A mother, mom, mum, momma or mama, is a woman who has raised a child (to whom she may or may not have given birth) in the role of parent. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition. The male equivalent is a father.

Biological mother

In the case of a mammal such as a human, a pregnant woman gestates a fertilized ovum. A fetus develops from the viable fertilized ovum or "embryo." Gestation occurs in the woman's uterus from conception until the fetus (assuming it is carried to term) is sufficiently developed to be born. The woman experiences labor and gives birth. Usually, once the baby is born, the mother produces milk via the lactation process. The mother's breast milk is the source of anti-bodies for the infant's immune system and commonly the sole source of nutrition for the first year or more of the child's life.

Non-biological mother

''Mother'' can often apply to a woman other than the biological parent, especially if she fulfills the main social role in raising the child. This is commonly either an adoptive mother or a stepmother (the biologically unrelated wife of a child's father). The term "othermother" or "other mother" is also used in some contexts for women who provide care for a child not biologically their own in addition to the child's primary mother.

Surrogate mother

A surrogate mother is, commonly, a woman who bears an embryo, that is from another woman's fertilized ovum, to term for a couple biologically unable to have children. Thus, she carries and gives birth to a child that is she not the biological mother of. Note that this is different from a woman who becomes pregnant via in vitro fertilization.

Currently, with advances in reproductive technologies, the function of biological motherhood can be split between the genetic mother (who provides the ovum) and the gestational (commonly known as a surrogate) mother (who carries the pregnancy).

Lesbian motherhood

The possibility for women in same-sex relationships to become mothers has increased over the past few decades thanks to new techniques and technology. Modern lesbian parenting originated with women who were in heterosexual relationships who later identified as lesbian as changing social conditions and attitudes provided more options and acceptance for those with homosexual orientations. Another way for lesbians to become mothers is through adopting and/or foster parenting. There is also the option of self-insemination and clinically assisted donor insemination, these are forms of artificial insemination. As fertility technology has advanced, more lesbians have become mothers through in vitro fertilization.

Social role

Mothers have historically fulfilled the primary role in raising children, but since the late 20th century, the role of the father in child care has been given greater prominence and social acceptance in some Western countries.

The social role and experience of motherhood varies greatly depending upon location. The organization Save the Children has ranked the countries of the world, and found that Scandinavian countries are the safest places to give birth, whereas countries in sub-Saharan Africa are the least safe to give birth. This study argues a mother in the bottom ten ranked countries is over 750 times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth, compared to a mother in the top ten ranked countries, and a mother in the bottom ten ranked countries is 28 times more likely to see her child die before reaching their first birthday.

Mothers are more likely than fathers to encourage assimilative and communion-enhancing patterns in their children. Mothers are more likely than fathers to acknowledge their children's contributions in conversation. The way mothers speak to their children is better suited to support very young children in their efforts to understand speech (in context of the reference English) than fathers.

Since the 1970s, in vitro fertilization has made pregnancy possible at ages well beyond "natural" limits, generating ethical controversy and forcing significant changes in the social meaning of motherhood. This is, however a position highly biased by Western world locality: outside the Western world, in-vitro fertilization has far less prominence, importance or currency compared to primary, basic healthcare, women's basic health, reducing infant mortality and the prevention of life-threatening diseases such as polio, typhus and malaria.

Also around the 1970s, Western attitudes towards the role of women and mothers in society began to change. Females were given more opportunities within the workforce and this resulted in more females becoming mothers for the first time at a later age. This trend peaked within the 1990s, but has since returned to a more traditional view point of fathers being the main breadwinner and mothers taking responsibility for the home and children.

US motherhood statistics

Assorted and non-inclusive statistics on motherhood from the US Census Bureau:

82.5 million women are mothers of all ages in the United States.

68% of women aged 15–44 are mothers in Mississippi, considered high in comparison to a national average for same age group of 56%.

82% of women aged 40–44 years old are mothers.

4.0 million women give birth annually, approximately 425,000 were teenage mothers (aged 15–19) and more than 100,000 were aged 40 or over.

25.1 years of age is the national average age of women for their first births, a record high an increase of 4 years since 1970.

40% of annual births are the mother's first. Another 32% are the second-born; 17%, third; and 11%, fourth or more.

35,000 births in 2002 were attended by physicians, midwives or others outside a hospital facility.

55% of mothers with infant children in 2002 were employed, down from the record 59% in 1998, the first significant decline since the Census Bureau began collating such data in 1976. In 1976, 31% of mothers with infants were employed.

63% of employed women with infant children are college-educated.

72% of employed women, between ages 15 and 44 are mothers without infants.

687,000 child day-care centers operated in the USA in 2002. Of these, 69,000 centers employed close to 750,000 workers and another 618,000 were self-employed persons or companies without paid employees. Many mothers use such centers to juggle the demands of motherhood and career.

Religious

Nearly all world religions define tasks or roles for mothers through either religious law or through the deification or glorification of mothers who served in substantial religious events. There are many examples of religious law relating to mothers and women.

Major world religions which have specific religious law or scriptural canon regarding mothers include: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Some examples of glorification or deification include the Madonna or ''Blessed Virgin Mother Mary'' for Catholics, the Hindu Mother Goddess, or Demeter of ancient Greek pre-Christian belief.

Synonyms and translations

The proverbial "first word" of an infant often sounds like "ma" or "mama." This strong association of that sound with "mother" has persisted in nearly every language on earth, countering the natural localization of language.

Familiar or colloquial terms for ''mother'' in English are: ''Mom'' and ''mommy'' are used in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Philippines, and the West Midlands of England.

''Mum'' and ''mummy'' are used in the UK, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.

''Ma'', ''mam'', and ''mammy'' are used in Netherlands, Ireland, the Northern areas of the United Kingdom, and Wales; it is also used in some areas of the United States.

''Maa'', ''aai'', ''amma'', and ''mata'' are used in India and sometimes in neighboring countries, originating from the Sanskrit ''matrika'' and ''mata''

In many other languages, similar pronunciations apply:

''mamá'', ''ma'', and ''mami'' in Spanish language

''mama'' in Polish, German, Russian and Slovak

''māma'' (妈妈/媽媽) in Chinese

''máma'' in Czech and in Ukrainian

''maman'' in French and Persian

''ma'', ''mama'' in Indonesian

''mamma'' in Italian, Icelandic and Swedish

''mamãe'' or ''mãe'' in Portuguese

''mā̃'' (ਮਾਂ) in Punjabi

''mama'' in Swahili

''em'' (אם) in Hebrew

''ima'' (אמא) in Aramaic

''má'' or ''mẹ'' in Vietnamese

''mam'' in Welsh

''eomma'' (엄마, ) in Korean

In many south Asian cultures and the Middle East, the mother is known as ''amma'', ''oma'', ''ammi'' or "ummi", or variations thereof. Many times, these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child's life.

