Women priests website

Epiphanius II

7th - 8th century AD

De Laudibus Virginis (=‘In Praise of the Virgin’

Note. The homily entitled ‘De laudibus Virginis’ by a certain Epiphanius was wrongly ascribed to St. Epiphanius of Salamis (in Cyprus) of the 4th cent. AD. The author could have been another Epiphanius who also was a bishop in Cyprus and who died in 680 AD. All we know for certain from manuscript evidence is that the text was written before the end of the 8th century.

The text has been published in the Patrologiae Cursus. Series Graeca (PG), Migne, Paris 1857-1866, vol. 43, cols. 492 - 497. Translation by John Wijngaards.

Mary is a priest
“ . . . . O Virgin, awesome treasure of the Church who holds the great mystery. I (?) call the Virgin both priest and altar, she, the ‘table-bearer’ who has given us the Christ, the heavenly bread for the forgiveness of sins.” PG 43, 497A	The Virgin is a ‘priest’ of the Eucharist. ‘Table-bearer’ refers to the eucharistic table. It was also a title of the ‘priestesses’ of Pallas Athene. (See C.B.Hale, Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, Paris 1854, col. 2363-2364.)
Mary has given us the Eucharist
“ . . . . You are, o Mary, the field that was not ploughed. You conceived the Word as a grain of wheat and germinated the shoot. You are the spiritual furrow that holds the fire and the bread of life, the holy Mother of the Saviour who gave birth to the Word of the Father, the Word who was made incarnate from you.” PG 43, 492D	According to the prevailing biological view, the mother is like a field into which the father sows the seed. In Mary’s case there was no human father [=unploughed]. She produced ‘bread’ [=Christ & the Eucharist].
“ . . . . The Virgin is the spiritual table of faith which provides the world with the fire and the bread of life.”PG 43, 496A	‘The fire’ alludes to baptism, the ‘bread of life’ to the Eucharist.
“ . . . . True vine, carrying fruits and not withered in your virginity, not pruned but producing grapes, you who made Christ grow as a mature grape. PG 43, 496A cont.	Again a clear allusion to Christ, given to us as wine in the Eucharist.
“ . . . . The Virgin is the spiritual furrow who has brought the world as spiritual nourishment the burning fire and burning bread of life of which Christ, the Saviour of the world, said: ‘Take and eat! This is my body broken for you and for the forgineness of sins’. The table of the Virgin is rich and full of goodness.” PG 43, 496A cont.	The Virgin has given the world the table of the Eucharist.

Overview of documents in this section

Tradition

Mary - why a priest?

Theologians and writers

Picture gallery

Mary and Holy Orders

Mary as sacrificial priest

Mary, the model of priests

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