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MARIAN POPULAR UNIVERSITY (UPM)

Year 2017-2018

Course «Mary, the woman of the Gospel»

Centre of the Work of Mary – hall B

Saturday 10th February 2018
Lesson 4 / B

REV. ASS. PROF. AUGUSTINOS BAIRACTARIS

Mary from an Orthodox Perspective

1. INTRODUCTION

The aim of this lesson is to focus our attention on the person of the Holy Virgin
(Theotokos – Θεοτόκος) through significant events of Mary’s life such as her Conception
and her Nativity; events which are essential to Orthodox, Catholic and other theological
traditions. While making reference to Mary we cannot ignore the person of Jesus and the
work of the Holy Spirit, because the life of the Theotokos – the Mother of God - is full of
miraculous events. These events were prophesied in the Old Testament and then were
commented on by the Early Church Fathers (in the Orthodox tradition we call them
“ecclesiastical Fathers”) such as St. John Damascene (of Damascus). So the miraculous
conception of Mary was the very first chapter of what we call the History of Salvation in
which the Theotokos played an indispensable key-role in that historical shift replacing
Eve and thus laying the fundamental elements of Christology and Soteriology (= the
study of the doctrine of salvation).

***

2. THE CULT OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE BYZANTINE ERA

In the Orthodox Church every 9th of December we celebrate the Conception of St. Anna
and every 8th of September the Nativity of Mary although very few Church Fathers have
written about these events. It was only in the late 7th and at the beginning of the 8th
century that we find the first written accounts. During the reign of the Byzantine emperor
Manuel Komnenos in 12th century these feast days received their official character. It is
obvious that the Church community in the beginning was very hesitant in fixing these
feasts because the sources of these events and their celebration derived from apocryphal
texts (apocrypha refers to texts which were not inserted in the official list of texts to be
read in Church, that is not belonging to the “canon”).

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Over the years many scholars have made decisive contributions to establish the whole
picture of Mary and the significant role she played in salvation history. Although her cult
(I do not use deliberately the term worship which obviously can only be given to God)
began in the early period of the Church’s life within the first community of Jerusalem, it
took some centuries for beliefs pertaining to Mary to be established as dogma of the
Christian faith. This came to the fore especially during the iconoclasm (the rejection or
destruction of religious images such as icons deemed heretical) because of the human
image of the Virgin as the Mother of God depicted on icons.

Another issue that I would like to point out, in order to emphasize what has already been
said, is that up until the 8th century in Byzantine liturgical documentation it was the
person of Jesus Christ that was predominantly presented by the Church Fathers due to the
doctrinal discourses against heretics. The image of the Theotokos, as the Mother of God,
appeared after the condemnation of Nestorius in the 5th century and again in the Middle
Byzantine era during the iconoclastic period. To do justice to history the feast of Mary’s
Nativity was established in the beginning of the 5th or 6th century in Jerusalem and from
that region spread to other Christian areas. The introduction of the same feast in Rome
took place at the end of the 7th century when some Greek monks found shelter in the city,
after the Arabic persecution. The Pope of Rome Sergius I (687-701) was the first to
establish it, as an official feast among the other feasts dedicated to the Holy Virgin, in the
calendar of the Church of Rome. In the beginning of the 11th century the feast of Mary’s
Nativity had already spread across the whole Christian world.

The title of Theotokos first appeared as Christ’s tender mother in poetry, then in
iconography and finally in the liturgical life of the Church. The Church’s rule lex orandi,
lex credendi ("the way we worship" "the way we believe")1 finds its application also in
the cult of Mary. In the 8th century a new theme - Mary as God’s mother - emerged in
poetry, then passed into the area of the exegetical homilies (that is the drawing out of the
meaning of a biblical text), then it was integrated gradually by the means of iconography.
Finally it was to found in liturgical texts such as hymns, prayers etc. So there is a serious
process of a gradual incorporation of Mary’s cult into the main body of Christian
religious doctrine and practice.2

Just to give you some examples. Archbishop Proclus of Constantinople (434-446) is

enlisted among those who wrote a great number of homilies dedicated to Jesus, but at the
same time he wrote proportionally just a few homilies dedicated to the Holy Virgin. In
them he always used the methodology of typology (τυπολογία) (that is a method of
comparing the Old Testament with the New Testament. Events, persons or statements in
the Old Testament are seen as “types” pre-figuring events and persons in the New
Testament)3, when he was speaking about the Mother of God. “…He is not motherless,
for he has a mother. If pure God, he is not fatherless, for he has a Father. But as a
Creator he has no mother, and as a man he has no father…Being God he was seen on the
earth and through the Virgin he was present and came to dwell here and birth did not
diminish him nor did labour corrupt his uncreated nature”4.

