Basics of Orthodoxy: Theotokos & the Saints

1. Basics of Orthodoxy:Theotokos & the Saints

2. Introduction Following the manner by which the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Virgin Mary, the Church from the time of the Apostles has looked upon the Mother of God as blessed and has held her in great honor. She among all women in the history of mankind was chosen by God to give birth to the second Person of the Trinity in the flesh. The narrative of the Annunciation invites us to peer into the events that surrounded the beginning of mankind’s salvation.

3. Luke, Chapter 1:26-49 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The Angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High . . .

4. Luke, Chapter 1 cont. . . will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; may it be done to me according to Your word.” And the angel departed from her. Now At this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

5. Luke, Chapter 1 cont. And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His handmaid; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

6. Full of Grace . . . The account of the Annunciation described in the gospel of St. Luke reveals the honor due to the Mother of God threefold. First, the Archangel Gabriel addresses the Virgin Mary with the salutation “Hail”. “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the Virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, full of grace! [favored one] The Lord is with you”(Luke 1: 26-28).

7. Blessed are you . . . Second, the Virgin’s relative, Elizabeth bore witness to her blessedness and favor in God’s eyes: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:41-42).

8. All generations . . . Third, the Virgin herself speaks of the honor that has been bestowed upon her by the Most High God when she utters the words: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed”(Luke 1:46-48). This threefold proclamation by the Archangel Gabriel, Elizabeth, and the Virgin Mary herself, bear witness to the honor due to the Mother of God.

9. Honoring the Mother of God In what ways do we continue to honor the Mother of God in the Orthodox Church? Veneration In writings In celebration In prayer In hymns In imagery

10. Veneration It is important to draw the distinction between Worshipand Veneration. In Orthodox theology worship is given to God only; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Veneration (honor or reverence) is distinctly different as it shows great respect for another. In this manner, the honor and deep respect for the Mother of God has been shown in the Church throughout the centuries.

11. Veneration, cont. Orthodox do not "worship" the Virgin Mary. We "venerate" her. We believe that the Virgin Mary is an image, as St. Maximos the Confessor says, of the Christian goal of becoming Christ-like (theosis). Just as the Theotokos gave birth to Christ in a bodily way, so we must, St. Maximos tells us, give birth to Christ in an unbodily or spiritual way. In so doing, we imitate her practical spiritual life, including the purity and humility by which she conformed her free will into perfect obedience to the Will of God. “may it be done to me according to You word”

12. In Celebration The Nativity of the Theotokos – Sept. 8th (Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28) The Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple Nov. 21st (Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28) The Annunciation to the Theotokos – Mar. 25th (Luke 1: 24-38) The Dormition of the Theotokos – Aug. 15th (Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28) The Akathist to the Theotokos (Five Fridays during Great Lent)

13. In Hymns One of the principle hymns found in Orthodoxy that continues to honor the Mother of God for all generations is: “Greater in honor than the Cherubim, and in glory greater beyond compare than the Seraphim; you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, and are truly Theotokos. You do we magnify.”

14. In Hymns From the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (4th Cent): “All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace, the assembly of Angels and the race of men. O Sanctified Temple and Rational Paradise! O Glory of Virgins! From you, God was incarnate and became a child, our God before the ages. He made your body into a throne, and your womb He made more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace! Glory to you!”

15. In Hymns, cont. “The bush on the mount unburned by fire (Ex. 3), and the Chaldean furnace (Dan. 2) cool with dew, prefigured you plainly, O Bride of God; for you received in your material womb the Immaterial God, and were not consumed. Wherefore, we cry unto Him that was born of you: Blessed is the God of our Fathers.” (Heirmos, ode seven, Sept. Menaion (Sept. 8th)

16. In Hymns, cont. “The multitude of Angels in Heaven, and we the race of men upon the earth, bless your all-august Dormition, O pure and all-holy Virgin; for you became the Mother of Christ God, the Creator of all. Cease not to entreat Him, we pray, for us who after God have set your hopes on you, O all-hymned and unwedded Theotokos.” (Aposticha hymn, 15th of August: August Menaion)

17. In writings “The Virgin Mary, being obedient to his word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]). The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos

18. In writings, cont. “To all generations they [the prophets] have pictured forth the grandest subjects for contemplation and for action. Thus, too, they preached of the advent of God in the flesh to the world, his advent by the spotless and God-bearing (Theotokos) Mary in the way of birth and growth, and the manner of his life and conversation with men, and his manifestation by baptism, and the new birth that was to be to all men, and the regeneration by the laver [of baptism] (Hippolytus (3rd cent), Discourse on the End of the World 1 [A.D. 217]).

19. In writings, cont. It is our duty to present to God, like sacrifices, all the festivals and hymnal celebrations; and first of all, [the feast of] the Annunciation to the holy Mother of God, namely, the salutation made to her by the angel, "Hail, full of grace!” (St. Gregory the Wonderworker (3rd cent.), Four Homilies 1 [A.D. 262]).

