An 18th-century Russian icon depicting various types of the Theotokos icons

Theotokos (/ˌθiəˈtɒkəs/; Greek: Θεοτόκος, transliterated Theotókos) is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God. Roman Catholics and Anglicans use the title Mother of God more often than Theotokos. The Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is Theotokos because her son Jesus is one person who is both God and man, divine and human.^[1]

Etymology and translation[link]

Theotokos is a compound of two Greek words, Θεός God and τόκος parturition, childbirth. Literally, this translates as God-bearer or the one who gives birth to God; historian Jaroslav Pelikan translated it more precisely as "the one who gives birth to the one who is God".^[2] However, since many English-speaking Orthodox find this literal translation awkward, in liturgical use, Theotokos is often left untranslated, or paraphrased as Mother of God. The latter title is the literal translation of a distinct title in Greek, Μήτηρ του Θεού (translit. Mētēr tou Theou). Mother of God also accurately translates the Greek words Θεομήτωρ (translit. Theomētor; also spelled Θεομήτηρ, translit. Theomētēr) and Μητρόθεος (translit. Mētrotheos), which are found in patristic and liturgical texts, e.g.

Λαβομένη η Θεοτόκος των εκ του αχράντου και παναμώμου αυτής θυσιαστηρίου σαρκωθέντα ζωοποιόν και ανέκφραστον άνθρακα ως λαβίδι ... επί τούτοις παρουσιασάμενος ο δίκαιος και τη προτροπή είξας της διακονησαμένης Θεώ προς ανθρώπους Θεομήτορος ... περιφανώς ιερά θεομήτωρ εξετέλει.^[3]

In many traditions, Theotokos was translated from the Greek into the local liturgical language:

^* Translation of the phrase mother of God

Mother of God[link]

Theotokos of Kazan

The English term Mother of God is mostly used as an imprecise translation of Theotokos, and frequently requires explanation.^[4] The other principal use of Mother of God has been as the precise and literal translation of Μήτηρ Θεού, a Greek term which has an established usage of its own in traditional Orthodox and Catholic theological writing, hymnography, and iconography. In an abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ it often is found on Eastern icons (see illustration above), where it is used to identify Mary.

A hymn normally sung as part of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom includes both titles in close proximity, in both cases referring to Mary, showing that the titles are not synonymous: "It is truly fitting to call you blessed, the Theotokos, ever-blessed and wholly pure and the Mother of our God (Ἄξιόν ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς μακαρίζειν σὲ τὴν Θεοτόκον, τὴν ἀειμακάριστον καὶ παναμώμητον καὶ μητέρα του Θεοῦ ἡμῶν...", emphasis added.) The difference between the two terms is that the former, Theotokos explicitly refers to physical childbearing, while the latter, Mother of God, describes a family relationship but not necessarily physical childbearing.

Within the Orthodox and Catholic tradition, Mother of God has not been understood, nor been intended to be understood, as referring to Mary as Mother of God from eternity — that is, as Mother of God the Father — but only with reference to the birth of Jesus, that is, the Incarnation. This limitation in the meaning of Mother of God must be understood by the person employing the term. To make it explicit, it is sometimes translated Mother of God Incarnate.^[5]

However, those reading or hearing the English phrase Mother of God as a translation of a Greek text cannot — unless they know the Greek text in question, or obtain additional information — know whether the phrase is a literal translation of Μήτηρ Θεού or an imprecise rendering of Θεοτόκος or one its Latin equivalents or equivalents in other languages.

Theology[link]

Theotokos specifically excludes the understanding of Mary as Mother of God in the eternal sense. Christians believe that God is the cause of all, with neither origin nor source, and is therefore without a mother or father, or any relation except for what is homoousian to Him: only the persons of the Holy Trinity. He is ontologically separate from all other beings, as Creator to creation. This stands in contrast to classical Greco-Roman religion in particular, where a number of goddesses appear as the physical mothers of other divinities which were considered gods in their own right (cf. polytheism).

On the other hand, most Christians believe God the Son is begotten of God the Father "from all eternity" (see Trinity and Nicene Creed), but is born "in time" of Mary. Theotokos thus refers to the Incarnation, when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took on human nature in addition to his pre-existing divine nature, this being made possible through the cooperation of Mary.

Though mainstream Christians understand Jesus Christ as both fully God and fully human, only Orthodox and Catholics (e.g. Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutherans, Old Catholics, Roman Catholics) call Mary Theotokos. The Council of Ephesus decreed, in opposition to those who denied Mary the title Theotokos ("the one who gives birth to God") but called her Christotokos ("the one who gives birth to Christ"), that Mary is Theotokos because her son Jesus is one person who is both God and man, divine and human. (Some Protestants still hold that Mary cannot be Theotokos, but only Christotokos.^[6][7]) Cyril of Alexandria wrote, "I am amazed that there are some who are entirely in doubt as to whether the holy Virgin should be called Theotokos or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the holy Virgin who gave [Him] birth, not [Theotokos]?" (Epistle 1, to the monks of Egypt; PG 77:13B). Thus the significance of Theotokos lies more in what it says about Jesus than any declaration about Mary, according to this Catholic doctrine.

