What is the official interpretation of Theotokos? [Solved]

[Margaret_Ann]

‘Theotokos’ does not mean ‘Mother of God’, it means, as noted in this thread, ‘God Bearer’.

Strictly translated, yes, it means God Bearer. From Wikipedia:

Theotokos (Greek: Θεοτόκος, Greek pronunciation: [θeoˈtokos];[1] literally “God-bearer”) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations, Dei Genitrix or Deipara (approximately “parent (fem.) of God”), are “Mother of God” or “God-bearer”.[a][2]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theotokos#cite_note-4[3]…

The title of Mother of God (Greek: Μήτηρ (του) Θεοῦ) or Mother of Incarnate God ; abbreviated ΜΡ ΘΥ , Latin Mater Dei ) is most often used in English, largely due to the lack of a satisfactory equivalent of the Greek τόκος / Latin genitrix …

Theotokos is an adjectival compound of two Greek words Θεός “God” and τόκος “childbirth, parturition; offspring”. A close paraphrase would be “[she] whose offspring is God” or “[she] who gave birth to one who was God”.[8] The usual English translation is simply “Mother of God”; Latin uses Deipara or Dei Genetrix .

 

[JoyfulTune]

‘Theotokos’ does not mean ‘Mother of God’, it means, as noted in this thread, ‘God Bearer’. Nowadays the concept of surrogate motherhood is understood, where a woman bears another person’s child.

I agree to the above. This is a better and clear understanding of theotokos.

Mary is Mother of God because She gave birth to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity Who has two natures, Divine and human, in the unity of His Divine Person.

The above is a flawed reasoning, because Mary is not the mother of the Holy Spirit, neither God The Father. Jesus did not get His Divinity from Mary either.

If translated as “mother”, it should be clear that her motherhood is to the God Incarnate, and not to the eternal God

Thus, Theotokos is the mother of God incarnate, or it can also be translated God bearer

Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East 1994 (Excerpt)

Therefore our Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity, consubstantial with the Father and consubstantial with us in all things but sin. His divinity and his humanity are united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation.

Vico has posted the signed common christology with the syriac church. This declaration hopefully remove the misunderstanding of the past.

I add bold to Vico’s post.

In Romans 7, St Paul explains how as sinners, our spirit wilL of life is always opposed by our fleshly will of death. Thus, as sinners, we have two opposing wills.

Romans 7:18-19
18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.

In Romans 8, St. Paul explains that this separation/ opposition of two different law/will in us no longer exist for those who are in Christ.

Roman 8:2
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.

Jesus says He only do God’s Will. Jesus also prayed that we, His Followers, be united in Him, Just as He & The Father are one (John 17)

So there, the biblical understanding of what Christ Unity really means: His Humanity & His Divinity is united in The Father’s Will, in contrast to our sinful state where we are divided between our two opposing wills.

John 17:1-23
1… “Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee,
22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Margaret_Ann:

Mary is Mother of God because She gave birth to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity Who has two natures, Divine and human, in the unity of His Divine Person.

The above is a flawed reasoning, because Mary is not the mother of the Holy Spirit, neither God The Father. Jesus did not get His Divinity from Mary either.

It is NOT “flawed reasoning”; it’s straight from the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon (the Third & Fourth Ecumenical Councils, respectively).

Re Romans 8: 15, here’s the verse & footnote:

[15] For that which I work, I understand not. For I do not that good which I will; but the evil which I hate, that I do.

[15] “I do not that good which I will”: The apostle here describes the disorderly motions of passion and concupiscence; which oftentimes in us get the start of reason: and by means of which even good men suffer in the inferior appetite what their will abhors: and are much hindered in the accomplishment of the desires of their spirit and mind. But these evil motions, (though they are called the law of sin, because they come from original sin, and violently tempt and incline to sin,) as long as the will does not consent to them, are not sins, because they are not voluntary.

[16] If then I do that which I will not, I consent to the law, that it is good. [17] Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [18] For I know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good. For to will, is present with me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not. [19] For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do. [20] Now if I do that which I will not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

IOW, St. Paul wrote about concupiscence and how it works in fallen man (obviously excluding Jesus and Our Lady). We do not have 2 wills. ONLY Our Lord has 2 wills (Divine and human).

 

[JoyfulTune]

Our church has acknowledged there was human misunderstanding in the past.

In recent time, after we live in the culture of dialogues, we now realize that what was said of nestorian church in the past, is not really true: their liturgy and cathechism do strictly identify Jesus as the Logos in John1:1.

Paradoxically, we now need to teach many in our church who do not know that according to our own cathechism, Mary is NOT the mother of The Logos

Logos = The Word

If we read the whole story in wikipedia, we can see, the quarrels of the past councils has caused schism. Whereas the recent joint declaration is to make amend the unnecessary schism.

As for Christ Unity, I find the bible gives more understanding than merely the term “hypostatic union”.

John 14:10
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works

Colossians 2:9 (RSVCE)
9 For in Christ the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily

Hypostatic union - Wikipedia

Through history​

Apollinaris of Laodicea was the first to use the term hypostasis in trying to understand the Incarnation.[9] Apollinaris described the union of the divine and human in Christ as being of a single nature and having a single essence — a single hypostasis.

Council of Ephesus​

In the 5th century, a dispute arose between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius in which Nestorius claimed that the term theotokos could not be used to describe Mary, the mother of Christ. Nestorius argued for two distinct persons of Christ, maintaining that God could not be born because the divine nature is unoriginate. Therefore, Nestorius believed that the man Jesus of Nazareth was born in union with, but separate from and not strictly identifiable with, the Logos of God.

(Snipped)

In recent times,[ clarification needed ] leaders from the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches have signed joint statements in an attempt to work towards reunification. Likewise the leaders of the Assyrian Church of the East, which venerates Nestorius and Theodore, have in recent times[ clarification needed ] signed a joint agreement with leaders of the Roman Catholic Church acknowledging that their historical differences were over terminology rather than the actual intended meaning.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

IIRC, Apollinarism was condemned as a heresy.

 

[JoyfulTune]

IIRC, Apollinarism was condemned as a heresy.

And Apollinaris was the first to use the term hypostasis in order to understand incarnation.