Famous motherhood figures

Bachue

Bithiah

Demeter

Yashoda

Dewi Sri

Eve

Gaia

Isis

Jocasta

Juno

Kwan Yin

Mary

Parvati

Queen Maya

Sita

Venus

See also

References

Further reading

Category:Family Category:Human development Category:Mythological archetypes Category:Motherhood

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background	#013366
name	Mother Teresa
religion	Catholic
order	Sisters of Loreto (1928–1950)Missionaries of Charity (1950–1997)
title	Superior General
period	1950–1997
successor	Nirmala Joshi
birth name	Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu
birth date	August 26, 1910
birth place	Üsküb, Vilayet of Kosovo, Ottoman Empire (today's Skopje)
ethnicity	Albanian
nationality	Indian
ethnicity	Albanian
death date	September 05, 1997
death place	Calcutta, India 150pxSignature of Mother Teresa }}

Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 5 September 1997), born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (pronounced ), was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered in her own way to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

In the 1970s, she became well-known internationally for her controversial work considered humanitarian and apparent advocacy for the rights of the poor and helpless. Malcolm Muggeridge documented this favourably and wrote a book ''Something Beautiful for God'', Christopher Hitchens claims Muggeridge was “credulous” and even mistook an innovative photographic film for a divine miracle. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to grow during her life-time, and at the time of her death, they had 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counselling programs, orphanages, and schools. Governments, charity organisations and prominent individuals have been inspired by her work. She received numerous awards, including a number from the Indian Government, one of which was the Bharat Ratna (1980), as well as international awards, such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Mother Teresa has not been without her critics, however, including prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens who believes her reputation is misguided and due to people failing to examine what she actually did. Other critics are cultural critic Michael Parenti, Indian-English physician Aroup Chatterjee and the World Hindu Council (Vishva Hindu Parishad). They accuse her of proselytizing, failing to provide accounts which Hitchins could have audited and which would have allowed donors to investigate how their money was used, allowing her hospice to be primitive and run down despite obtaining vast sums of donated money which could be used to build, for example a new teaching hospital in Calcutta. Mother Teresa is further accused of strongly opposing contraception and abortion, believing in poverty's spiritual goodness and alleged "secret baptisms of the dying" though the baptism may not have valid according to Roman Catholic teachings.

In 2010 on the 100th anniversary of her birth, she was honoured around the world, and her work praised by Indian President Pratibha Patil though some people are unsure if she did more good or more harm.

Early life

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (''gonxha'' meaning "rosebud" or "little flower" in Albanian) was born on 26 August 1910, in Üsküb, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, capital of the Republic of Macedonia). Although she was born on 26 August, she considered 27 August, the day she was baptized, to be her "true birthday". She was the youngest of the children of a family from Shkodër, Albania, born to Nikollë and Drana Bojaxhiu. Her father, who was involved in Albanian politics, died in 1919 when she was eight years old. After her father's death, her mother raised her as a Roman Catholic. Her father, Nikollë Bojaxhiu (his name means 'painter') was of Kosovar Albanian origin possibly stemming from Prizren, Kosovo while her mother's origin was possibly from a village near Đakovica, Kosovo.

According to a biography by Joan Graff Clucas, in her early years Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service in Bengal, and by age 12 was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life. Her final resolution was taken on August 15, 1928, while praying at the shrine of the Black Madonna of Letnice, where she often went on pilgrimage.

She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She never again saw her mother or sister.

Agnes initially went to the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland to learn English, the language the Sisters of Loreto used to teach school children in India. She arrived in India in 1929, and began her novitiate in Darjeeling, near the Himalayan mountains, where she learnt Bengali and taught at the St. Teresa’s School, a schoolhouse close to her convent. She took her first religious vows as a nun on 24 May 1931. At that time she chose to be named after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries, but because one nun in the convent had already chosen that name, Agnes opted for the Spanish spelling ''Teresa''.

She took her solemn vows on 14 May 1937, while serving as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in Entally, eastern Calcutta. Teresa served there for almost twenty years and in 1944 was appointed headmistress.

Although Teresa enjoyed teaching at the school, she was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta. The Bengal famine of 1943 brought misery and death to the city; and the outbreak of Hindu/Muslim violence in August 1946 plunged the city into despair and horror.

Missionaries of Charity

On 10 September 1946, Teresa experienced what she later described as "the call within the call" while traveling by train to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling from Calcutta for her annual retreat. ''"I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith."''

She began her missionary work with the poor in 1948, replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple white cotton ''sari'' decorated with a blue border. Mother Teresa adopted Indian citizenship, spent a few months in Patna to receive a basic medical training in the ''Holy Family Hospital'' and then ventured out into the slums. Initially she started a school in Motijhil (Calcutta); soon she started tending to the needs of the destitute and starving. In the beginning of 1949 she was joined in her effort by a group of young women and laid the foundations to create a new religious community helping the ''"poorest among the poor"''.

Her efforts quickly caught the attention of Indian officials, including the prime minister, who expressed his appreciation.

Teresa wrote in her diary that her first year was fraught with difficulties. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She wrote in her diary:

Teresa received Vatican permission on 7 October 1950 to start the diocesan congregation that would become the Missionaries of Charity. Its mission was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.

In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the city of Calcutta. With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, a free hospice for the poor. She renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday). Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites. "A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels—loved and wanted."

Mother Teresa soon opened a home for those suffering from Hansen's disease, commonly known as leprosy, and called the hospice Shanti Nagar (City of Peace). The Missionaries of Charity also established several leprosy outreach clinics throughout Calcutta, providing medication, bandages and food.

As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a home for them. In 1955 she opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth.

The order soon began to attract both recruits and charitable donations, and by the 1960s had opened hospices, orphanages and leper houses all over India. Mother Teresa then expanded the order throughout the globe. Its first house outside India opened in Venezuela in 1965 with five sisters. Others followed in Rome, Tanzania, and Austria in 1968; during the 1970s the order opened houses and foundations in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.

The Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics were enrolled in the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. In answer to the requests of many priests, in 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests, and in 1984 founded with Fr. Joseph Langford the Missionaries of Charity Fathers to combine the vocational aims of the Missionaries of Charity with the resources of the ministerial priesthood. By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 nuns worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries.

Mother Teresa's philosophy and implementation have faced some criticism. Catholic newspaper editor David Scott wrote that Mother Teresa limited herself to keeping people alive rather than tackling poverty itself.

It is further alleged that she did not even consistently strive to keep people alive and let patients die of curable conditions claiming that they were going to God anyway.

She could have had Munchhausen's Syndrome by Proxy or whatever it is called – the thing where the person (nurse, etc) gives herself a role by making people die or nearly die, so she can then play the ministering angel. The only difference between this evil and that of Mother T is that she never had to take any murderous actions because there was a steady supply of dying people, it being Calcutta.

