This is pretty great insight but I’m curious about any historical teaching on this. As an evangelical Protestant making my way towards Catholicism, I’m speculative when it comes to “new” revelations from pastors and authors with no connection to the church fathers and teaching of the church for 2000 years.
I’m assuming you have sources documenting this teaching but I didn’t see any referenced and would love to look into the sources if you can share them.
Sure thing. Numerous church fathers speak on this typology:
St. John Damascene says, “Today the holy Virgin of Virgins is presented in the heavenly temple. Virginity in her was so strong as to be a consuming fire. It is forfeited in every case by child-birth. But she is ever a virgin, before the event, in the birth itself, and afterwards. To-day the sacred and living ark of the living God, who conceived her Creator Himself, takes up her abode in the temple of God, not made by hands.” (Homily on the Dormition)
St. Gregory the wonderworker says, “Let us chant the melody that has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, ‘Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy sanctuary.’ For the Holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary” (Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary).
Athanasius of Alexandria says, “O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O [Ark of the] Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides” (Homily of the Papyrus of Turin).
This is also found in Ephraim the Syrian, Cyril of Alexandria, and Ambrose of Milan. Some of these go back a long way, Gregory the Wonder Worker is from the 3rd century for example. I’d be shocked if Origen didn’t have anything to say on the subject but I haven’t looked into any Marian exegesis from him.
And bonus for you since I came across this just now looking up references, a Protestant convert to Catholicism, John Henry Newman wrote on the Woman of Revelation:
“What I would maintain is this, that the Holy Apostle would not have spoken of the Church under this particular image unless there had existed a Blessed Virgin Mary, who was exalted on high and the object of veneration to all the faithful. No one doubts that the “man-child” spoken of is an allusion to our Lord; why then is not “the Woman” an allusion to his mother?” (On the Blessed Virgin Mary)
No problem. I always have the sources. I never put anything out there that I haven’t found grounded in the great theologians who came before. The balance is always finding how much do I want to dump in an article vs. am I overdoing it for the average reader.
This is pretty great insight but I’m curious about any historical teaching on this. As an evangelical Protestant making my way towards Catholicism, I’m speculative when it comes to “new” revelations from pastors and authors with no connection to the church fathers and teaching of the church for 2000 years.
I’m assuming you have sources documenting this teaching but I didn’t see any referenced and would love to look into the sources if you can share them.
Sure thing. Numerous church fathers speak on this typology:
St. John Damascene says, “Today the holy Virgin of Virgins is presented in the heavenly temple. Virginity in her was so strong as to be a consuming fire. It is forfeited in every case by child-birth. But she is ever a virgin, before the event, in the birth itself, and afterwards. To-day the sacred and living ark of the living God, who conceived her Creator Himself, takes up her abode in the temple of God, not made by hands.” (Homily on the Dormition)
St. Gregory the wonderworker says, “Let us chant the melody that has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, ‘Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy sanctuary.’ For the Holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary” (Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary).
Athanasius of Alexandria says, “O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O [Ark of the] Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides” (Homily of the Papyrus of Turin).
This is also found in Ephraim the Syrian, Cyril of Alexandria, and Ambrose of Milan. Some of these go back a long way, Gregory the Wonder Worker is from the 3rd century for example. I’d be shocked if Origen didn’t have anything to say on the subject but I haven’t looked into any Marian exegesis from him.
And bonus for you since I came across this just now looking up references, a Protestant convert to Catholicism, John Henry Newman wrote on the Woman of Revelation:
“What I would maintain is this, that the Holy Apostle would not have spoken of the Church under this particular image unless there had existed a Blessed Virgin Mary, who was exalted on high and the object of veneration to all the faithful. No one doubts that the “man-child” spoken of is an allusion to our Lord; why then is not “the Woman” an allusion to his mother?” (On the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Thanks! I’ve read several of your articles and assumed you had the sources. Thanks for taking the time to share them.
No problem. I always have the sources. I never put anything out there that I haven’t found grounded in the great theologians who came before. The balance is always finding how much do I want to dump in an article vs. am I overdoing it for the average reader.
Definitely hard to find that balance!