1
Cfr. G.FLOROVSKY, Bibbia - Chiesa – Tradizione, Pournaras, Thessaloniki 2003, p.116. (in Greek)
2
Cfr. A. LOUTH, “Orthodoxy and Art”, in A. Walker and C. Carras, Living Orthodoxy in the Modern
World, London 1996, pp.160-161.
3
Cfr. F. YOUNG, Biblical Exegesis and the formation of Christian Culture, Cambridge 1997, pp.192-195.
4
P. CONSTAS, Weaving the Body of God: Proklos of Constantinople, the Theotokos and the Loom of the
Flesh, in JEChSt 3 (1995), pp.169-194.

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Picture 1: Mary looking at her Son on the Cross

During the iconoclastic period there is a shift of emphasis in the way of presenting the
Virgin Mary.

Germanos I of Constantinople for instance stressed Mary’s human characteristics and

her identity as the Mother of God, linking the person of Mary especially with Christ in his
Passion on the Cross. Let us read from Germanos: “She endured his Passion and death in
human fashion…The mother reaches a peak in her lamentations. She conceives still
greater sighs. She gives birth to more extensive weeping. For now she no longer has sight
of her son. The sun knew its setting, going below the earth, and it became night for the
mother of the Son; A night of heavy sorrow and disaster”5. In the same way in another
homily, on the “Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple”, he emphasizes Mary’s human
qualities: “The all-golden jar, which holds the sweetest delight of our souls, Christ, the
manna…You surpassed all created things, o gift of God. Untilled earth, vine with fair
branches, delightful cup, bubbling fountain, Virgin who gave birth and Mother who knew
no man, treasure of innocence and pride of holiness”6.

The same emotional position of Mary standing at the foot of the Cross is given, especially
in the post-iconoclastic iconography of the Crucifixion, where the Virgin Mary is
depicted along with Jesus’ disciple John. Mary’s eyes are cast downward, her lips are
pursed and she clutches her hands to her breast in a gesture of great sorrow and pain. The
icon of Christ’s Deposition from the Cross elaborates even more the theme of Mary’s
lamentation expressing her pain and her traumatic experience of seeing, for the last time,
her son crucified and dead. Thus, it is a clear shift between the pre and the post -
iconoclastic period depicting the image of the Mother of God. Before the 8th century the
Virgin Mary is portrayed as the “Enthroned Virgin” and as the Hodegetria (Οδηγήτρια).7
(The icon of the Virgin Hodegetria depicts the Theotokos holding the Child Jesus at her

5
Cited in A. KAZHDAN, A History of Byzantine Literature 650 -890, Athens 1990, p.59.
6
Cited in Ibid., p.64.
7
Cfr. I. KALAVREZOU, Images of the Mother: When the Virgin Mary became Meter Theou, in
«Dumbarton Oaks Papers» (DOP) 44(1990), pp. 165-172.

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side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for humankind. This icon is also
called “Our Lady of the Way”). While, after the 8th century, the person of Mary is
portrayed as the “Virgin of Tenderness” (Γλυκοφιλούσα) with the characteristic
passionate embrace between the Mother and her child vividly expressing this human
dimension of the Theotokos.

Picture 2: Virgin of Tenderness

***

3. THE FEAST OF THE CONCEPTION OF SAINT ANNA

One of the most ancient texts describing the feast of the Conception of Mary is called
“Sermon on Saint Anna’s conception” (8th century). The writer of that work is the monk
John of Euboea8. In that text John describes the events just before the conception of
Mary, where Joachim, the Theotokos’ father, a very rich man, was without a child. For
this he decided to offer double gifts in the Temple, desiring with this gesture to give some
relief to the poorest people of his nation and praying to God to have a child. Though,
against his good motions and feelings, he was sent away from the Temple because he had
no children which the priests considered as a sign of Joachim’s condemnation by God.
After that he did not return to his house but went to the desert instead, remaining there
alone, fasting and praying to God for forty days. Anna did the same in their house,
praying intensively but she did not know about her husband’s whereabouts. There she
received the message from the angel that she will give birth to a child whose name will be
well known in the whole world (oikoumene). The exact same message was given to
Joachim, even though that he was in a different place. The text finishes with Anna’s

8
Cfr. JOHN OF EUBOEA, Sermo in Conceptionem Sanctae Deiparae, PG 96, 1459 – 1500.
The abbreviation PG indicates the Greek Patrology volume (Patrologia Graeca) which is part of the
collection of writings of the early Fathers of the Church or other Christian writers in Greek. The collection
consists of 161 volumes compiled by Abbot Jacques Paul Migne.

