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Posted on February 15, 2010 in Orthodoxy - 0 COMMENTS
Most Holy Theotokos intercede for us! (Kairos, 2/14/10)
by Rev Fr Chris Flesoras
Know and remember that your salvation is always near to the heart of our Lady the Mother of God; for it was for this that God the Word chose her out of all generations, and took flesh of her – to save the human race from sin, from the curse and from eternal death, eternal torment. As he desires that we should be saved, so does she. Turn to her in full faith, trust and love.
Throughout his spiritual counsels, St. John of Kronstadt maintains an unwavering love for and continually seeks the aid of “…our Most Holy, Pure, Blessed and Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary”. Although there are few words regarding her person in the New Testament, those few words continually affirm her faith, her worthiness, her motherly favor, and her standing the Father’s Plan of Salvation, while also communicating the great love for and respect given to her by our Lord.
Shortly after her repose, Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite who is counted amongst the 70 Apostles, would write of the immeasurable joy, the outer and inner radiance and the indescribably fragrance that he sensed in the presence of the holy Mother of God at the time of her dormition. His experience though was not unique, but common as evident through the writings of other Apostles and pious Christians of Jerusalem. And, as the centuries would pass, the holy Fathers of the Church, saintly men and women, and right-believing Christians would similarly recount her life and faith, sing of her praises, and humbly turn to her their need.
When contemplating her translation to the Kingdom of Heaven, St. John writes:
Imagine how resplendently adorned, what a pure and perfect palace of the Almighty must have been the most holy soul and the most pure body of the Mother of God, in whose womb God the Word – Godhead, soul and body – came to dwell! Imagine how eternal, infinite, unchangeable is her holiness! Imagine of what reverence she is worthy, how we should glorify her!
Sadly, there is today a great discrepancy in the reverence shown to the Mother of God. A primary reason for this is a misconception that some Christians, most notably the Orthodox, honor her too much and venerate her as they do God. Elder Cleopa of Romania brings much needed clarity to this matter by explaining to an inquirer:
We do honor the All-holy Virgin and Birth-giver of God more than the other holy saints and angels, yet, nevertheless, we do not ascribe to her the same veneration as we do to God.
The veneration that we render unto her is called honorific and reverential, as she is the Mother of the Lord, having not only a spiritual relationship with Him, as happens with other saints, but also a physical union with Him. For this reason we chant in the Church’s hymn to her: “It is truly meet to call thee blessed, the Theotokos, the ever blessed and all-immaculate, and Mother of our God. More honorable thank the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, thee who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, the very Theotokos, thee do we magnify. “ She is higher than the saints and the angels and therefore from angels and saints she received veneration. Thus it was that the Archangel Gabriel venerated her in the Annunciation. And in the same manner did Elizabeth, the Mother of St. John the Baptist, also venerate her. The Holy Virgin herself prophesied in the Holy Spirit that all generations would honor her: “for behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He that is mighty has done to me great things…” Hence, the honor rendered to her is according to the will of God.
To summarize his words, it is from the very event of the incarnation that she and we were given the blessing of her intercessory prayers, which was ultimately the will of God.
St. John of Kronstadt similarly writes:
Through the incarnation of the Word the all-holy Virgin has been given to us as an all powerful intercessor, who protects, misfortunes and disasters, praying for us day and night, our queen whose power no enemy – visible or invisible – can withstand, truly our mother by grace in accordance with the words uttered by Christ on the cross to the beloved disciple: Behold they mother! And to her: Behold thy son!
I would be remiss were I not at this point to address the title “Theotokos” or “God bearer” which is given to the Ever Virgin Mary. A footnote in the Truth of Our Faith, discourses on Scripture and the Orthodox Faith by Elder Cleopa of Romania provides a concise summary.
The title “Theotokos” is witnessed to by many from the earliest days of the Church: Righteous Elizabeth was the first to address Mary as “the Mother of my Lord” (LK 1:43). St. Athanasius the Great used the title “Theotokos” thus “He took flesh of a virgin, Mary Theotokos, bearer of God, and was made Man” (Discourse Against the Arians). St. Gregory the Theologian says: “If anyone does not accept the holy Mary as Theotokos, he is without the Godhead (Epistle 101). At the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus the title “Theotokos” was formally defended and held to be sacred. And St. John of Damascus says: “It is with justice and truth that we call Mary the “Mother of God.” For this name, ‘Theotokos’, embraces the whole mystery of the dispensation.
As the worthy and most capable intercessor for us, the faithful both glorify and seek the aid of the Theotokos frequently in divine services. Elder Cleopa explains:
When we turn to the Mother of the Lord with the expression…”Most Holy Theotokos save us” [in our case, “intercede for us], it means, “Entreat your Son to save us,” or “Redeem us.” In the Greek language, in which almost all of the books of the New Testament are written as well as the liturgical books of the Orthodox Church, the word “save” means to redeem from evil, temptations, distress and necessity. Consequently, it means: “Help us by your prayer to be redeemed from evil, from the works of the devil, from our passions.” Therefore, by “save us” we don’t mean, “forgive us our sins,” but “entreat your Son for our salvation.” It is impossible for the veneration of the Mother of the Lord to exceed the reverence shown to her Son, for Whom we have not decreased in the least with the worship due to Him. On the contrary, all veneration shown to the Mother of God is a constituent part of the veneration shown to her Son, Who chose her and blessed her to be His Mother.
Saint John of Kronstadt therefore suggests:
When you are about to pray to our Lady, be firmly assured that you will not depart from her without mercy. It is meet and right so to think, so to have confidence in her. She is the all-merciful Mother of the all-merciful God, and her merciful gifts – incalculably great, innumerable – have been declared from all ages by the Church. To pray to her without such assurance would be foolish and insolent, for such doubt would offend her goodness, just as God’s goodness is offended when people pray to him without hoping to get what they pray for.
We are reminded by Bishop Nikolai that “the Most Holy Mother of God often appears to holy men at the time of some need, such as to encourage them in asceticism, to heal them of sickness, or to reveal some mystery to them. Examples are St. John Kukuzelis and St. Gregory on Mount Athos; and St. Romanos the Melodist in Constantinople.” Whether she appear to us or not, in either instance, we can be assured that she hers our prayers.
I close with the words of St. John of Kronstadt
It was for our sake that the Lord was incarnate, suffered even unto death of the cross, and rose from the dead. It was for our sake also that he adorned his Mother, the immaculate Virgin Mary, with all virtues, and endued her with every divine power, so that she, the most merciful, the most perfect, should be, after himself, everything to us. And therefore let us not waste God’s grace with which our Lady is filled. Let us come with boldness and trust to the immaculate Virgin, ever-helpful, ever-protecting. If sins trouble us, let us pray to her, that she may cleanse us with the hyssop of her prayers from every impurity of flesh and spirit.
