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{{Short description|One of the four Marian dogmas}}
[[Image:Vierge.jpg|thumb|right|215px|''[[Virgin of the Rocks]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Louvre]] version.]]
{{Redirects here|Virginity of Mary|the doctrine that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born, but was not necessarily perpetually a virgin|Virgin birth of Jesus}}
The '''perpetual virginity of Mary''', a doctrine of [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Christianity, affirms [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary's]] "real and perpetual [[virginity]] even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made Man."<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §499</ref> Thus Mary was ever-Virgin (Greek ''{{polytonic| ἀειπάρθενος}}'') for the remainder of her life, making Jesus her only biological son, whose [[Incarnation (Christianity)|conception]] and [[Nativity of Jesus|birth]] are held to be miraculous.
 
[[File:Vladimirskaya.jpg|thumb|The [[Theotokos of Vladimir|Vladimir]] [[Eleusa icon]] of the Ever Virgin Mary. The ''Aeiparthenos'' (Ever Virgin) title is widely used in [[Byzantine Rite|Orthodox liturgy]], and icons show her with three stars, on her shoulders and forehead, symbolising her threefold virginity.{{sfn|Hesemann|2016|p=unpaginated}}]]
== History ==
In 107, [[Ignatius of Antioch]] described the virginity of Mary as "hidden from the prince of this world… loudly proclaimed, but wrought in the silence of God".<ref>Jurgens §42</ref> The affirmation of the doctrine of Mary's virginity before, during, and after the birth of Jesus was the principal aim of the early second century work, the [[Gospel of James|''Protoevangelium'']] of James (''c''. 120-150).<ref>Quasten, ''Patrology'' 1:120-1</ref> The work, concerned with the character and purity of Mary, claims that Joseph had children from a marriage previous to Mary.<ref>''Protoevangelium'' chapters 7-8</ref> However, the text does not explicitly assert the doctrine of perpetual virginity, the earliest such surviving reference being Origen's ''Commentary on Matthew'',<ref>Origen, [http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-10/anf10-46.htm#P7424_1523553 ''Commentary on Matthew'' §10.17]</ref> where he cites the ''Protoevangelium'' in support.
 
The '''perpetual virginity of Mary''' is a Christian doctrine that [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], was a [[Virginity|virgin]] "before, during and after" the birth of Christ.{{sfn|Bromiley|1995|p=269}} In [[Western Christianity]], the [[Catholic Church]] adheres to the doctrine, as do many [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], some [[Anglican]]s, [[Calvinism|Reformed]], and other [[Protestants]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=THE SECOND HELVETIC CONFESSION|url=https://www.ccel.org/creeds/helvetic.htm|access-date=2021-12-21|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Alexander|first=Joseph Addison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qi1OAQAAMAAJ&dq=perpetual+virginity+reformed+churches&pg=PA143|title=The Gospel According to Mark|date=1863|publisher=C. Scribner|language=en}}</ref><ref name="ALPB1966">{{cite book |title=The American Lutheran, Volume 49 |date=1966 |publisher=American Lutheran Publicity Bureau |page=16 |language=English |quote=While the perpetual virginity of Mary is held as a pious opinion by many Lutheran confessors, it is not regarded as binding teaching of the Scriptures.}}</ref><ref name="TNEB1983">{{cite book |title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 11 |date=1983 |publisher=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |isbn=978-0-85229-400-0 |page=562 |language=English |quote=Partly because of these biblical problems, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary has not been supported as unanimously as has the doctrine of the virginal conception or title mother of God. It achieved dogmatic status, however, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and is, therefore, binding upon Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers; in addition, it is maintained by many Anglican, some Lutheran, and a few other Protestant theologians.}}</ref>{{sfn|Losch|2008|p=283}} In [[Eastern Christianity]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] and the [[Church of the East]] both adhere to this doctrine as part of their ongoing tradition,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Perpetual Virginity of St. Mary |url=https://ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery.org/docs/doctrine/st-mary/perpetual/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery.org |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Toma |first=George |url=https://bethkokheh.assyrianchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mary-in-the-Tradition-of-the-Church-of-the-East-in-the-Syriac-Tradition-111.pdf |title=Mary in the Tradition of the Church of the East/in the Syriac Tradition |date=2022 |pages=1, 26, 96-97}}</ref> and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] churches recognize Mary as '''''Aeiparthenos''''', meaning "ever-virgin".{{sfn|Fairbairn|2002|p=100}} It is one of the four [[Catholic_Mariology#Dogmatic_teachings|Marian dogmas]] of the Catholic Church.{{sfn|Collinge|2012|p=133}} Most modern [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist Protestants]], such as the [[Plymouth Brethren]], reject the doctrine.{{sfn|Campbell|1996|p=150}}
By the fourth century, the doctrine is well attested. [[Athanasius]] described Mary as "Ever-Virgin",<ref>Athanasius, ''Orations against the Arians'' 2.70</ref> as did [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]].<ref>Epiphanius of Salamis, ''The Man Well-Anchored'' 120, c.f. ''Medicine Chest Against All Heresies'' 78:6</ref> [[Hilary of Poitiers|Hilary]] argued in favor of the doctrine,<ref>Hilary of Poitiers, ''Commentary on Matthew'' §1:4</ref> and to this may be added [[Didymus the Blind|Didymus]],<ref>Didymus the Blind, ''The Trinity'' 3:4</ref> [[Ambrose]],<ref>Ambrose of Milan, ''Letters'' 63:111</ref> [[Jerome]],<ref>Jerome, ''Against Helvetius'', 21</ref> [[Pope Siricius|Siricius]]<ref> Denziger §91</ref> and others. However, it cannot be said that unanimity existed in antiquity concerning the doctrine, as it was denied by [[Tertullian]],<ref>see Jurgens §359, though Tertullian accepted the virgin birth, see Jurgens §277</ref> and [[Jovinian|Jovinian's]] teaching that childbirth ended Mary's physical virginity had to be condemned by a synod of Milan in 390.
 
