jan 1, 431 - Council of Ephesus sets foundation for Mary Worship

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Paul warned the older men of the congregation in Ephesus that after his departure “oppressive wolves” would appear and men would rise from among them and “speak twisted things.” (Acts 20:17, 29, 30) That is exactly what happened. Events reveal that false worship prevailed in Ephesus in the form of apostate Christianity.

In 431 C.E., Ephesus was the site of the third ecumenical council, where the issue of the nature of Christ was discussed. Ephesos​—Der neue Führer explains: “The victory of the Alexandrians, who held that Christ was only of one nature, namely the divine, . . . was complete.” The consequences were far-reaching. “The decision reached at Ephesus, by means of which Mary was elevated from the status of Christ-bearer to that of God-bearer, not only provided the basis for the cult of Mary but also produced the first great schism within the church. . . . The debate persists to this day.”

Thus, the worship of Cybele and Artemis was replaced by the worship of Mary the “God-bearer” or the “mother of god.” As the book states, “the Cult of Mary in Ephesus . . . remains to this date a living tradition, which could not be explained apart from the Cult of Artemis.”

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