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expression of gratitude to God and with her decision to offer her child as a gift to God.
This is a sign of Mary’s entrance to the Temple.

George of Nicomedia (860) was another writer in whose homilies we find references to
the feast of Mary’s conception. His first homily is similar to that of the monk John of
Euboea.9 But from his second homily we can elicit more details.10 Joachim, staying in
the mountainous region for a long time and without food becoming fleshless; while Anna
had to deal with the insults of the people because of her childlessness and also she had to
face social rejection being treated as an outcast. Besides this she was not aware of her
husband’s situation whom she thought dead. Moreover her friends and relatives accused
her of being drunk. 11 In George of Nicomedia’s third sermon on the same event a
biblical dimension of Joachim’s prayer for forty days in the desert is given12. In addition
it offers other information: Anna did not pray in her house’s garden, but in the Temple,
where angels and not angel (in singular) visited her, informing her about God’s plan in
the history of salvation. In that plan her child would have an extremely important role.13

A third source comes from the so-called Jacob the monk (1099) in his sermon for the
same event of Mary’s conception. Here he differentiates himself from the above
mentioned writers in two points. Firstly, he corrects the notice that Anna went to the
Temple to pray, saying she stayed in the garden, outside of the main building, because
she wanted to avoid the disapproval and the comments from other people who were
present in the Temple. Secondly, Jacob the monk says Anna was shy and because of that
she developed an internal, mystical and intense prayer to God in secret. She did not want
her words to be heard; for that she was praying intensely in silence.14

The last source of Mary’s Conception comes from the apocryphal text known as “Proto-
Gospel of James” (2nd century) which gives us information already known regarding the
conception of Mary plus some extra details. For instance the name of the priest (Rouvim)
who did not accept Joachim’s offerings and actually kicked him out of the Temple during
the feast of the Dedication, claiming that Joachim had the curse of God on him for not
having offspring after twenty years of marriage. Thus, he did not let him move closer to
the dwelling place of Yahweh. Joachim humiliated left the temple going to the desert
around the mountains. There after a few months in solitude he received the visitation of
an angel telling him that his sterile wife would finally give birth to a daughter,
predestined to be the Mother of the Son of God, Jesus. The angel also revealed the same
message to Anna. Their meeting took place in a public place right in front of the Golden
Gate at the entrance of the city. There was no reason for shame any more nor to be hidden
from their countrymen. Together with joy they praised the name of God and then returned
home.

9
Cfr. GEORGE OF NICOMEDIA, PG 100, 1335 – 1354.
10
Cfr. Ibid., 1353 – 1375.
11
Cfr. Ibid., 1357.
12
Cfr. Ibid.,1375 – 1400.
13
Cfr. Ibid ., 1396.
14
Cfr. JACOB THE MONK, PG 127, 544-568.

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Picture 3: Joachim and Anna meeting after the good news at the entrance of the city

Also the same text describes another interesting and unique aspect. The servant of Anna,
Judith, urged her to leave the house and participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Day.
But Anna refuses to do so because she has the sorrow of her missing husband and of her
barrenness. Thus, Anna finds a shelter in her garden in order to pray in isolation and
peace. In that place Anna stands under a laurel bush. When she looks up into the sky,
watching a flock of birds flying, Anna begins a lamentation saying that all the beasts, the
water and the earth can generate while she cannot, because she is sterile. An angel then
visits her in the garden telling her the good news and after that two angels appear again in
front of her informing her that her husband is alive and is coming home along with his
sheep. The very next day Joachim offered a sacrifice in the Temple, which was well
accepted by the priests that time and God as a sign that his sins were forgiven and he
would no more feel shame among the people of his nation.15

So, after that description it is quite clear that the conception of Mary was the first chapter
of God’s plan for the salvation of the world after the fall of Adam and Eve. The Son of
God took on flesh through the Holy Virgin in order to fulfill the Law. This was to verify
the sayings of the prophets and to save the whole human race. The Temple of Solomon in
Jerusalem was a human construction while the Theotokos is the “real Temple” of God,
where its foundations are not stones, but the synergy of the Holy Trinity. Through the
account of the conception of Mary we see a similarity with the conception of Jesus and
His incarnation.

