# Where Did the Term Theotokos Come From?

> In ancient Greek it is Theotokos (Θεοτόκος), and in Syriac and Aramaic (Yoldath Alloho).

*2016-12-01T18:17:43Z*

![Icon of the Virgin and Child on a green background with the text: "Today is the beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the eternal mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin..." Troparion of St. Athanasius the Apostolic; source: Theological and Spiritual Exhortations, PG85.](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-theotokos.png?w=815&h=815)

### Introduction:

In ancient Greek it is Theotokos (Θεοτόκος), and in Syriac and Aramaic (Yoldath Alloho | يولدث اليهو ).

The Bible is not without the title Theotokos, but it does not come in the Bible in its literal form; rather it comes in what amounts to the same meaning (the mother of Yahweh "God"). We will proceed into this study through an examination of the ancient Greek texts, and perhaps the oldest manuscript to reach us that contains the title Theotokos is an ancient Egyptian manuscript dating to the third century (250 AD), and this is an image of the manuscript ..

**Information about the papyrus:**\
This scrap of papyrus, dated to 250 AD, bears the earliest prayer yet discovered to the Virgin Mary . It is a prayer still used in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.”

This piece of papyrus, dated to 250 AD, carries within it the earliest prayer that has reached us to the Virgin Mary, a prayer that is still used in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

### The text of the papyrus as it appears in English:

![Fragment of ancient Greek papyrus from the John Rylands Library, labeled 470 and shown beside a measuring scale, bearing the earliest known prayer to the Virgin Mary.](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-theotokos-2.jpg?w=432&h=558)

“Under thy compassion we take refuge, Theotokos ; do not disregard our prayers in the midst of tribulation, but deliver us from danger, O Only Pure, Only Blessed One.”

Under your mercy we take refuge, Theotokos, do not disregard our prayers in the midst of trial, but deliver us from danger, O only pure one, the blessed one, you alone

And among our traditional hymns is the well-known hymn ( Under Your Protection ):

Under your protection we take refuge, O Mary; do not reject our petition when we call upon you\
This hymn may be identical to the discovered text [^1]

This title has been used since ancient times in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, and the title is found in many ancient liturgies that were used in the ancient Syriac Church, some of which go back to the first century, such as the Liturgy of St. James the Apostle, the brother of the Lord (AD 70) [^2], and others to the third century, such as (the Liturgy of Mari and Addai) [^3]

This title did not escape the Fathers in the first centuries; rather, as we will show, this title existed before the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), and was indeed a firm doctrine theologically, as we will show in the writings of the Fathers such as Origen (210 – 254 AD), Methodius of Olympus "the disciple of Origen" (died 311 AD), Athanasius the Apostolic (330 AD), Gregory the Theologian "the Speaker of Divine Things" (370 AD) [^4], John Chrysostom (345 – 407 AD), and Augustine; all of them used the title Mother of God.

Moreover, the church hymns have also preserved for us a clear picture of the title Mother of God; what has reached us of hymns from the early Church confirms for us the authenticity of this title in the Church, and we shall undertake a special study of the title Mother of God in our Coptic Orthodox liturgy ..

### 1- The title Mother of God in the Bible:

But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ( Luke 1 : 43 )

In the Greek text according to Codex Sinaiticus:

![Greek text from Codex Sinaiticus (Luke 1:43) with a red frame around the line "η μηρ του κυ μου" (the mother of my Lord).](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-theotokos-3.jpg?w=208&h=222)

κοιλιαϲ ϲου και ποθε\
μοι τουτο ϊνα ελθη\
η μηρ του κυ μου

In the "Greek Orthodox Church" translation:

καὶ πόθεν μοι τοῦτο ἵνα ἔλθῃ ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Κυρίου μου πρὸς μέ

And we derive from these translations and manuscripts that the word in the original Greek is:

Κυρίου = κυ

where " κυ " is an abbreviation of the word " Κυρίου ".\
Mother of my Lord = Μήτηρ του κυριου

What is the translation of κυριου in the Old Testament "the Septuagint" according to the same Codex Sinaiticus, and in comparison with the Greek text:

Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice. ( Judges 6 : 10 )

In the Greek text according to Codex Sinaiticus :

![Greek text from Codex Sinaiticus (Judges 6:10) with a red frame around the abbreviation "κϲ" (Kyrios, the Lord).](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-theotokos-4.jpg?w=280&h=336)

και ειπα ϋμιν εγω\
κϲ ο θϲ ϋμων ου\
φοβηθηϲεϲθαι\
τουϲ θεουϲ του α\
μορραιου εν οιϲ\
ϋμειϲ καθηϲεϲθαι\
εν τη γη αυτων\
και ουκ ειϲηκουϲα\
τε τηϲ φωνηϲ μ ου

In the "Greek OT: Septuagint with Diacritics" translation:

καὶ εἶπα ὑμῖν ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε τοὺς θεοὺς τοῦ αμορραίου ἐν οἷς ὑμεῖς ἐνοικεῖτε ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν καὶ οὐκ εἰσηκούσατε τῆς φωνῆς μου

Here is the surprise, in the Hebrew text for κύριος, the "BHS" translation:

ואמרה לכם אני יהוה אלהיכם לא תיראו את־אלהי האמרי אשר אתם יושבים בארצם ולא שמעתם בקולי׃ ף

κύριος = יהוה\
יהוה = Yahweh !!!!

