance if she is Mary, for Roman Catholicism teaches that Mary's physical virginity was not compromised in Christ's birth.
  • We will address both of these in episode 3, Mary's Sinlessness, and episode 4, Mary's Perpetual Virginity. For now, we simply note that Victorinus (270 – 310 A.D.), below, when commenting on Revelation 11:19, saw the Ark as a prefiguration of Christ and His ministry of evangelism, not Mary.

The Ark of the New Covenant in the Early Church

• According to Roman Catholics, the early church taught that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. We will first review the evidence provided by Roman Catholics to show that all the  early evidence is based on forgeries, frauds, misrepresentations and anachronisms, and then we will show that the Early Church, until the latter part of the 4th century, was completely unaware of any typological link between the Ark and Mary.

Alleged Support from the Church Fathers

• Hippolytus of Rome (170-235 A.D.)
  • Roman Catholic Apologist, Scott Hahn, claims that the teaching that Mary is the Ark can be traced as far back as the 3rd century. He says, “This application of the Ark of the Covenant to the Blessed Virgin is very ancient. We find that already at the beginning of the 3rd Century in the writings of Hippolytus of Rome.” (Answering Common Objections, A Closer Look at Christ’s Church, Mary, Ark of the Covenant, see “added notes”)
  • Counterevidence: Hippolytus actually taught that Jesus, not Mary, was the Ark:
    • “And, moreover, the ark made of imperishable wood was the Saviour Himself. ” (Hippolytus, Fragments, On the Psalms, Oration on ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’)
    • “And that the Saviour appeared in the world, bearing the imperishable ark, His own body…”(Hippolytus, Fragments, of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, 6).
    • Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213 – c. 270)
      • Roman Catholic Apologist, Steve Ray, compiled “evidence” from the early church fathers in his document, Ark of the New Covenant-Quotes from the Fathers. In that document he claims that Gregory Thaumaturgus taught that Mary is the Ark:
        • "Let us chant the melody which has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, 'Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest; Thou, and the Ark of Thy sanctuary.' For the holy Virgin is in truth an Ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary." (Gregory Thaumaturgus, First Homily)
        • Counterevidence:
        • The Homilies attributed to Thaumaturgus are considered, even by Roman Catholics, to be spurious. Even Thomas Livius, (whom Ray cites) conceded that the Homilies were “of doubtful genuineness” (Livius, Thomas, The Blessed Virgin in the Fathers of the First Six Centuries, p. 48n). Additionally, Philip Schaff, in his Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 6, lists them under doubtful or spurious works.
        • Dionysius of Alexandria (late 2nd century – 264 A.D.)
          • Steve Ray also cites Dionysius of Alexandria in support of the identification of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant:
            • “...by the power of God is that tabernacle protected, to be had in everlasting remembrance, Mary, God’s Virgin Mother” (S. Dionysius of Alexandria, Respons. ad Quoest. v. Pauli Samos) (Livius, Blessed Virgin, p. 81).
            • “Not in a servant did He dwell, but in His holy tabernacle not made with hands, which is Mary the Mother of God” (Ib. ad Quoest. vii.) (Livius, Blessed Virgin, p. 81).
            • Counterevidence:
            • The most obvious problem with these citations from Dionysius is that he has Mary as the Tabernacle, not the Ark. But the larger problem, a problem acknowledged by no less than Cardinal Newman, is that Dionysius’ alleged response to Paul of Samosota is a forgery (King, Benjamin J., Newman and the Alexandrian Fathers: Shaping Doctrine in Nineteenth-Century England (Oxford University Press, 2009) 139 – 140). As we noted last week, the forged letter dates to the latter part of the 4th century.
