The phrase Salus afterward called Saint Mary Major and Populi Romani goes it is the oldest church in the West back to the legal dedicated to the honor of the Blessed system and pagan Virgin Mary." rituals of the ancient Roman Republic. After The Roman Pontifical gives the the legalization of following account: Christianity by "The Liberian basilica, today called Emperor Constantine Saint Mary Major, was founded by the Great through the Pope Liberius (352-366) and was Edict of Milan in 313 restored and enlarged by Sixtus III. AD, the phrase was … Pope Liberius selected a venerated sanctioned as a Marian picture that hung in the pontifical title for the Blessed oratory. It had allegedly been Virgin Mary. brought to Rome by Saint Helena..." History Description The image is held to The image is five feet high by three have arrived from and a quarter feet wide (117 x Crete in the year 590 79 cm) - very large for an icon, AD during the especially one with an early date. It is Pontificate of Pope painted on a thick cedar panel. Mary Gregory the Great, wears a gold-trimmed dark blue who welcomed the mantle over a purple/red tunic. The image in person on its letters in Greek at the top identify arrival borne with a Mary as "Mother of God" (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ floral boat from the Salus Populi Romani (Protectress, in lower case and ΜHΤHΡ ΘΕΟΥ in Tiber river. For centuries it was or more literally health or salvation, upper case), as is usual in Byzantine placed above the door to the of the Roman People) is a Roman art (Christ may originally have had an basilica's baptistery chapel, wherein Catholic title associated with the inscription under later re-painting). the year 1240 it began to be called venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Christ is holding a book in his left Regina Caeli ("Queen of Heaven") in Mary in Rome. This Byzantine icon of hand, presumably a Gospel Book. His an official document. Later it was the Madonna and Christ Child holding right hand is raised in a blessing, and moved to the nave, and from the a Gospel book and is enshrined within it is Mary not he who looks directly 13th century it was preserved in a the Borghese (Pauline) Chapel of the out at the viewer. he folded together marble tabernacle. Since 1613, it has Basilica of Saint Mary Major. position of Mary's hands distinguishes been located in the altar tabernacle of this image as a version of the earlier the Cappella Paolina that was built The image arrived in Rome in the type from before the development of specifically for it, later known to year 590 AD during the reign of Pope the iconography of the Hodegetria English-speaking pilgrims as the Lady Gregory I. Pope Gregory XVI granted image in the 10th century, where she Chapel. The church, Saint Maria the image a Canonical Coronation on points to Christ with her right hand. Maggiore, is considered the third of 15 August 1838 through the Papal "Rather than offering the Child, she the Roman patriarchal basilicas. The bull Cælestis Regina. The venerated keeps his body closer to hers and church and its Marian shrine are image regained its longstanding seeks physical and tactile contact under the special patronage of the devotion and status by being crowned with him." However the few other popes. again for the second time by Pope examples of this type do not have the Pius XII on the Feast of the From at least the 15th century, it was Virgin's hands folded together - the Queenship of Mary on 11 October honored as a miraculous image, and right hand holds Christ's knee. 1954 accompanied by his Papal bull it was later used by the Jesuit Order Ad Reginam Caeli. Recent papal Although neither wear crowns, the in particular to foster devotion to the devotion includes Pope John Paul II holding by Mary in her right hand of a Mother of God through the Sodality of who highlighted its iconography mappa (or mappula, a sort of Our Lady movement. during the World Youth Day for the embroidered ceremonial Jubilee Year of 2000. Pope Benedict The Roman Breviary states, "After the handkerchief), originally a consular XVI also venerated the image on Council of Ephesus (431) in which the symbol, later an imperial one, means various occasions with that specific Mother of Jesus was acclaimed as this image is probably one of the type Marian title. Pope Francis also made Mother of God, Pope Sixtus III showing Mary as Regina coeli or this icon one of his first places of erected at Rome on the Esquiline Hill, "Queen of Heaven". pilgrimage the day after his election a basilica dedicated to the honor of to the Papacy. the Holy Mother of God. It was THEOTOKOS: The Bearer of God