Within the Orthodox doctrinal teaching on the economy of salvation, Mary's identity, role, and status as Theotokos is acknowledged as indispensable, and is for this reason formally defined as official dogma. The only other Mariological teaching so defined is that of her virginity. Both of these teachings have a bearing on the identity of Jesus Christ. By contrast, certain other Marian beliefs which do not bear directly on the doctrine concerning the person of Jesus (for example, her sinlessness, the circumstances surrounding her conception and birth, her Presentation in the Temple, her continuing virginity following the birth of Jesus, and her death), which are taught and believed by the Orthodox Church (being expressed in the Church's liturgy and patristic writings), are nonetheless not formally defined by the Church, and belief in them is not a precondition for baptism.^{[citation needed]}

Use of Theotokos in the early Christian Church[link]

Many Fathers of the early Christian Church used the title Theotokos for Mary since at least the third century AD.^{[citation needed]}

Origen (d. 254) is often cited as the earliest author to use Theotokos for Mary (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 7.32 citing Origen's Commentary on Romans) but the text upon which this assertion is based may not be genuine.

Dionysius of Alexandria used Theotokos in about 250, in an epistle to Paul of Samosata.^{[citation needed]}

Athanasius of Alexandria in 330, Gregory the Theologian in 370, John Chrysostom in 400, and Augustine all used Theotokos.^{[citation needed]}

Theodoret wrote in 436 that calling the Virgin Mary Theotokos is an apostolic tradition.^{[citation needed]}

Third Ecumenical Council[link]

A series of articles on
mother of Jesus
Chronology Presentation of Mary Annunciation · Visitation · Virgin Birth · Nativity · Presentation of Jesus · Flight into Egypt · Finding in the Temple · Cana · Crucifixion · Resurrection · Pentecost
Marian Perspectives Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox • Anglican • Lutheran • Protestant • Muslim •
Catholic Mariology Mariology • History of Mariology • Papal teachings • Mariology of the saints
Dogmas and Doctrines Mother of God • Assumption • Immaculate Conception • Perpetual Virginity
Mary in Culture Titles • Feasts • Art • Music This box: view talk edit

The use of Theotokos was formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. The competing view, advocated by Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, was that Mary should be called Christotokos, meaning "Birth-giver of Christ," to restrict her role to the mother of Christ's humanity only and not his divine nature.

Nestorius' opponents, led by Cyril of Alexandria, viewed this as dividing Jesus into two distinct persons, the human who was Son of Mary, and the divine who was not. To them, this was unacceptable since by destroying the perfect union of the divine and human natures in Christ, it sabotaged the fullness of the Incarnation and, by extension, the salvation of humanity. The council accepted Cyril's reasoning, affirmed the title Theotokos for Mary, and anathematised Nestorius' view as heresy. (See Nestorianism)

In letters to Nestorius which were afterwards included among the council documents, Cyril explained his doctrine. He noted that "the holy fathers... have ventured to call the holy Virgin Theotokos, not as though the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of their existence from the holy Virgin, but because from her was born his holy body, rationally endowed with a soul, with which [body] the Word was united according to the hypostasis, and is said to have been begotten according to the flesh" (Cyril's second letter to Nestorius).

Explaining his rejection of Nestorius' preferred title for Mary (Christotokos), Cyril wrote: "Confessing the Word to be united with the flesh according to the hypostasis, we worship one Son and Lord, Jesus Christ. We do not divide him into parts and separate man and God as though they were united with each other [only] through a unity of dignity and authority... nor do we name separately Christ the Word from God, and in similar fashion, separately, another Christ from the woman, but we know only one Christ, the Word from God the Father with his own flesh... But we do not say that the Word from God dwelt as in an ordinary human born of the holy virgin... we understand that, when he became flesh, not in the same way as he is said to dwell among the saints do we distinguish the manner of the indwelling; but he was united by nature and not turned into flesh... There is, then, one Christ and Son and Lord, not with the sort of conjunction that a human being might have with God as in a unity of dignity or authority; for equality of honor does not unite natures. For Peter and John were equal to each other in honor, both of them being apostles and holy disciples, but the two were not one. Nor do we understand the manner of conjunction to be one of juxtaposition, for this is insufficient in regard to natural union.... Rather we reject the term 'conjunction' as being inadequate to express the union... [T]he holy virgin gave birth in the flesh to God united with the flesh according to hypostasis, for that reason we call her Theotokos... If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is, in truth, God, and therefore that the holy virgin is Theotokos (for she bore in a fleshly manner the Word from God become flesh), let him be anathema." (Cyril's third letter to Nestorius)

Hymns[link]

Theotokos is often used in hymns to Mary in the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches. The most common is Axion Estin (It is truly meet), which is used in nearly every service.