15
Cfr. C.TISCHENDORF, Apocrypha, Lutterworth Press, London 1934, pp.4-10.

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Something else we notice is the power of human prayer. Joachim and Anna lived
together, prayed together and finally they were blessed together by God, receiving His
grace because of their patience, spiritual stamina, and the faith and hope they kept alive,
since both of them were quite old; but still they did not lose hope of having a child. It is
important to underline that notwithstanding the negative comments, the bad treatment and
being blamed by their people, they did not accuse them of heartlessness, and neither did
they complain to God. But in peace, in secret and in silence both of them prayed to God
to receive His blessing of having a child. And in the end comes the climax of their faith;
immediately Anna said that she will offer her child as a gift to the diaconate (service) in
the temple of God (the feast of Mary’s entrance into the Temple). They did not even
show a sign of selfishness or arrogance, but fully trusted in God’s will.

***

4. THE THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY

OF MARY

It is quite well known that after the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431) the cult of
Mary became widespread and intensified especially in Constantinople and in Syria. The
story of Mary’s Nativity was actually built on three apocryphal texts along with the texts
we referred to previously. These are the following:

1. Proto-Gospel of James (2nd century).

2. The Gospel of Pseudo Matthew (4th century).
3. The Book of Nativity of Mary (9th century).

Lacking the biblical and historical foundations of Mary’s Nativity these apocryphal texts
helped to introduce the cult of Mary through ecclesiastical art, such as the iconography,
hymnology and sculpture etc. to the liturgical life of the Church. Apart from the above
mentioned texts there are sermons of St. Andrew of Crete (8th century) plus the
exegetical homilies and commentaries of St. John Damascene from Syria.

Picture 4: The Nativity of Mary, the Mother of God

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Let us focus now on a homily of St. John Damascene, which has a poetic style and a
strong symbolic formulation summed up in the following seven theological arguments.
Thus, for the Syrian Father Mary’s Nativity means:
- The epiphany (manifestation) of the divine plan of salvation of mankind through
Anna’s miraculous conception
- The promise of Mary’s perpetual virginity
- The prelude of her divine motherhood
- The prophetic proclamation of the two natures of Christ
- The sign of the regeneration of human nature
- The formulation of the new alliance
- The prophetic announcement of the Redemption

Let us go step by step analyzing the above seven points of St. John Damascene.

1. Firstly he describes Anna’s conception as miraculous because of her old age and
because of her sterility. This proves God’s intervention is above the laws of nature.

2. Secondly, Anna gives birth to a firstborn and only begotten daughter, who in her turn
shall be the mother of another first born and only begotten, the Son of God. The above
mentioned apocryphal sources advocate the belief that the Virgin was conceived in
Anna’s womb by divine intervention without any male input.
It is written in the Proto-Gospel of James: “Now I am seeing that God had blessed me
abundantly, since being a widow, I cease being it, being sterile, I will conceive in my
womb”.16

In the Gospel of Pseudo Matthew we read that when the couple met at the Golden Gate,
Anna told Joachim: “I have conceived in my womb”. 17 On the other hand St. John
Damascene does not follow that line being opposed to that apocryphal tradition. He says
in his famous homily on the Nativity of Mary: “O most all-blessed loins of Joachim, from
which a wholly unblemished seed was sent forth! O renowned womb of Anna, in which
slowly, with additions from her, an all-holy infant grew, and once it had taken shape, was
born!” 18 In this statement he combines the two perspectives: the natural parental
intervention and the divine generation of his daughter. In another point the Syrian Father
accepts the natural genesis of Mary in accordance with the law of nature, giving emphasis
to the fact that the couple lived their whole life in chastity from when they were chosen
by God to give birth to Mary.