The extant written tradition of the perpetual virginity of Mary first appears in a late 2nd-century text called the [[Protoevangelium of James]].{{sfn|Lohse|1966|p=200}} The [[Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553 gave her the title "Aeiparthenos", meaning Perpetual Virgin, and at the Lateran Synod of 649 [[Pope Martin I]] emphasized the threefold character of the perpetual virginity, before, during, and after the birth of Christ.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=186}} The Lutheran [[Smalcald Articles]] (1537) and the Reformed [[Second Helvetic Confession]] (1562) codified the doctrine of perpetual virginity of Mary as well.{{sfn|Gill|2004|p=1254}}<ref name=":2"/>
Further important statements of the belief include the Lateran Synod of 649, [[Thomas Aquinas|Thomas Aquinas's]] teaching that Mary gave birth painlessly in miraculous fashion without opening of the womb and without injury to the [[hymen]],<ref>Thomas Aquinas, [http://newadvent.org/summa/402802.htm ''Summa Theologiae'' III.28.2]</ref>
[[Pope Paul IV]]'s ''Cum quorundam'' of 7 August [[1555]] at the [[Council of Trent]],<ref>Denziger §993</ref> and most recently the statements in the current catechism.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htmabaliable online]</ref>
 
The doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity has been challenged on the basis that the New Testament explicitly affirms her virginity only until the birth of Jesus<ref name="relations">{{Bibleverse|Matthew|1:25|NABRE}}</ref> and mentions the [[brothers of Jesus|brothers (''adelphoi'') of Jesus]],{{sfn|Maunder|2019|p=28}}{{sfn|Parmentier|1999|p=550}} who may have been: (1) sons of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], and [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]; (2) sons of Joseph by a former marriage; or (3) sons of the Mary named in Mark 15:40 as "mother of James and Joses", who has been identified as either the wife of [[Clopas]] and sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a sister-in-law to Joseph.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=237-238}}{{efn|According to Hegesippus, Clopas is Joseph's brother, therefore Mary, wife of Clopas, would be Joseph's sister-in-law.}}
During the [[Protestant Reformation]], the doctrine came to be questioned, although such notable reformers as [[Martin Luther]],<ref>In his 1523 treatise, [[Martin Luther and the Jews#That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew|''That Jesus Christ was born a Jew'']], Luther said that "Scripture does not quibble or speak about the virginity of Mary after the birth of Christ, a matter about which the hypocrites are greatly concerned, as if it were something of the utmost importance on which our whole salvation depended. Actually, we should be satisfied simply to hold that she remained a virgin after the birth of Christ because Scripture does not state or indicate that she later lost her virginity... But the Scripture stops with this, that she was a virgin before and at the birth of Christ; for up to this point God had need of her virginity in order to give us the promised blessed seed without sin." ''Luther’s Works,'' American Edition, Walther I. Brandt, ed., Philadelphia, Augsburg Fortress; St. Louis, [[Concordia Publishing House]], 1962, ISBN 0-8006-0345-1 pp.205-206</ref> [[Huldrych Zwingli]],<ref>On September 17, 1522, Zwingli published a sermon entitled ''The Perpetual Virginity of Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ our Savior'' [http://books.google.com/books?as_brr=1&id=54bYJYhgcLAC&vid=OCLC00298490&dq=zwingli+%22perpetual+virginity%22&jtp=173]</ref> John Calvin,<ref>J.A. Ross MacKenzie, in Stacpoole, Alberic, ed., Mary's Place in Christian Dialogue, Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1982, pp.35-6; c.f. ''Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke'', sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. I, From Calvin's Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949 p. 107</ref> and [[John Wesley]]<ref>Wesley wrote: "I believe that He was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Ghost, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought Him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin."
[http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/letters/1749b.htm ''Letter to a Roman Catholic'', July 18, 1749] [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC09022224&id=CZEPAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=wesley+%22letter+to+a+roman+catholic%22]</ref> affirmed its veracity.<ref>See [http://www.ntrmin.org/Luthers%20Theology%20of%20Mary.htm]. [http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/maryc2.htm]</ref> However, the absence of clear Biblical statements expressing the doctrine, in combination with the principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]'', kept references to the doctrine out of the Reformation creeds. Additionally, the tendency to associate veneration of Mary with idolatry<ref>see John Calvin's [http://www.vor.org/rbdisk/calvin/ci_html/1_12.htm#1.12.3 '' Institutes of the Christian Religion'' I,12,3]</ref> and the rejection of [[clerical celibacy]]<ref>see John Calvin's [http://www.vor.org/rbdisk/calvin/ci_html/4_12.htm#4.12.27 ''Institutes of the Christian Religion IV,12,27-28'']</ref> lead to the eventual denial of this doctrine amongst most Protestant churches. Lastly, many Protestant communities cite Biblical passages that refer to the "brothers" of Jesus (see below, see also ''[[Desposyni]]'').
 
== NewOrigin Testamentand passageshistory ==
[[Image:Caravaggio_-_The_Annunciation.JPG|thumb|right|215px|''[[Annunciation|The Annunciation]]'', by [[Caravaggio]]. "How can this be, for I know not man."]]
There are no explicit mentioning of Mary's ''perpetual'' virginity, for or against, in the New Testament, though her virginity before and in regards to Jesus' conception is well attested.<ref>e.g. {{bibleverse||Matthew|1:23}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|1:27}}</ref> At the [[Annunciation]] ({{bibleverse||Luke|1:34}}), when Mary was told by an angel that she will conceive, she responded: "How shall this be done, for I know not man." It has been argued that this evidences the view that Mary had taken a lifelong vow of virginity, otherwise she would have assumed that the angel's prophecy was simply referring to events subsequent to her marriage with Joseph. This is the position of the aforementioned ''Protoevangelium of James'', which asserted that Mary's mother, Anne, gave Mary as a "virgin of the Lord" in service in the Temple, and that Joseph, a widower, was to serve as her guardian (legal protections for women depended on their having a male protector: father, brother, or, failing that, a husband).<ref>''Protoevangelium of James'' 4, 7, 8-9, 15</ref> This view is both controversial and speculative, though according to the Bible, the presence of women devoted to perpetual service at the temple was contemporary to Mary's lifetime, and had been practiced for centuries.<ref>e.g. {{bibleverse||1Samuel|1:11}}, {{bibleverse||1Samuel|1:22}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|2:36-37}}</ref>
 
