December is a big month for Catholic devotion to Mary. On December 9 this year, the Catholic Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and December 12 honors Our Lady of Guadalupe (a solemnity in Mexico, a feast day in the USA, and an optional memorial in other countries). Most obviously, Mary is a central figure in the Nativity of the Lord celebrated on December 25.
Relatedly, Word on Fire recently released a new book called The Mary Pages: An Atheist’s Journey to the Mother of God by Sally Read. Also, on December 2, Word on Fire launched the sale of a new book: Early Church Fathers Collection. As it happens, I recently wrapped up a series of lectures on the Church Fathers for the Word on Fire Institute’s “Theology for Evangelists Community.”
Combining the themes of devotion to Mary and study of the Church Fathers, I thought it would be fitting to write an article discussing the early Church Fathers’ understanding of Mary. This article cannot be exhaustive, of course, but I hope it will introduce the theme sufficiently and perhaps pique the interest of some readers to do further study.
The Oxford scholar J. N. D. Kelly (1909–1997) notes that Mary’s “role in the working out of God’s redemptive plan was relatively early recognized.”1 As the Patristics scholar Johannes Quasten (1900–1987) notes, St. Justin Martyr (100–165), in his Dialogue with Trypho, “adds a counterpart to the Pauline parallel, Christ-Adam, by contrasting Mary with Eve.”2 St. Justin writes: “He [the Son] 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, 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” (Ch. 100). St. Irenaeus (c. 130–c. 202) expands upon this notion: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith”; “and thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a Virgin, so it is rescued by a virgin; virginal disobedience having been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience.”3
We pay special honor to Mary, Mother of God, and we ask for her intercession, hoping that—along with her—we will one day be counted among the saints.
For his part, St. Athanasius (c. 296–373), who played a key role in overcoming the scourge of the Arian heresy, does not hesitate to call Mary the Theotokos (Mother/Bearer of God).4 In doing so, he followed the example of his predecessor, Alexander of Alexandria; this term was used so widely that “Julian the Apostate mocked Christians for their incessant use of it.”5 Of course, St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444) defended the title against Nestorius, the former’s views being confirmed at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. and the latter’s position being found heretical.
In addition to calling her “Mother of God,” the renowned Cappadocian Father, St. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 395) also saw a parallel between Mary as the advocate of Eve and Jesus as the new Adam. He also wrote, quite strikingly: “‘In the age of Mary, the Mother of God, he [death] who had reigned from Adam to her time, found, when he came to her and dashed his forces against the fruit of her virginity as against a rock, that he was shattered to pieces upon her.’”6
St. Ambrose (c. 339–c. 397), who was instrumental in St. Augustine’s conversion to the Catholic faith, also saw a parallel between Mary and Eve. He, along with “theologians and ecclesiastical writers in the Latin as well as in the Greek Church, proclaimed her virginity in partu [during the birth] and post partum [after the birth of Jesus],” as did St. Hilary (c. 310–c. 367)7 and St. Jerome, who wrote in defense of the perpetual virginity of Mary against an Arian named Helvidius.8 St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) likewise asserts Mary’s perpetual virginity.9
St. Augustine (354–430), who is admired by Protestants and Catholics alike, taught many doctrines about Mary. He held to her “divine maternity,” “perpetual virginity,” and even “affirms Mary’s immunity from all sin.”10 Augustine also refers to Mary as the Mother of the Church or “‘mother of the members of Christ.’”11
St. John Damascene (c. 675–749) likewise had a profound devotion to Mary. He affirmed her title as “Mother of God,” defended her perpetual virginity, spoke of her absolute sanctity, and even wrote of her bodily assumption into heaven.12 According to J. N. D. Kelly, devotion to Mary was “particularly fervid” in Syria and there, “we find Ephraem [c. 306–373] delineating her as free from every stain, like her Son.”13
Not all of the Fathers taught every one of the Marian doctrines as we know them today. To claim as much would be an overstatement. However, it is certainly the case that from the earliest Apostolic Fathers (circa 100 A.D.) to the last of the great Greek Fathers (circa 800 A.D.), we encounter recognition that Mary has a special role in God’s plan of salvation. With our Orthodox brethren, we pay special honor to Mary, Mother of God, and we ask for her intercession, hoping that—along with her—we will one day be counted among the saints.
1 J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, revised ed. (HarperCollins, 1978), 491.
2 Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vol. 1, The Beginnings of Patristic Literature: From the Apostles Creed to Irenaeus (Christian Classics/Ave Maria Press, 1995), 211.
3 Ibid., 298 and 299, respectively, but these are quotes from Irenaeus himself.
4 See Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vol. III, The Golden Age of Greek Patristic Literature: From the Council of Nicaea to the Council of Chalcedon (Christian Classics/Ave Maria Press, 1995), 75.
5 Kelly, Early, 494.
6 Quasten, Patrology, vol. III, 289, quoting St. Gregory of Nyssa.
7 Joseph J. Tixeront, History of Dogmas, vol. II, Athanasius to Augustine, ebook format, (Lex de Leon Publishing, 2015), Ch. IX, §11.
8 See Jean Gribomont, “The Translations. Jerome and Rufinus,” Ch. IV of Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, trans. Placid Solari, O.S.B. (Christian Classics, 1995), 239.
9 See Quasten, Patrology, vol. III, 476.
10 Agostino Trapè, “Saint Augustine,” Ch. VI of Quasten, Patrology, vol. IV, 432.
11 Ibid., 433.
12 See Joseph J. Tixeront, History of Dogmas, vol. III, The End of the Patristic Age, ebook format (Lex de Leon Publishing, 2016), Ch. XI, §5.
13 Kelly, Early, 495.
