已知最早的對Theotokos（希臘語，θεοτοκος，意為「上帝的承載者/誕神者」）的祈禱是在紙莎草碎片上發現的，其歷史可以追溯到大約公元250 年。1917 年，英國曼徹斯特的約翰·賴蘭茲圖書館(1)，獲得了一大塊埃及紙莎草紙。 該禱文位於記錄為參考號希臘紙莎草紙 470 的片段上。該禱文似乎出自科普特聖誕節禮拜儀式或用通用希臘語寫成的晚禱，儘管相關片段可能是該禱文的私人副本。 比景教異端早幾個世紀。
正如納齊安祖斯的聖格列高利在公元 379 年所說：“如果有人不承認聖母馬利亞是聖母，那麼他就與神性隔絕了。” (Letter 101, PG 37, 177C) 早期基督徒認識到誕神者是那些受苦受難和需要保護的人的有力代禱者。 從古代教會時代起，直至今日，基督徒一直在尋求她的代禱。 直到今天，在四旬齋期間幾乎每次晚禱儀式結束時，東正教教堂仍然會吟誦這則祈禱文。 它也出現在羅馬天主教和東方教會的禮拜儀式中。
這篇禱文的早期日期很重要，原因有很多，其中之一是它支持我們的理解，即「Theotokos」一詞不僅僅是公元431 年第三次大公會議上捍衛的一個神學概念，而且已經被廣泛使用和使用。比景教異端早幾個世紀就廣為人知。 正如納齊安祖斯的聖格列高利在公元 379 年所說：“如果有人不承認聖母馬利亞是聖母，那麼他就與神性隔絕了。” (Letter 101, PG 37, 177C) 早期基督徒認識到誕神者是那些受苦受難和需要保護的人的有力代禱者。 從古代教會時代起，直至今日，基督徒一直在尋求她的代禱。
papyrus 470
The earliest known prayer to the Theotokos (Greek, Θεοτοκος, meaning “Bearer of God”) is a prayer found on a fragment of papyrus dating back to approximately AD 250. In 1917, the John Rylands Library (1) in Manchester, England, acquired a large panel of Egyptian papyrus. The prayer is located on the fragment recorded as reference number Greek Papyrus 470. The prayer appears to be from a Coptic Christmas liturgy or vespers written in Koine Greek although the fragment in question may be a private copy of the prayer. centuries before the Nestorian heresy.
As St. Gregory of Nazianzus stated in AD 379, “If someone does not uphold that the holy Mary is Theotokos, he is separated from divinity.” (Letter 101, PG 37, 177C) Early Christians recognized the Theotokos as a powerful intercessor for those who are suffering and in need of protection. Christians have been seeking her intercessions from the time of the ancient Church and well over a thousand years up to this very day. The prayer is still chanted in the Orthodox Church to this day at the end of nearly every Vespers service during Lent. It is also found in the worship services of the Roman Catholic and Oriental Churches.
The early date of this prayer is important for a number of reasons, one of which is that it supports our understanding that the term Theotokos was not just a theological concept defended at the Third Ecumenical Council in AD 431, but was already in popular use and well-known several centuries before the Nestorian heresy. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus stated in AD 379, “If someone does not uphold that the holy Mary is Theotokos, he is separated from divinity.” (Letter 101, PG 37, 177C) Early Christians recognized the Theotokos as a powerful intercessor for those who are suffering and in need of protection. Christians have been seeking her intercessions from the time of the ancient Church and well over a thousand years up to this very day.
https://aleteia.org/2019/08/15/this-papyrus-contains-the-oldest-marian-prayer-known-to-date/