=== Virginitas in partu: 1st century ===
The [[New Testament]] references Jesus' ''adelphoi'', which can mean either "brothers" or "brethren".<ref>For example, see the entry [http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=80 here]</ref> Both forms are employed in the various books of the bible, with examples of the latter including the [[Septuagint]] rendering of Abraham and Lot. Lot was Abraham's nephew, but is referred to as "''adelphos''".<ref>other such usages include: {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|23:7}}, {{bibleverse||Nehemiah|5:7}}, {{bibleverse||Jeremiah|34:9}}, and {{bibleverse||2Kings|10:13-14}}</ref> Because "brother" is the more common usage, and because Greek has another word for cousin (''anepsios''), many translations of the Bible render passages which describe relations to Jesus (such as {{bibleverse||Matthew|13:55}}) as his "brothers" or "brothers and sisters", rather than "brethren".<ref>the passages in question are: {{bibleverse||Matthew|12:46}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|13:55}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|3:31-34}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|6:3}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|8:19-20}}, {{bibleverse||John|2:12}}, {{bibleverse||John|7:3}}, {{bibleverse||John|7:5}}, {{bibleverse||John|7:10}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|1:14}}, and {{bibleverse||1Corinthians|9:5}}</ref> At times these passages are cited as a basis for believing that Mary and Joseph had marital relations following the birth of Jesus.<ref> See [http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_relatives_bauckham.html this article]</ref> However, even if the ''adelphoi'' are understood as brothers, the view that Joseph was a widower who had children from a previous marriage remains consistent with the various New Testament passages, except for certain interpretations of {{bibleverse||Matthew|2:13-14}}.
The [[Odes of Solomon]] have been interpreted as implying that Mary was a virgin even during childbirth as well as stating that Mary did not have pain during childbirth.{{sfn|Shoemaker|2016|p=44}} Similar statements exist in the [[Ascension of Isaiah]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caruana |first=Salvino |title="born of the Virgin Mary ... " According to St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Justin Martyr and St. Irenaeus of Lyons. |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/32197/1/Born_of_the_Virgin_Mary.pdf |website=um.edu.mt |quote=The two inferences in Ode 19, namely, the one to the non-suffering aspect, and the other to the absence of a midwife, seem to have been also a common note in other apocryphal pieces of literature. They are also found in The Ascension of Isaiah and in The Acts of Peter. It could also be a reference to the fact that during their exile years in Egypt, Jewish women were known to be very quick and strong at childbirth. It is said that they did so in next to no time. Egyptian midwives continually complained to the Pharaoh that they did not succeed in making it fast enough to check whether the newly-born Jewish child was a male or a female, see: Ex 1,19.}}</ref>{{sfn|Shoemaker|2016|p=43}}
 
=== 2nd century ===
Other reasons are based on an interpretation of {{bibleverse||Matthew|1:25}}, which states that Jesus was Mary's "firstborn son" and that Joseph "had no marital relations with her ''until'' (''{{polytonic|εως}}'') she had borne a son". It is argued this passage states that Mary's virginity persisted until the birth of Jesus, but implies that Mary and Joseph had marital relations afterward. However, the Greek word ''heos'', translated as "until", does not carry the same implications as the English word. For example, the Septuagint rendering of {{bibleverse||2Samuel|6:23}} states that Michal had not child "until" (''heos, {{polytonic|εως}}'') the day of her death (c.f. {{bibleverse||Hebrews|1:13}} and {{bibleverse||Timothy|4:13}}). Lastly, use of the title "firstborn son" had legal and cultural implications, and thus would have been used meaningfully in this sense, without regard to providing information about siblings.
[[File:Clement alexandrin.jpg|thumb|Clement of Alexandria (150–215 AD) was an early proponent of the perpetual virginity of Mary.{{sfn|Wirth|2016|p=167-168}}]]
The virgin birth of Jesus is found in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and possibly in [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], but it seems to have little theological importance before the middle of the 2nd century.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=61}} The 2nd century Church fathers [[Irenaeus]] and [[Justin Martyr]], though mentioning the virgin birth, nowhere affirmed explicitly the view that Mary was a perpetual virgin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=David G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhFREAAAQBAJ&dq=perpetual+virginity+Irenaeus&pg=PA174 |title=Marriage, Celibacy, and Heresy in Ancient Christianity: The Jovinianist Controversy |date=2007-01-26 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-153553-6 |language=en}}</ref> This idea, however, appears in at least three second-century works: the [[Protoevangelium of James]],{{sfn|Lohse|1966|p=200}} the [[Gospel of Peter]]<ref name="Religious Newspaper Agency">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b8XNAAAAMAAJ&dq=gospel+of+Peter+perpetual+virginity+of+Mary&pg=RA1-PA310 |title=Homiletic Review: An International Magazine of Religion, Theology and Philosophy |date=1893 |publisher=Religious Newspaper Agency. |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ccel.org">{{Cite web |title=Philip Schaff: ANF09. The Gospel of Peter, The Diatessaron of Tatian, The Apocalypse of Peter, the Vision of Paul, The Apocalypse of the Virgin and Sedrach, The Testament of Abraham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus, The Apology of Aristid - Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf09.xvi.ii.iii.xvii.html#fna_xvi.ii.iii.xvii-p6.2 |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=www.ccel.org}}</ref> and the [[Infancy Gospel of Thomas]].<ref name="Bauckham 1994 686–700">{{Cite journal |last=Bauckham |first=Richard |date=1994 |title=The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus: An Epiphanian Response to John P. Meier |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43721789 |journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=686–700 |issn=0008-7912 |jstor=43721789}}</ref> All of these early sources independently assert that the so-called [[Brothers of Jesus|"brothers of the Lord"]] were children of Joseph's first marriage.<ref name="Bauckham 1994 686–700"/> According to [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] scholar [[Richard Bauckham]], these works "show no signs of literary relationship"<ref name="Bauckham 1994 686–700"/> and probably "evidence of a well-established tradition in (probably early) second-century Syrian Christianity that Jesus' brothers and sisters were children of Joseph by a previous marriage".<ref name="Bauckham 1994 686–700"/> According to [[Richard Bauckham]], Ignatius of Antioch also believed in the doctrine of Mary's virginity ''in partu''.<ref name="Bauckham 1994 686–700" />
 
The [[Gospel of James]] states that Mary remained a life-long virgin, because Joseph was an old man who married her without physical desire, and the brothers of Jesus mentioned in the canonical gospels are explained as Joseph's sons by an earlier marriage.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=448}} The Protoevangelium seems to have been used to create the stories of Mary which are found in the [[Quran]],{{sfn|Bell|2012|p=110}} but while Muslims agree with Christians that Mary was a virgin at the moment of the conception of Jesus, the idea of her perpetual virginity thereafter is contrary to the Islamic ideal of women as wives and mothers.{{sfn|George-Tvrtkovic|2018|p=unpaginated}} The [[Second Apocalypse of James]] portrays [[James, brother of Jesus|James, the Brother of the Lord]], not as a child of Joseph but of a certain "Theudas", a relative of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2nd Apocalypse of James |url=https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/apocalypsejames2.html |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.earlychristianwritings.com}}</ref>
== Spiritual significance ==
Many hymns and prayers mention Mary's perpetual virginity.
 