She has also been criticized for her view on suffering. She felt that suffering would bring people closer to Jesus. Sanal Edamaruku, President of Rationalist International , criticised the failure to give pain killers, writing that in her Homes for the Dying, one could ''“hear the screams of people having maggots tweezered from their open wounds without pain relief. On principle, strong painkillers are even in hard cases not given. According to Mother Teresa's bizarre philosophy, it is ‘the most beautiful gift for a person that he can participate in the sufferings of Christ’.”''

The quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Homes for the Dying has been criticised in the medical press. ''The Lancet'' and the ''British Medical Journal'' reported the reuse of hypodermic needles, poor living conditions, including the use of cold baths for all patients, and an approach to illness and suffering that precluded the use of many elements of modern medical care, such as systematic diagnosis. Dr. Robin Fox, editor of ''The Lancet'', described the medical care as "haphazard", as volunteers without medical knowledge had to take decisions about patient care, because of the lack of doctors. He observed that her order did not distinguish between curable and incurable patients, so that people who could otherwise survive would be at risk of dying from infections and lack of treatment.

Colette Livermore, a former Missionary of Charity, describes her reasons for leaving the order in her book ''Hope Endures: Leaving Mother Teresa, Losing Faith, and Searching for Meaning''. Livermore found what she called Mother Teresa's "theology of suffering" to be flawed, despite being a good and courageous person. Though Mother Teresa instructed her followers on the importance of spreading the Gospel through actions rather than theological lessons, Livermore could not reconcile this with some of the practices of the organization. Examples she gives include unnecessarily refusing to help the needy when they approached the nuns at the wrong time according to the prescribed schedule, discouraging nuns from seeking medical training to deal with the illnesses they encountered (with the justification that God empowers the weak and ignorant), and imposition of "unjust" punishments, such as being transferred away from friends. Livermore says that the Missionaries of Charity "infantilized" its nuns by prohibiting the reading of secular books and newspapers, and emphasizing obedience over independent thinking and problem-solving.

International charity

In 1982, at the height of the Siege of Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children trapped in a front line hospital by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas. Accompanied by Red Cross workers, she traveled through the war zone to the devastated hospital to evacuate the young patients.

When Eastern Europe experienced increased openness in the late 1980s, she expanded her efforts to Communist countries that had previously rejected the Missionaries of Charity, embarking on dozens of projects. She was undeterred by criticism about her firm stand against abortion and divorce stating, "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work." She visited the Soviet republic of Armenia following the 1988 Spitak earthquake, and met with Nikolai Ryzhkov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Mother Teresa traveled to assist and minister to the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her homeland and opened a Missionaries of Charity Brothers home in Tirana, Albania.

By 1996, she was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries. Over the years, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity grew from twelve to thousands serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world. The first Missionaries of Charity home in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York; by 1984 the order operated 19 establishments throughout the country.

The spending of the charity money received has been criticized by some. Christopher Hitchens and the German magazine ''Stern'' have said Mother Teresa did not focus donated money on alleviating poverty or improving the conditions of her hospices, but on opening new convents and increasing missionary work.

Additionally, the sources of some donations accepted have been criticized. Mother Teresa accepted donations from the autocratic and corrupt Duvalier family in Haiti and openly praised them. She also accepted 1.4 million dollars from Charles Keating, involved in the fraud and corruption scheme known as the Keating Five scandal and supported him before and after his arrest. The Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles, Paul Turley, wrote to Mother Teresa asking her to return the donated money to the people Keating had stolen from, one of whom was "a poor carpenter". The donated money was not accounted for, and Turley did not receive a reply.

Declining health and death

Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack in Rome in 1983, while visiting Pope John Paul II. After a second attack in 1989, she received an artificial pacemaker. In 1991, after a battle with pneumonia while in Mexico, she suffered further heart problems. She offered to resign her position as head of the Missionaries of Charity. But the nuns of the order, in a secret ballot, voted for her to stay. Mother Teresa agreed to continue her work as head of the order.

In April 1996, Mother Teresa fell and broke her collar bone. In August she suffered from malaria and failure of the left heart ventricle. She had heart surgery but it was clear that her health was declining. She was treated at a California hospital, too, and this has led to some criticism. The Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry Sebastian D'Souza, said he ordered a priest to perform an exorcism on Mother Teresa with her permission when she was first hospitalized with cardiac problems because he thought she may be under attack by the devil.

On 13 March 1997, she stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity. She died on 5 September 1997.

At the time of her death, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity had over 4,000 sisters, and an associated brotherhood of 300 members, operating 610 missions in 123 countries. These included hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, personal helpers, orphanages, and schools. The Missionaries of Charity were also aided by Co-Workers, who numbered over 1 million by the 1990s.

Mother Teresa lay in repose in St Thomas, Kolkata for one week prior to her funeral, in September 1997. She was granted a state funeral by the Indian Government in gratitude for her services to the poor of all religions in India.

Recognition and reception

In India

Mother Teresa had first been recognised by the Indian government more than a third of a century earlier when she was awarded the Padma Shri in 1962 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1969. She continued to receive major Indian rewards in successive decades including, in 1972, in 1980, India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.

Her official biography was authored by an Indian civil servant, Navin Chawla, and published in 1992.

Indian views on Mother Teresa were not uniformly favourable. Her critic Aroup Chatterjee, who was born and raised in Calcutta but lived in London, reports that "she was not a significant entity in Calcutta in her lifetime". Chatterjee blames Mother Teresa for promoting a negative image of his home city. Her presence and profile grated in parts of the Indian political world, as she often opposed the Hindu Right. The Bharatiya Janata Party clashed with her over the Christian Dalits, but praised her in death, sending a representative to her funeral. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on the other hand, opposed the Government's decision to grant her a state funeral. Its secretary Giriraj Kishore said that "her first duty was to the Church and social service was incidental" and accused her of favouring Christians and conducting "secret baptisms" of the dying, though the baptism may not have valid according to Roman Catholic teachings. But, in its front page tribute, the Indian fortnightly ''Frontline'' dismissed these charges as "patently false" and said that they had "made no impact on the public perception of her work, especially in Calcutta". Although praising her "selfless caring", energy and bravery, the author of the tribute was critical of Mother Teresa's public campaigning against abortion and that she claimed to be non-political when doing so. More recently, the Indian daily ''The Telegraph'' mentioned that "Rome has been asked to investigate if she did anything to alleviate the condition of the poor or just took care of the sick and dying and needed them to further a sentimentally moral cause." On 28 Aug 2010, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth, the Government of India issued a special 5 Rupee coin, being the sum she first arrived in India with. President Pratibha Patil said of Mother Teresa, "Clad in a white sari with a blue border, she and the sisters of Missionaries of Charity became a symbol of hope to many - the aged, the destitute, the unemployed, the diseased, the terminally ill, and those abandoned by their families."