St. John Damascene is also in full accordance with the Fathers who preceded him
regarding the thesis that Mary was before, during and after childbirth, a Virgin.
According to the Syrian Father this virginity and chastity was a condition in order for her
to bear in her body the only-begotten Son of God, who had no need of a physical, human
and temporary father, since He had an eternal Father. Thus, Mary’s “door” has been
always kept closed, while still allowing the entry and the exit of Christ, who in His turn is
the gateway for people to Heaven.19

16
Proto-Gospel of JAMES, Bilingual Greek – Spanish text, Madrid 2006, IV, 4. (my translation)
17
Evangelio del Pseudo MATEO, Billingual Latin/ Spanish text, Madrid 2006, III, 5. (my translation)
18
ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS, Oration on the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Mary, in Wider than
Heaven: Eighth-century Homilies on the Mother of God, Crestwood New York, St. Vladimirs Seminary
Press 2008, n.2.
19
Cfr. Ibid. n.4.

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3. The Nativity of Mary is also a sign of the double similarity between her birth and
Jesus’ birth, since both of them are first-born and only begotten. Besides, Mary is from a
sterile mother and Jesus from a virgin mother. We read in St. John Damascene’s homily:
“A womb in which the Uncontained dwelt and breasts of milk from which God, the little
child Jesus, was nourished! […] Hands which carried God and knees, a throne that is
higher than the Cherubim […] “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of
your womb” (Luke 1:42) Those who confess you as Theotokos have been blessed and
those who deny you have been cursed!».20

4. The Nativity of Mary is also a proclamation of the two natures of Christ, where the Son
of God, coming from eternity, owns two distinct, but complete natures, the divine and the
human, keeping them in a single and unique person without division or separation; he
becomes a man without ceasing to be God. We quote again from the same homily: “O by
how many marvels and by what alliances has this little daughter become a workshop!
Offspring of sterility, virginity that bears a child, a mixture of life and death, as if [for
him] the inferior had been vanquished by the greater in all things”.21

5. Another point that the Church Father from Syria argues is that the Nativity of Mary
symbolizes the regeneration of the whole humankind in the person of Jesus. The birth of
Mary marks essentially the rescue of fallen humanity through her Son. In a sense we
could say that the Holy Virgin became here on earth the intercessor between her Son and
humanity because of her maternal role. That is why Mary is also called new Eve, who
became servant of the divine will and against the deception of Eve, who was found guilty
of being servant of the snake. Thus, Mary became the bridge which brought back the real
life in the person of Jesus, while Eve was the bridge through which death made its entry
into life. Jesus, being fully man except in sin, joins the whole creation and the whole
human nature in Himself, unifying the visible with the invisible.22

6. In addition, the birth of Mary was some kind of a ratification of a New Covenant
between humanity and God, replacing or even better fulfilling the meaning of the Old
Testament. Now, the chosen people of Israel have been replaced by baptized Christians
performing the ultimate law which is to love your neighbour as yourself. “Come all
nations, come men of every race, of every language, of all ages, of all dignity with joy let
us celebrate the nativity of the joy of the world”, exhorts St. John Damascene.23 In that
context we can see the Temple of Solomon was replaced by the spiritual Temple of
Mary’s body, who gave flesh to the Son of God in order to be incarnated by means of the
Holy Spirit impregnating Mary.24

***

20
Ibid. n.9. 11.
21
Ibid. n.5.
22
Ibid. n.7
23
Ibid. n.1.
24
Cfr. Ibid. n.10

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5. THE MYSTERY OF MARY AND THE MYSTERY OF JESUS ON THE CROSS

Mary and Jesus on the Cross revealed what real Love (Agape) is. We human beings are
still sinners, yet justified by His blood shed on the Cross. He is the one who reconciled us
with God. 25 Christ died on the Cross for the weak, the ungodly, the unworthy, the
unrighteous, the sinners and the enemies! Who else would give his life to his enemies, if
not God himself? Our life was deserted by the Spirit and He brought back again the Spirit
and the real Life through his incarnation by becoming one of us except being in our sinful
situation. It is not we who make our way to God, but He who makes His way to us.
Atonement and salvation do not mean that we reconcile ourselves with Him, but that God
in Christ reconciles us to Him.26 And so we become members of his Body, flesh from his
flesh and bone from his bones. 27 The Apostle Paul identifies what real love is by
pointing to the Cross. We read in the Epistle to the Ephesians: “…and in one body to
reconcile both of them to God through the Cross”.28 Thus, in other terms we could say
that through Jesus on the Cross we experience the recapitulation of the salvation of the
oikoumene. While John the Evangelist states: «This is the proof of love, that he laid
down His life for us».29 And if somebody wonders why we say these things about Jesus
and the Cross, we answer by saying that without Mary the restoration and the unification
of the fallen human nature with the divine nature in the person of Jesus would not be
possible.