[[Hegesippus (chronicler)|Hegesippus]]'s writings are not clear on this subject, with some authors arguing that he defended the doctrine,{{sfn|Prothro|2019}} while others arguing that he disputed the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15459a.htm |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>
In some modern spiritual writings, Mary's virginity is cited as a counter-example to current sexual [[mores]]. In spiritual writings more generally, her virginity is cited as an expression of holiness, devotion, and loving self-denial. In some of [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]]'s writings he gives her virginity as an example of the mystery of God. Other spiritual writings have mentioned Mary's great humility, which is connected with the sparse mention of her in Scripture and with her willingness to be virginal in order to carry out a part of God's plan. Some writers give Mary as an example of spiritual integrity, of which her virginal integrity is a sign. Over the centuries, it has been a tradition for some of the faithful to consecrate themselves to God, partly by remaining virgins, which is called the "charism of virginity" (or "gift of virginity").
 
The [[Ebionites]] denied the virgin birth and Mary's perpetual virginity.{{sfn|Miravalle|2006|p=61}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4E4AQAAMAAJ&dq=Ebionites+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA298 |title=The London Review |date=1860 |publisher=Alexander Heylin |language=en}}</ref>
In many [[iconography|icons]], Mary's perpetual virginity is signified by three stars that appear on her left, her right, and above her or on her head, which represent her virginity before, during, and after giving birth.
 
=== Early uncertainty: 3rd century ===
 
In the 3rd century, [[Hippolytus of Rome]] held that Mary was "ever-virgin",<ref>Марчев, Радостин. ''[https://www.academia.edu/45019387/Belief_in_the_perpetual_virginity_of_Mary_in_the_first_four_centuries_and_its_implications_for_Orthodox_Protestant_dialogue Belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary in the first four centuries and its implications for Orthodox-Protestant dialogue]''.</ref> while [[Clement of Alexandria]], writing soon after the Protoevangelium appeared, appealed to its incident of a midwife who examined Mary immediately after the birth ("after giving birth, she was examined by a midwife, who found her to be a virgin") and asserted that this was to be found in the Gospels ("These things are attested to by the Scriptures of the Lord"), though he was referring to an apocryphal Gospel as a fact. The 3rd century scholar [[Origen]] used the Protoevangelium's explanation of the brothers to uphold the perpetual virginity of Mary ("There is no child of Mary except Jesus, according to those who think correctly about her").{{sfn|Wirth|2016|p=167-168}} Origen also mentioned that the [[gospel of Peter]] affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary, saying that the "brothers" of Jesus were from a previous marriage of Joseph.<ref name="Religious Newspaper Agency"/><ref name="ccel.org"/>
 
[[Tertullian]], who came between Clement and Origen, denied Mary's virginity ''in partu'' to refute the [[docetist]] idea that the Son of God could not have assumed a human body ("although she was a virgin when she conceived, she was a wife when she brought forth her son").{{sfn|Wirth|2016|p=167}} Tertullian, however, is not entirely clear on the issue of Mary's virginity ''post partum'', with some scholars denying his traditional association with the Helvidian position.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pedrozo |first=José M. |date=1999 |title=The Brothers of Jesus and his Mother's Virginity |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/16/article/637114 |journal=The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=83–104 |doi=10.1353/tho.1999.0044 |s2cid=171114843 |issn=2473-3725|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McHugh |first=John |url=http://archive.org/details/motherofjesusint00mchu |title=The mother of Jesus in the New Testament |date=1975 |publisher=Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-385-04748-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blinzler |first=Josef |url=http://archive.org/details/diebrderundschwe0000blin |title=Die Brüder und Schwestern Jesu |date=1967 |publisher=Stuttgart, Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>
 
Helvidius also argued that [[Victorinus of Pettau|Victorinus]] believed that Mary had other children;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311-600 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.vii.xx.html|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref> Jerome later claimed that Helvidius was misinterpreting Victorinus.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tenney|first=Merrill C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uw_MpJSDbpsC&dq=Victorinus+perpetual+virginity&pg=PT1661|title=The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 1: Revised Full-Color Edition|date=2010-08-10|publisher=Zondervan Academic|isbn=978-0-310-87696-0|language=en}}</ref> [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] invented a name "[[Antidicomarians]]" for a group of people who denied the perpetual virginity of Mary, which Epiphanius attacked.<ref>Stephen J. Shoemaker, "Epiphanius of Salamis, the Kollyridians, and the Early Dormition Narratives: The Cult of the Virgin in the Fourth Century", ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'', Vol. 16, No. 3 (2008), pp. 371–401. {{doi|10.1353/earl.0.0185}}</ref> Their same views were also mentioned earlier by [[Origen]], although he too rejected them as heretical.<ref>{{cite book |author=Origen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUCQS0X1BLMC |title=Homilies on Luke |publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press]] |year=1996 |pages=29–30 |isbn=9780813200941 |editor-last=Lienhard |editor-first=Joseph T. |series=The Fathers of the Church Series |volume=94}}</ref> They were active from the 3rd to the 5th century.<ref name="Brackney">William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity'' (Scarecrow Press, 2012 [{{ISBN|978-0-8108-7179-3}}]), [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP6fv8LqJ4MC&pg=PA31 p. 31].</ref>
 
According to [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] the Antidicomarians claimed that [[Apollinaris of Laodicea]] or his disciples denied the perpetual virginity of Mary, though Epiphanius doubted the claim.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Frank |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Books II and III |page=616 |quote= As though they had a grudge against the Virgin and desired to cheapen her reputation, certain Antidicomarians, inspired by some envy or error and intending to sully men’s minds, have dared to say that St. Mary had relations with a man after Christ’s birth, I mean with Joseph himself. And as I have already mentioned, it is said that the claim has been made by the venerable Apollinarius himself, or some of his disciples. Indeed I doubt it but I have to speak about those who are saying this.}}</ref>
 
Early Christian theologians such as [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=of Rome |first1=Hippolytus |title=Against Beron and Helix: Fragment VIII |url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf05/anf05.iii.iv.ii.v.viii.html |access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> (170–235), [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] (260/265–339/340) and [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] (c. 310/320–403) defended the perpetual virginity of Mary.
 