In the rest of the world

In 1962, Mother Teresa received the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, given for work in South or East Asia. The citation said that "the Board of Trustees recognizes her merciful cognizance of the abject poor of a foreign land, in whose service she has led a new congregation". By the early 1970s, Mother Teresa had become an international celebrity. Her fame can be in large part attributed to the 1969 documentary ''Something Beautiful for God'', which was filmed by Malcolm Muggeridge and his 1971 book of the same title. Muggeridge was undergoing a spiritual journey of his own at the time. During the filming of the documentary, footage taken in poor lighting conditions, particularly the Home for the Dying, was thought unlikely to be of usable quality by the crew. After returning from India, however, the footage was found to be extremely well lit. Muggeridge claimed this was a miracle of "divine light" from Mother Teresa herself. Others in the crew thought it was due to a new type of ultra-sensitive Kodak film. Muggeridge later converted to Catholicism.

Around this time, the Catholic world began to honor Mother Teresa publicly. In 1971, Paul VI awarded her the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize, commending her for her work with the poor, display of Christian charity and efforts for peace. She later received the Pacem in Terris Award (1976). Since her death, Mother Teresa has progressed rapidly along the steps towards sainthood, currently having reached the stage of having been beatified.

Mother Teresa was honoured by both governments and civilian organizations. She was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia in 1982, "for service to the community of Australia and humanity at large". The United Kingdom and the United States each repeatedly granted awards, culminating in the Order of Merit in 1983, and honorary citizenship of the United States received on 16 November 1996. Mother Teresa's Albanian homeland granted her the Golden Honour of the Nation in 1994. Her acceptance of this and another honour granted by the Haitian government proved controversial. Mother Teresa attracted criticism from a number of people for implicitly giving support to the Duvaliers and to corrupt businessmen such as Charles Keating and Robert Maxwell. In Keating's case she wrote to the judge of his trial asking for clemency to be shown.

Universities in both the West and in India granted her honorary degrees. Other civilian awards include the Balzan Prize for promoting humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples (1978), and the Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975).

In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace." She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in India, stating that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world's needy. When Mother Teresa received the prize, she was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace?" She answered "Go home and love your family." Building on this theme in her Nobel Lecture, she said: "Around the world, not only in the poor countries, but I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from society—that poverty is so hurtable [sic] and so much, and I find that very difficult." She also singled out abortion as 'the greatest destroyer of peace in the world'.

Towards the end of her life, Mother Teresa attracted some negative attention in the Western media. The journalist Christopher Hitchens has been one of her most active critics. He was commissioned to co-write and narrate the documentary ''Hell's Angel'' about her for the British Channel 4 after Aroup Chatterjee encouraged the making of such a program, although Chatterjee was unhappy with the "sensationalist approach" of the final product. Hitchens expanded his criticism in a 1995 book, ''The Missionary Position''.

Chatterjee writes that while she was alive Mother Teresa and her official biographers refused to collaborate with his own investigations and that she failed to defend herself against critical coverage in the Western press. He gives as examples a report in ''The Guardian'' in Britain whose "stringent (and quite detailed) attack on conditions in her orphanages ... [include] charges of gross neglect and physical and emotional abuse", and another documentary ''Mother Teresa: Time for Change?'' broadcast in several European countries.

The German magazine ''Stern'' published a critical article on the first anniversary of Mother Teresa's death. This concerned allegations regarding financial matters and the spending of donations. The medical press has also published criticism of her, arising from very different outlooks and priorities on patients' needs. Other critics include prominent marxist, Tariq Ali, a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'', and the Irish investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre.

Her death was mourned in both secular and religious communities. In tribute, Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said that she was "a rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her life-long devotion to the care of the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to our humanity." The former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar said: "She is the United Nations. She is peace in the world." During her lifetime, Mother Teresa was named 18 times in the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll‎ as one of the ten women around the world that Americans admired most, finishing first several times in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1999, a poll of Americans ranked her first in Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century. In that survey, she out-polled all other volunteered answers by a wide margin, and was in first place in all major demographic categories except the very young.

Spiritual life

Analyzing her deeds and achievements, John Paul II asked: "Where did Mother Teresa find the strength and perseverance to place herself completely at the service of others? She found it in prayer and in the silent contemplation of Jesus Christ, his Holy Face, his Sacred Heart." Privately, Mother Teresa experienced doubts and struggles over her religious beliefs which lasted nearly fifty years until the end of her life, during which "she felt no presence of God whatsoever", "neither in her heart or in the eucharist" as put by her postulator Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk. Mother Teresa expressed grave doubts about God's existence and pain over her lack of faith: }}

With reference to the above words, the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, her postulator (the official responsible for gathering the evidence for her sanctification) indicated there was a risk that some might misinterpret her meaning, but her faith that God was working through her remained undiminished, and that while she pined for the lost sentiment of closeness with God, she did not question his existence. Many other saints had similar experiences of spiritual dryness, or what Catholics believe to be spiritual tests ("passive purifications"), such as Mother Teresa's namesake, St. Therese of Lisieux, who called it a "night of nothingness." Contrary to the mistaken belief by some that the doubts she expressed would be an impediment to canonization, just the opposite is true; it is very consistent with the experience of canonized mystics.

Mother Teresa described, after ten years of doubt, a short period of renewed faith. At the time of the death of Pope Pius XII in the fall of 1958, praying for him at a requiem mass, she said she had been relieved of "the long darkness: that strange suffering." However, five weeks later, she described returning to her difficulties in believing.

Mother Teresa wrote many letters to her confessors and superiors over a 66-year period. She had asked that her letters be destroyed, concerned that "people will think more of me—less of Jesus." However, despite this request, the correspondences have been compiled in ''Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light'' (Doubleday). In one publicly released letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, she wrote, "Jesus has a very special love for you. [But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see,—Listen and do not hear—the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me—that I let Him have [a] free hand."

Many news outlets have referred to Mother Teresa's writings as an indication of a "crisis of faith." Some critics of Mother Teresa, such as Christopher Hitchens, view her writings as evidence that her public image was created primarily for publicity despite her personal beliefs and actions. Hitchens writes, "So, which is the more striking: that the faithful should bravely confront the fact that one of their heroines all but lost her own faith, or that the Church should have gone on deploying, as an icon of favorable publicity, a confused old lady who it knew had for all practical purposes ceased to believe?" However, others such as Brian Kolodiejchuk, ''Come Be My Light's'' editor, draw comparisons to the 16th century mystic St. John of the Cross, who coined the term the "dark night of the soul" to describe a particular stage in the growth of some spiritual masters. The Vatican has indicated that the letters would not affect her path to sainthood. In fact, the book is edited by the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, her postulator.

In his first encyclical ''Deus Caritas Est'', Benedict XVI mentioned Teresa of Calcutta three times and he also used her life to clarify one of his main points of the encyclical. "In the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbour but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service." Mother Teresa specified that "It is only by mental prayer and spiritual reading that we can cultivate the gift of prayer."