20. In prayer There are many prayers dedicated to the Mother of God. These prayers are intercessory in content, asking for her prayers for us. Just as we pray for others and we request the prayers of others, so too do we ask for the prayers and intercessions of the Mother of God and all the Saints. “Most Holy Theotokos, intercede for us”

21. In prayer, cont. One form of prayer is called an akathist, which is a hymn dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The word akathist itself means, "not sitting." The akathist par excellence is that written in the 6th century to the Theotokos. In its use as part of the Salutations to the Theotokos service (used in the Byzantine tradition during Great Lent).

22. In imagery Nativity of the Mother of God

23. In imagery, cont. The Annunciation

24. In imagery, cont. The Dormition

25. In imagery, cont. Entrance of the Theotokos

26. The term Immaculate The Orthodox Church calls Mary “immaculate,” “pure,” and “spotless”. However, there is a difference in understanding between Orthodoxy & Catholicism regarding the Mother of God in the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother Anna. Roman Catholic Theology teaches: “Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her life, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul . . . The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul” (Catholic Encyclopedia). 491 . . . the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed.)

27. Immaculate, cont. Only Christ was born perfectly holy and sinless. The Holy Virgin was like everyone else in Her mortality, and in being subject to temptation, although she committed no personal sins through the grace of God and by exercising her free will in such a way as to conform to the divine will of God. She was not a deified creature removed from the rest of humanity. Orthodox Theology Asserts:

28. Immaculate, cont. The Mother of God inherited the same fallen nature, prone to sin, to weakness and passion, that we have. She was born in the grip of death and corruption needing to be delivered by our Savior, her Son. This is why she honestly called God her "Savior" in the Magnification. Unlike us, however, she did not consent to sin, or co-operate with death and corruption. She made no contributions by will to our mess whatsoever. We know what this is like when we see a little child who does not have the complex reality we live in. She was simple and child-like not just when she was a child but her whole life which is why the Archangel Gabriel bowed down to her. She was not sinless by nature but sinless by choice (free will). Christ was sinless by nature and choice?

29. Ever-Virgin Mary The Orthodox Church honors Mary as "ever Virgin." In iconography, her virginity before, during, and after the birth of Christ is represented by three stars on her shoulders and forehead.

30. Ever-Virginity, cont. That the Holy Virgin Mary is Ever-Virgin (Aeiparthenos) is not to elevate her to some special status or to incite us to worship the creature rather than the Creator. Rather, it is an affirmation of who Christ Jesus is. Because He has chosen her to be his mother, to conceive Him, to give flesh to Him, to give birth to Him, we understand her as a finite dwelling place of the infinite God. Thus, because she is in this sense this new Holy of Holies, her ever-virginity is a natural characteristic of such an awesome reality.

31. Ever-Virginity, cont. Testimony from the early Church: The Church continued to call the Theotokos the "Virgin" even after the time when she supposedly would have had other children. Throughout the earliest liturgies of the Church, she is continually called "Ever-Virgin." One can also find references to her ever-virginity in the Fathers’ writings, such as in those of Athanasius (4thc), Jerome (5thc), Cyril of Alexandria (5thc), and John of Damascus (8thc). Hippolytus, a scholar, bishop and martyr who lived in Rome (+ A.D. 235) was considered to be one of the most important witnesses as to how the early church worshipped.

32. Ever-Virginity, cont. Excerpt from Hippolytus (ca. A.D. 210) regarding the Blessed Theotokos: But the pious confession of the believer is that, with a view to our salvation, . . . the Creator of all things incorporated with Himself a rational soul and a sensible body from the all-holy Mary, ever-virgin, by an undefiled conception, without conversion, and was made man in nature, but separate from wickedness: the same was perfect God, and the same was perfect man; the same was in nature at once perfect God and man(Against Beron and Helix, Frag VIII).

33. Ever-Virginity, cont. St. Ephraim (4th century): “Some dare to claim that Mary became fully Joseph's wife after the Savior's birth. How could she who was the dwelling-place of the Spirit, who was overshadowed by the divine power, ever become the wife of a mortal and bear children in pain, according to the ancient curse? It is through Mary, "blessed among women," that the curses uttered in the beginning have been removed according to which a child in such torments cannot be called blessed. Just as the Lord entered through all closed doors, so he came out if an original womb, for this virgin bore him truly and really without pain.”

34. Ever-Virginity, cont. The Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) states: “If anyone shall not confess that the Word of God has two nativities, the one from all eternity of the Father, without time and without body; the other in these last days, coming down from heaven and being made flesh of the holy and glorious Mary, Mother of God and always a virgin, and born of her: let him be anathema.”