=== Establishment of orthodoxy: 4th century ===
By the early 4th century the spread of [[monasticism]] had promoted celibacy as the ideal state,{{sfn|Hunter|2008|p=412}} and a moral hierarchy was established with marriage occupying the third rank below life-long virginity and widowhood.{{sfn|Hunter|2008|p=412-413}} Eastern theologians generally accepted Mary as ''Aeiparthenos'', but many in the Western church were less convinced.{{sfn|Nathan|2018|p=230}} The theologian [[Helvidius]] objected to the devaluation of marriage inherent in this view and argued that the two states, of virginity and marriage, were equal.{{sfn|Hunter|1999|p=423-424}} His contemporary [[Jerome]], realising that this would lead to the Mother of God occupying a lower place in heaven than virgins and widows, defended her perpetual virginity in his immensely influential ''[[Adversus Helvidium|Against Helvidius]]'', issued c.383.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=185}}
[[File:Domenico Ghirlandaio - St Jerome in his study.jpg|thumb|Jerome defended the perpetual virginity of Mary against Helvidius.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary (Jerome) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=www.newadvent.org|translator-first1=W. H. |editor-last1=Knight|editor-first1=Kevin|translator-last1=Fremantle|translator-first2=G. |translator-last2=Lewis|translator-first3=W. G. |translator-last3=Martley}}</ref>]]
In the 380s and 390s the monk [[Jovinian]] denied Mary's virginity ''in partu'' (virgin during childbirth), writing that if Jesus did not undergo a normal human birth, then his body was something other than a truly human one.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=56-57}} As reported by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], Jovinian "denied that the virginity of Mary, which existed when she conceived, remained while she gave birth." Augustine goes on to say that the reason for Jovinian's denial of Mary's virginity ''in partu'' was that the doctrine was too close to the Manichean view that Christ was simply a phantom.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=57}} According to Ambrose, Jovinian maintained that Mary had conceived as a virgin, but she had not given birth as a virgin.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=56-57}} Jerome wrote against Jovinian but failed to mention this aspect of his teaching, and most commentators believe that he did not find it offensive.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=56-57}} Jovinian also found two monks in Milan, [[Sarmatio]] and [[Barbatian]], who held similar views as Jovinian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311-600 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.vii.xix.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.ccel.org |quote=. He then betook himself to Milan, where the two monks Sarmatio and Barbatian held forth views like his own; but he was treated there in the same fashion by the bishop, Ambrose, who held a council against him. From this time he and his party disappear from history, and before the year 406 he died in exile.394}}</ref>
 
The only important Christian intellectual to defend Mary's virginity ''in partu'' was [[Ambrose]], Archbishop of Milan, who was the chief target of the charge of Manicheism.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=57}} In 391, he wrote ''Concerning Virginity''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3407.htm|title=Concerning Virginity}}</ref> whose full title was ''On the Education of the Virgin and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiospada.org/2020/12/limmacolata-concezione-di-maria-in-santambrogio/|title=L'Immacolata Concezione di Maria in sant'Ambrogio|date=7 December 2020 |language=it}}</ref> For Ambrose, both the physical birth of Jesus by Mary and the baptismal birthing of Christians by the church had to be totally virginal, even ''in partu'', in order to cancel the stain of original sin, of which the pains of labor are the physical sign.{{sfn|Hunter|1993|p=59}} It was due to Ambrose that ''virginitas in partu'' came to be included consistently in the thinking of subsequent theologians.{{sfn|Rosenberg|2018|p=unpaginated}} [[Bonosus of Sardica]] also denied the perpetual virginity of Mary, for which he was declared a heretic. His followers would survive for many centuries, especially among the [[Goths]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmA18QOiBUUC&dq=perpetual+virginity+of+Mary+Bonosians&pg=PT1838 |title=Nelson's Dictionary of Christianity: The Authoritative Resource on the Christian World |date=2001-03-21 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |isbn=978-1-4185-3981-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bonosus and the Bonosians|url=https://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc02/htm/iv.v.ccxvi.htm|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref><ref name="bonosus">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02677b.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Bonosus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Additionally, the perpetual virginity of Mary was denied by some [[Arianism|Arians]].{{sfn|Miravalle|2006|p=61}}
 
Jovinian was condemned as a heretic at a [[Synod of Milan]] under Ambrose's presidency in 390 and Mary's perpetual virginity was established as the only orthodox view.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=186}} Further developments were to follow when the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 formally gave her the title "Aeiparthenos", and at the Lateran Synod of 649 Pope Martin I emphasised the threefold character of the perpetual virginity, before, during, and after the birth of Christ.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=186}}
 
[[Athanasius]] of Alexandria (d.393) declared Mary ''Aeiparthenos'', "ever-virgin", and the liturgy of James the brother of Jesus likewise required a declaration of Mary as ever-virgin.{{sfn|Nathan|2018|p=229}} This view was defended by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], [[Hilary of Poitiers]], [[Didymus the Blind]], [[Cyril of Alexandria]] among others.{{sfn|Rosenberg|2018|p=199}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keech |first=Dominic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_VQEAAAQBAJ&dq=Augustine+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA101 |title=The Anti-Pelagian Christology of Augustine of Hippo, 396-430 |date=2012-10-18 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-163929-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/mary-ever-virgin |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref>
 
The [[Apostles' Creed]] taught the doctrine of ''virginitas in partu''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary {{!}} Biography, Bible References, Significance, & Miracles {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-mother-of-Jesus |access-date=2022-06-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
 
=== Middle Ages ===
In the Middle Ages the perpetual virginity of Mary was commonly accepted,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dzon |first=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrX3DQAAQBAJ&dq=perpetual+virginity+middle+ages&pg=PA195 |title=The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages |date=2017-03-09 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4884-5 |language=en}}</ref> however the [[Paulicianism|Paulicians]] denied her perpetual virginity, even saying that Christ denied her to be blessed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garsoïan |first=Nina G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sk9Q-A0zwq0C&dq=perpetual+virginity+Paulicians&pg=PA169 |title=The Paulician heresy: a study of the origin and development of Paulicianism in Armenia and the Eastern Procinces of the Byzantine empire |date=2011-05-02 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-134452-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Conybeare |first=F.C. |title=The key of truth, a manual of the Paulician church of Armenia |publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press |quote=They denied her perpetual virginity, and taught that Christ expressly denied her to be blessed}}</ref>
 
=== Protestant Reformation ===
The [[Protestant Reformation]] saw a rejection of the special moral status of lifelong celibacy. As a result, marriage and parenthood were extolled, and Mary and Joseph were seen as a normal married couple.{{sfn|Miller-McLemore|2002|p=100-101}} It also affirmed the Bible alone as the fundamental source of authority regarding God's word (''[[sola scriptura]]'').{{sfn|Miller-McLemore|2002|p=100}}
 