Although there was no direct connection between Mother Teresa's order and the Franciscan orders, she was known as a great admirer of St. Francis of Assisi. Accordingly, her influence and life show influences of Franciscan spirituality. The Sisters of Charity recite the peace prayer of St. Francis every morning during thanksgiving after Communion and many of the vows and emphasis of her ministry are similar. St. Francis emphasized poverty, chastity, obedience and submission to Christ. He also devoted much of his own life to service of the poor, especially lepers in the area where he lived.

Miracle and beatification

Name	Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
Feast day	5 September
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism
Beatified date	19 October 2003
Beatified place	St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
Beatified by	Pope John Paul II
Patronage	World Youth Day
Major shrine	Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta, India
Issues	}}

After Mother Teresa's death in 1997, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the third step toward possible canonization. This process requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa.

In 2002, the Vatican recognized as a miracle the healing of a tumor in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, after the application of a locket containing Mother Teresa's picture. Besra said that a beam of light emanated from the picture, curing the cancerous tumor. Critics—including some of Besra's medical staff and, initially, Besra's husband—insisted that conventional medical treatment had eradicated the tumor. Dr. Ranjan Mustafi, who told ''The New York Times'' he had treated Besra, said that the cyst was not cancer at all but a cyst caused by tuberculosis. He insisted, "It was not a miracle.... She took medicines for nine months to one year." According to Besra’s husband, “My wife was cured by the doctors and not by any miracle.”

An opposing perspective of the claim is that Besra's medical records contain sonograms, prescriptions, and physicians' notes that could prove whether the cure was a miracle or not. Besra has claimed that Sister Betta of the Missionaries of Charity is holding them. The publication has received a "no comments" statement from Sister Betta. The officials at the Balurghat Hospital where Besra was seeking medical treatment have claimed that they are being pressured by the Catholic order to declare the cure a miracle.

Christopher Hitchens was the only witness called by the Vatican to give evidence against Mother Teresa's beatification and canonization process, because the Vatican had abolished the traditional "devil's advocate" role, which fulfilled a similar purpose. Hitchens has argued that "her intention was not to help people," and he alleged that she lied to donors about the use of their contributions. “It was by talking to her that I discovered, and she assured me, that she wasn't working to alleviate poverty,” says Hitchens. “She was working to expand the number of Catholics. She said, ‘I'm not a social worker. I don't do it for this reason. I do it for Christ. I do it for the church.’”

In the process of examining Teresa's suitability for beatification and canonization, the Roman Curia (the Vatican) pored over a great deal of documentation of published and unpublished criticism of her life and work. Vatican officials say Hitchens's allegations have been investigated by the agency charged with such matters, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and they found no obstacle to Mother Teresa's beatification. Because of the attacks she has received, some Catholic writers have called her a sign of contradiction. The beatification of Mother Teresa took place on 19 October 2003, thereby bestowing on her the title "Blessed."

A second miracle is required for her to proceed to canonization.

Legacy and depictions in popular culture

Commemoration

Mother Teresa inspired a variety of commemorations. She has been memorialized through museums, been named patroness of various churches, and had various structures and roads named after her, including Albania's international airport. In 2009 the Mother Teresa Memorial House was opened in her hometown Skopje, in the Republic of Macedonia.

Mother Teresa Women`s University, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu has been established in 1984 as a public university by Government of Tamil Nadu, India.

Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, Puducherry has been established in 1999 by Government of Puducherry, India.

Various tributes have been published in Indian newspapers and magazines authored by her biographer, Navin Chawla.

Indian Railways will introduce a new train, "Mother Express", named after Mother Teresa, on 26 August 2010 to mark her birth centenary.

Tamil Nadu State government organised centenary celebrations of Mother Teresa on 4 December 2010 in Chennai, headed by Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Film and literature

Mother Teresa is the subject of the 1969 documentary film and 1972 book ''Something Beautiful for God'', a 1997 Art Film Festival award winning film starring Geraldine Chaplin called ''Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor'', a 2003 Italian miniseries titled ''Mother Teresa of Calcutta'', (which was re-released in 2007 and received a CAMIE award,) and was portrayed by Megan Fox in a satirical film-within-a-film in the 2007 movie ''How to Lose Friends and Alienate People''.

See also

Christopher Hitchens' critiques of public figures#Mother Teresa

Commemorations of Mother Teresa

List of female Nobel laureates

Memorial House of Mother Teresa

Missionaries of Charity

Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (film)

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

Further reading

Alpion, Gezim. ''Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity?''. London: Routledge Press, 2007. ISBN 0-415-39247-0

Benenate, Becky and Joseph Durepos (eds). ''Mother Teresa: No Greater Love'' (Fine Communications, 2000) ISBN 1-56731-401-5

Chatterjee, Aroup. ''Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict'' (Meteor Books, 2003). ISBN 81-88248-00-2, introduction and first three chapters of fourteen (without pictures). Critical examination of Agnes Bojaxhiu's life and work.

Chawla, Navin. ''Mother Teresa''. Rockport, Mass: Element Books, 1996. ISBN 1-85230-911-3

Chawla, Navin. ''Mother Teresa: The Authorized Biography'', Diane Pub Co. (March 1992), ISBN 978-0756755485.

Chawla, Navin. ''The miracle of faith'', article in the Hindu dated 25 August 2007 " The miracle of faith''"

Chawla, Navin. ''Memories of Mother Teresa'', article in the Hindu dated 26 August 2006 " Memories of Mother Teresa''"

Chawla, Navin. Touch the Poor... – article in India Today dated 15 September 1997 " Touch the Poor...''"

Chawla, Navin. ''The path to Sainthood'', article in The Hindu dated Saturday, 4 October 2003 " The path to Sainthood ''"

Chawla, Navin. ''In the shadow of a saint'', article in ''The Indian Express'' dated September, 05, 2007 " In the shadow of a saint ''"

Chawla, Navin. ''Mission Possible'', article in ''India Today'' dated 21 April 2008 "Mission Possible''"

Chawla, Navin. ''Mother Teresa and the joy of giving'', article in ''The Hindu'' dated 26 August 2008 Mother Teresa and the joy of giving''"

Clucas, Joan. ''Mother Teresa''. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. ISBN 1-55546-855-1

Dwivedi, Brijal. ''Mother Teresa: Woman of the Century''

Greene, Meg. ''Mother Teresa: A Biography'', Greenwood Press, 2004. ISBN 0-313-32771-8

Hitchens, Christopher. ''The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice''. London: Verso, 1996. ISBN 1-85984-054-X

Le Joly, Edward. ''Mother Teresa of Calcutta''. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983. ISBN 0-06-065217-9.

Muggeridge, Malcolm. ''Something Beautiful for God.'' ISBN 0-06-066043-0.

Muntaykkal, T.T. ''Blessed Mother Teresa: Her Journey to Your Heart''. ISBN 1-903650-61-5. ISBN 0-7648-1110-X. .

