Mary As the Early Christians Knew Her: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts

Good read.

I love this book. So helpful if you want to understand Mary in an historical context. It gave me a deep appreciation for her…actually as I’m writing I realize it’s a deep love for her. Such beauty and depth in who she was. I’m grateful for Frederica’s books!

Mathewes-Green writes from an Orthodox Christian perspective with admirable flair and considerable insight that helps readers grasp the humanity and impetus behind her subject matter. Her tones are hardly lofty or antiseptic in a scholarly way, but her remarks are probation and revealing. Here she offers glimpses and personal translations of three of the most ancient Marian texts in Christian history: the Protevangelium (c. 140 CE), the Sub Tuum prayer to Mary (c. 250 CE) and The Akathist hymn by "Romanos" (properly dated to the 6th Century). People interest in detailed footnotes and scholarly debates should look to more forensic treatments of these three ancient Christian texts. Here, FM-G seeks to explore the socio-cultural and spiritual purposes and traditions that may (or may not) have motivated the communities that produced such texts and she ponders the more obvious ramifications and issues, comparing them (where relevant) to contemporary understandings and questions regarding ancient Marian traditions. She does this thoughtfully and with clear language and admirable consideration. This is a fine addition to any library of books dealing with the most ancient periods of Christian theological history and pious practice, especially when considering that both the Protoevangelium and the Sub Tuum prayer were in use long before Constantine, the advent of the Nicene Fathers, and even before the "Bible" itself was compiled with any wide-reaching canonical authority ... to say nothing of the fact that Bibles (as we know them today) did not even exist in Christianity for many more centuries to come.

In this book regarding Mother Mary the author's prose weaves together dry, but necessary facts of the early Churches, alongside revelations about Mary. The cultural essence of the times is well addressed and this is an absorbing read.

The seller is great and book was in great condition, shipped fast

If you are looking for much theological depth, or any sort of detailed history on the Theotokos, this is probably not the go to book. It was interesting up to a point, and - sorry to say - toward the end of it, I found myself hoping for the last page. I chose it because I was not able to afford a highly recommended book published by some Orthodox nuns, but apparently no longer in print on the same subject, and I was hoping that Fredericka Matthews-Greene's book would be similar in scope of content. This will not be a book I plan on keeping in my personal collection of Eastern Orthodox books, but it will be donated to the Church library.

Frederica comes through once again in her reader friendly book 'Mary As the Early Christians Knew Her'; a book filled with a treasure trove of information on Mary the Mother of God. Terrific read!

Frederick M-G has written an informative book sharing the early church’s perspective of the mother of Christ, based on three ancient texts. She moves Mary to the middle ground of great love and respect—She’s neither worshipped nor limited to the nativity scene. The highlight, for me, was actually the account of Joseph’s story of the night of Christ’s birth. It is amazing to find these stories were preserved, but are so little known by many Christians today.

A few months ago, disenchanted with the Protestant traditions we'd grown up jn, we took our many children and sat at the back of a Ukrainian Catholic church. After speaking with the priest, we realized that this was a variation of the Eastern Orthodox faith. Ir's Bern months now of going , learning, experiencing with all our senses, but like most Prorestants, I still did not understand the emphasis placed on Mary, the Theotokos. This book explains, beautifully, the history and motivation. But I felt like I would have liked to see addressed the Biblical passage where a woman yells to Jesus , " Blessed are the breasts that nursed you!" And Jesus says, "Blessed rather are they who hear and brlieve." I think FMG does address this in another writing saying Jesus was still pointing to Mary as an example, but I am still not entirely at peace with the veneration. I do understand it a little better after reading this book.

This book simplifies and makes accessible great and wonderful things every believer would do well to ponder. I highly recommend.