Mary's perpetual virginity was upheld by [[Martin Luther]] (who names her ever-virgin in the [[Smalcald Articles]], a Lutheran [[confession of faith]] written in 1537),{{sfn|Gill|2004|p=1254}} [[Huldrych Zwingli]], [[Thomas Cranmer]], [[Johannes Wolleb|Wollebius]], [[Heinrich Bullinger|Bullinger]], [[John Wycliffe]] and later Protestant leaders including [[John Wesley]], the co-founder of [[Methodism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bloesch |first=Donald G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGtx3f6hBWoC&dq=Geneva+bible+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA87 |title=Jesus Christ: Savior and Lord |date=2005-12-02 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-2754-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Campbell|1996|p=150}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Litfin|first=Bryan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rfz-AwAAQBAJ&dq=John+Calvin+perpetual+virginity&pg=PT167|title=After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles|date=2015-01-16|publisher=Moody Publishers|isbn=978-0-8024-9206-7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Divozzo|first=R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ONqjDwAAQBAJ&dq=John+wycliffe+perpetual+virginity&pg=PT7|title=Mary for Protestants: A Catholic's Reflection on the Meaning of Mary the Mother of God|date=2019-06-12|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-5326-7585-0|language=en}}</ref>
 
In the [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Lutheran]] faith, in addition to being taught in the Smalcald Articles, the [[Formula of Concord]] upholds the perpetual virginity of Mary.{{sfn|Gill|2004|p=1254}}<ref name="Smith2010">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Gordon T. |title=The Lord's Supper: Five Views |date=4 February 2010 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-7868-0 |page=44 |language=en|quote=Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, art. 8.15ff. (Tappert, pp. 594ff.) Notice well the strong avowal of Mary's Mother-of-God title (and of her perpetual virginity) in Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, art. 8.24.}}</ref><ref name="AndersonStaffordBurgess1992">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Hugh George |last2=Stafford |first2=J. Francis |last3=Burgess |first3=Joseph A. |title=The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary |date=1992 |publisher=Alban Books |isbn=978-0-8066-2579-9 |page=241 |language=en |quote=In the Smalcald Articles of 1537 Luther reaffirmed Mary's perpetual virginity, calling her "ever virgin” (semper virgo).}}</ref><ref name="McDonnell1960">{{cite book |last1=McDonnell |first1=Kilian |title=Mary and the Protestants |date=1960 |publisher=[[College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University]] |page=35}}</ref> The Lutheran divine [[Philip Melanchthon|Melanchthon]] lambasted [[Andreas Osiander|Osiander]] for his denial of the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoZSEAAAQBAJ&dq=Melanchthon+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA114 |title=Jews, Judaism, and the Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Germany |date=2006-02-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-0885-7 |language=en}}</ref> As such, many Lutheran divines have taught the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref name="ALPB1966"/>
 
With respect to the [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] tradition ([[Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Reformed Anglican]] and [[Congregationalist]] denominations), [[John Calvin]]'s view was more ambiguous, believing that knowing what happened to Mary after the birth of Jesus is impossible.<ref name=":0" /> However John Calvin argued that ''Matthew 1:25'', used by Helvidius to attack the perpetual virginity of Mary does not teach that Mary had other children.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mulder |first=Jack Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9icSCAAAQBAJ&dq=john+Calvin+helvidius&pg=PA123 |title=What Does It Mean to Be Catholic? |date=July 2015 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-7266-1 |language=en}}</ref> Other [[Calvinist]]s affirmed Mary's perpetual virginity, including within the [[Second Helvetic Confession]]—stating that Mary was the "ever virgin Mary"—and in the notes of the [[Geneva Bible]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McKim |first1=Donald K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJPsgwN789gC&dq=Geneva+bible+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA237 |title=Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith |last2=Wright |first2=David F. |date=1992-01-01 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-21882-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> [[Theodore Beza]], a prominent early Calvinist, included the perpetual virginity of Mary in a list of agreements between Calvinism and the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyrness |first=William A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0uM42i1HCsC&q=+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA86 |title=Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards |date=2004-06-10 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-54073-5 |language=en}}</ref> Some reformers upheld the doctrine to counter more radical reformers who questioned the divinity of Christ; Mary's perpetual virginity guaranteed the [[Incarnation]] of Christ despite the challenges to its scriptural foundations.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2016|p=51-52,64}} Modern nonconformist Protestants, such as the [[Plymouth Brethren]], have largely rejected the perpetual virginity of Mary on the basis of ''sola scriptura,'' and it has rarely appeared explicitly in confessions or doctrinal statements,{{sfn|Campbell|1996|p=47,150}}<ref name="Ironside2004">{{cite web |last1=Ironside |first1=H.A. |title=The Epistle of James |url=https://plymouthbrethren.org/article/6442 |publisher=Plymouth Brethren Writings |access-date=29 July 2025 |date=2004}}</ref> though the perpetual virginity of Mary remains a common belief in [[Lutheranism]] and [[Anglicanism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Longenecker |first1=Dwight |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqJ9hi4epJYC&dq=Anglicanism+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA64 |title=Mary: A Catholic Evangelical Debate |last2=Gustafson |first2=David |date=2003 |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |isbn=978-0-85244-582-2 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Among the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]], [[Balthasar Hubmaier|Hubmaier]] never abandoned his belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary and continued to esteem Mary as [[theotokos]] ("mother of God"). These two doctrinal stances are addressed individually in Articles Nine and Ten, respectively, of Hubmaier's work, ''Apologia''.<ref>Klager, Andrew. "Ingestion and Gestation: Peacemaking, the Lord's Supper, and the Theotokos in the Mennonite-Anabaptist and Eastern Orthodox Traditions." ''Journal of Ecumenical Studies'' 47, no. 3 (Summer 2012): 452.</ref>
 
==Doctrine==
[[File:Madonna catacomb.jpg|thumb|Isaiah (left) predicts the birth of the Messiah from the Virgin.<ref name=Wilpert>{{cite book |title= Die Malereien der Katakomben Roms (Tafeln)|place= Freiburg i.Br. |page= plate 22|date= 1903 |editor-last=Wilpert |editor-first=Joseph |url=https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1339#0024 |quote= Isaias predicts the birth of the Messiah from the Virgin}}</ref> [[Marian art in the Catholic Church| Mary]] is shown nursing the Infant Jesus. Circa 100-150 A.D., [[Catacomb of Priscilla]], [[Rome]].<ref name=Wilpert/> ]]
The Second Council of Constantinople recognized Mary as ''Aeiparthenos'', meaning "ever-virgin".{{sfn|Fairbairn|2002|p=100}} It remains axiomatic for the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] that she remained virginal throughout her Earthly life, and Orthodoxy therefore understands the New Testament references to the brothers and sisters of Jesus as signifying his kin, but not the biological children of his mother.{{sfn|McGuckin|2010|p=unpaginated}}
 