The birth of Jesus is the real fruit of Mary’s obedience, diakonia (service) in the temple,
humility, faith, patience and trust in God’s will, but mostly is the result of Mary’s love of
God. She did not fear or despair during the persecution of the state authorities. She had to
abandon her house and to live as a refugee in Egypt, but still her faith was constant; and
where was all that spiritual power coming from? It was coming from within herself, from
her faith, that she was the true Mother of God. «Ο Λόγος σαρξ εγένετο» - The Word
became flesh, means that the second person of the Holy Trinity was incarnated through
the kenosis (emptying, abasement) of the Holy Spirit, not because of some sort of ecstasy
or because of some sort of ethical progress,30 but because of Mary who gave birth to the
Logos.31 Mary appeared to work as a bridge between heaven and earth, since in Christ the
two natures kept their own properties (ιδιότητες ή ικανότητες) their own characteristics
and their own qualities without confusion, division, separation or mixing. The Incarnation
as such is a mega-mystery incomprehensible to human reason and mind. It is well known
that when St. John Damascene was asked by his students “how” did the incarnation of
Jesus take place, he simply answered “in the Holy Spirit” (εν Αγίω Πνεύματι).

Even Mary herself did not know how this would happen, since she did not have a
relationship with any man. But God is known through His revelations, which means
through the human capacity to perceive God’s revelation by means of human concepts,
words and images. Thus, the whole history of the people of Israel during the times of the
Old and the New Testament attests that God periodically was revealing Himself to a

25
Rm 5: 10: «For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how
much more can we be sure that, being now reconciled, we shall be saved by his life».
26
2 Co 2: 18.
27
Ep 5: 30.
28
Ep 2:16.
29
1 Jn 3:16.
30
Cfr. JOHN CHRYSOSTOMOS, PG 56, 385-390.
31
Cfr. GREGORY PALAMAS, PG 151, 201-204.

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selected people, in order to guide the rest of Israel to the promised land. God is invisible
and inexpressible, not because of some sort of agnosticism, but because of His own free
will.32

In the potential question “what is love”, I would say that it is love that sacrifices itself.
This is what Mary did and what Jesus did. “God loves” means “God is”, because it is
God’s nature to love and so it is human nature and inclination to love.

Mary accepted freely to say Yes to the angel’s message in sacrificing her life and her very
being, in order to give life to God himself, adhering in that way to God’s plan, serving
Him forever. This is what Chiara used to describe as “living within”. Chiara says this:
“We want to live within, to develop our interior lives, detaching ourselves from
everything, not so that we remain suspended between earth and heaven, but in order to be
totally rooted in heaven. Then and only then will we live anchored in the heart of Christ,
through the heart of Mary. […]We want to live within like Mary,[…] our beloved mother,
our queen…”33.

The Agape then has undergone a real and profound development through being connected
with the death of Jesus on the Cross; with the blood of Christ shed on the Cross our
human nature was cleansed from sin and baptized in the person of the new Adam.34 Paul
added to the Agape notion of the Synoptic Gospels the idea of Agape through the Cross.
Agape and Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross are one and the same. Without the Cross we
would never have known the depth of God’s love, and vice versa without God’s love we
would never have been led to the Cross.35 But love still remains a mystery. Paul tries to
identifies it by saying: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may
have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and
high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that
you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”.36

Mary worked as the “primary part” of the reconciliation between God and humanity by
giving flesh to God’s Son. The second part of the reconciliation was Jesus’ sacrifice on
the Cross. The second could not take place without the first, since the love of Mary and
the Cross of Christ interpret and illuminate each other; but while Mary was His mother at
the same time she was a faithful member of His Body, that is of the Christian community
in Jerusalem, likewise her Son was also her Teacher and at the same time her Redeemer.

