The earliest known Marian prayer, like the Gospels themselves, is written in Greek. That is why, in it, the Virgin Mary is called Θεοτοκος, “theotokos,” the “Birth-Giver of God;” in sum, “the Mother of God.” That in such early prayer the Virgin Mary is already referred to with this title is remarkable, both from a historical and a theological standpoint.
This papyrus contains the oldest Marian prayer known to date
John Burger
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