My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
"REJOICE, THOU ART FULL OF GRACE, THE LORD IS WITH THEE" [Luke 1:28].
"The Most Holy Virgin was born as subject to the sin of Adam together with all mankind, and with him she shared the need for redemption. ("Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs," par. 6]. The pure and immaculate life of the Virgin Mary up to the Annunciation by the Archangel, her freedom from personal sins, was the fruit of the union of her spiritual labor upon herself and the ABUNDANCE OF GRACE THAT WAS POURED UPON HER. In his greeting: "thou hast found," that is, attained, acquired, earned. The Most Holy Virgin Mary was prepared by the best part of mankind as a worthy vessel for the Descent of God the Logos/Word to earth. The coming down of the Holy Spirit ("the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee") TOTALLY SANCTIFIED THE WOMB OF THE VIRGIN MARY FOR THE RECEPTION OF GOD THE LOGOS/WORD."
Saint John Maximovitch says, "The Virgin Mary, having given Herself ENTIRELY UP TO GOD, even though She repulsed from Herself every impulse to sin, still felt the weakness of human nature more powerfully than others and ardently desired the coming of the Savior. In her HUMILITY She considered Herself unworthy to be even the servant-girl of the Virgin Who was to give Him birth. So that nothing might distract Her from prayer and heedfulness to Herself, Mary gave to God a vow not to become married, in order to please only Him Her whole life long."
"Mary received the Angelic good tidings humbly and submissively. "Then the Logos/Word, in a way known to Himself, descended and, as He Himself willed, came and ENTERED INTO MARY AND ABODE IN HER" [Saint Ephraim the Syrian, "Praise of the Mother of God"). "As lightning illuminates what is hidden, so also CHRIST PURIFIES WHAT IS HIDDEN IN THE NATURE OF THINGS. He PURIFIED THE VIRGIN ALSO AND THEN WAS BORN, SO AS TO SHOW THAT WHERE CHRIST IS, THERE IS MANIFEST PURITY IN ALL ITS POWER. He purified the Virgin, having prepared Her by the Holy Spirit, and then the womb, having become pure, conceived Him. He purified the Virgin while She WAS INVIOLATE; wherefore, having been born, HE LEFT HER A VIRGIN. I do not say that Mary became immortal, but THAT BEING ILLUMINATED BY GRACE, SHE WAS NOT DISTURBED BY SINFUL DESIRES" [Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Homily Against Heretics, 41). "The Light abode in Her, cleansed Her mind, made Her thoughts pure, made chaste Her concerns, sanctified Her virginity" (Saint Ephraim the Syrian, "Mary and Eve"). "One who was pure according to human understanding, He made pure by Grace" (Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, "Exposition of the Teaching of the Orthodox Church on the Mother of God").
"Even though full of grace, She did not yet fully understand in what the service and the greatness of Her Son would consist of. The Hebrew conceptions of the Messiah were still close to Her, and natural feelings forced Her to be concerned for Him, preserving Him from labors and dangers which it might seem, were excessive. Therefore She favored Her Son involuntarily at first, which evoked His indication of the superiority of spiritual to bodily kinship [Matthew 12:46-49], "He had concern also over the honor of His Mother, but much more over the salvation of Her soul and the good of men, for which He had become clothed in the flesh" {Saint John Chrysostom, Commentary on John, Homily 21). Mary understood this and "heard the word of God and kept it" (Luke 11:27-28). As no other person, She had the same feelings as Christ (Philippians 2:5), unmurmuringly bearing the grief of a mother when She saw Her Son persecuted and suffering. Rejoicing in the day of the Resurrection, on the day of Pentecost She was clothed with "power from on high" (Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit Who descended upon Her "taught (Her) all things" (John 14:26), and "instructed (Her) in all truth" (John 16:13). Being enlightened, She began to labor all the more zealously to perform what She began to labor from Her Son and Redeemer, so as to ascend to Him and to be with Him.
"The end of the earthly life of the Most Holy Mother of God WAS THE BEGINNING OF HER GREATNESS. "Being adorned with Divine glory" (Irmos of the Canon of the Dormition), She stands and will stand, both in the Day of the Last Judgment and in the future age, at the right hand of the Throne of Her Son. She reigns with Him and has boldness towards Him as His Mother according to the flesh, and as one in spirit with Him, as one who performed the will of God and instructed others (Matthew 5:19). Merciful and full of love, She manifests Her love towards Her Son and God in love for the human race. She intercedes for it before the Merciful One, and going about the earth, She helps men." (Saint John Maximovitch)
HOW IS SHE PERCEIVED IN THE PROTESTANT WORLD?
In the Protestant world she is not venerated. The mother of Jesus, however holy, was only so because of Christ, and thus only special honoring of her necessarily detracted from the unique, unparalleled honor due to the Lord. That is certainly what the Reformers thought. John Calvin writes in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, "one who takes refuge in the intercession of saints robs Christ of the honor of mediation." "Veneration of Mary, or any of the saints for that matter, obscured the exclusive worship and honor due to Christ alone. "For Protestantism, Marian devotion is not merely a matter of idolatrous distraction from worship of God. It vitiates the salvific economy." According to some, "Mary is a person like any person, called to a unique role in God’s plan of salvation, given a choice, and making the right choice by God’s grace. Most Baptists believe Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus, they don’t believe that Mary continued to maintain her virginity. Belief and doctrine about the Virgin Mary differ from one Protestant sect to another. Most of them simply disregard her or dismiss her entirely.
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 