On the question of the acceptance of the Roman Catholic concept of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary by St. Gennadius II Scholarius

Abstract

The article examines one of the aspects of the teaching on the Most Holy Theotokos by the outstanding theologian of the late Byzantine period, St. Gennadius II Scholarius, in relation to the non-Orthodox concept of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, or the alleged original non-involvement of the Holy Virgin in the original sin from the very moment of her conception by her holy and righteous parents. In the first half of the 20th century, the famous Roman Catholic theologian Martin Jugie rather controversially characterized the Mariological component of St. Gennadius’ theology as “fully supporting” this concept. This statement subsequently influenced, among other things, the opinion of the authoritative Orthodox theologian Archpriest John Meyendorff and, further, was included in the article on St. Gennadius II Scholarius in the Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia as a characteristic of his Mariology. The present article analyzes the arguments of the supporters of this idea, studies the context of the quotations they use and examines other related Mariological statements in the works of St. Gennadius that are fundamentally incompatible with the idea of the aforementioned Roman Catholic dogma. The author concludes that the arguments cited are insufficient for such a conclusion, and, consequently, that it is premature to exclude St. Gennadius II from the host of late Byzantine holy fathers who retained the patristic position in their theological teaching on the Blessed Virgin Mary.