Scott, David. ''A Revolution of Love: The Meaning of Mother Teresa''. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2005. ISBN 0829420312.

Sebba, Anne. ''Mother Teresa: Beyond the Image''. New York: Doubleday, 1997. ISBN 0-385-48952-8.

Slavicek, Louise. ''Mother Teresa''. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0791094332.

Spink, Kathryn. ''Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography''. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. ISBN 0062508253

Teresa, Mother et al., ''Mother Teresa: In My Own Words''. Gramercy Books, 1997. ISBN 0-517-20169-0.

Teresa, Mother & Kolodiejchuk, Brian, ''Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light'', New York: Doubleday, 2007. ISBN 0385520379.

Williams, Paul. '' Mother Teresa''. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864278-3.

Wüllenweber, Walter. "Nehmen ist seliger denn geben. Mutter Teresa—wo sind ihre Millionen?" ''Stern'' (illustrated German weekly), 10 September 1998. English translation.

Navin Chawla. ''Mother Teresa: The Authorized Biography''. Diane Pub Co. (March 1992). ISBN 978-0756755485. First published by Sinclair-Stevenson, U.K. (1992), since translated into 14 languages in India and abroad. Indian language editions include Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. The foreign language editions include French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Japanese, and Thai. In both Indian and foreign languages, there have been multiple editions. The bulk of royalty income goes to charity.

Eileen Egan and Kathleen Egan, OSB. ''Prayertimes with Mother Teresa: A New Adventure in Prayer'', Doubleday, 1989. ISBN 978-0385-26231-6.

Brian Kolodiejchuk (ed.). ''Mother Teresa: Come be My Light'', Doubleday, 2007, ISBN 978-0385-52037-9.

Raghu Rai and Navin Chawla. ''Faith and Compassion: The Life and Work of Mother Teresa''. Element Books Ltd. (December 1996). ISBN 978-1852309121. Translated also into Dutch and Spanish.

Vimla Mehta & Veerendra Raj Mehta, ‘’Mother Teresa Inspiring Incidents’’, Publications division, Ministry of I&B, Govt. of India, 2004, ISBN 81-230-1167-9.

External links

Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center, India – Official Site

Missionaries of Charity Brothers (Active Branch)

Mother Teresa and her patron saint, St. Therese of Lisieux

Mother Teresa Memorial Page

Mother Teresa Women`s University, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India – Official site

Nobel Laureate Biography (Nobel Foundation)

Complete Mother Teresa Quotations

Mother Teresa: Angel of Mercy (CNN)

The TIME 100: The Most Important People of the Century – Mother Teresa

Missionaries of Charity Fathers (MC Fathers / MC Priests) – Official Website: Biography of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith (TIME.com)

Speech at National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C. 3 February 1994

Peggy Noonan, "Still, Small Voice," ''Crisis'', 1 February 1998 (account of the National Prayer Breakfast speech)

Missionaries of Charity Active and Contemplative Sisters with U.S. contact information (CMSWR member page)

India to give Mother Teresa state funeral, ''CNN''

"Mother Teresa of Calcutta" Website of Sally Warner

"Mother Teresa, John Paul II, and the Fast-Track Saints" by Michael Parenti, CommonDreams.org, 22 October 2007

Biography: Mother Teresa

Criticism

"The Illusory vs The Real Mother Teresa", by Michael Hakeem, is a review of Christopher Hitchens' ''The Missionary Position''. Published in ''Freethought Today'', August 1996.

Christopher Hitchens' articles:

* "Saint to the rich" in Salon.com, September 1997

* "Mommie Dearest" in ''Slate'', 20 October 2003

"The squalid truth behind the legacy of Mother Teresa" by Donal MacIntyre in the ''New Statesman'', 22 August 2005

"Mother Teresa: Where are her millions?", ''Stern'' 10 September 1998.

"Mother Teresa's House of Illusions" by Susan Shields

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af:Moeder Teresa ar:الأم تريزا roa-rup:Dada Thereza gn:Teresa de Calcuta az:Tereza Ana bn:মাদার টেরিজা zh-min-nan:Teresa Siu-lú be:Маці Тэрэза be-x-old:Маці Тэрэза bs:Majka Tereza bg:Майка Тереза ca:Teresa de Calcuta cs:Matka Tereza cbk-zam:Madre Teresa cy:Y Fam Teresa da:Moder Teresa de:Mutter Teresa et:Ema Teresa el:Μητέρα Τερέζα es:Teresa de Calcuta eo:Patrino Teresa eu:Teresa Kalkutakoa fa:مادر ترزا hif:Mother Teresa fo:Móður Teresa fr:Mère Teresa fy:Mem Teresa ga:Máthair Treasa gl:Teresa de Calcuta gan:德蘭修女 gu:મધર ટેરેસા ko:테레사 수녀 hy:Մայր Թերեզա hi:मदर टेरेसा hr:Majka Terezija id:Bunda Teresa is:Móðir Teresa it:Madre Teresa di Calcutta he:האם תרזה kn:ಮದರ್ ತೆರೇಸಾ ka:დედა ტერეზა sw:Mama Teresa ku:Mader Teresa la:Teresia de Calcutta lv:Māte Terēze lb:Mutter Teresa lt:Motina Teresė lmo:Mader Teresa hu:Kalkuttai Boldog Teréz mk:Мајка Тереза ml:മദര് തെരേസ mr:मदर तेरेसा arz:الام تيريزا ms:Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu mwl:Madre Teresa de Calcutá mn:Тереза эх nl:Moeder Teresa ne:मदर टेरेसा ja:マザー・テレサ no:Moder Teresa nn:Mor Teresa pnb:مدر ٹریزا km:អ្នកម្តាយ តេរេសា (Mother Teresa) pl:Matka Teresa z Kalkuty pt:Madre Teresa de Calcutá ro:Maica Tereza qu:Mama Tirisa Kolkatamanta ru:Мать Тереза se:Eadni Teresa sa:मदर टेरेसा sq:Nënë Tereza simple:Mother Teresa sk:Matka Tereza sl:Mati Tereza sr:Мајка Тереза sh:Majka Tereza fi:Äiti Teresa sv:Moder Teresa tl:Inang Teresa ta:அன்னை தெரேசா tt:Тереза Ана te:మదర్ థెరీసా th:แม่ชีเทเรซา tr:Rahibe Teresa uk:Мати Тереза ur:مدر ٹریسا ug:تېرېسا ئانا vec:Madre Teresa de Calcuta vi:Mẹ Teresa war:Iroy Teresa yo:Màmá Tèrésà zh-yue:德蘭修女 bat-smg:Muotėna Teresė zh:加爾各答的德肋撒

Susan Powell is an American actress, singer, and television personality. A native Oklahoman, Powell began her career as a successful beauty pageant contestant, winning the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1980 and proceeded to the Miss America crown for the year 1981. A coloratura soprano, she has performed in musical theater and on opera stages around the world. In 1993, Powell embarked on a new television career, becoming the co-host of Discovery Channel's ''Home Matters'' home and garden program in 1993.

