This chapter gathers some historical data that evidence the faith of the Church throughout the centuries regarding the Virginity of Mary.

Ignatius of Antioch (? – 107 A.D.)

In his letter to the Ephesians he states:

“Now the virginity of Mary and He who was born of her were kept in secret from the prince of this world; as was also the death of our Lord; three mysteries of renown, which were wrought in silence by God.”[1]

The Protoevangelium of James (~ 150 A.D.)

This apocryphal writing speaks of the virginal birth of Mary[2]. In chapter 9 it recounts how Joseph (an elderly widower with children) was appointed to be the guardian of Mary; he initially resisted, but in the end accepted her as his betrothed. In chapter 20 it recounts how a midwife witnessed that Mary did not lose her virginity even at the moment of giving birth.

Although this writing may be legendary, it demonstrates that the Virginity of Mary was believed from an early period. It would be unlikely that this writing could have gained credibility if other children of Mary, or by that time grandchildren, had been circulating around.

Tertullian (155 – 220 A.D.)

Tertullian is one of the exceptions among ecclesiastical writers who held that Mary had not remained a virgin after giving birth. His reason was that the biblical phrase “aperiens vulvam”[3] implied that from the birth of Christ onward Mary had an open womb.

Origen (185 – 254 A.D.)

Although Origen rejected the idea that Mary remained a virgin in the birth itself, he defended her virginity after the birth:

“Mary preserved her virginity to the end, so that the body that was destined to serve the Word might not know sexual union with a man, from the moment when the Holy Spirit had descended upon her and the power of the Most High had overshadowed her. I believe it is well founded to say that Jesus has become for men the firstfruits of purity which consists in chastity, and Mary in turn for women. It would not be right to attribute to another the firstfruits of virginity.”[4]

He therefore opposed Tertullian, affirming that the children attributed to Joseph were not born of Mary, and that there is no Scripture which proves it[5].

Clement of Alexandria (150 – 215 A.D.)

Born Titus Flavius Clement, he came into the world around the year 150, of pagan parents. Once a Christian, he traveled extensively through southern Italy, Syria, and Palestine. He died shortly before 215. He is a pioneer of ecclesiastical scholarship. He had a complete knowledge of early Christian literature, both the Bible and all post-apostolic and heretical works. He quotes the Old Testament 1,500 times and the New Testament 2,000 times. He was also quite familiar with the classics, quoting them no fewer than 360 times.

He unhesitatingly accepts the virginity in partu[6] and regards the brothers of Jesus as sons of Joseph from a prior marriage.

“Jude, who was a brother of the sons of Joseph, and a very God-fearing man, though he knew his relationship to the Lord, did not say that he was His brother. But what did he say? ‘Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ’ — that is, of the Lord — ‘brother of James’. This is indeed accurate; he was his brother by Joseph.”[7]

Ephrem the Syrian (306 – 373 A.D.)

He was a defender of perpetual virginity against those who dared to say that Joseph could have had sexual relations with Mary after their marriage.

“How could she who was the dwelling-place of the Spirit, who was overshadowed by the power of God, have become the wife of a mortal and given birth in pain according to the first curse? … A woman who gives birth in pain could not be called blessed. The Lord who entered with doors shut came out in the same way from the virginal womb, for this virgin truly gave birth but without pain.”[8]

Gregory of Nyssa (331 – 394 A.D.)

He saw in Isaiah 7:14 the confirmation of the bodily integrity of Mary at the birth of the Lord:

“Through Isaiah you are informed beforehand of the mother who was not betrothed, of the flesh without a father, of the birth without pain and the nativity without stain.”[9]

He explains that when Mary says she knew not a man, she was referring to her resolve to preserve her virginity:

“The angel announces the birth and she clings to her virginity, because she thinks that keeping herself inviolate is greater than the angel’s message. But neither does she draw back from her decision to remain a virgin.”[10]

Epiphanius of Salamis (315 – 403 A.D.)

When he had to respond to the Antidicomarianites on the question of the brothers of Jesus, he adopted the solution of the Protoevangelium of James. Epiphanius held that Joseph was 84 years old when he returned from Egypt and that he lived another 8 years. According to Epiphanius, the role of Joseph was solely to protect Mary. Epiphanius calls Mary “perpetual virgin” on more than 16 occasions.[11]

Basil of Caesarea (329 – 379 A.D.)

