Art as Text: The Adoration of the Magi, CollyridianBread Offerings, and Theotokos (original) (raw)

Due to the loss of an estimated 85% of first and second-century Christian texts, we often find themes in early Christian art that do not correspond to the narratives of the canonical gospels. In some cases these themes can be traced to extracanonical gospels, such as the Protoevangelium of James, but in other cases the origin is uncertain. In this study, I address some themes in early Christian art of the Adoration of the Magi that indicate that artists or their patrons were already elevating Mary as if she were Theotokos, and doing so well before the Council of Ephesus in 431 affirmed that title for Mary. These themes include the star placed closest to Mary, the baby as well as the Magi facing Mary, and the Magi offering loaves or platters of bread—bread offerings reminiscent of the bread that some Christians were offering on their altars to the name of Mary according to Epiphanius of Salamis and a detailed liturgical manual embedded in the Six Books Dormition narrative.