Protestants see the basis for their teaching in the Gospel. The Evangelist Matthew, they believe, speaking of the relations between the Mother of God and Joseph, Her guardian, says of Joseph that he did not know the Virgin only before She gave birth to the Son of God, which indicates conjugal relations afterwards. The original words of the Evangelist, cited by the Protestants as proof of their opinion, are as follows: And (Joseph) knew Her not until She had brought forth Her firstborn Son. The blasphemers base their conclusion on the word until, which in their opinion expresses restraint until a certain time, and also on the word firstborn, which gives an idea of subsequent childbearing. According to the nature of modern languages, the above-mentioned verse of the Gospel can be accurately translated as follows: But Joseph did not know Her, and She gave birth to Her firstborn Son. The words Joseph did not know Her obviously refer to the entire time that the Mother of God stayed in Joseph’s home.

If we carefully examine the Evangelist Matthew’s narrative concerning the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, it becomes immediately evident that the Evangelist meticulously tried to show, with clarity and precision, that the Son of God was born of a Virgin, without male seed. The Evangelist thus explains that the Virgin, betrothed to a man, but knowing no man, bore the seed of the Holy Spirit in Her womb; for this reason the Evangelist brings forth the testimony of the angel who had appeared to Joseph in a dream and who had confirmed that the fruit in the womb of the Virgin was from the Holy Spirit; for this reason the Evangelist cites the prophet who had foretold that a Virgin would conceive and a Virgin would give birth to a Son, the Saviour of the world; for this reason, speaking already of the nativity of the Son of God, the Evangelist shows that Mary gave birth to Him while remaining a Virgin, just as She had conceived while being a Virgin. Circumstances relating to the Mother of God Herself, which were not part of the main subject presented by the Evangelist, were left by him without a clear explanation. The narrative of the Evangelist Luke concerning the nativity of Christ has the same character. Remaining silent on the subject of Joseph’s bewilderment, about the appearance of an angel to him in a dream, Saint Luke tells us of how the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God with most joyous tidings from the Lord about Her conceiving and giving birth to the Son of God; tells us of how Elizabeth, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, recognized in Mary the Mother of God. Saint Luke, like Saint Matthew, calls Mary a Virgin betrothed to a man, and the Son of God to Whom She gives birth – Her firstborn Son. Saint Luke, too, does not give a detailed narrative of the circumstances relating specifically to the Virgin, but from his narration it becomes evident that the Virgin gave birth painlessly. Thus in vain do the Protestants seek support for their blasphemy in the Gospel!

In the above-mentioned words of the Evangelist Matthew the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church see a conception totally opposite to the conception of the Protestants, - they see proof that the Mother of God, having conceived the Son of God while a Virgin, remained a Virgin after conception, gave birth while remaining a Virgin, remained a Virgin after birth, and remained a Virgin forever. “The Ever-virgin, - says St. John Damascene, - remains a Virgin even after giving birth, not having ever had any relations with any man.” Although it is written that (Joseph) knew Her not until She had brought forth Her firstborn Son, we should understand that firstborn refers to any child born first, even if he were the only child. The word “firstborn” refers to the child who was born first, but does not necessarily indicate the birth of others. And the word until, although referring to a specific period of time, does not exclude the time that follows after it. Thus the words of the Lord: And, lo, I am with you always, even unto (until) the end of the world, do not mean that after the end of the world the Lord will part from us. Here the word until, although by itself referring to a specific period of time, has a totally opposite meaning.

In the parable about the debtors the Lord said: “Thou shalt not come out thence (from the prison of hell), until thou has paid the uttermost farthing. It is well known that the torment of hell is eternal: the word until, as it is used here, means that the imprisoned debtor will never leave hell, being unable to repay his sinful debt, which can only be paid during one’s life on earth by means of charitable deeds in the name of Christ and the cleansing of sins through repentance. Of the raven whom Noah sent forth from the ark it is said: And it went forth and did not return until the waters were dried up from off the earth; but the raven did not return to the ark at all. The Holy Scripture says: The Lord said unto my Lord: sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool; here the word until, which normally refers to a period of time, is used to mean a timeless, eternal period. It is obvious that the incarnate Son’s stay at the right hand of the Father, which signifies the most supreme state of glory, will not be restricted only to the time it takes to conquer the Son’s enemies – the fallen angels and iniquitous humans, - but will continue eternally unto the ages of ages. The word until, referring to the Holy Virgin, has the same meaning: the Virgin has sealed Her virginity by giving birth to God the Word, and will forever remain a Virgin. And (Joseph) knew Her not until She had brought forth Her firstborn Son: “This means, - says Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, - that Joseph never touched Her, neither before birth, nor after birth.”