The Latin Church, known more commonly today as the Catholic Church, shared the Council of Constantinople with the theologians of the Greek or Orthodox communion, and therefore shares with them the title ''Aeiparthenos'' as accorded to Mary. The Catholic Church has gone further than the Orthodox in making the Perpetual Virginity one of the four [[Mariology|Marian]] dogmas, meaning that it is held to be a truth [[Revelation|divinely revealed]], the denial of which is [[heresy]].{{sfn|Collinge|2012|p=133}} It declares her [[virginity]] before, during and after the birth of [[Jesus]],{{sfn|Greene-McCreight|2005|p=485}} or in the definition formulated by [[Pope Martin I]] at the [[Lateran Council of 649]]:{{sfn|Miravalle|2006|p=56}}<blockquote>The blessed ever-virginal and immaculate Mary conceived, without seed, by the Holy Spirit, and without loss of integrity brought him forth, and after his birth preserved her virginity inviolate.</blockquote>
 
[[Thomas Aquinas]] admitted that reason could not prove this, but argued that it must be accepted because it was "fitting",{{sfn|Dodds|2004|p=94}} for as Jesus was the only-begotten son of God, so he should also be the only-begotten son of Mary, as a second and purely human conception would disrespect the sacred state of her holy womb.{{sfn|Miravalle|2006|p=61-62}} Symbolically, the perpetual virginity of Mary signifies a new creation and a fresh start in [[salvation history]].{{sfn|Fahlbusch|1999|p=404}} It has been stated and argued repeatedly, most recently by the [[Second Vatican Council]]:{{sfn|Miravalle|2006|p=59}}
 
{{blockquote|This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception{{nbsp}}[...] then also at the birth of Our Lord, who did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it...|''[[Lumen Gentium]]'', No.57}}
 
== Arguments and evidence ==
[[File:Otsy.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The ''[[Church Fathers]]'' in an 11th-century depiction from [[Kiev]]]]
 
A problem facing theologians wishing to maintain Mary's life-long virginity is that the [[Pauline epistles]], the four gospels, and the [[Acts of the Apostles]] all mention the brothers (''[[adelphoi]]'') of Jesus; both [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] record their names and add unnamed sisters.{{sfn|Maunder|2019|p=28}}{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=6–8}}{{efn|Mark 6:3 has James, Joses [an abbreviated form of Joseph], Judas, and Simon, with unnamed sisters; Matthew 13:55–56 has James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, with unnamed sisters; Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, John 7:3–10, and Acts 1:14 all mention brothers also. See Bauckham (2015) in bibliography, pages 6–9.}} The ''[[Gospel of James]]'', followed a century later by [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], explained the ''adelphoi'' as Joseph's children by an earlier marriage,{{sfn|Nicklas|2011|p=2100}} which is still the view of the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=238}} Jerome, believing that Joseph, like Mary, must be a life-long virgin,{{sfn|Kelly|1975|p=106}} argued that these ''adelphoi'' were the sons of "Mary, the mother of James and Joses" ([[Mark 15:40]]), who he identified with the wife of Clopas and sister of the virgin Mary (John 19:25),{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=238}} which remains popular in the Western church. A modern proposal considers these ''adelphoi'' sons of "Mary, the mother of James and Joses" (not here identified with the Virgin Mary's sister), and Clopas, who according to Hegesippus was Joseph's brother.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=238}}
 
Further scriptural difficulties were added by [[Luke 2:7]], which calls Jesus the "first-born" son of Mary,{{sfn|Pelikan|2014|p=160}} and [[Matthew 1:25]], which adds that Joseph "did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn son." The phrase "did not know her" is a euphemism for sexual relations. <ref>Trevor Evans, "Verbs of Sexual Intercourse in the Greek Pentateuch" https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/B9D8A372DE919BF04F5AF498333E8A78/S0075426923000617a.pdf/verbs_of_sexual_intercourse_in_the_greek_pentateuch_a_lexical_analysis.pdf</ref> Most scholars claim the grammar of Matthew 1:25 neither confirms nor denies the perpetual virginity of Mary. However, other scholars challenge this claim, especially in light of discoveries in modern linguistics.<ref>Travis Wright, "Prepositions and Perpetual Virginity" https://koine-greek.com/2025/05/19/prepositions-and-perpetual-virginity-matthew-125/</ref>
 
Helvidius argued that first-born implies later births, and that the word "until" left open the way to sexual relations after the birth; Jerome, replying that even an only son will be a first-born and that "until" did not have the meaning Helvidius construed for it, painted a repulsive word-portrait of Joseph having intercourse with a blood-stained and exhausted Mary immediately after she has given birth—the implication, in his view, of Helvidius's arguments.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=185}} Opinions on the quality of Jerome's rebuttal range from the view that it was masterful and well-argued to thin, rhetorical and sometimes tasteless.{{sfn|Polcar|2016|p=186}} Further, to say that something did not occur "until" specific event does not conclusively establish what, if anything, occurred thereafter.
 
Two other 4th century Fathers, [[Gregory of Nyssa]], following "a certain apocryphal account", and [[Augustine]], advanced a further argument by reading Luke 1:34<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|1:34}}</ref> as a vow of perpetual virginity on Mary's part; this idea, first introduced in the Protoevangelium of James, has little scholarly support today,{{sfn|Brown|1978|p=278–279}} but it and the arguments advanced by Jerome and Ambrose were put forward by Pope [[John Paul II]] in his catechesis of August 28, 1996, as the four facts supporting the Catholic Church's ongoing faith in Mary's perpetual virginity.{{sfn|Calkins|2008|p=308–310}}
 
It has been argued from [[John 19]], where Jesus entrusts Mary to the disciple John instead of his brothers, to support the view that Jesus had no brothers, however Protestants have generally argued in two ways against this passage, one by claiming that the brothers of Jesus were unbelievers or that they were not present during the crucifixion.{{Sfn|Prothro|2019|pp=84–85}}
 
Some have argued that Mary and Joseph could not have had a normal marriage if Mary remained a perpetual virgin; however, it has been argued by some Catholics that there is evidence that celibacy within marriage was already practiced by the Qumran community and other Jews at that time.{{Sfn|Prothro|2019|p=82}}
 
Catholic priest and New Testament scholar [[John P. Meier]] argues that although the preponderance of scriptural evidence indicates that Jesus had siblings, the evidence is not conclusive enough to disprove the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meier |first1=John |title=The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus In Ecumenical Perspective |journal=Catholic Biblical Quarterly |date=January 1992 |volume=54 |issue=1 |page=26 |jstor=43720810 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43720810 |access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref>
 
