I'm sure the Immaculate conception would be in there too.
Yes it is I remember that and we spoke about it at length because at the time I wasn't in agreement with the Orthodox view of Mary Ever-Virgin.
Are you now?
It may be the case that I am past the point of conversion to another Tradition like Eastern Orthodoxy. The anecdotal stories, the doctrinal argumentations, and the shallow polemics seem to loose their luster with age. At my height of disgust with the American Roman Catholic Church I found many of these things very appealing but as I studied and begun to turn my eyes more upon my own failings I've begun not to measure my holiness by external things... which Parish I attend, what language the Liturgy is in or how many individuals genuflect or prostrate or cross themselves more than others. Yes, these acts of piety have value but not in the self-consciousness way which many, including myself, might think.
But to return to your actual question concerning my belief of Mary Ever-Virgin... I don't agree with St. John Maximovitch's work "The Orthodox Veneration of Mary The Birthgiver of God". I also don't agree with the Orthodox view of the role of the Roman Pontiff either. Clearly if I did I would already be Orthodox by now.
With all this said I continue on my journey of faith. I don't know wear I will eventual end but I know that I seek after righteousness and if such a pursuit is achievable through a particular Tradition or another I am willing to sit down and discuss it. I have a life in the Roman Catholic Church, I can't say that is is prefect or that it is them most nourishing life I can have for myself and my family but it is what it is. If can learn to pursue the virtues with greater clarity and be a better Christian, Spouse and Father then I will count my efforts as very fruitful indeed.
I am largely of a Western Mindset and a bit of a literalist when it comes to the Sacred Texts but I am also open to the possibilities that the Greek Fathers have a valuable role to play in the growth of the Latin Church in our day.