Early life

Susan Powell was born and raised in Elk City, Oklahoma, an 8,000 resident town driven by farming, ranching and oil production. Early on, Powell discovered a talent for singing and with the encouragement of her family, pursued it. As a child she sang in local venues, at church functions, and solo singing competitions.

She attended Oklahoma City University, where she studied vocal music under Florence Birdwell and performed in summer stock at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.

After first being crowned Miss Oklahoma, Powell won the 1981 national competition, being named Miss America in September 1980.

After her one-year reign, Powell embarked on a singing career, debuting with Seattle Opera in the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus. Calling her performance the "major surprise of the evening" a reviewer from Opera Canada praised "her sparkling stage personality" and pronounced her technique as "fully up to Adele's coloratura requirements." Powell's opera career took her to the New York City Opera to the New Japan Philharmonic. She has sung as a soloist for John Williams and the Boston Pops.

In 1993, Powell introduced the television series ''Home Matters'' on the ''Discovery Channel'', which she hosted for nine seasons. Powell continues to tour and lecture, continuing to assist in local preliminary Miss America contests, and being one of the judges for the Miss America pageant in 2007. In 2002, Powell was recognized by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame as an Ambassador of Good Will from the state for the second time, the first such recognition occurring in 1981.

Powell performed on the television program ''Don't Forget the Lyrics'' in the episode of December 12, 2008, appearing along with Heather French Henry (Miss America 2000) and Kirsten Haglund (Miss America 2008).

References

Official biography at Miss America website

External links

http://books.google.com/books?id=CmSENqFbn5EC&pg=PA72

http://books.google.com/books?id=07cqAQAAIAAJ&q="Susan+Powell"+"Miss+America"

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Oklahoma City University alumni Category:People from Beckham County, Oklahoma Category:Miss America winners Category:Miss America Preliminary Talent winners

it:Susan Powell

Theotokos (, transliterated Theotókos) is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include ''God-bearer'' and ''the one who gives birth to God''. Less literal translations include Mother of God. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and some Protestants use the title Mother of God more often than Theotokos. The Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is Theotokos because her son Jesus is one person who is both God and man, divine and human.

Etymology and translation

Theotokos is a compound of two Greek words, Θεός ''God'' and τόκος ''parturition, childbirth''. Literally, this translates as ''God-bearer'' or ''the one who gives birth to God''; historian Jaroslav Pelikan translated it more precisely as "the one who gives birth to the one who is God". However, since many English-speaking Orthodox find this literal translation awkward, in liturgical use, ''Theotokos'' is often left untranslated, or paraphrased as ''Mother of God''. The latter title is the literal translation of a distinct title in Greek, Μήτηρ του Θεού (translit. ''Mētēr tou Theou''). ''Mother of God'' also accurately translates the Greek words Θεομήτωρ (translit. ''Theomētor''; also spelled Θεομήτηρ, translit. ''Theomētēr'') and Μητρόθεος (translit. ''Mētrotheos''), which are found in patristic and liturgical texts, e.g.

Λαβομένη η Θεοτόκος των εκ του αχράντου και παναμώμου αυτής θυσιαστηρίου σαρκωθέντα ζωοποιόν και ανέκφραστον άνθρακα ως λαβίδι ... επί τούτοις παρουσιασάμενος ο δίκαιος και τη προτροπή είξας της διακονησαμένης Θεώ προς ανθρώπους Θεομήτορος ... περιφανώς ιερά θεομήτωρ εξετέλει.

In many traditions, ''Theotokos'' was translated from the Greek into the local liturgical language:

! Language	! Translation(s)	! Transliteration
	والدة الاله	''Wālidat Alelah''
	Աստուածածին	''Astvadzatzin''
Bulgarian, Church Slavonic, Macedonian, Russian	Богородица	''Bogoroditsa''
		''Ti.Theotokós''
	ღვთისმშობელი	''Ghvtismshobeli''
Latin	''Deipara'' ''Dei genetrix'' ''Mater Dei''
	''Născătoare de Dumnezeu'' ''Maica Domnului''
	Богородица / Bogorodica Мајка Божија / Majka Božija	''Bogoroditza'' ''Mayka Bozhia''
	ܝܳܠܕܰܬ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ	''Yoldath Aloho''
	Богородиця Мати Божа	''Bohorodytsia'' ''Maty Bozha''
	Bogurodzica Matka Boska	''Bogurodsitsa'' ''Matka Boska''
	Bohorodička Matka Božia	''Bohorodichka'' ''Matka Bozhia''

Translation of the phrase ''mother of God''

Mother of God

The English term ''Mother of God'' is mostly used as an imprecise translation of ''Theotokos'', and frequently requires explanation. The other principal use of ''Mother of God'' has been as the precise and literal translation of Μήτηρ Θεού, a Greek term which has an established usage of its own in traditional Christian theological writing, hymnography, and iconography. In an abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ it often is found on Eastern icons (see illustration above), where it is used to identify Mary.

A hymn normally sung as part of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom includes both titles in close proximity, in both cases referring to Mary, showing that the titles are not synonymous: "It is truly fitting to call you blessed, the ''Theotokos,'' ever-blessed and wholly pure and the ''Mother of our God'' (...", emphasis added.) The difference between the two terms is that the former, ''Theotokos'' explicitly refers to physical childbearing, while the latter, ''Mother of God'', describes a family relationship but not necessarily physical childbearing.

Within the Christian tradition, ''Mother of God'' has not been understood, nor been intended to be understood, as referring to Mary as Mother of God ''from eternity'' — that is, as Mother of God the Father — but only with reference to the birth of Jesus, that is, the Incarnation. This limitation in the meaning of ''Mother of God'' must be understood by the person employing the term. To make it explicit, it is sometimes translated ''Mother of God Incarnate''.

However, those reading or hearing the English phrase ''Mother of God'' as a translation of a Greek text cannot — unless they know the Greek text in question, or obtain additional information — know whether the phrase is a literal translation of Μήτηρ Θεού or an imprecise rendering of Θεοτόκος or one its Latin equivalents or equivalents in other languages.

Theology

Theotokos specifically excludes the understanding of Mary as Mother of God in the eternal sense. Christians believe that God is the cause of all, with neither origin nor source, and is therefore without a mother or father, or any relation except for what is homoousian to Him: only the persons of the Holy Trinity. He is ontologically separate from all other beings, as Creator to creation. This stands in contrast to classical Greco-Roman religion in particular, where a number of goddesses appear as the physical mothers of other divinities which were considered gods in their own right (cf. polytheism).

On the other hand, most Christians believe God the Son is begotten of God the Father "from all eternity" (see Trinity and Nicene Creed), but is born "in time" of Mary. ''Theotokos'' thus refers to the Incarnation, when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took on human nature in addition to his pre-existing divine nature, this being made possible through the cooperation of Mary.

