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On January 1, the Church celebrates Mary as Mother of God. This major feast goes back to the Council of Ephesus in 431, one of the most important in the history of the Church.
“Mary of Nazareth”, “the Blessed Virgin”, “the Virgin Mary”, “Our Lady”... Mary has many titles. On the solemnity of January 1, she is referred to as Mary “Mother of God”. Although we are accustomed to hearing this title in the well-known Marian prayer, the Hail Mary, it initially provoked a heated theological debate.
The controversy began with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in 428. While many Christians and theologians had already adopted this title, Nestorius refused to call the Virgin Mary “Mother of God” since, in his view, Mary could only be the mother of the man Jesus. He insisted on the coexistence of two distinct natures - the human and the divine - in Christ, and felt that Mary should be called Christotokos, “Mother of Christ”. Cyril of Alexandria, on the other hand, defended the unity of Christ's two natures and the common Christian belief in his divinity.
It was Emperor Theodosius II who put an end to the quarrel in 431, when he convened the 3rd Ecumenical Council in Ephesus, bringing together bishops from every province.
It was debated whether Jesus was both human and divine in nature, and if so, whether Mary should be called “Mother of God”. The Council of Ephesus finally confirmed the title of “Theotokos” (a Greek word meaning “who gave birth to God”), officially recognizing Mary's divine maternity. Christ is both man and god, a union founded on the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of God becoming flesh. The Council of Ephesus thus paved the way for an authentic Marian devotion in the Church.
In 1931, to mark the fifteenth hundredth anniversary of the Council of Ephesus, Pope Pius XI promoted a universal solemnity in honor of the Divine Maternity of Mary, to be celebrated on October 11.
After Vatican II, the feast was moved to January 1, and has since been entitled Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It thus closes the octave of Christmas, eight days after the Nativity of the Lord, and coincides with the World Day of Peace, promoted by Pope John Paul II. The feast also replaced the feast of the circumcision of Jesus, celebrated eight days after his birth in accordance with the Jewish rite.