            • Hesychius of Jerusalem
              • Steve Ray also cites Hesychius of Jerusalem in support of the identification of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant, saying that he lived about 300 A.D.:
                • “The ark is without doubt the Virgin Mother of God (Hesychius, Orat. De Virginis laudib. Biblioth. PP. Græco-Lat. Tom. ii. p. 423) (Livius, Blessed Virgin, p. 89).
                • “Arise, Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the Ark of Thy sanctification, which is very evidently the Virgin Mother of God. For if thou are the pearl, with good reason is she the Ark” (Serm. V. De S. Maria Deip. Patr. Gr. Tom. 93, pp. 460-4) (Livius, Blessed Virgin, p. 227).
                • Counterevidence:
                • These are citations from Greek sources, and as we noted last week, there is no evidence that the term "Mother of God" was used in Greek sources prior to the latter part of the 4th century. Additionally, even the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges that Hesychius was likely from the 5th century, not the 3rd or 4th as Ray places him:
                  • “Presbyter and exegete, probably of the fifth century. Nothing certain is known as to the dates of his birth and death (433?), or, indeed concerning the events of his life.” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Heyschius of Jerusalem).
                  • Hesychius can hardly be used to show an "early" teaching that Mary is the Ark.
                  • The rest of Ray's sources are from the latter part of the 4th century, and beyond. He provided no authentic sources for earlier representations of Mary as the Ark.
                  • Methodius of Olympus
                    • Roman Catholic apologetics organization, Catholicism.org, cites the Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna by Methodius of Olympus in support of the identification of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant, saying that he lived about 311 A.D.:
                      • "To honor her, few words are more beautiful than those composed by St. Methodius of Olympus (+311): 'God paid such honor to the ark, which was the image and type of your sanctity, that no one but the priests could approach it, open or enter to behold it. The veil separated it off, keeping the vestibule as that of a queen. Then what sort of veneration must we, who are the least of creatures, owe to you who are indeed a queen — to you, the living ark of God, the Lawgiver — to you, the heaven that contains Him Whom none can contain?' (Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna [chapter 5])"
                      • Counterevidence:
                      • The problem is that Methodius’ Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna is so hopelessly compromised that it cannot be trusted. Parts of it appear to have been added later, and possibly have been confused and conflated with the works of a 9th century monk of the same name. Chapter 1 of the Oration actually identifies Jesus as the Ark before attempting to make Mary the Ark later in chapter 5:
                        • "Let no Jew contradict the truth, looking at the type which went before the house of Obededom. [2 Samuel 6:10] The Lord has 'manifestly come to His own.' ... The publican, when he touches this ark, comes away just; the harlot, when she approaches this, is remoulded, as it were, and becomes chaste; the leper, when he touches this, is restored whole without pain." (Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna, chapter 1)
                        • Phillip Schaff observed that the work of "Methodius the monkish artist and missionary of the ninth century has been often copied into the works” of Methodius of Olympus (Schaff, General Note on Methodius, AnteNicene Fathers, Volume 6), and even Steve Ray, when citing the same passage as Catholicism.org, correctly places it in the 9th century, where it belongs (Steve Ray, Ark of the New Covenant -Quotes from the Fathers).