Since mainstream Christians understand Jesus Christ as both fully God and fully human, they call Mary ''Theotokos'' to affirm the fullness of God's incarnation. The Council of Ephesus decreed, in opposition to those who denied Mary the title ''Theotokos'' ("the one who gives birth to God") but called her ''Christotokos'' ("the one who gives birth to Christ"), that Mary ''is'' ''Theotokos'' because her son Jesus is one person who is both God and man, divine and human. (Some Protestants still insist that Mary cannot be truly ''Theotokos'', but only ''Christotokos''.) Cyril of Alexandria wrote, "I am amazed that there are some who are entirely in doubt as to whether the holy Virgin should be called ''Theotokos'' or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the holy Virgin who gave [Him] birth, not [''Theotokos'']?" (Epistle 1, to the monks of Egypt; PG 77:13B). Thus the significance of ''Theotokos'' lies more in what it says about Jesus than any declaration about Mary.

Within the Orthodox doctrinal teaching on the economy of salvation, Mary's identity, role, and status as ''Theotokos'' is acknowledged as indispensable, and is for this reason formally defined as official dogma. The only other Mariological teaching so defined is that of her virginity. Both of these teachings have a bearing on the identity of Jesus Christ. By contrast, certain other Marian beliefs which do not bear directly on the doctrine concerning the person of Jesus (for example, her sinlessness, the circumstances surrounding her conception and birth, her Presentation in the Temple, her continuing virginity following the birth of Jesus, and her death), which are taught and believed by the Orthodox Church (being expressed in the Church's liturgy and patristic writings), are nonetheless not formally defined by the Church, and belief in them is not a precondition for baptism.

Use of Theotokos in the early Christian Church

Many Fathers of the early Christian Church used the title ''Theotokos'' for Mary since at least the third century AD.

Origen (d. 254) is often cited as the earliest author to use ''Theotokos'' for Mary (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 7.32 citing Origen's Commentary on Romans) but the text upon which this assertion is based may not be genuine.

Dionysius of Alexandria used ''Theotokos'' in about 250, in an epistle to Paul of Samosata.

Athanasius of Alexandria in 330, Gregory the Theologian in 370, John Chrysostom in 400, and Augustine all used ''Theotokos''.

Theodoret wrote in 436 that calling the Virgin Mary ''Theotokos'' is an apostolic tradition.

Third Ecumenical Council

The use of ''Theotokos'' was formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. The competing view, advocated by Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, was that Mary should be called ''Christotokos'', meaning "Birth-giver of Christ," to restrict her role to the mother of Christ's humanity only and not his divine nature.

Nestorius' opponents, led by Cyril of Alexandria, viewed this as dividing Jesus into two distinct persons, the human who was Son of Mary, and the divine who was not. To them, this was unacceptable since by destroying the perfect union of the divine and human natures in Christ, it sabotaged the fullness of the Incarnation and, by extension, the salvation of humanity. The council accepted Cyril's reasoning, affirmed the title ''Theotokos'' for Mary, and anathematised Nestorius' view as heresy. (See Nestorianism)

In letters to Nestorius which were afterwards included among the council documents, Cyril explained his doctrine. He noted that "the holy fathers... have ventured to call the holy Virgin ''[T]heotokos'', not as though the nature of the [W]ord or his divinity received the beginning of their existence from the holy Virgin, but because from her was born his holy body, rationally endowed with a soul, with which [body] the [W]ord was united according to the hypostasis, and is said to have been begotten according to the flesh" (Cyril's second letter to Nestorius).

Explaining his rejection of Nestorius' preferred title for Mary (''Christotokos''), Cyril wrote: "Confessing the Word to be united with the flesh according to the hypostasis, we worship one Son and Lord, Jesus Christ. We do not divide him into parts and separate man and God as though they were united with each other [only] through a unity of dignity and authority... nor do we name separately Christ the Word from God, and in similar fashion, separately, another Christ from the woman, but we know only one Christ, the Word from God the Father with his own flesh... But we do not say that the Word from God dwelt as in an ordinary human born of the holy virgin... we understand that, when he became flesh, not in the same way as he is said to dwell among the saints do we distinguish the manner of the indwelling; but he was united by nature and not turned into flesh... There is, then, one Christ and Son and Lord, not with the sort of conjunction that a human being might have with God as in a unity of dignity or authority; for equality of honor does not unite natures. For Peter and John were equal to each other in honor, both of them being apostles and holy disciples, but the two were not one. Nor do we understand the manner of conjunction to be one of juxtaposition, for this is insufficient in regard to natural union.... Rather we reject the term 'conjunction' as being inadequate to express the union... [T]he holy virgin gave birth in the flesh to God united with the flesh according to hypostasis, for that reason we call her ''Theotokos''... If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is, in truth, God, and therefore that the holy virgin is ''Theotokos'' (for she bore in a fleshly manner the Word from God become flesh), let him be anathema." (Cyril's third letter to Nestorius)

Hymns

''Theotokos'' in often used in hymns to Mary in the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches. The most common is ''Axion Estin'' (''It is truly meet''), which is used in nearly every service.

Other examples include ''Beneath thy compassion'' dating from the third century, the ''Hail Mary'' in its Eastern form, and ''All creation rejoices'', which replaces ''Axion Estin'' at the Divine Liturgy on the Sundays of Great Lent.

Solemnity

In the Roman Catholic Church, the solemnity of Mary as Mother of God (Theotokos) is celebrated on 1 January, on the same day as the Octave of Christmas. Her maternity was celebrated on 11 October in pre-1970 versions of the General Roman Calendar, which some traditional Catholics still observe.

This solemnity comes from around 500 AD and was originally celebrated in the Eastern Churches.

Icons

See also

Eleusa icon

Hymns to Mary

List of Theotokos of St. Theodore icons

Notes

References

Cyril of Alexandria, ''On the Unity of Christ'', John Anthony McGuckin, trans. ISBN 0-88141-133-7

McGuckin, John Anthony, ''St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy'' (1994, and reprinted 2004) ISBN 0-88141-259-7 A full description of the events of Third Ecumenical Council and the people and issues involved.

Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco,""The Orthodox Veneration of Mary, The Birth Giver of God"(2004, Sixth Printing, Third Edition). ISBN 0-938635-68-9

Ware, Bishop Kallistos, "The Orthodox Way" (1979, Revised Edition, 1995, and reprinted 1999). ISBN 0-913836-58-3

External links

Theotokos article on the ''Orthodox Wiki''

Resources on the Theotokos

Study of the Mother of the Lord the All-Holly Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary by St. Nectarios (in Greek)

Category:Marian dogmas Category:Titles of Mary Category:Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Eastern Orthodox theology Category:Eastern Catholicism Category:Oriental Orthodoxy Category:Eastern Orthodox icons Category:Christology Category:Feminist theology Category:Greek loanwords Category:Ancient Christian controversies Category:Christian terms

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