2018/12/24 by Geoffrey S. Nathan · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Byzantine Studies and History #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Classical Antiquity Studies #Virginity test #Asceticism #Settlement (finance) #Sociology #State (computer science) #Gender studies #Symbol (formal) #Christian ministry #Religious studies #History #Law #Philosophy #Political science #Archaeology
paper · doi:10.7788/saec.2018.68.2.225
published in Saeculum 68(2), 225-236 (Böhlau Verlag)
openalex publication_date 2018/12/24 · openalex created_date 2019/08/13 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
This essay considers the evolution of Mary’s virginity in the early Church, especially in the fourth and fifth centuries. It argues that for the Western Church, the key problem was the eternality of her virginity (ante, in, and post partum); in the Eastern, it was her status as the Mother of God. The difference of concern and final settlement of Mary’s nature was brought to a head with the ministry of Jovinian in Italy and, with state pressure, led Church Fathers to declare her virginity eternal and herself Theotokos. The settlement also resulted in Mary’s status as a symbol and patron of anti-familial asceticism.