Q186
Did Mary remain, in fact, ever a virgin?
Mary is forever remembered as “the Virgin Mary,” and the Church calls her “Ever-Virgin” (aeiparthenos; see S021). It is the firm teaching of the Orthodox Church, not a mere pious opinion, that she remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of the Savior. The Fifth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople II, 553) uses the title “ever-virgin” as the Church’s settled confession (anathemas 2 and 6), and every Divine Liturgy commemorates “our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.” This teaching is examined in detail in the following study.
