Theotokos: Hail Holy Queen!

Devotion to a person, idea, or thing may be religious or profane, absolute or relative.  Such devotion always involves three separate and distinct acts:

1.       An act of intellectual assent that the person, idea, or thing is deserving of devotion

2.       An act of the will by which this judgment becomes practical

3.       An external act expressing to this internal sentiment

In the religious realm, we can distinguish three kinds of such devotion.

Latria is the adoration due to God alone.  We give absolute latria to God as the Blessed Trinity, or to one of the divine Persons, to Christ in His divine and human natures, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or to the Holy Eucharist. We give relative latria in connection with images of God, not to the symbol but to God Himself.  Latria shows our absolute submission to God.  Latria is the absolute worship we owe to the Divine Majesty of God and Christ.  When such is directed to any creature, latria becomes idolatria (idolatry).

Dulia is veneration and honor that we in this life give to the angels and saints as friends of God.
Hyperdulia is the special veneration due to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Hyperdulia is the highest form of dulia and is due to Mary because of her unique dignity as Mother of God.  However, such veneration and honor is essentially and necessarily different from the latreutic adoration due to God alone.

Mary, as Mother of God, is entitled to honor and veneration greater than that given to any other saint, angel, or creature.  The higher the dignity and holiness of a person, the greater is his/her claim to our respect and veneration.  The dignity of Mary is immeasurably high and her sanctity commensurate with the fullness of grace with which God has endowed her.  Consequently, she is entitled to an honor and veneration that exceeds that given to any other creature.  As Mother of God, Mary outranks the angels and saints.

In Baptism, we become children of God and brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ in the realm of grace.  Christ’s mother becomes our mother in the realm of grace.  Indeed, Jesus gave her to us as such at the cross.  Just as our mother in the physical realm is deserving of our love and devotion; how much more is our mother in the realm of grace deserving of such.

Such devotion and love have been shown Mary since the earliest days of the Church.  During the first three centuries, the veneration of Mary was essentially included in the rites of adoration of her Son. A Father of the Church summarizes the essence of this using these words (referring to Mary): “The prophets announced you and the apostles commemorated you with the highest of praises.”

During these first centuries, only indirect testimonies of the Marian devotion exist. Among them are archaeological remains of the catacombs that demonstrate the devotion and veneration of the first Christians toward Mary. One of the paintings in the catacombs of Saint Priscilla represents the Virgin with her Child in her arms and a prophet, probably Isaiah, at her side. The other two paintings correspond to the Annunciation and to the Epiphany. All of the paintings mentioned are of the second century. In the catacombs of St. Peter and St. Marcellinus, one admirable painting of the third or fourth century represents Mary between Saints Peter and Paul. There, Mary is portrayed praying with her arms extended.

One magnificent demonstration of the Marian devotion is the prayer “Sub tuum praesidium” (We fly to thy patronage) that dates back up to the third to fourth century, and that illustrates the intercession of Mary.

The Fathers during the fourth century praise the Mother of God in many and diverse ways. Saint Epiphanius, after combating the error of adoring Mary practiced by a sect in Arabia, writes: "Let Mary be held in honor. Let the Father, Son and Holy Ghost be adored, but let no one adore Mary." St. Ambrose expresses the same sentiment who after giving praise to “the Mother of all virgins”, is at the same time clear and emphatic in saying that “Mary is the temple of God and not the God of the temple” to put the Marian devotion in its rightful position and to distinguish it to the adoration of God.

It can be proven that during the time of Pope Sylvester, in the Roman Forum, where the Temple of Vesta used to be located, a structure was constructed bearing the advocation to “Santa Maria Antiqua” or Ancient St. Mary. In the same manner, Bishop Alexander of Alexandria consecrated a church dedicating it to the Mother of God. Moreover, it is known that Mary was being honored together with our Lord in the Church of the Nativity in Palestine since the era of Emperor Constantine, in remembrance of the miraculous conception of Christ.

Reliable ancient texts dated 225 A.D., used in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist, mention the veneration of Mary. They also honor her during the feasts of the Incarnation, Nativity, Epiphany, etc. of our Lord. Towards 380 A.D., the first Marian feast, identified as “Memory of the Mother of God”, “Feast of the Most Holy Virgin”, or “Feast of the glorious Mother”, was instituted.