Both Evangelists indicate with obvious and special purpose that the Son of God was Firstborn. It was for this reason that the Jews, to whom the Messiah had been promised, especially esteemed childbearing and were contemptuous of women who were barren; it was for this reason, too, that they especially esteemed the firstborn among children, because one of these firstborn, in their opinion, was due to be the awaited Messiah. Here is that desired and glorious Firstborn, say the Evangelists, Who has satisfied all desires and expectations! After His birth there is no longer any reason for a woman’s barrenness to dishonor her, or for all the firstborn who will arrive hence to have such special significance. From now on glory passes from wedlock to virginity, because the awaited Firstborn is a Virgin, and has been born of a Virgin, Who has remained forever so.

The Holy Gospel does not speak of the parents of the Mother God, but rather presents the righteous Joseph as the guardian of Herself and the Infant Son of God. This is because the Holy Virgin’s parents, having produced such a precious fruit in their very old age, died soon afterwards. “God, - says St. John Damascene, - had arranged it so that the Maiden was affianced by the priests to Joseph. This arrangement protected Her.” The righteous Joseph was 80 years old when the 14-year-old Maiden was affianced to him. In accordance with Jewish law She was affianced to him because he belonged to the tribe of Judas and to the ancestry of King David, to which the Mother of God also belonged. After being in his house for four months, She heard the glad tidings from the lips of the Archangel and conceived the Son of God. The humble Mary did not dare tell her fianc? that She had been visited by the great Archangel and that She had become the wondrous temple of God. When Joseph learned from the angel, who appeared to him in a dream, of the great importance of the Virgin affianced to him, - he understood the significance of his responsibility towards Her, became Her servitor, performing his holy service with piety and awe, as St. Theophylact of Bulgaria tells us. He became filled with a feeling of deep respect for Her, similar to the feeling experienced and expressed by St. Elizabeth, whom the Mother of God came to visit. And whence is this to me, she cried out, whence is this greatest honor, this greatest happiness, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? Not only righteous people were filled with reverence for the Mother of God, but the Archangel Gabriel himself, announcing the glad tidings to Her, stood before Her with reverence. His manner was quite different when he brought tidings to Zacharias concerning the birth of John, the greatest among prophets.

Thus, both the holy angels and holy people revere the Ever-virgin; arrogant and blasphemous judgments about Her are inherent only to the rejected spirits, who have filled the heavens and paradise with their blasphemy, and are inherent to the corrupt people who have united themselves with the rejected spirits. St. John Damascene correctly observes that not only the action, but just the thought of the Theotokos’ virginity being corrupted can belong only to the most immoral, the most corrupt minds. How could the righteous Joseph, who had heard the greatest words about the Mother of God from the angel, who had seen the wondrous miracles that occurred during the nativity of the Son of God, be tempted to perform the vile iniquity attributed to him by the Protestants! No, no, such a vileness was impossible for him. The righteous Joseph was granted divine revelations of which only those who are pure in heart and body are worthy. When he was distressed over the Mother of God, - the angel appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. The angel directly responds to Joseph’s thoughts. Joseph, suspecting Mary of infidelity, wished to secretly let Her go from him, but the angel, bearing witness to Her chastity, commanded him to keep Her with him, without entertaining any doubts, as one who had not violated Her marital duty; and then the angel revealed that She had conceived from the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, when the Son of God had to escape to Egypt from Herod’s murderous hand, the angel once again appears to Joseph, but now he no longer calls Mary his wife, but the Mother of the Child. Twice more the Gospel tells us of the angel’s appearance to Joseph, and each time the angel again calls Mary simply the Mother of the Child.

