Tomorrow marks the celebration of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Theotokis means God-bearer,other likewise titles for Mary are Dei Genitrix Mother of God and Deipara the God-bearing one. Pictured is Albuquerques oldest church San Felipe de Neri--established in 1706 AD.
While the title theotokos was originally meant as an affirmation of Jesus deity, the term has become associated with the hyper exaltation of Mary movements within Roman Catholicism, et al. Now, while the previous article was about the Assumption of Mary, the Dormition of the Theotokos is a feast celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. This is because dormition refers to falling asleep which is an old way of saying passed away. As previously noted, Roman Catholicism, oddly, does not officially state whether Mary died or not.
As to the exaltation of Mary (truly, not the real Mary of history but a fictional character) by a redefinition of what it means to be the Mother of God one should keep in mind the Biblical terminology which is that she is referred to, by Elizabeth, as, the mother of my Lord (see Luke 1:41-43)here Lord is kyrios (literally referring to a lord) rather than Theos which is God. Thus, Theos Kyrios translates as The Lord God.
Note that the Catholic Catechism #495 states:
Called in the Gospels the mother of Jesus, Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as the mother of my Lord.
Admitting that the Scripture refers to Mary in this manner does not keep the Roman church from changing the title to Mother of God. [emphasis added]
By now very many undue references to Mary carry along with them definition which the real Mary would have never even dreamed of nor would have accepted.
For an elucidation of the various Mary related doctrines, dogmas and excesses (including apparitions) please see the series at this link.
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