The Council of Ephesus effect that, in opposition to the circumstances decreed in 431 that Mary is those who denied Mary the surrounding her conception the Theotokos because her title Theotokos ("the one and birth, her Presentation son Jesus is both God and who gives birth to God") in the Temple, her man: one divine person but called her Christotokos continuing virginity with two natures (divine ("the one who gives birth to following the birth of Jesus, and human) intimately and Christ"), that Mary is and her death), which are hypostatically united. Theotokos because her son taught and believed by the Jesus is one person who is Orthodox Church (being Similar to this is the title of both God and man, divine expressed in the Church's Mother of God (Greek and human. liturgy and patristic Μήτηρ (του) Θεοῦ; writings), are not formally abbreviated ΜΡ ΘΥ, Latin Cyril of Alexandria wrote, "I defined by the Church. Mater Dei). "Mother of am amazed that there are God" (and equivalents) is some who are entirely in Early Church most often used in English doubt as to whether the The term was certainly in nature. (and other modern western holy Virgin should be called use by the 3rd century. languages), largely due to Theotokos or not. For if our Nestorius' opponents, led Athanasius of Alexandria in the lack of a satisfactory Lord Jesus Christ is God, by Cyril of Alexandria, 330, Gregory the equivalent of Greek τόκος / how is the holy Virgin who viewed this as dividing Theologian in 370, John Latin genetrix. gave [Him] birth, not Jesus into two distinct Chrysostom in 400, and [Theotokos]?" (Epistle 1, to persons, the human who The title has been in use Augustine all used the monks of Egypt; PG was Son of Mary, and the since the 3rd century, in theotokos. 77:13B). divine who was not. To the Syriac tradition (as Origen (d. 254) is often them, this was Syriac: ,ܐ ܗܳ ܠܳܐܰ ܬܕܰ ܠܝܳ But the argument of cited as the earliest author unacceptable since by translit. Yoldath Alloho) in Nestorius was that divine to use theotokos for Mary destroying the perfect union and human natures of the Liturgy of Mari and (Socrates, Ecclesiastical of the divine and human Christ were distinct, and Addai (3rd century) and the History 7.32 (PG 67, 812 B) natures in Christ, it while Mary is evidently the Liturgy of St James (4th citing Origen's Commentary sabotaged the fullness of [7 Christotokos (bearer of century). on Romans). Although this the Incarnation and, by Christ), it could be testimony is uncertain, the extension, the salvation of Theologically, the term misleading to describe her term was used c. 250 by humanity. The council "Mother of God" should not as the "bearer of God". At Dionysius of Alexandria, in accepted Cyril's reasoning, be taken to imply that Mary issue is the interpretation of an epistle to Paul of affirmed the title Theotokos is the source of the the Incarnation, and the Samosata. for Mary, and existence of the divine nature of the hypostatic anathematized Nestorius' person of Jesus, who union of Christ's human and The Greek version of the view as heresy. existed with the Father divine natures between hymn Sub tuum praesidium from all eternity,or of her Christ's conception and contains the term, in the In letters to Nestorius which Son's divinity. Within the birth. vocative, as ΘΕΟΤΟΚΕ. The were afterwards included Orthodox and Catholic oldest record of this hymn among the council Within the Orthodox tradition, Mother of God has is a papyrus found in Egypt, documents, Cyril explained doctrinal teaching on the not been understood, nor mostly dated to after 450, his doctrine. He noted that economy of salvation, been intended to be [19] but according to a "the holy fathers... have Mary's identity, role, and understood, as referring to suggestion by de Villiers ventured to call the holy status as Theotokos is Mary as Mother of God from (2011) possibly older, Virgin Theotokos, not as acknowledged as eternity — that is, as dating to the mid-3rd though the nature of the indispensable. For this Mother of God the Father — century Word or his divinity reason, it is formally but only with reference to received the beginning of defined as official dogma. The use of Theotokos was the birth of Jesus, that is, their existence from the The only other Mariological formally affirmed at the the Incarnation. To make it holy Virgin, but because teaching so defined is that Third Ecumenical Council explicit, it is sometimes from her was born his holy of her virginity. Both of held at Ephesus in 431. The translated Mother of God body, rationally endowed these teachings have a competing view, advocated Incarnate. with a soul, with which bearing on the identity of by Patriarch Nestorius of [body] the Word was united The status of Mary as Jesus Christ. By contrast, Constantinople, was that according to the hypostasis, Theotokos was a topic of certain other Marian beliefs Mary should be called and is said to have been theological dispute in the which do not bear directly Christotokos, meaning begotten according to the 4th and 5th centuries, and on the doctrine concerning "Birth-giver of Christ," to flesh" (Cyril's second letter was the subject of the the person of Jesus (for restrict her role to the to Nestorius). decree of the Council of example, her sinlessness, mother of Christ's humanity Ephesus of 431, to the only and not his divine