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What's the difference between "Theotokos" and "Mother of God"?

Curious minds....

Herb

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In short.. There's no difference.

Theotokos is a Greek word that means "God-bearer" or "Mother of God". It is a title assigned by the early Christian Church to the Virgin Mary at the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus in 431 AD.

Brad

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Why did Ephesus (or whoever) invent the neologism "Theotokos" since they already had the perfectly usable term "Mother of God"?

Why does the Liturgy say in some places "Theotokos" whilst in others "Mother of God"?

There must be some significance...?

Herb

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Herb, the Council nor the entire civilized world, did not use English as their mother tounge. Mother of God is simply a translation of the Gr. Theotokos.
It dates from around the early 3rd century in its theological use. I forget the name of the first theologian to use it, but somewhere in the dusty back closets of my mind, I tend to think it was Origen.
Stephanos I
Use the google search and type in Theotokos.
Very itersting quotes from the Early Fathers, however I do not think is is exhaustive, since it does not mention the title prior to 342 AD.

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dear Stephanos I

I don't think "Mother of God" is a direct translation of "Theotokos".

In some places in the Divine Services, "Theotokos" is used and elsewhere "Mater Theou", sometimes I believe even in the same hymn, e.g. the "Axionul" as the Romanians call it, or the "dostoyno yest" in Slavonic.

In Slavonic they also maintain the distinction: "Matir Boha" versus "Bohorodytsa".

What's that all about?

Curious minds...

Herb

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Dear Friends,

Well, the literal translation of "Theotokos" is "Bearer of God" or "Birth-giver of God."

The word focuses on the fact of the Incarnation of OLGS Jesus Christ.

To be the "Mother of God" means the same thing, although she could have been Christ's Mother by "adoption" according to Jewish law.

"Theotokos" leaves no doubt as to the actual physical reality of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

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Dear Herb,

You are correct that there is a difference.

In the Hymn to the Theotokos, sung at most Divine Liturgies, we hear both terms used.


"It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos.
Ever blessed, and most pure, and the Mother of our God.

More honorable than the Cherubim,
And most glorious beyond compare than the Serafim.

Without defilement you gave birth to God the Word,
True theotokos we magnify you."


In theological terminology, "Mother" or "Father" has the significance of origin. One can not be without their mother or father.

I am "a son of Philadelphia." If there had been no Philadelphia, then I could not have become the same man that I am today. I would be "the son of some other place."

Christ in his humanity is truly "all Marian." This explains some of the Western attempts to assign sinlessness to Mary since they believed that even original sin was inherited in the biological sense. (Other sin may be inherited. If our mother is on crack cocaine then we are born addicted.) But original sin is an inheritance that comes along with our mortality (even though God wants us to live forever) that is a result of our being cut off from the tree of life.

If original sin were a biological inheritance then why did Adam and Eve eventually die? From whom did they inherit it?

Christ is free from original sin in that He is born immortal (but ordered to die on the cross, a command which he obeys, thus opening up for us the possibility for everlasting life just as Adam's disobedience cut us off from the tree of life).

So being the Mother of our God (Mary) means that she gives him all of her "genetics." All of her holiness, purity, devotion, obedience, faithfulness, etc. etc. the list is full of superlatives, is all transferred to Him in His humanity.

It is one thing to be "Birthgiver of God" or the "Godbearer" which are the correct English translations of Theotokos," but it is even a higher calling to be "the Mother of God."

The term for one who gives birth to God could imply that she is simply a vehicle to his birth. (Some heretics liked this possibility.) But Mother of God means that His humanity is her humanity!

Incredible! Not only does God take on humanity in a general sense, but takes on a specific person's humanity! This is the intimate, and most personal God of the East's inscrutable mysticism. The God who leaned on the breast of woman!

In Christ,
Andrew

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Mother of G-d is a very weak translation to Theotokos. But it doesn't necessarily mean the exact same thing. But because She gave birth to G-d the Son (G-d Bearer or she who bore G-d), it would make her a Mother of G-d, but Theotokos doesn't directly mean Mother of G-d.

Does that make sense? I hope I'm not making any heretical statment, because Theotokos is a theological issue.

Let's bring back to more uses of Theotokos. It's very theologically profound, more so than the "Mother of G-d." Why? Because anyone can be the Mother of Jesus (i.e. adopted Mother, birth Mother, etc. Look at Joseph, it's not his seed that brought on the Life of Jesus, but he still was His earthly father), but Mary is the ONLY one who BORE G-d the Word from her flesh and blood (Theotokos)...as well as taking as role as the Mother of G-d.

SPDundas
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Quote
Originally posted by Intrigued Latin:
In short.. There's no difference.

Brad
I stand corrected... Forgive me for attempting to answer a term that is more commonly used in the east and out of my league. I still have a lot to lean about the east.

Brad

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dear Brad:

no worries at all!

I obviously didn't know much about the subject.

to quote our favourite Anhelyna: "Let the learning continue!" Now that she's become an expert on all things Byzantine, she needn't use that dictum so much any more. But I still can!

Herb

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Many Greek and Russian translations of books and prayers refer to the Theotokos as the Most Holy Mother of God, Mother of God, or Mother of our God.

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Originally posted by alice:
Many Greek and Russian translations of books and prayers refer to the Theotokos as the Most Holy Mother of God, Mother of God, or Mother of our God.
Dear-in-Christ Alice,

I cannot speak much for modern Russian although it generally follows the pattern of Slavonic. The Slavonic preserves the difference between Mother of God and Theotokos. Slavonic has the calque "Bogoroditsa" for Theotokos and Mater Boga for Mother of God.

As pointed out earlier these two terms occur sometimes side-by-side as in the "Axion estin."

Tony

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Dear Tony,

It has been in *English* translations of Russian books about saints and the like that I have most come across the Theotokos referred to as 'Mother of God'.

In Christ,
Alice

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P.S. Sorry that I didn't make myself clear in my first post...that is why one shouldn't post when one is in a rush! :rolleyes:

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Quote
Originally posted by alice:
Dear Tony,

It has been in *English* translations of Russian books about saints and the like that I have most come across the Theotokos referred to as 'Mother of God'.

In Christ,
Alice
Ah! "Russian translations" means English translations. No problem.

I am still unclear if you mean however that an original text that has Theotokos is being rendered Mother of God -in English- or if it is something else you mean. Mother of God is certainly an acceptable term that is hallowed by the use of the Orthodox Church, as is Theotokos. If you look at the texts used by the OCA you will find that both occur, and side-by-side, as in the Slavonic, from the Greek, in the hymn "It is truly meet...."

Her icons in church have the inscription (abbreviated and in Greek) Mother of God not Theotokos. It would be wrong, I think, to change that use.

I don't see any issue with referring to the Most-Holy Lady Theotokos as Mother of God, unless violence is being done to the original language.

T

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