George Marinescu: Muslim doctrines of the Virgin Mary in the view of the Holy Fathers

This study tries to comprehend the main doctrines of the Virgin Mary in the Islamic Tradition and their relation with the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the eastern and western Christianity. The aim is to show the way in which the Qur’an and the Hadith correlates with the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Church.Because of the fact that in the Islamic tradition we deal with both doctrines from the orthodox and catholic traditions, this article will include insights of Fathers from eastern Christianity like Saint John of Damascus, Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and from western Christianity like Saint Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Ambrose of Milan and others.The main doctrines that are concerning me are the status of Theotokos, or Mother of God, the Perpetual virginity, the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption into Heaven. I will also provide information about the way in which any of the two religions influenced each other regarding this issue.