Mary, Part 2 - Ever Virgin

As I have already mentioned, I grew up hearing very little about Mary. In fact, the only two specific teachings about Mary that I can even recall from my years as a Baptist were that she was a virgin at the time of Christ’s birth, and that she did not remain a virgin all her life. And I had no problem with either of these doctrines; it seemed to me that the Bible was pretty clear on both of them.

Upon closer examination, however, I can see now that the Bible isn’t quite as clear on this second teaching as I had originally thought. Although the teaching of the Church on the matter is clear indeed: Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. This teaching has been with the Church since the beginning, was confirmed by the Fifth Ecumenical Council, and received no serious opposition until long after the Reformation. In fact, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Bullinger, and John Wesley all recognized Mary’s perpetual virginity. Denial of this doctrine, it seems, is a fairly recent innovation.

So, who cares, really? Is it that important to insist that Mary remained a virgin her entire life? The Greek Archdiocese says that “the Orthodox Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is our message, our reason for being, the very life of our life. Teaching about Mary is really meant for the initiates, those who have already accepted the Gospel and have committed themselves to Christ and to service in His Church. What Mary teaches us about the Incarnation of the Word of God requires that we first accept the Incarnation.”

Deacon Fr. John Whiteford writes that, “this doctrine is not taught for the sake of upholding the sanctity of the Virgin Mary, but because of the uniqueness and holiness of her Son. Consider the following verse: ‘Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.’ (Ezekiel 44:2). This has always been interpreted by the Fathers of the Church to be a typological reference to the Virgin Mary and the Incarnation. When we consider that God took flesh from the Virgin's womb, it is not difficult to imagine that this womb would remain virgin.”

I have heard Mary referred to also as the Ark of the New Covenant. This is another bit of Marian typology about which I really can’t say a whole lot, other than, if Joseph recognized her as such, he surely would rather have not suffered the same fate as Uzzah (2Sam 6.6-7).

(The guys at “Our Life in Christ” have put together a fascinating series of podcasts on this very topic. You can find them at Ancient Faith Radio, or click here to listen to the first one)

So, what are some of the objections to Mary’s perpetual virginity?

“Until”
. . . and [Joseph] did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (Mt 1.25).

The thinking goes: If Joseph did not "know" Mary until she gave birth to Jesus, then clearly he "knew" her afterwards.

It is important, first of all, to keep in mind that the Bible was not written in English, and that not all Greek (or Hebrew or Aramaic) idioms convey the same meaning in English as they were originally intended. This is one that doesn't. In English, the word "until" (or "till" or "unto") indicates a particular status up to a point in time, while implying a different status after that point. In the original language, "until" (Greek: ἕως or ἕως οὗ) does not necessarily imply a change of status. Consider the following passages:

And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto (ἕως) this day (Dt 34.6).

Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until (ἕως) the day of her death (2Sam 6.23).

In his days may the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace till (ἕως οὗ) the moon is no more (Ps 72.7).

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until (ἕως) I make thine enemies thy footstool (Ps 110.1).

His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until (ἕως οὗ) he see his desire upon his enemies (Ps 112.8).

So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until (ἕως οὗ) that he have mercy upon us (Ps 123.2).

"...if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until (ἕως) this day" (Mt 11.23).

"...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto (ἕως) the end of the world" (Mt 28.20).

Till (ἕως οὗ) I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine (1Tim 4.13).

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until (ἕως οὗ) the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (2pet 1.19)

It is not necessary that “until” in any of these verses is intended to indicate a reversal. Nor, according to the Church, is this the intent of Matthew 1.25.

“Firstborn”
Again, a problem with language. In English, the word "firstborn" implies a secondborn. However, in Greek, the word for "firstborn," prototokos (πρωτοτόκος), does not imply subsequent children. Exodus 13.2 identifies the “firstborn” (πρωτότοκον) as the child that “openeth the womb.” Likewise Numbers 3.12 (πρωτοτοκου). The Mosaic Law required parents to sanctify their firstborn son to the Lord (see Ex 34.20). Are we to believe that parents were expected to do so only after the second son was born?
Consider also whether the "firstbegotten" mentioned in Hebrews 1.6 could possibly imply a "secondbegotten." In the following passages, "firstborn" or "firstbegotten" indicate Christ's status as Heir to the Kingdom rather than order of birth:

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn (πρωτότοκον) among many brethren (Rom 8.29).

