Council of Ephesus (431) – Theotokos, Mother of God (Doctrina Pontificia IV, nn. 17-18)
The Council of Ephesus (431) is the most important dogmatic landmark in the history of Mariology. In defining Mary as Theotokos (Mother of God), the third ecumenical council in history not only confirmed Mary’s fidelity, but also the full divinity of Jesus Christ. The Marian definition of Ephesus is, above all, a Christological truth.
| Collection | Doctrina Pontificia IV: Documentos Marianos, nn. 17-18 |
| Council | Third Ecumenical Council, Ephesus |
| Date | June 22, 431 |
| Topic | Mary as Theotokos (Mother of God) |
| Presidency | Saint Cyril of Alexandria (legate of Celestine I) |
Context: The Nestorian Heresy
Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, refused the title Theotokos for Mary, proposing in its place Christotokos (Mother of Christ). His reason: Mary had given birth to the man Jesus, not to God. This position implied, in practice, a division in the single subject of Christ, a Christ-man and a Christ-God, merely associated but not identical.
Original Greek Text, nn. 17-18
“Homologoumen ton Kyrion hemon Iesoun Christon, ton Huion tou Theou ton monogene, teleion Theon kai teleion anthropon ek psyches logikes kai somatos, progennethentha ek tou Patros pro ton aionon kata ten theoteta, ep’ eschaton de ton hemeron, ton auton, di’ hemas kai dia ten hemeteran soterian, ek Marias tes Parthenou kata ten anthropoteta”
, We confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and body, begotten of the Father before the ages according to the divinity, and in the last days, the same, for us and for our salvation, of the Virgin Mary according to the humanity.
The Definition of Theotokos
“Ei tis ouk homologei Theon einai kata aletheian ton Emmanouel, kai dia touto Theotokon ten Hagian Parthenon (genna gar sarkikos ton Logon ek Theou gegennemenon)… anathema esto”
, If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is truly God and that therefore the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for she begot in the flesh the Word born of God)… let him be anathema.
The Acclamation of the People of Ephesus
When the definition was promulgated, the people of Ephesus, who were waiting outside the basilica, acclaimed the Council and the bishops with torches and flowers. This spontaneous acclamation of the faithful people is one of the most moving moments in the history of Christian dogma: the sensus fidelium confirming the Magisterium.
Significance for Mariology
The definition of Theotokos has three inseparable dimensions:
- Christological: Christ is a single divine subject, the eternal Word incarnate, not two distinct subjects
- Mariological: Mary is truly the Mother of the eternal Word incarnate, not only of the man Jesus
- Soteriological: If Christ is not truly God and truly man, salvation is not possible
Lumen Gentium, chap. VIII of Vatican II, takes up this teaching: Mary is called “Mater Dei ac Redemptoris” (Mother of God and of the Redeemer).
Further reading
Explore Mariology, Lumen Gentium, chap. VIII, Redemptoris Mater, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.
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See also: The 4 Marian Dogmas: What They Are and What the Church Defines
See also: Theotokos: What “Mother of God” Means and Why It Is a Dogma
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