The origins of the belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary seems to have its origins in the late second century I believe (this is not a subject I am very well versed in). But if you look at the early church fathers, they are defending it or debating it, and that is rather telling that it was a point of dispute within the church. The classic debate is between Helvidius and Jerome in the fourth century. Calling her the mother of God (Christotokos vs theotokos) was a bit of a sticky issue at the Council of Ephesus in 431. But even then, the perpetual virginity of Mary was not formally adopted until the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, in which they call her “ever virgin.” But it is interesting and striking that questions over Mary’s virginity after the birth of Jesus became such a hot topic for theologians so quickly.
1 Like