Actual Evidence from the Church Fathers

• What is remarkable about the actual evidence from the Early Church is that the Ark is said to signify many different things—Christ, His ministry, His people—but what is conspicuous by its absence is any reference to Mary being the Ark:
  • Irenæus (d. 202 A.D.) taught that the Ark signified "the body of Christ pure and resplendent” (Irenæus, Fragments, Fragment 8)
  • Tertullian (155 – 240 A.D.) taught that Christ was foreseen by the twelve stones “set up for the ark of the covenant” (see Joshua 4:1-10), the stones prefiguring the twelve apostles, the Ark therefore prefiguring Christ  (Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book IV, chapter 13).  Elsewhere, Tertullian writes that “the ark of the testament" is a figure for us, "for we are temples of God, and altars, and lights, and sacred vessels” (Tertullian, De Corona, chapter 9).
  • Hippolytus of Rome (170 – 235 A.D), as we noted above, taught that "the ark made of imperishable wood was the Saviour Himself” (Hippolytus, Fragments, On the Psalms, Oration on ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’), "His own body" (Hippolytus, Fragments, of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, 6).
  • Victorinus (270 – 310 A.D.) taught that the Ark signified Christ and His ministry of preaching: “‘And there was seen in His temple the ark of the Lord’s testament.’ The preaching of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins, and all the gifts whatever that came with Him, he says, appeared therein.” (Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse, from the eleventh chapter). Notably, Victorinus was commenting on the mention of the Ark in Revelation 11:19, immediately preceding the mention of the Woman of Revelation 12:1. And yet he does not identify the Ark with the Woman, much less, as Mary. Rather, the Ark represented "Christ" and "all the gifts whatever that came with Him."
  • Gregory Nazianzen (329 – 390 A.D.) taught that when Christ was conceived in Mary, the Ark had finally arrived, or come to rest, which makes the Ark signify Christ’s body, rather than Mary’s, connecting David's and John's leaping to our leaping before Christ, not Mary: “Now then I pray you accept His Conception, and leap before Him; if not like John from the womb, [Luke 1:41] yet like David, because of the resting of the Ark.” (Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 38, On the Theophany, paragraph 17).
  • In sum, it is not until the latter part of the 4th century that we begin to see references to Mary being the Ark. Any evidence alleged to be earlier than that has proven to be fraudulent.

We will continue this series with part 3, on Mary's alleged sinlessness.

Semper Reformanda Radio recently produced five podcasts on the Roman Catholic view of Mary under the title Roman Catholics and their Queen. The purpose of this series of blog entries is simply to provide the data supporting those five episodes for listeners who would like to study the matter further on their own. Under each topic, we provide the Roman Catholic position and supporting data, and then provide countervailing evidence showing that the Roman Catholic position is actually a novelty.

The summary is simple: Roman Catholic beliefs about Mary originate not with the apostles or the Scriptures, but with novelties than can be traced, for the most part, to the latter part of the 4th century and beyond. For the first three centuries of Christianity, the Church believed as Protestants do today about Christ's mother.

Episode 1: Queen Mary, Mother of God

Queen Mother

Roman Catholics teach that Mary, as mother of the King, enjoys powers, prerogatives, privileges and influence in that role, and is legitimately called the Queen Mother, with all the attendant royal honors.

