With reference to the letter by Mr C. Borg on the meaning of the words “Mater Dei” (The Malta Independent on Sunday, 11 September), I wish to make some clarifications.

Mr Borg bases himself only on the Bible, and neglects the tradition of the Church. The Second Vatican Council teaches that “Sacred Tradition and Scripture are bound together in a close and reciprocal relationship. They both flow from the same divine wellspring, merge together to some extent, and are on course towards the same end. Scripture is the utterance of God as it is set down in writing under the guidance of God’s Spirit. Tradition preserves the word of God as it was entrusted to the apostles by Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit, and transmits it to their successors, so that these in turn, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, may faithfully preserve, expound and disseminate the word by their preaching” (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, para.9).

Furthermore, the same document explains that “Tradition and Scripture together form a single sacred deposit of the word of God, entrusted to the Church” (para.10).

Mr Borg’s objection to the title “Mother of God” is nothing new. In the fifth century, Nestorius of Constantinople and another heretic by the name of Anastasius were saying the same things expressed by Mr Borg in his letter. They denied to Mary the title “Mother of God”. According to them, she was not the mother of God but only the mother of Christ to whom the person of the Word of God had united himself. This amounted to affirming that in Christ there are two persons, one divine and one human.

The Council of Ephesus (431) condemned this erroneous teaching. In very clear terms, this Council affirmed that Jesus Christ is one person (with two natures – divine and human), and that Mary, therefore, is the Mother of God. It was not just a man (or a humanity) that Mary begot, but the Son of God himself.

So, I would like to assure your readers that the title “Mater Dei” is perfectly correct.

Fr Hector Scerri

Msida