== See also ==
* [[AssumptionAnglican ofMarian Marytheology]]
* [[Antidicomarians]]
*[[Blessed Virgin Mary]]
* [[Assumption of Mary]]
*[[Immaculate Conception]]
* [[TheotokosCatholic Mariology]]
* [[Immaculate Conception]]
*[[Panagia]]
* [[Lutheran Mariology]]
*[[Antidicomarianite]]s, ancient sects who believed Jesus had siblings
* [[New Eve]]
* [[Panachranta (icon)]]
* [[Virgin birth of Jesus]]
 
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
 
== Bibliography References==
*{{cite book |first=William A.|last=Jurgens |title=Faith of the Early Fathers, |publisher=Liturgical Press|year=1998 |id= vol.1 ISBN 0-8146-0432-3 vol 2 ISBN 0-8146-1007-2 vol 3 ISBN 0-8146-1021-8}}
*{{cite book |first=Ludwig |last=Ott |title=Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma |publisher=Tan Books|year=1974|id= ISBN 0-89555-009-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Quasten |first=Johannes |title=Patrology |publisher= Thomas More Pr |year=1983 |id=ISBN 0-87061-084-8}}
*{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Dubay, S.M. |title=...And You Are Christ's'' |year=1987 |id=ISBN 0-89870-161-9}}
*{{cite book |first=John P.|last=Meier |title=[[John P. Meier#A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus|''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'']] Vol. 1 |___location=New York |publisher=Anchor Bible|year=1991|id= ISBN 0-385-26425-9}}
*{{cite book |first=Peter M. J.|last=Stravinskas |title=Mary and the Fundamentalist Challenge |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor|year=1998|id= ISBN 0-87973-611-9}}
 
===Citations===
== External links ==
{{Reflist|3}}
 
===Bibliography===
*[http://www.catholic.com/library/Mary_Ever_Virgin.asp Ancient Church: Mary Ever Virgin]
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*[http://www.catholic.com/library/Brethren_of_the_Lord.asp Catholic Answers: ''Brethren of the Lord'']
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*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Mary, the Blessed Virgin, section on Perpetual Virginity of Mary]
| first1 = Richard
*[http://newadvent.org/summa/402802.htm Thomas Aquinas, ''Summa Theologiae'': III.28.2]
| title = Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church
*[http://www.mariology.com/ Mariology.com]
| publisher = Bloomsbury
*[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm St. Jerome on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary]
| year = 2015
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oCOdBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6
| isbn = 9781474230476
}}
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| year = 2019
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| doi-access= free
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| title = Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi
| publisher = A&C Black
| year = 1975
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WtnR-6_PlJAC
| isbn = 9780860120063
}}
*{{cite book|editor-first=Bonnie G.|editor-last=Smith|first=Martha|last=Rampton|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History|chapter=Mary|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFI7tr9XK6EC&pg=RA2-PA191|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514890-9|page=191}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Rausch
| first1 = Thomas P.
| title = Systematic Theology: A Roman Catholic Approach
| publisher = Liturgical Press
| year = 2016
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vTsrDAAAQBAJ
| isbn = 9780814683453
}}
* {{Cite book
|last = Reddish
|first = Mitchell
|title = An Introduction to The Gospels
|year = 2011
|publisher = Abingdon Press
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hliGUOv18cQC
|isbn = 9781426750083
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Rosenberg
| first1 = Michael
| title = Signs of Virginity: Testing Virgins and Making Men in Late Antiquity
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 2018
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0j9FDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Mary%27s+in+partu+virginity+in+the+West%22&pg=PT185
| isbn = 9780190845919
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Salisbury
| first1 = Joyce E.|author-link= Joyce E. Salisbury
| chapter = Jerome, Saint
| editor1-last = Kleinhenz
| editor1-first = Christopher
| title = Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2004
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=E2CTAgAAQBAJ
| isbn = 9781135948801
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Schumaker
| first1 = John F.
| title = Religion and Mental Health
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 1992
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oY0nsXwPJ3AC
| isbn = 9780195361490
}}
*{{Cite book
|title = Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion
|last = Shoemaker
|first = Stephen J.
|publisher = Yale University Press
|year = 2016
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa8ODAAAQBAJ&dq=Mary+in+Early+Christian+Faith+and+Devotion+odes+of+solomon&pg=PA44
|isbn = 978-0-300-21953-1
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Stowasser
| first1 = Barbara Freyer
| title = Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 1996
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3YhpAgAAQBAJ
| isbn = 9780199761838
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*{{cite book
| last1 = Tilley
| first1 = Maureen A.
| chapter = One Woman's Body: Repression and Expression in the Passio Perpetuae
| editor1-last = Phan
| editor1-first = Peter C.
| title = Ethnicity, Nationality and Religious Experience
| publisher = University Press of America
| year = 1995
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VDYmQYg4ngAC
| isbn = 9780819195241
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Vuong
| first1 = Lily C.
| title = The Protevangelium of James
| publisher = Wipf and Stock Publishers
| year = 2019
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| isbn = 9781532656170
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Wiesner-Hanks
| first1 = Merry
| title = Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating Desire, Reforming Practice
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2005
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| isbn = 9781134761210
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Wheeler-Reed
| first1 = David
| title = Regulating Sex in the Roman Empire: Ideology, the Bible, and the Early Christians
| publisher = Yale University Press
| year = 2017
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=N547DwAAQBAJ
| isbn = 9780300231311
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Wirth
| first1 = Douglas
| title = Shivering Babe, Glorious Lord: The Nativity Stories in Christian Tradition
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| year = 2016
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| isbn = 9781512738711
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Wright
| first1 = David F.
| chapter = Mary
| editor1-last = McKim
| editor1-first = Donald K.
| editor2-last = Wright
| editor2-first = David F.
| title = Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith
| publisher = Westminster John Knox Press
| year = 1992
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MJPsgwN789gC
| isbn = 9780664218829
}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Zervos
| first1 = George T.
| title = The Protevangelium of James: Greek Text, English Translation, Critical Introduction
| volume = 1
| publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing
| year = 2019
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EtmmDwAAQBAJ
| isbn = 9780567689757
}}
 
{{refend}}
[[Category:Marian dogmas]]
[[Category:Catholic theology and doctrine]]
 
{{Virgin Mary}}
[[de:Jungfräulichkeit Mariens]]
{{Catholic saints}}
[[fr:Virginité perpétuelle de Marie]]
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perpetual Virginity Of Mary}}
[[Category:Anglican theology and doctrine]]
[[Category:Assyrian Church of the East]]
[[Category:Catholic theology and doctrine]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox Mariology]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox theology]]
[[Category:Lutheran theology]]
[[Category:Marian dogmas]]
[[Category:Methodism]]
[[Category:Non-sexuality]]
[[Category:Sexuality in Christianity]]
[[Category:Virgin birth of Jesus]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_virginity_of_Mary"