Published : 2021-09-01

Mother of Jesus in the apologetic discourse of the Fathers of the Church

Abstract

The reflection of the Fathers of the Church over the person of the Blessed Mother took into account the apologetic dimension which was a reaction to the emerging heterodox interpretations of the Revelation. This study, on the example of three Marian titles: the new Eve, the Virgin and the Mother of God, attempts to show the role of the Marian argument in defending the fundamental truths of faith. The analysis made it possible to show that the Marian thought of the authors of the Christian Antiquity was closely related to the reflection on the mystery of Christ. The emphasis on the virgin conception and birth of Christ helped defend the divine Son of God, the title of God the Mother (Theotokos) proved helpful in defending the unification of the two natures with the body of the Incarnate Word, while stressing the bodily integrity of Mary after the birth of Christ made it possible to recall the value of the consecrated life. The use of the antithesis of Eve–Mary drew attention to the participation of the two women in the eternal plan of God, realising itself in the economy of the Old and New Covenants. Thanks to the existing relationship between Mariology, Christology and ecclesiology, it can be seen that the error committed in the field of Christology led, in consequence, to a mistake in Mariology, while an erroneous interpretation of Marian truths revealed Christological errors. Conscious of this relationship, the Fathers of the Church did not treat Mariology as a separate, autonomous discipline, but developed it in close connection with the doctrine of Christ.

Keywords

Fathers of the Church ; apology ; heresy ; Mariology ; Mother of God Ojcowie Kościoła ; apologia ; herezja ; mariologia ; Matka Boża



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