Theotokos: In the Protestant Reformers

Even the Protestant Reformers of the 16^th Century upheld the Divine Motherhood of Mary seeing this as the main reason she should be honored by Christians.

Martin Luther:

Mary the Mother of God
Throughout his life Luther maintained without change the historic Christian affirmation that Mary was the Mother of God:

"She is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God ... It is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God."¹

Honor to Mary
"The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart."²

"Is Christ only to be adored? Or is the holy Mother of God rather not to be honoured? This is the woman who crushed the Serpent's head. Hear us. For your Son denies you nothing."³ Luther made this statement in his last sermon at Wittenberg in January 1546.

John Calvin:

"Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God."⁴

"It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor."⁵

"To this day we cannot enjoy the blessing brought to us in Christ without thinking at the same time of that which God gave as adornment and honour to Mary, in willing her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son."⁶

Ulrich Zwingli:
"It was given to her what belongs to no creature, that in the flesh she should bring forth the Son of God."⁷

"I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin."⁸ Zwingli used Exodus 4:22 to defend the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity.

"I esteem immensely the Mother of God, the ever chaste, immaculate Virgin Mary."⁹

"Christ ... was born of a most undefiled Virgin."¹⁰

"It was fitting that such a holy Son should have a holy Mother."¹¹

"The more the honor and love of Christ increases among men, so much the esteem and honor given to Mary should grow."<sup>12


1</sup> Martin Luther, Weimar edition of Martin Luther's Works, English translation edited by J. Pelikan [Concordia: St. Louis], volume 24, 107.
² [Martin Luther, Weimar edition of Martin Luther's Works
(Translation by William J. Cole) 10, III, p.313.
³ Martin Luther, Weimar edition of Martin Luther's Works, English translation edited by J. Pelikan [Concordia: St. Louis], Volume 51, 128-129.
⁴ John Calvin, Calvini Opera [Braunshweig-Berlin, 1863-1900], Volume 45, 35.
⁵ John Calvin, Calvini Opera [Braunshweig-Berlin, 1863-1900], Volume 45, 348.
⁶ John Calvin, A Harmony of Matthew, Mark and Luke (St. Andrew's Press, Edinburgh, 1972), p.32.
⁷ Ulrich Zwingli, In Evang. Luc., Opera Completa [Zurich, 1828-42], Volume 6, I, 639
⁸ Ulrich Zwingli, Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Volume 1, 424.
⁹ E. Stakemeier, De Mariologia et Oecumenismo, K. Balic, ed., (Rome, 1962), 456.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ulrich Zwingli, Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Volume 1, 427-428.