The Gospel mentions the brothers of the Son of God; the Virgin’s detractors point to this circumstance as confirmation of their point of view. But the genuine tradition of the Orthodox Church tells us that the name “brothers of the Lord” was given to the sons of the righteous Joseph from his first wife. They were called the Lord’s brothers in the same exact sense as Joseph was called His father. Contemporary Jews, who had no knowledge of conception from the Holy Spirit and nativity from a Virgin, considered Jesus Christ to be Joseph’s son, while the Mother of God, His disciples and intimates concealed the great mystery from the hardened Jews, who did not hesitate to criticize even obvious miracles. What a blasphemous howl they would have put up had conception by a Virgin and birth from a Virgin been revealed to them! This miracle remained unknown to them, and since popular opinion considered Joseph to be the father, consequently his sons were considered to be the Lord’s brothers. In years they were much older that Christ, Who, subsequently, could not have been first-born in relation to them.

Accusing the righteous Joseph of making an attempt on the Mother of God’s virginity turns out to be senseless; even more incongruous is such an accusation of the Mother of God Herself. Thousands and thousands of virgins became the brides of Christ, kept their virginity inviolate: could not the greatest of virgins, the Bride and also the Mother of God, have done so? Thousands and thousands of virgins kept their virginity by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in the delight given by this grace: was not the greatest of virgins, in Whose womb the omnipotent God settled not only by the action of grace but with His entire being, able to do so? Did not the One Who was constantly in the most intimate contact with God do so? If the cherubim and the seraphim, being closest to God, constantly strive with their minds and hearts towards Him, - did not the One Who is incomparably greater that the cherubim and the seraphim, Who conceived God in Her womb and bore Him, Who painlessly gave birth to God, Who carried Him in Her embrace, Who spent Her entire earthly life with Him, - have Her mind and heart attached to Him? Of course She did! To think otherwise is to grovel in the passions of the flesh. May blasphemous thoughts keep away from us and be condemned to the darkness of hell and the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! We confess our Sovereign Lady, the Mother of our God, to be a Virgin before birth, a Virgin in birth, a Virgin after birth, an Ever-virgin. Knowing and confessing the majesty of the Mother of God, we direct our hearts towards Her with indubitable faith, with deepest reverence, and appeal to Her in prayer: “O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!”

In some parts of the Gospel it seems that, according to human judgment, the Lord replies to His Mother coldly and severely: this again serves as an impediment for mortal minds. The injustice of such a view is denounced by a spiritual analysis of the Lord’s actions and words. You should judge the spiritual spiritually, - said the holy apostle Paul. The Lord’s parents – so the Gospel calls the Mother of God and Joseph, speaking in this case from the point of view of contemporary society – observed the pious custom of annually coming to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. When the Lord was 12 years old, they came to Jerusalem together with the Youth. After spending two days in the holy city, Mary and Joseph set out on the return journey to Nazareth, while the Lord remained in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph did not notice this at first, thinking that the Lord was walking among the other pilgrims. But later, not seeing Him and not finding Him among relatives and friends, they returned to Jerusalem. Here, three days later, they found the Lord in the temple among the religious instructors, who were dismayed and fearful at hearing the word of God issuing from the lips of the Divine Youth. Mary, seeing Him, said: Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. To this the Lord replied: How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business? The Lord’s reply reveals that the mind, the will and love are dedicated entirely to one’s responsibility towards God, while responsibilities towards fellow men have their own proper place. When a person does not arrange his responsibilities correctly, does not give each its proper measure, - then their accomplishment will not bear good fruit; their fruit will be sins and errors, the more dangerous the more they appear to be outwardly pious.

At the time when the Lord was already preaching the Gospel, there was a marriage in Cana, a small city in Galilee, to which the Lord, His disciples and His Mother were invited. By His presence the Lord sanctified the marriage and the wedding feast. In the midst of the feast a shortage of wine was discovered. The Mother of God said to the Lord: They have no wine. The Lord replied to Her: Woman, what have I to do with Thee? Mine hour is not yet come. What a wondrous reply concerning the fruit of the vine, which has such a strong effect on people. This is the reply which Adam should have given to Eve, when she offered him to taste the fruit forbidden by God, the lethal tasting that infected the entire humanity with the poison of death. “Woman, what have I to do with thee? – such could have been Adam’s words; - you have been created to be my helpmate: do not be a hinderer. I have been joined with you through the ties of marriage into a single entity; but if you have disobeyed God, - I will separate myself from you, since I have been joined with you to serve God and not to go against Him.”

