The Oldest Hymn to Mary Mother of God

Today is the Feast of the Maternity of the BVM. As the people of Ephesus chanted after the Council declared her Mother of God, "Blessed be the Great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy!"

From Aleteia

By Cecilia Music

Greek hymn to the Theotokos dates back to third century

In honour of the Feast of the Maternity of the Mother of God, we bring you the oldest known hymn to Mary.

The hymn, “Beneath Thy Protection” in English, has been found on a papyrus dating back to 250 AD, meaning it was already used in the liturgy at the time, specifically the Christmas liturgy of the Coptic Church. This also means that this hymn to the Theotokos (“God-bearer” or “Mother of God”) long predates the official declaration of Mary as Theotokos at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

The English text, which bears a striking resemblance to the popular Memorare prayer, reads:

We fly to Thy protection,

O Holy Mother of God;

Do not despise our petitions

in our necessities,

but deliver us always

from all dangers,

O Glorious and Blessed Virgin. Amen.

In Greek it is:

Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν,

καταφεύγομεν, Θεοτόκε.

Τὰς ἡμῶν ἱκεσίας,

μὴ παρίδῃς ἐν περιστάσει,

ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ κινδύνων λύτρωσαι ἡμᾶς,

μόνη Ἁγνή, μόνη εὐλογημένη.

The English translation of the Greek:

Beneath thy compassion,

We take refuge, O Theotokos:

do not despise our petitions in time of trouble:

but rescue us from dangers,

only pure one, only blessed one.