Where Did the Idea of Mary as “Ever-Virgin” Come From?

Last updated on: October 21, 2016 at 3:27 pm by Kyle Roberts

Where Did the Idea of Mary as “Ever-Virgin” Come From? 2016-10-21T15:27:33-05:00 Kyle Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition both formally teach the doctrine of Mary as “ever-Virgin,” meaning that she didn’t have sex with anyone, including her husband Joseph, throughout her life.

“Our Lady of Vladimir,” Icon of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Public Domain, WikiCommons

The doctrine also includes the notion that she remained a virgin even through the birth of Jesus, meaning that her hymen was not ruptured through childbirth.

Jaroslov Pelikan, in Mary Through the Centuries, tells us that the doctrine got lift-off in part through an allegorical reading of an obscure passage in the Song of Solomon.

There is no explicit testimony to Mary’s “perpetual virginity” in the Bible. Furthermore, the gospels seem to mention that Jesus had siblings. Pelikan summarizes that,

The apparently obvious and natural conclusion from this would seem to have been that after the miraculous conception of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary and Joseph went on to have other children of their own.

But that was not the conclusion that the vast majority of early Christian teachers drew. Instead, they came to call Mary Ever-Virgin, Aeiparthenos, Semper Virgo. To do this in the light of the biblical materials about the “brethren” of Jesus, they had to resort to some elaborate biblical arguments. The biblical support for calling Mary Ever-Virgin, however, came not chiefly form the New Testament but from the Song of Songs: “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed…

…An interesting process of creative interpretation was going on here. (29)

Interesting, indeed.

Aside from Scripture, non-canonical texts were extremely influential in the formulation of the doctrine: the Ascension of Isaiah, The Odes of Solomon, and the Protoevangelium of James.

Theologians as early as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria affirmed the doctrine. It has persevered through much of the history of the church, even affirmed by Martin Luther and later, by John Wesley. It has persevered still today in several Christian traditions.

Previous Post

October 17, 2016

On the Origin of Modern Apologetics and the Loss of Mystery (via Charles Taylor)

Next Post

October 26, 2016 Evangelicals, Trump, and the "Politics of Apocalypse"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2020 November 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 December 2018 July 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz