Changes

The most popular translation, ''Mother of God'', is accurate to a point, but has the difficulty with that one is that ''Mother of God'' is the literal translation of another Greek phrase which is found on nearly all [[icon]]s of the Theotokos: Μητηρ Θεου (''Meter Theou''), usually in the standard [[iconography|iconographic ]]abbreviation of '''ΜΡ ΘΥ'''. A second problem with''Mother of God'' is that it is less precise than ''Theotokos'' since it can be misinterpreted as stating Mary is Mother of God ''from eternity'', whereas ''Theotokos'' is more specific, limiting Mary's divine maternity to the Incarnation. Additionally, a number of hymns employ both ''Theotokos'' and ''Meter Theou''—translating both as ''Mother of God'' can yield some rather nonsensical language, and it destroys the distinction that the hymnographer intended.

The usage that seems to be dominant in English-speaking Orthodox churches in North America is to adopt the original term itself into English (something English speakers have traditionally done with foreign words almost since the earliest known history of the language), transliterating it simply as ''Theotokos'' (or, occasionally, ''Theotocos''). British usage gives preference to translating ''Theotokos'' as ''Mother of God''.

::The Orthodox Church calls Mary "immaculate," "pure," or "spotless" (''achrantos'' in Greek). Some Orthodox state that she was free from actual sin, some say she never sinned, and others just say she died sinless. ::As for [[Original Sin|original sin]] and the [[Roman Catholic]] doctrine of the [[Immaculate Conception]], the Orthodox Church has never made any formal and definitive pronouncement on the subject. The majority of Orthodox have rejected the doctrine, for it seems to separate separates Mary from the rest of mankind, putting her in a completely different class from all the other righteous men and women of the [[Old Testament]]. It is important that Mary was the same as all mankind so that all Christians can follow her example and submit to God's will. Mary was born a sinner, a human with full human nature. Mary’s Son, Jesus the Christ, took flesh from her. So as Son of God, He assumed fallen human nature from her and redeemed humanity by His Crucifixion and Resurrection. Also, the original doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (1869) implies an understanding of original sin not held by the Orthodox Church.

*[http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/greek/theotokos_2002_index.html/Theological articles devoted to the Theotokos] by '''Myriobiblos''' the Online library of the [[Church of Greece]] (Greek)