• The Roman Catholic support for this position comes from three basic premises:
  • Davidic Kings are identified along with their mothers in the historical record.
    • counterevidence:
    • Jehoram (2 Kings 8:16) and Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2) were both kings of the Davidic line, and yet were not identified with their mothers at their ascension
    • the term "Gebirah" is a term used of the Queen Mother of the Davidic line in the Old Testament, making Mary the permanent Gebirah.
      • counterevidence:
      • The term occurs only six times in the Old Testament, and four of those six refer to a woman who was not the the mother of a Davidic King:
      • one use refers to the wife of the King of Egypt (1 Kings 11:19); two uses refer to the grandmother of king Asa (1 Kings 15:13, 1 Chronicles 15:16); One use refers to Jezebel, the mother of a king of Israel (2 Kings 10:13, i.e., not a Davidic King)
      • Only two uses refer to the king’s mother in the Davidic line (Jeremiah 13:18, 29:2).
      • politically powerful women served in the royal court, and those women were the mothers of the presiding king. There are six such examples: Jezebel, Athaliah, Bathsheba, Maachah, Hamutal, Nehushta.
        • counterevidence:
        • Jezebel is dismissed from consideration because she was of the house of Israel not Judah (1 Kings 16:31, 2 Kings 10:13), and therefore was not the politically powerful mother of a Davidic King. Athaliah (2 Kings 8:26) is dismissed because her political power is manifested only after her son is dead, not during his reign (2 Kings 11:1-3). Neither would qualify as prefigurations of Mary.
        • The remaining four (Bathsheba, Maachah, Hamutal, Nehushta) are mothers of kings who were not the heirs apparent, but took the throne because of the influence of the mother
          1. Bathsheba’s son, Solomon, was not the next in line (1 Chronicles 3)
          2. Maacah’s son, Abijah, was not the next in line for the throne (2 Chr 11:18-23)
          3. Hamutal's son Jehoahaz was not the next in line for the throne (2 Kings 23:31,36)
          4. Nehushta’s son, Jehoiachin, was not next in line to the throne (2 Kings 24:8-18, 2 Chr 36:9-11)
        • Since Jesus is the legitimate heir to the throne, and did not need His mother's influence to secure the throne, none of these examples qualify as prefigurations of Mary.
        • In summary, we cite the conclusion of a Jewish scholar on the Gebirah in ancient Israel, based on the Old Testament record:
          • “These circumstances lead us to conclude that, as a rule, the gĕbîrâ or queen mother had no official political status in the kingdom, and the mere fact of her being a queen mother did not bestow upon her any official political status beyond the honor due to her by virtue of her position as mother. On the other hand, in those cases in which the gĕbîrâ did rise to a position of power in her son's domain, we confront a purely individual occurrence which is the direct consequence of the woman's character, ambition, and personal abilities. This highly circumscribed evidence can hardly be taken as testimony of the status and prerogatives of the gĕbîrâ. It points out the historical circumstances in which exceptional women were able to secure the royal succession for their sons, thereby themselves laying claim to a position of power in the realm.” (The Status and Right of the Gĕbîrâ: Zafrira Ben-Barak (Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 110, No. 1 (Spring, 1991), pp. 23-34))
          • Notably, in passages of Scripture where Mary appears to exercise power or prerogative in her relationship to Jesus, the Early Church took it as evidence of her sin, vaingloriousness and pride rather than evidence of her ostensible queenship. (See Mary's Sinlessness, in episode 3). In any case, since the Assumption of Mary is considered the precursor to her coronation in heaven, and there is no evidence for the Assumption of Mary until after the 4th century (see The Assumption of Mary, in episode 5), we can safely place the origins of the queenship of Mary after the 4th century as well. The Early Church was completely unaware of it.

Mother of God

Roman Catholics teach that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is therefore to be addressed as Mother of God.

It should be stated first that there is an actual Greek term for Mother of God, "μήτηρα τοῦ Θεοῦ," and second that the Early Church did not use the term. The title "Theotokos" (θεοτοκος) was deliberately chosen by the Early Church precisely because it avoided identifying Mary's maternity with Christ's divinity. Rather, early writers went out of their way to declare that in Christ's divinity He was motherless. There is simply no logical means to get from the Early Church's point A ("In Christ's divinity He was motherless") to Roman Catholicism's point B ("Mary is the Mother of God") without significant leaps and theological innovation. As we will demonstrate, that innovation occurred in the latter part of the 4th century.