**Is Yahweh "God" or "the Lord"?!**

The name Yahweh was translated as God in the Bible in the following text:

In the "Greek OT: Septuagint with Diacritics" translation :

εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐξαγαγών σε ἐκ χώρας χαλδαίων ὥστε δοῦναί σοι τὴν γῆν ταύτην κληρονομῆσαι

In the " BHS " translation :

ויאמר אליו אני יהוה אשר הוצאתיך מאור כשדים לתת לך את־הארץ הזאת לרשתה׃

κύριος = יהוה\
θεὸς = יהוה\
κύριος = θεὸς

Μήτηρ του κυριου = Μήτηρ του Θεού\
In English: mother of the Lord = mother of God

Let us return to the text on which all this research is built, and replace Kyrios with Theos in the Arabic, so that instead of "the mother of my Lord" it becomes "the mother of my God" ..\
But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord (my God) should come to me ? ( Luke 1 : 43 )

**So did Elizabeth say this on her own?!**

No, rather it is the Holy Spirit's revelation about Mary and about the One born of her, who is God indeed ..\
And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ( Luke 1 : 41 )

And from here came the title Mother of God, according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God: Theotokos (Θεοτόκος), which is made up of two parts, the first Θεο meaning God, and the second τόκος meaning bearer or mother

### 2- The title Mother of God according to the scholar Origen (210 – 254 AD) :

The historian Socrates (379 - 439 AD) "who was not a contemporary of Origen but was contemporary with his writing" has told us that Origen mentioned this term in one of his commentaries, and his text is:

Origen also in the first volume of his Commentaries on the apostle’s epistle to the Romans, gives an ample exposition of the sense in which the term Theotocos is used.

Origen also, in the first volume of his commentaries on the epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans, gives a copious explanation of the term Theotokos [^5]

(The historian Socrates – Ecclesiastical History of Socrates, Book 7, chapter 32)

### 3- The title Mother of God according to St. Methodius of Olympus "the disciple of Origen" (died 311 AD) :

A complete book by this writer has reached us under the name "S. Methodii Opera Et S. Methodius Platonizans", and in this book there is a mention of the word θεομήτωρ, that is, mother of God, as is clear in the image [^6]:

![Printed line from page 109 of Methodius's works in Greek: "περιφανῶς ἡ ἱερὰ θεομήτωρ ἐξετέλει", with the word θεομήτωρ (Mother of God) highlighted in yellow and framed in red.](/uploads/sites/1274e232-e31c-46f4-a48b-27b854406479/media/origin-of-the-term-theotokos-5.jpg?w=508&h=134)

περιφανῶς ἡ ἱερὰ θεομήτωρ ἐξετέλει

### 4- The title Mother of God according to Athanasius the Apostolic (330 AD) :

In the Eastern churches there is a troparion for the Mother of God that goes back to St. Athanasius the Apostolic, and its text is the following:

Today is the beginning of our salvation,\
And the revelation of the eternal mystery!\
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin\
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.\
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:\
“Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”

Today is the beginning of our salvation,\
and the revelation of the eternal mystery!\
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin,\
as Gabriel announced the coming of grace,\
with him let us cry out to the Mother of God:\
Rejoice, O full of grace,\
the Lord is with you. [^7]

( A troparion of St. Athanasius the Apostolic )

And we find it a very deeply theological sentence, and this is what we are accustomed to in the writings of St. Athanasius the Apostolic ..

And along this path the title Mother of God came down through the Church's tradition until the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), in which the title Mother of God was established as a Church term, so that the doctrine was fixed at the hands of St. Cyril the Great, and from there this title entered into our Orthodox liturgy.

[^1]: Link to the research website [here](http://www.frederica.com/gallery/places-and-things/1067611)
[^2]: John Witvliet The Anaphora of St. James in ed. F. Bradshaw Essays on Early Eastern Eucharistic Prayers, 1997\
    “CHURCH FATHERS : Divine Liturgy of St. James”. Newadvent.org. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
[^3]: Addai and Mari, Liturgy of. Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. 2005\
    “Book for people in English”. Kaldu.org. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
[^4]: Letter 101; Patrologia Graeca, ed J. P. MIGNE, 37:177
[^5]: Translated by A.C. Zenos. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight
[^6]: On Martyrs: Speech on Simeon, Anne, at the day of the Presentation, and the Holy Theotokos. Saint Methodius of Patara (1865). Albert Jahnius, ed. S. Methodii Opera Et S. Methodius Platonizans (in Greek, Latin). Pars I. Halis Saxonum, C.E.M. Pfeffer. pp. 109\
    You can also view the book on Google [from here](http://books.google.com/books?id=D146LnZuSWQC&pg=PA109&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)
[^7]: Speaking the Truth in Love: Theological and Spiritual Exhortations by John Chryssavgis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomu 2010 ISBN 978-0-8232-3337-3 page 85

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Source: https://abba.fadymondy.com/en/blog/origin-of-the-term-theotokos