Gateway of Life: Orthodox Thinking on the Mother of God

by Mary B. Cunningham

The Bible, taken on its own, gives us little information about Mary, the virgin who bore and gave birth to Jesus Christ. Yet throughout the history of the Christian Church she has been the focus of unparalleled love and devotion, the subject of fervent prayer. For countless people she is the heavenly mother, the first one to turn to with their urgent hopes and desperate needs. To add to this, she has been the subject of significant debate over the centuries, concerning theology as well as devotion. Theologically, there were ancient questions centered on the person of Christ, whom she bore in her womb. More recently, many Christians as well as non-Christians are puzzled: What in the Bible gives us the foundation for this degree of attention to Mary? Is not her veneration a potentially dangerous exaggeration, akin to goddess-worship? Is it not God, and His Christ and His Spirit, that are our proper focuses?

Such questions arise especially in the churches born of the Reformation, although they can emanate also from people within churches where she is deeply venerated. It is not always easy to answer such queries, as the heartfelt love surrounding our experience of Mary makes it impossible fully to explain and still less feasible to convince someone of it. Yet we can learn a great deal from an informed and engaged exploration of the ways Mary, the Mother of God, has been understood in the Church. This book, by a scholar and person of faith, provides exactly that.

197 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2015

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives a historical overview of how piety towards the Theotokos increased through the centuries. There is not a lot of new or unexpected information here, but it is a good read. It becomes clear that while the doctrine of the Trinity and of the incarnate Word of God were developed in the theological debates and Ecumenical Councils, ideas surrounding the Virgin did not go through such a selective process, but enter into the thinking of the church without all of thorough debate on Christology. Once Mariology is distinct from Christology it goes through a lot of growth with many pious ideas and legends being added through the Centuries and is far more part of the piety and liturgy of the Church than its decreed dogma.

[Alex of Yoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing in my slow read of the Foundations Series, I've now come to this book on Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos). What a short but deep read!

In this book, the author explores the historical development of Orthodox Christian thought toward Mary and all her titles, including "Ever-Virgin", "Mother of God", and "All-Pure" as well as the development of her feast days and hymns. It also does a brief synopsis of modern scholarship revolving the Virgin Mary and the differences between Orthodox and Roman Catholic teachings about her. A lot of detail in a little bit of space!

I feel like this was the missing piece for me in my growth and exploration of the Theotokos in Orthodoxy. I had a lot of the devotional pieces, but the historical part really helped bring it all together for me. I appreciated the author's explanation of the various terms used to describe Mary and especially how the Eastern view of Mary differs from the Western view (also, I had no idea that many Muslims view her highly and recognize a lot of the same patristic material about her as Orthodoxy does. Very interesting!).

My only complaint is that it is very scholarly and dense. For a seminarian or theology student/enthusiast, this type of writing would be fine, but I don't think it's accessible to the average reader, which is a shame because I think this information would be extremely helpful for Western converts, but might be too difficult for someone who doesn't typically read this type of writing. I would love to see a "Theotokos for Dummies" version!

[Benjamin Linnabary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My priest blessed me with this book when I asked for a recommendation on what to read during the Dormition Fast in regards to the Theotokos. Cunningham’s writing is not at all too academic or theological as to be inaccessible; it’s a relatively easy and straightforward read. Primarily, she discusses the historical aspect of the veneration of the Theotokos and the differing traditions and texts that emerged surrounding Mary’s veneration. Connected to this is also the theological implication of her role and veneration for the Orthodox, and later on a discussion of the differences between Catholic and Orthodox traditions surrounding the Theotokos. Overall a wonderful overview of Our Lady! I appreciate as well that Cunningham does not hide that our tradition surrounding the Theotokos was not immediately formulated during the first century, but rather organically developed within the first seven hundred years or so of Church history, and why this is not a cause for doubt.