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (πρωτοτόκος) of every creature (Col 1.15).

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn (πρωτοτόκος) from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence (Col 1.18).

To the general assembly and church of the firstborn (πρωτότοκον), which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect (Heb 12.23).

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (πρωτοτόκος) of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth (Rev 1.5).

Brothers and Sisters
Several passages in the New Testament (Mt 12.46–47, 13.55–56; Mk 3.31–32, 6.3; Lk 8.19–20; Jn 2.12, 7.3–5; Acts 1.14; 1Co 9.5) mention Christ’s brothers and sisters. The word used in every case, adelphos (αδελφος), is usually translated “brother,” but is often used less specifically. As Fr. John Hainsworth writes, the word adelphos, “which can mean ‘brother,’ ‘cousin,’ ‘kinsman,’ ‘fellow believer,’ or ‘fellow countryman,’ is used consistently throughout the LXX [i.e., the Old Testament], even when cousin or kinsman is clearly the relation described. (as in Genesis 14:14, v.16; 29:12; Leviticus 25:49; Jeremiah 32:8, 9, 12; Tobit 7:2; etc.).

“Lot, for instance, who was the nephew of Abraham (cf. Genesis 11:27–31), is called his brother in Genesis 13:8 (αδελφοι) and 14:14–16 (αδελφος, αδελφον). The point is that the commonly used Greek word for a male relative, adelphos, can be translated ‘cousin’ or ‘brother’ if no specific family relation is indicated.”

These "brothers" and "sisters" of Jesus are understood to be His cousins, or, as is the case with James* and Jude, His step-brothers. These two were Joseph’s sons by his first wife, Solomonia, who had died, leaving Joseph a widower. They weren’t sons of Mary, but they were, in a sense, brothers of Christ, and are referred to as such by the Orthodox Church.

*That's James of the Seventy (Mt 13.55, Mk 6.3, Acts 12.17, 15.13, Epistle of James), not James the son of Zebedee (Mt 4.21, Mk 3.17, Lk 5.10), or James the son of Alphaeus (Mt 10.3, Mk 3.18, Lk 6.15, Acts 1.13), both of the Twelve.

In fact, there is no place in the Scriptures where the “brothers and sisters” of Christ are referred to as the “sons and daughters” of Mary. Nowhere is Mary said to have had other children. Which is why Christ saw fit, as He hung on the cross, to entrust the care of His mother to His disciple John. Such an act would have been a grave insult to Mary’s other children, had there been any.

Marriage
Another objection to the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity is her marriage to Joseph. If Mary and Joseph were married, the argument goes, shouldn’t they have been having sex? Perhaps, but, get this: the Bible never actually says that Mary and Joseph ever married. Yeah, that’s right. It says they were betrothed, or “espoused” (Mt 1.18), but it does not say that they went on to be married. The rite of betrothal, which in first-century Jewish culture came right before marriage, was a formal, legal state of “engagement” that conferred all the responsibilities of marriage with none of the, ahem, benefits. The Orthodox Church, in fact, still observes the rite of betrothal to this day. Betrothal was regarded as somewhere between our modern “engagement” and marriage. It wasn’t quite marriage, so “knowing” each other would have been improper. However, betrothed couples could be referred to as “husband” (Mt 1.19) and “wife” (v.20; Lk 2.5), and breaking off a betrothal required a divorce.

So, if they weren’t to be married, what was the point of putting Mary and Joseph together? It was his duty to support her while she reared the Messiah, and to protect her from suspicions about the legitimacy of her pregnancy.

Something we didn't learn about in the Protestant world is that Mary was, from a very young age, devoted to a life of celibacy and service to God. I suppose you might call her a first-century nun. The story goes that Mary’s parents Joachim and Anna, “praying for an end to their childlessness, vowed that if a child were born to them, they would dedicate it to the service of God” (oca.org). They fulfilled their promise once Mary reached the age of three, and brought her to the Temple, where she stayed until she reached puberty, when she was placed in the care of a widower named Joseph.

