Definitions for "Theotokos"
Keywords:  mary, ephesus, incarnate, jesus, giver
The Most Holy Mother of God meaning "Birth-Giver of God."
God-bearer, birth-giver, frequently translated "Mother of God." Because Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God, Mary is called the Mother of God to profess our faith that in the Incarnation, God was in her womb. Elizabeth called Mary "blessed" and "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:42, 43). At the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431, the Church condemned Nestorius and other heretics who refused to call the Virgin Mary the Theotokos. For if it was not God in Mary's womb, there is no salvation for humanity.
(Gr., "God-bearing"): epithet bestowed upon the Virgin Mary at the Council of Ephesus in 431, emphasizing that Mary gave birth to God, not to a man who became god.