• The Roman Catholic support from the Early Church comes from the following five sources:
  • Papyrus 470 in the John Rylands Library, on which is found a prayer for the protection of the Theotokos. Based on the opinion of papyrologist Edgar Lobel, Roman Catholics place it in the 3rd century and consider it evidence for ante-Niceæn prayers to Mary (see The John Rylands Library (Manchester), Catalogue of the Greek and Latin Papyri, Volume III, Theological and Literary Texts (Nos. 457-551), ed., C. H. Roberts, M.A. (Manchester University Press (1938) 46-47).
    • counterevidence:
    • It is true that Lobel was "unwilling to place [papyrus] 470 later than the third century," but papyrologist C. H. Roberts, editor of the Catalogue, disagreed in the strongest terms: "...such individual hands are hard to date, and it is almost incredible that a prayer addressed directly to the Virgin in these terms could be written in the third century. The Virgin was spoken of as by Athanasius; but there is no evidence even for private prayer addressed to her (cf. Greg. Naz. Orat. xxiv. II) before the latter part of the fourth century, and I find it difficult to think that our text was written earlier than that" (John Rylands Library, Catalogue of the Greek and Latin Papyri, Volume III, 46).
    • Other sources have it "mostly dated to after 450" A.D.. There is no compelling evidence placing it earlier than the latter part of the 4th century. Even esteemed Roman Catholic Mariologist, Juniper Carol, can only say that it "was written certainly before the close of the fourth century."
    • Hippolytus (170 – 235 A.D) is said to have used the term Theotokos in his third century work, De Benedictionibus Patriarcharum.
      • counterevidence:
      • Roman Catholic scholars acknowledge that "the title Theotokos was an interpolation" in de Benedictionibus, and was not found in the original text (O'Carroll, Michael, Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary (The Liturgical Press, 1982) 172)
      • Origen (185 – 254 A.D.). It is reported by historian Socrates (5th century) that Origen used the term in his Commentary on Romans (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, Book VII, chapter 32).
        • counterevidence:
        • There are no extant copies of Origen's alleged Commentary on Romans. As the New World Encyclopedia states, Origen "is cited as the earliest author to use the title Theotokos for Mary but the text upon which this assertion is based is not genuine."
        • Dionysius of Alexandia (d. 264 A.D.) is alleged to have used the term "ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Θεοῦ μου" (the Mother of my God) in his epistle Against Paul of Samosata.
          • counterevidence:
          • Even Roman Catholic apologists agree that Dionysius' letter is a forgery from the late 4th century: "Subsequent criticism has proved that it [the epistle Against Paul of Samosata] is a forgery of the 4th century," specifically a forgery of the Apollonarian era (The Witness of Heretical Bodies of Mariology (Dublin Review, No. XX, (London: Burnes, Oates & Co.) April 1868) 320-361), which "flourished in the latter half of the fourth century" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Apollonarianism). John Cardinal Newman, erstwhile Anglican turned Roman Catholic, also acknowledged that the letter ostensibly from Dionysius of Alexandria to Paul of Samosata is "certainly spurious" (Newman, Select Treatises of St. Athanasius, Volume 2).
          • Roman Catholic Mariologist, Fr. Michael O'Carroll, acknowledges “the first certain literary use of the title [Theotokos] is attributed to Alexander of Alexandria” in about 324-325 A.D., just before the Council of Nicæa (Fr. Michael O'Caroll, The History of the Term Theotókos). We concur with this. The problem for Roman Catholics is that Alexander used the term in a way that Protestants find entirely unobjectionable and that is completely incompatible with the Roman Catholic Latinization, "Mother of God."
            • Alexander's use of Theotokos occurs in his Epistles on Arianism and the Deposition of Arius in which he juxtaposes two terms—theogonias and theotokos—in order to distinguish between Jesus' divine generation by His Father, and His reception of a body from Mary:
              • "...rational beings cannot receive the knowledge of His theogonias (θεογονιας, divine generation) by the Father. ... our Lord Jesus Christ, who in very deed, and not in appearance merely, carried a body, of Mary, theotokos (θεοτοκου, bearer of God)" (Alexander of Alexandria, Epistles on Arianism and the Deposition of Arius, chapter 12).
              • Here Alexander uses Theogonias in contradistinction to Theotokos, separating the concept of Christ's divine generation by His Father (θεογονιας), and His body carried in Mary's womb (θεοτοκου).
