The Theotokos
'God-bearer' — the title defined at Ephesus, and what it protects.
Theotokos (Θεοτόκος) means 'the one who gave birth to God'. It is the central Orthodox title for the Virgin Mary, and it is first of all a statement about Christ: the child she bore is one Person, God the Word incarnate, not a man later joined to God.
Ephesus, 431
Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople, preferred the title Christotokos, 'Christ-bearer'. St Cyril of Alexandria answered that dividing the titles divides the Person. The Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431 confirmed Theotokos as the Church's confession — a Christological definition carried in a Marian word.
Veneration, not worship
Orthodoxy distinguishes latreia, the worship owed to God alone, from the honour (timitiki proskynesis) given to the saints, with the highest honour — hyperdulia — given to the Theotokos. She is asked to pray for us: 'Most Holy Theotokos, save us' means 'by your intercessions'.
Her feasts in the Orthodox year
- September 8 — the Nativity of the Theotokos.
- November 21 — the Entrance into the Temple.
- March 25 — the Annunciation.
- August 15 — the Dormition, preceded by the fourteen-day Dormition Fast.
- October 1 — the Protection (Pokrov).
- The Akathist Hymn is sung on the fifth Friday of Great Lent.
Titles and epithets
- Panagia — 'All-Holy'.
- Aeiparthenos — 'Ever-Virgin', confessed by the Fifth Ecumenical Council.
- Platytera — 'more spacious than the heavens', the apse icon above the altar.
- Hodegetria, Eleousa, Glykophilousa — the great icon types.
Frequently asked
- What does Theotokos mean?
- 'God-bearer' or 'birth-giver of God', from Theos and tikto — the title defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
- Do Orthodox worship Mary?
- No. Worship belongs to God alone; the Theotokos receives the highest veneration and is asked for her intercessions.
- Do Orthodox accept the Immaculate Conception?
- No. Orthodoxy holds the Theotokos to be all-holy but does not teach the Latin dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which rests on a different understanding of original sin.