Other examples include Beneath thy compassion dating from the third century, the Hail Mary in its Eastern form, and All creation rejoices, which replaces Axion Estin at the Divine Liturgy on the Sundays of Great Lent.

Solemnity[link]

In the Roman Catholic Church, the solemnity of Mary as Mother of God (Theotokos) is celebrated on 1 January, on the same day as the Octave of Christmas. Her maternity was celebrated on 11 October in pre-1970 versions of the General Roman Calendar, which some traditional Catholics still observe.

This solemnity comes from around 500 AD and was originally celebrated in the Eastern Churches.

Icons[link]

• 

  Theotokos of Vladimir

• 

  Panachranta Theotokos, illumination from the Gertrude Psalter.

• 

  Mother of God, mosaic icon, Hagia Sophia

• 

  Theotokos of St. Theodore

• 

  The Iveron Theotokos (Iverskaya), an 11th century Russian icon based on the 10th-century Hodegetria type, Iviron Monastery, Mount Athos.

• 

  Theotokos Panachranta from Svensky Monastery, by St. Alypios of Kiev

• 

  mosaic (ca 1130), Gelati Monastery, Georgia

• 

  Blachernae Icon of the Theotokos

• 

  Russian icon painted after the fall of the Soviet Union in the pre-Petrine style

See also[link]

• Eleusa icon
• Hymns to Mary
• List of Theotokos of St. Theodore icons

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ, John Anthony McGuckin, trans. ISBN 0-88141-133-7
• McGuckin, John Anthony, St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy (1994, and reprinted 2004) ISBN 0-88141-259-7 A full description of the events of Third Ecumenical Council and the people and issues involved.
• Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco,""The Orthodox Veneration of Mary, The Birth Giver of God"(2004, Sixth Printing, Third Edition). ISBN 0-938635-68-9
• Ware, Bishop Kallistos, "The Orthodox Way" (1979, Revised Edition, 1995, and reprinted 1999). ISBN 0-913836-58-3

Recommended Reading[link]

• Maunder, Chris (ed.), The Origins of the Cult of the Virgin Mary , (2008, burns & oates/continuumbooks). ISBN 978-0-86012-456-6

External links[link]

• Theotokos article on the Orthodox Wiki
• Resources on the Theotokos
• Study of the Mother of the Lord the All-Holly Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary by St. Nectarios (in Greek)

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Sir John Tavener in 2005

Sir John Kenneth Tavener (born 28 January 1944) is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos". He began as a prodigy;^[1] in 1968, at the age of 24, he was described by the Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while The Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he has become one of the best known and regarded composers of his generation. Tavener was knighted in 2000 for his services to music and has won an Ivor Novello Award.^[2]

Biography[link]

John Kenneth Tavener was born on 28 January 1944 in Wembley, London, England, and claims to be a direct descendant of the 16th-century composer John Taverner.^[3] He was educated at Highgate School (where a fellow pupil was John Rutter) and at the Royal Academy of Music, where his tutors included Sir Lennox Berkeley. He first came to prominence in 1968 with his dramatic cantata The Whale, based on the Old Testament story of Jonah. It was premièred at the London Sinfonietta's début concert and later recorded by Apple Records. The following year he began teaching at Trinity College of Music, London. Other works released by Apple included his Celtic Requiem. In 1977, he joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox theology and Orthodox liturgical traditions became a major influence on his work. He was particularly drawn to its mysticism, studying and setting to music the writings of Church Fathers and competing a setting of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, the principal eucharistic liturgy of the Orthodox Church.

One of Tavener's most popular and frequently performed works is his short unaccompanied four-part choral setting of William Blake's The Lamb, written for his nephew Simon on his third birthday one afternoon in 1982. This simple, homophonic piece is usually performed as a Christmas carol. More important, however, were his explorations of Russian and Greek culture, as shown in "Akhmatova Requiem" and "Sixteen Haiku of Seferis". Later prominent works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church); The Protecting Veil (first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis and the London Symphony Orchestra at the 1989 Proms); and Song for Athene (1993, performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997). Following Diana's death he also composed and dedicated to her memory the piece Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry by William Blake.

It has been reported, particularly in the British press, that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity to explore a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism and Islam, and became a follower of the mystic philosopher Frithjof Schuon.^[4][5] While he has in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions, Tavener remains an Orthodox Christian.

In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work The Veil of the Temple (which was premièred at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London), based on texts from a number of religions. It is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. The 2004 première of his piece Prayer of the Heart written for and performed by Björk, was featured on CD and incorporated as the soundtrack to Jake Lever's installation Centre + Circumference (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London).