              • By juxtaposing the two terms, Alexander effectively ruled out the later Latinization—"Dei Genitrix" or "Dei Mater" (Mother of God)—of the term "Theotokos." Note that the terms "γονιας (gonias)" and "genitrix" are the Greek and Latin roots for the organs of generation in English (gonads, genitals). In other words, in regard to His divine generation, Jesus did not have a mother, but in regards to His flesh, He did. In saying it this way, Alexander avoided linking Christ's divine generation to Mary's physical motherhood. This is consistent with other early writers' expressions:
                • Lactantius (250-325 A.D.): "For in His first nativity, which was spiritual, He was 'motherless,' because He was begotten by God the Father alone, without the office of a mother. But in His second, which was in the flesh, He was born of a virgin's womb without the office of a father...” (Divine Institutes, Book IV, chapter 13,)
                • Eusebius (c. 333) used the term Θεοτοκου in his commentary on Psalm 110:3 (109:4), specifically, "..in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning... ." Commenting on this verse, Eusebius repeatedly emphasizes that the Psalm foresees the generation of Christ's flesh in the womb of Mary by the Spirit, i.e., “της ενσαρκου γεννησεως” and “την ενσαρκον γεννησιν” (Migne, Patrologia Græca (P.G.), vol. 23, cols 1341-1344). The eternal generation of Christ by the Father is not in view.
                • Athanasius (c. 356 A.D.) “[The Scripture] contains a double account of the Saviour; that He was ever God, and is the Son, being the Father’s Word and Radiance and Wisdom; and that afterwards for us He took flesh of a Virgin, Mary, bearer of God (θεοτοκου), and was made man." (Against the Arians, Discourse III, paragraph 29)
                • Augustine (354 – 450 A.D.),  “... without a mother He was God ... . According as He was God, He had not a mother; ... She was the mother, then, of His flesh, of His humanity... .”(Lectures on the Gospel of John, Lecture 8, paragraphs 8-9), paragraph)
                • Such statements as in His divine generation "He was motherless" and "without a mother" and "He had not a mother" are wholly irreconcilable with "Dei Genitrix," "Mater Dei," (Mother of God), the errant Latinization of Theotokos. When the early church used the term Θεοτοκου, it was in view of the generation of His flesh, not His divinity. Lactantius, Eusebius, Alexander, Athanasius and Augustine are consistent on that point, showing just how inappropriate it was to render the term as "Dei Genitrix" later in Latin.
                • That inappropriate Latin rendering of Theotokos (Dei Genitrix, Dei matre, Matrem Dei, etc.) does not actually manifest until the latter part of the 4th century and the early 5th:
                  • Ambrose, de Virginibus (377 A.D.), Book II, paragraph 7: "Dei matre," (Migne, Patrologia Latina (P.L.), vol. 16, col. 209)
                  • John Cassian, de Incarnatione Christi (419 A.D.), Book II, chapter 2: "Matrem Dei," (Migne, P.L., vol. 50, cols. 32, 35); "Dei mater" (cols. 36-37); Book II, chapter 5: "genitrix Dei,""Dei matrem,"  (Migne, P.L., vol. 50, col. 44); Book II, chapter 6 "Dei matrem" (Migne, P.L., vol. 50, col. 46); Book VII, chapter 25: "Matrem Dei,"  (Migne, P.L., vol. 50, col. 254).
                  • In sum, we do not object to the Early Church's use of Theotokos, because the Early Church used it in order to avoid calling Mary the Mother of God. Roman Catholicism is ever eager to find early use of the Greek term θεοτοκος in order to justify the later incorrect Latinization, Dei Genitrix or Mater Dei. However, the earliest confirmed use of θεοτοκος is found in juxtaposition with θεογονιας, and is clearly used to distinguish between Jesus' divine generation by His Father, and His reception of a body from Mary (as in Eusebius), isolating Mary's maternity from Jesus' divine generation. This is consistent with the Early Church's belief and explicit statements that in His divinity, Jesus had no mother. The statement "in His divinity He was motherless" simply cannot be reconciled with the later Roman Catholic innovation, "Mother of God." In fact, that actual term does not arise in Latin until the latter part of the 4th century, and Roman Catholic claims to have found the actual title "Mother of God" in Greek sources are based on a document that was later found to be a late 4th century forgery (Dionysius' letter Against Paul of Samosata).

We hope this raw data will be of assistance to those evaluating and studying the unscriptural Roman Catholic view of Mary. We will continue this series with part 2, on Mary as "Ark of the New Covenant."