The second half of the Lord’s answer has a deep and mysterious meaning. The Mother of God shows concern for the wedding couple and their guests, who in the midst of the feast had no more wine, and wishes to correct this shortage by the divine power of Her Son; but God the Word, Who by his ineffable mercy has come down in the form of man to fallen mankind, which was perishing on earth from a shortage of spiritual food and drink; Who has brought down to mankind daily bread and new wine – His body and blood, His own self; Who was ready, in His love for mankind, to grant this sustenance immediately; hinting at the feast prepared by God, which is already quite imminent, He says: Mine hour is not yet come. Mine hour is not yet come! The hour of suffering for the salvation of mankind is not yet come; the hour of shedding life-giving blood, which is to heal mankind from the embrace of eternal death, is not yet come. The Lord thirsted for this hour as the hour of salvation for mankind, as the hour in which He would manifest the abundance of His love, as the hour for which He came down to earth. The Mother of God’s request did not contain anything prejudicial in itself, and so was granted: from this we can see that by the initial rejection of the New Testament Eve’s merciful entreaty, it was Adam’s acceptance of the offer of the Old Testament Eve that was being expiated. The meaning of the Lord’s words can be interpreted as follows: “You show concern for the mortal food of men, while I love them with indescribable divine love. Moved by such love, I am ready and willing to give them for food and drink My very body and My very blood; but this will take place in its own time, i.e. the hour determined by God’s incomprehensible counsel.”

The holy Evangelist Matthew tells us of how the Lord once taught the people in a certain house; the Mother of God, together with the sons of Joseph, who were called the Son of God’s brothers, came and were waiting for Him outside the house, wishing to talk to Him about something. This was reported to the Lord; but He said: Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Then, stretching His hand toward His disciples, He added: Behold My mother and My brothers; for whosoever shall do the will of My Father Who is in heaven, such a one is My brother, and sister, and mother.

Such divine behavior on the part of the Lord and His words concerning the Mother of God in no way lower Her dignity, but rather elevate it. The Ever-virgin is above all holy people, both for the reason that She became the Mother of God, and for the reason that She was the most constant, most attentive listener and executor of the teaching preached by the Son of God. Her first quality was magnified by the second, and thus the dignity of the Mother of God became the highest possible dignity. The Holy Gospel testifies concerning the Mother of God: Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in Her heart. This was said on the occasion of the shepherds’ story of how an Angel appeared to them in the night of Christ’s nativity and announced the birth of the Saviour to them. This means that the Mother of God followed very attentively all the events relating to the Son of God from His very birth, noticed them especially and imprinted them upon Her memory. Afterwards the Evangelist repeats his testimony: And His Mother kept all these sayings in Her heart. This already refers to the Lord’s words. She not only paid careful attention to all the events related to the Lord, but paid attention to His very words, placing them in Her heart, guarding them in Her heart like precious treasures in a chest.

How can the Word of God be heard more powerfully than when this Word of God is placed in the heart and guarded there? The holy prophet David said: I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy law is within my heart. What the greatest saints of God wished to do, - this the Mother of God, by the divine grace conferred upon Her, did in fact do. And how She did it! At first She was enveloped by the Holy Spirit, then She became the temple of God; spiritual joy from the presence of the Lord within Her enveloped Her entire being, as She confessed Herself. Spiritual joy usually overcomes people who have become worthy to feel the action of the Holy Spirit within them; even more so was the Mother of God filled with divine joy. After giving birth to the Son of God, She was intimately close to Him. On Her hands and in Her arms He spent His infancy; He was inseparable from Her not only in His youth, but also in His manhood, up to the very moment that He embarked upon His divine service, which lasted three and a half years. No one else was such a rapt listener to the Word of God and over the course of such a long time, as was the Mother of God; no one else followed with such deep and constant attention the words and actions of the Son of God, no one else preserved them so carefully and lovingly. We have seen the behavior of the Lord towards His Mother at the wedding in Cana of Galilee; let us turn our attention to the behavior of the Mother of God towards the Lord. Having received a stern reply to Her request, She understood it quite differently than it is understood by Her detractors. She did not see in this reply a rejection of Her plea, and therefore She turned to the servants at the feast and said to them: Whatever He (the Lord) saith unto you – do it. This command of the Mother of God was followed by the turning of water into wine by the Lord.