In the second television series of Sacred Music, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four on Friday 2 April 2010, Tavener described himself as "essentially Orthodox".

While Tavener's earlier music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and, to a lesser extent, Olivier Messiaen, often invoking the sound world of Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer and the ecstatic quality found in various works by Messiaen, his later music became more sparse, using wide registral space and was usually diatonically tonal. Some commentators see a similarity with the works of Arvo Pärt, from their common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism and colouristic percussion effects, though the similarities between their outputs are quite superficial.

Tavener's more recent music has moved away from the transparent simplicity of the 1980s towards a much more harmonically saturated style, in parallel with his pan-religious interests. Such works as Atma Mass (2003) and Requiem (2008) show this particularly well.

Tavener has suffered from considerable problems with his health. He had a stroke in his thirties, heart surgery and a tumour removed in his forties,^[6] and suffered two successive heart attacks which have left him very frail.^[7] He has Marfan syndrome.^[8][9] His wife, Maryanna, broadcast a charity appeal on BBC Radio 4 in October 2008 on behalf of the Marfan Trust.^[10]

Career highlights[link]

• 1969 - The Whale premièred by the London Sinfonietta and subsequently recorded on The Beatles' Apple label.
• 1971 - Celtic Requiem recorded by Apple.
• 1973 - Thérèse, the story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, commissioned by the Royal Opera, London.
• 1989 - première of The Protecting Veil at the Proms in London.
• 2000 - première of Fall and Resurrection in St Paul's Cathedral, London (4 January 2000).
• 2000 - received a knighthood in Millennium Honours List.
• 2001 - composed the soundtrack of Werner Herzog's short documentary Pilgrimage.
• 2003 - première of the all-night vigil The Veil of the Temple by the Holst Singers and the Choir of the Temple Church at the Temple Church, London.
• 2005 - première of Laila (Amu), Tavener’s first dance collaboration, with Random Dance company and Wayne McGregor's choreography.^[11]
• 2006 - contributed Fragments of a Prayer to the Alfonso Cuarón film Children of Men.
• 2007 - première of The Beautiful Names by the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra at Westminster Cathedral. The work, sung in Arabic, is a setting of the 99 names of Allah found in the Qur'an. Awarded honorary degree by the University of Winchester.
• 2008 - World premier of "the anthem" sung in St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
• March 2009 - The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia presents the world première of Tu ne sais pas, a work for mezzo-soprano, timpani, and strings. Katherine Pracht will sing the texts, which are drawn from poems by French poet Jean Biès, (one of the work's dedicatees), and from Islamic and Hindu sources.

Key works[link]

• The Whale (1966; soloists, speaker, SATB choir, children's choir, orchestra)
• Celtic Requiem (1969; soloists, SATB choir, children's choir, ensemble)
• Thérèse, opera, 1973
• The Protecting Veil (1988; cello, strings)
• Mary of Egypt, opera, 1991
• Ikon of the Nativity (1991; SATB choir, a cappella)
• Song for Athene (1993; SATB choir)
• Fall and Resurrection (2000) (Dedicated to The Prince of Wales)
• Lamentations and Praises (2001; 12 male voices, string quartet, flute, bass trombone, percussion)
• The Veil of the Temple (2002; soprano, SATB choir, boys' choir, ensemble)
• Schuon Lieder (2003; soprano, ensemble)
• Laila (Amu) (2004; soprano, tenor, orchestra)
• Lament for Jerusalem (2006; soprano, countertenor, SATB choir, orchestra)

Sound files[link]

Year	Song title	Work	Instrumentation
1968:	"Section A"  Listen (help·info)	In Alium	Soprano, Strings, Tape
1985:	"The Lamb"  Listen (help·info)	The Lamb	Chorus
1993:	"Song for Athene"  Listen (help·info)	Song for Athene	Chorus
1996:	"Innocence"  Listen (help·info)	Innocence	Chorus, bell

Selected recordings[link]

• The Protecting Veil - Virgin 561849-2
• Schuon Lieder - Black Box BBM1101
• The Veil of the Temple - RCA 82876661542
• Songs of the Sky Signum Records SIGCD149

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Stewart, Michael (2000). "John Tavener Talks to Michael Stewart about the Recent Festival Ikons of Light". Image and Music. http://www.imageandmusic.com/musicjournalism/tavener/sir_john_tavener.html. Retrieved 2007-05-23. 
• Sheahen, Laura. "Sell Cleverness, Buy Wonder: The Music of Sir John Tavener: Composer Tavener, a Devout Orthodox Christian, Believes that Neither Music nor Religion can be Exclusive". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/98/story_9888_1.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 

External links[link]

• John Tavener at ChesterNovello
• [1]
• All music published up to 2008