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During the first two hundred years Mary did not occupy a prominent place
in the Christian communities; even in the fourth century she was still
regarded as a human woman and denied divinity by St. Chrysostom, who
reproached her with vainglory. But in proportion as Christ transcended
humanity, and was more dogmatically and formally interpreted by the
Church--more especially the Greek Church--the desire for a mediator
between the wrathful Deity and sinful humanity grew more pronounced, a
mediator who, although a human being, could be endowed after the manner
of the ancient demi-gods with super-human virtues. The Mother of the
Saviour gradually assumed this position. She had been an earthly woman,
born of earthly parents, and would be able to understand human needs and
wishes, and she had become the Mother of God. Would not her intercession
have weight with the Son of God? Simultaneously with the growing
recognition of asceticism, the doctrine of the immaculate conception
gained ground; in the course of time this moment was more and more
emphasised, and virginity was set up as an ideal.
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