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In Luke 1:34 the blessed virgin Mary is depicted as the spouse of the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:34-35 says:

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Did any of the Early Church believe that Mary was the spouse of the Holy Spirit? This can be between 80-600 AD

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    I am unaware of any Patristic writer who expressed this view
    – Hold To The Rod
    Sep 15, 2022 at 23:51
  • Early Christianity is generally reckoned by church historians to begin with the ministry of Jesus ( c. 27–30) and end with the First Council of Nicaea (325).
    – Mike Borden
    Sep 16, 2022 at 12:19

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St. Ildephonsus of Toledo (✝667 A.D.) called her the "sponsa Spiritus sancti" ("spouse of the Holy Ghost") in his Libellus de Corona Virginis or The Little Book on the Crown of the Virgin.

The Alexandrian (Coptic) Liturgy (Liturgy of St. Mark) also calls her the spouse of the Holy Ghost:

During Holy Week the following invocation is used morning and night:

Hail to thee, O spotless Dove, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, we pray thee to be mindful of us before thy Son.1031

—"Mary in the Eastern Liturgies" by Cuthbert Gumbinger, O.F.M.Cap., S.T.D., in Mariology (vol. 1) by Juniper B. Carol, O.F.M.; footnote 1031 references a journal article Devotion to Our Lady in the Coptic Rite by Alexander Amba in Eastern Churches Quarterly, Vol 7, April-June, 1948 page 408

The term "sponsa Christi" ("spouse of Christ") is more common, both in reference to Our Lady and to consecrated virgins (see Vizmanos, Christian Virgins in the Early Church).

St. Ephraim the Syrian (306-373) was one of the first to call the Virgin Mother Christ's bride, in Hymns on the Nativity hymn 11, where she says:

For I am Your sister, of the house of David the father of us Both. Again, I am Your Mother because of Your Conception, and Your Bride am I because of Your sanctification.

S. P. N. Ephrem Syri operum vol. 4, p. 327: "Equidem sum soror tua, quo amborum nostrorum proavus est David, et quo te concepi etiam mater, sponsa quoque per tuam sanctitatem", the first early Church father cited in Müller Mariologia p. 120

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    I've just read through the entire Liturgy of St. Mark here newadvent.org/fathers/0718.htm and did not come across the phrase "Spouse of the Holy Spirit. This is interesting as the website is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
    – Mike Borden
    Sep 16, 2022 at 12:09
  • Also, Early Christianity is generally reckoned by church historians to begin with the ministry of Jesus ( c. 27–30) and end with the First Council of Nicaea (325). This puts St. Ildephonsus outside the range.
    – Mike Borden
    Sep 16, 2022 at 12:16
  • @MikeBorden It's in its Holy Week liturgy.
    – Geremia
    Sep 16, 2022 at 23:15
  • What is the date of origin of the Holy Week liturgy?
    – Mike Borden
    Sep 17, 2022 at 13:35

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