Knowing this makes it easy to understand why she responded the way she did when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and proclaimed:

“Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son.”

To which she answered, “Well, duh! I am about to get married, after all.”

No. She responded by asking, “How can this be?”

Why did she ask this? Was she confused as to the biological process of childbirth?

No. She knew that, given her vow of celibacy, childbirth would have been impossible. Her response might as well have been: “I’m sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else. You see, I am a consecrated virgin…”

What else?
Okay, I think, at the very least, it's reasonable to admit that the Scriptures allow for the possibility that Mary had no other children besides Jesus, and that she and Joseph never "knew" each other, or should have. In other words, the Bible does not explicitly deny that Mary remained ever-virgin.

But what do others have to say? Those who know more about the nuances of the original text, and about the theology and history of the Church than I or any of my readers do, or ever will?

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

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

"Let those, therefore, who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary" (St Athanasius, Discourses Against the Arians 2:70; c. 360).

"We believe that God was born of a virgin, because we read it. We do not believe that Mary was married after she brought forth her Son, because we do not read it" (St Jerome, Against Helvidius: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary 21; c. 383).

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

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

"Heretics called Antidicomarites are those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary and affirm that after Christ was born she was joined as one with her husband" (St Augustine, Heresies 56; c. 428).

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

And what about those Reformers we mentioned?

"Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb... This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that" (Martin Luther, Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan, vols. 1-30)

"Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers" (Martin Luther, Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15).

"Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ’s ‘brothers’ are sometimes mentioned" (John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39).

"Under the word ‘brethren’ the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity" (John Calvin, ibid.).

"‘Fidei expositio,’ the last pamphlet from his pen . . . There is a special insistence upon the perpetual virginity of Mary" (re: Huldreich Zwingli, G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395)

"Bullinger (d. 1575) . . . defends Mary’s perpetual virginity . . . and inveighs against the false Christians who defraud her of her rightful praise" (Re: Heinrich Bullinger, In Hilda Graef, Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, combined ed. of vols. 1 & 2, London: Sheed & Ward, 1965, vol.2, pp.14-5).

"A true Protestant may express his belief in these or the like words...that [Christ] was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Ghost, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought Him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin" (John Wesley, Letter to a Roman Catholic, 1749)

So Where Does That Leave Us?
If a new look—actually the original look—at the Scriptures, which made Mary's perpetual virginity at least plausible, wasn't enough to win me over, then that plus the testimony of the Church Fathers and the decision of the Fifth Ecumenical Council and the consistent witness of the Church through the centuries and the testimony of the Reformers, were more than enough to make me reconsider what I thought I knew about Mary.

And, really, why should I resist accepting this teaching? Is it that difficult to accept that a person could remain a virgin their whole life? For anyone who believes something so incredible as the Virgin Birth or the Death and Resurrection of Christ, believing that someone could live a life of celibacy—something practiced by pious and devout Christian men and women even to this day—should be no problem. Especially when that "someone" is the most pious and devout Christian who ever lived.

In closing, I will quote an article from the Orthodox Christian Information Center, which says that "while non-Orthodox Christian denominations may differ with regard to their assessment of the significance of the Mother of God, this does not explain the views of those who would like to believe—an incredible, if not demonic thing—that a woman chosen by the God of the universe to bear His Incarnate Son would simply return, after this miraculous event, to the world of the flesh. If St. Paul praises the chaste life, if Christians are called to become eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom, and if, at least in the Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches, monks and nuns are called to uphold the standard of virginity and purity, how could any rational person suggest that the woman called to bear the Son of God would be exempt from such a pious commitment?

"The Fathers of the Church have written at length on these matters. Suffice it to say that ancient Christian tradition supported the idea that the Mother of God was ever-virgin, just as Church Fathers and Councils condemned heretics in the early Church who, like their counterparts today, questioned the spiritual eminence of the Theotokos."

For further reading:
The Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God
The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary
Why is Mary Considered Ever-Virgin?