35. Ever-Virginity, & the Early Protestant Reformers Martin Luther: “A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ, but that she conceived Christ through Joseph and had more children after that” (Martin Luther, "That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew," in Luther's Works, vol. 45, ed. Walther I. Brand, 1962, Muhlenberg Press, p. 199).

36. Ever-Virginity, & the Early Protestant Reformers John Wesley: “I believe that he was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Spirit, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin” (John Wesley "Letter to a Roman Catholic).

37. Ever-Virginity, cont. It is also important to address the word “till” or “eos”. Some claim that the passage in Matthew attests to the fact that Mary had sexual relations with Joseph after Jesus was born. “[Joseph] did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (Mt. 1:25).

38. Ever-Virginity, cont. “Mt. 1:25 in no way references the state of marital affairs between Joseph and the Theotokos after the birth of Jesus; what Mt. 1:25 addresses is the absence of any sexual conduct prior to the Savior’s birth [and] . . . Intends to verify the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ” (West of Jesus, Anthony. 2006, p. 79).

39. Ever-Virginity, cont. “Moreover, we are able to see in Scripture the use of “until”/till” without an inference to any subsequent action. For example in Ps. 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool” – God saying “till” does not mean that once Christ’s enemies are made His footstool, that the Savior will no longer sit at God’s right hand. Or in Mt. 28:20, are we to take, “lo I am with you always, even till the end of the age” to meant that at the end of time our Lord will no longer be with us?

40. The Siblings of Jesus? Did Jesus have brothers and sisters from the same mother? No. Most commonly misinterpreted passages: “While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and bothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him” (Mt. 12:46). “Is this no the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas” (Mt. 13:55). “Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling” (Mk. 3:31). “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?” (Mk. 6:3). “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd” (Lk. 8:19). “After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples” (Jn. 2:12).

41. The Siblings of Jesus? “The Bible establishes that the people referenced in the above verses are not sons of the Theotokos. For instance, when studying verses Mt. 13:55 and Mk. 6:3 we are able to take note of the names therein, particularly James (known as James the Less) and Joses (or Joseph), neither of whom were sons of the Holy Virgin Mary, nor blood brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ” (West of Jesus, Anthony, p. 77).

42. The Siblings of Jesus? Consider the following: “Among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and . . .” (Mt. 27:56). “There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses” (Mk. 15:40). “And Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid” (Mk. 15:47).

43. The Siblings of Jesus? “The Holy Virgin was not the mother of the James and Joses, who were referred to as brothers of Jesus in Mt. 13:55 and Mk. 6:3. The mother of James and Joses was ‘the other Mary’. In other words, the mother of of James and Joses was not the Theotokos, but rather was Mary, the sister of the Holy Virgin Mary and wife of Cleopas” (ibid, p. 78). “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene” (Jn. 19:25).

44. The Siblings of Jesus? Those referred to as “brothers” of Jesus were in fact cousins. The Greek word adelphos, is not always taken to literally mean brother, but has been used for cousin or a close relative. Take the following example of the use of the word adelphos: “So Abraham said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are (adelphi) brothers’” (Gen. 13:8). In reality, Abraham and Lot were uncle and nephew: (See also, Gen. 12:5 and Gen. 14:12).

45. The Siblings of Jesus? Likewise, James the first bishop of Jerusalem, and who presided over the first council at Jerusalem (Acts 15), in Orthodox Patristic Tradition, has been understood to be the son of Joseph and Salome, a wife of Joseph before he was betrothed to the Theotokos.

46. God & His Saints King David St. Nectarios St. John Chrysostom

47. Veneration of the Saints The veneration of the Saints is due to their love for God. We ask for their intercession as we do to the Mother of God knowing that they are not “dead” and unable to heed our requests. Such prayers to the Virgin, and to all the saints, is based on the firm conviction of Orthodox Christians that all who have left the body and the earth are alive, and that the Heavenly and earthly Church are united under the one Head, Christ, that she is indeed His one Body, comprised of many members, who show compassion for one another and support one another (Luke 20; Eph. 1:10; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12).

48. Veneration of the Saints “In our veneration of the saints, Orthodox Christians are expressing an attitude that has been alive in the Church since its earliest days. For instance, when Polycarp, Bishop of Smyna, was martyred for Christ (around the year 150), a letter was sent out to all the churches, describing the noble death of this beloved man. The letter contains the words:” (Gallatin, pp. 166-167)

49. Veneration of the Saints “It is neither possible for us ever to forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of such as shall be saved throughout the whole world, nor to worship any other. For Him, indeed, as being the Son of God, we adore; but the martyrs, as disciples and followers of the Lord, we worthily love on account of their extraordinary affection towards their own King and Master, of whom my we also be made companions and fellow-disciples!”

50. Veneration of the Saints We venerate the saints following the statement of King David found in Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”. We simply hold precious in our hearts those whom Christ holds precious in His sight. This applies not only to those who have been elevated as “Saints” in the Church, but all who have been created in His image!