Perpetual virginity of Mary
From Textus Receptus
The perpetual virginity of Mary is an unbiblical Marian doctrine taught by the Catholic Church and held by a number of groups in cultic Christianity which asserts that Mary (the mother of Jesus) was "always a virgin, before, during and after the birth of Jesus Christ." This doctrine also proclaims that Mary had no marital relations after Jesus' birth nor gave birth to any children other than Jesus. While the Bible mentions brothers of Jesus, Catholic, Orthodox, and some traditional Protestant interpretations offer various explanations that align with the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity; that these siblings were either children of Joseph from a previous marriage, cousins of Jesus, or were closely associated with the Holy Family. The Bible says that Jesus was begotten by God, in accordance with Isaiah's prophesy that "a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son",(Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38) and that Jesus is "the Son of God".
By the fourth century, the doctrine was supported by the some of the Church Fathers, and by the seventh century it had been affirmed in a number of ecumenical councils. The doctrine is part of the teaching of Catholicism and Anglo-Catholics, as well as Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, as expressed in their liturgies, in which they repeatedly refer to Mary as "ever virgin" (ἀειπάρθενος aeiparthenos). The Assyrian Church of the East, which is derived from Church of the East, also accept the perpetual virginity of Mary by titling her the "Ever Virgin", after the "Second Heaven".
Some early Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther supported the doctrine, and founding figures of Anglicanism such as Hugh Latimer and Thomas Cranmer "followed the tradition that they had inherited by accepting Mary as 'ever virgin'". Reformed teaching, however, largely abandoned it. The doctrine of perpetual virginity is currently maintained by some Anglican and Lutheran theologians. In addition, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodism, affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary.
