The Blessed Virgin Became the Mother of God This Virgin became a Mother while preserving her virginity; and though still a Virgin she carried a Child in her womb; and the handmaid of His Wisdom became the Mother of God. You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others; for there is no blemish in you, nor any stains upon your Mother. Who of my children can compare to the beauty of these? Excerpt from Ephraim of Nisibis, Nisbene Hymns 27, no. 8, in FEF I: 313, no. 719.