04/01/2022
' The oldest-known text of a prayer to Mary is from around A.D. 250. It is in Greek, and calls Mary "Theotokos," which means "God-bearer." Catholics would know it from a Latin version called the "Sub tuum praesidium."
Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν, καταφεύγομεν, Θεοτόκε. Τὰς ἡμῶν ἱκεσίας μὴ παρίδῃς ἐν περιστάσει, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ κινδύνων λύτρωσαι ἡμᾶς, μόνη Ἁγνή, μόνη εὐλογημένη.
Beneath your tenderness of heart, we take refuge, O bearer of God. Do not despise our petitions amidst our troubles, but rescue us from dangers, O only pure one, only blessed one.