He likewise defends the virginity of Mary. He acknowledges that in Scripture there are no arguments to prove post-partum virginity apodictically, and therefore resorts (as an illustration and not as proof) to the apocryphal account of Zechariah. But the strongest argument in his view was that the faithful “do not endure hearing it said that the Theotokos ceased at a given moment to be a virgin”.[12]

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 A.D.)

In his treatise On Virginity and in his Sermon 291 he defended the virginity of Mary, deepening the understanding of the purpose of her virginity.

Jerome (340 – 420 A.D.)

He combated Helvidius fiercely when he denied the virginity of Mary. In his work Against Helvidius he presented a detailed biblical refutation of the arguments Helvidius had put forward at that time. The work retains special value because it analyzes the very same arguments that Protestants maintain today, yet it was written more than 1,500 years ago. A translation made by one of our contributors at apologeticacatolica.org has been published on our website.

Other Fathers Who Taught the Virginity of Mary

Other Fathers who taught virginity in partu include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, Zeno, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome[13]. It is worth noting that already in the year 390, at the Synod of Milan presided over by Saint Ambrose, and at a Synod of Rome under Pope Siricius (393), the virginity in partu was officially presented as a doctrine of faith of the Church[14]. This teaching was also confirmed in a dogmatic letter of Leo I “Ad Flavianum” in canon 6 of the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, and in canons 2-4 of the Lateran Synod under Pope Martin I in 649.

Opponents of the Virginity of Mary

In the year 385 a monk who had been reduced to the lay state (Jovinian) opposed the ideal of virginity and denied the virginity of Mary in partu. Ambrose combated him with Scriptural arguments[15] and with the Apostles’ Creed[16].

A year later, other adversaries arose who even affirmed the existence of brothers of Jesus (Bonosus of Naissus and Helvidius, whom we have just mentioned). Ambrose responded to them in De institutione virginis et S. Mariae virginitate perpetua.

Notes

  1. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians, XIX, 1. ANF, vol. 1. ↩
  2. A copy of this apocryphal writing is published at http://escrituras.tripod.com/Textos/ProtEvSantiago.htm ↩
  3. Luke 2,23; cf. Ex 13,2.12.15 ↩
  4. Origen, In Mt. comm 10,17: Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 10,21; José C.R. García Paredes, Mariología, BAC, Madrid 2001, p. 238; New Advent, Fathers of the Church, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101610.htm ↩
  5. Origen, In Lc. 7: Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 9,45; Ibid., p. 239 ↩
  6. Cf. Clement of Alexandria, Strom 7,16,93: Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 3,66; New Advent, Fathers of the Church, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02107.htm ↩
  7. Clement of Alexandria, Frag. in Jud. ep.: Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 10,21; New Advent, Fathers of the Church, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0211.htm ↩
  8. Ephrem, Diatessaron, 2,6: Sources Chrétiennes. 121,69-70; cf. ID., Hymni de Nativitate, 19,6-9: Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 187,59; José C.R. García Paredes, Mariología, BAC, Madrid 2001, p. 236 ↩
  9. Gregory of Nyssa, De virg. 19: Patrologia Series Graeca 46,396; Ibid., p. 237 ↩
  10. Gregory of Nyssa, Hom. in Nativ.: Patrologia Series Graeca, 46,1140s; Ibid., p. 240 ↩
  11. D. Fernández, De Mariologia sancti Epiphanii, 148; Ibid., p. 239 ↩
  12. Basil, Hom. de Nativitate: Patrologia Series Graeca 31,1468s ↩
  13. Cf. K. Rahner, Virginitas in partu, in Escritos de Teología IV (Taurus, Madrid 1962), pp. 177-211 ↩
  14. Karl Joseph von Hefele-Henri Leclercq, Histoire des conciles d’après les documents originaux II (Paris 1907), 78ss; cf. J.A. Aldama ↩
  15. Luke 1,37; Isaiah 7,14; Ezekiel 44,2 ↩
  16. Cf. Ambrose, Ep 42,4: PL 16,1173B and Ambrose, Ep 42,5: PL 16,1173CD ↩