Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
www.suscopts.org
   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

How can I prove to someone that St. Mary was truly a virgin before and after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ?

"...Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son..." (Isaiah 7:14), it says   "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son" (Matthew 1:23).

Every woman is born a virgin but no woman can conceive while a virgin. So the fact that the Prophet Isaiah says, "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son" definitely means that this is not the usual case of a virgin who lost her virginity and conceived, but of one who conceived and bore a son while still a virgin. Tradition tells us that Simeon the Elder (one of the seventy appointed to translate the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew to Greek version know as the Septuagint) was afraid to translate that a virgin would conceive, because the king would mock him. He wanted to translate the virgin as a "young lady" but he was not at ease for this inaccurate translation and God revealed to him in a vision that he would not die before he would see Christ the Lord born of a virgin. This was fulfilled and Simeon the Elder lived about three hundred years. When the Lord Jesus Christ was born and was presented into the Temple, Simeon was there and carried the Lord Jesus Christ in his hands saying "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2:29-30).

"And did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son" (Mt 1:25).

St. Jerome tells us that the words know and till in the language of Holy Scripture are capable of a double meaning. The phrase "knowing her" in the Holy Bible may refer to knowing one intimately or as the knowledge of understanding, as, for instance, "The Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it" (Luke 2:43).

The word "till" often denotes by its use, a fixed time, frequently time without limitation, as when God by the mouth of the prophet says to certain persons, "Even to old age I am He." Will He cease to be God when they have grown old? And the Savior in the Holy Gospel tells the Apostles, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Will the Lord then after the end of the world come to forsake His disciples, and at the very time when seated on twelve thrones they are to judge the twelve tribes of Israel will they be bereft of the company of their Lord?

Again Paul the Apostle writing to the Corinthians says, "Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ's, at his coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet" (1 Cor 15:23-25). Granted that the passage relates to our Lord's human nature, we do not deny that the words are spoken of Him who endured the Holy Cross and is commanded to sit afterwards at the right hand of the Father. What does he mean then by saying, "For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under his feet"? Is the Lord to reign only until His enemies begin to be under His feet, and once they are under His feet will He cease to reign? Of course not, for He will reign forever.

Another example found in the Holy Book of Acts "But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose who did not know Joseph" (Acts 7:17-18). We see again in this verse the usage of the two words "till' and "know". Did the people stop multiplying after this new king came? Of course not for we know that they kept multiplying even after the king gave orders to the midwives to kill all the male newborns. (Exodus 1)

The Holy Scripture is full of verses that use the word "till" as a continuing act or status. The Holy Gospel of St. Matthew 22:44 states, 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'

In the Holy Book of Acts 8:40 Philip was found at Azotus and passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:12-13).

Suggested reading includes an article written by St Jerome, The Perpetual Virginity of St. Mary: http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-06/Npnf2-06-08.htm#P5991_1770937.
Home | Ask A Question | Search Q&A