Here I would like to share a few thoughts of mine. I have a feeling that Chiara was also
moved by that way of accepting in her heart. This we can see in her writings and trace the
inspiration of her life with Jesus Forsaken. She writes: «Let us recollect ourselves with
Mary, giving our lives that fragrance which comes from the seriousness and silence of
those who know themselves to be constantly close to a dying man who is divine ...; he is
our secret, the secret of the salvation of many”.37 So there on the Cross Mary could see
the climax of her love to become the climax of her suffering. We read in the Triodion, a
liturgical book (means a book which we use in the liturgy): “What is this new, strange

32
Cfr. A. COCHRANE, The Existentialists and God, The Westminster Press, 1969, p.128.
33
C. LUBICH, Fragments of Wisdom, New City, London, p.95.
34
Cfr. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, PG 51, 228.
35
Cfr. A. NYGREN, Agape and Eros, SPCK, London 1953, p.117.
36
Ep 3: 17 - 19.
37
C. LUBICH, The Cry, New City, London 2001, p.76.

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miracle, my Son? How did the lawless people nail you to the Cross, You the life of all, my
sweetest light…As she saw you raised on the Cross, the Mother who bore you without
birth pangs wept bitter tears and cried out: Alas my sweetest Son! I am now wounded in
my soul, seeing you nailed to the Cross between two criminals, like a criminal”.38 All
these lead us to the conclusion that within the apostolic mission of the Church exists the
“Marian mission”, which is linked to the role of Mary in the history of Salvation. «To be
a virgin given to God means literally to play the part of Mary, the mother of all, and to do
so truly, concretely, silently, here on earth…[In a similar way] Mary has remained on
earth in those virgins who continue her maternal mission of service to mankind and of
collaboration in the sacrifice of Jesus», Chiara says.39

***

6. THE TERM THEOTOKOS IN THE DOCTRINAL TEACHING OF THE

EASTERN FATHERS

As we all well know the term Theotokos helped to establish the truth that Jesus Christ, the
pre-existing Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary and who also became man without
ceasing to be God in order to recapitulate in Himself the whole of humanity and thus
grant them eternal salvation.

The point here is that Jesus Christ is the same Son of God who as true God "was born"
eternally from the Father and as true man was born in time and according to the flesh
from the Virgin for the completion of the ages. Jesus Christ is one person, who unites in
His hypostasis (person) two distinct natures, (the divine and the human), and thus deifies
the human person by leading it to participate in the perfection of the divine. Jesus
received his divine nature from his Father, while he received his human nature from the
Virgin Mary, and this is something unique, something which shall never take place again:
a human being offering her flesh, her womb, her blood and her breast to feed the new –
born baby that is to say God Himself! The humanity of all ages in the person of
Theotokos gave birth to God, and then still she remained virgin! The term Theotokos
brings out all these aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation and stresses its soteriological
importance. St. Cyril of Alexandria (Archbishop of Alexandria) was not the first to use
the term Theotokos in a Christological sense. Several theologians before him, including
St. Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers (St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory
Nazianzus, St. Gregory of Nyssa), had used it in their writings. Also it is used in
Council documents. St. Cyril defended its propriety and explained its dogmatic
significance for the Church's doctrine of Christ, because the Archbishop of
Constantinople Nestorius denounced it as unacceptable, and used to claim Mary as
Christotokos (Χριστοτόκος) or Anthropotokos (Ανθρωποτόκος). In the debate that
ensued it became obvious that this was a false doctrine on Christ, which eventually led to
his condemnation.

38
Citato in T.NIKOLAOS, The lamentation of the Theotokos in the byzantine tradition, Athens 2001,
pp.79-98. (in Greek) (my translation from Greek)
39
C. LUBICH, Fragments, op.cit., p.95.

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For St. Cyril of Alexandria Jesus’ conception by the Holy Virgin is a case which goes
beyond any verbal scheme, truly paradoxical and ineffable for the human reason. The
only thing needed in order to “receive” this event is the illumination of mind through the
grace of the Holy Spirit.40 Thus, when events take place in the history of the Church, for
instance the Nativity, the Annunciation and the Assumption of Mary (which in the
Orthodox Church we call “The Dormition”), the Nativity of Jesus, His Resurrection and
His Ascension into Heaven etc. the ecclesiastical language preaches the evangelical truth
in a simple manner without sacrificing human intelligence. On the contrary it allows the
Holy Spirit to manifest its truth in its own way.41 St. John Damascene, St. Cyril of
Alexandria, the Cappadocian Fathers along with St. John Chrysostom and St.
Gregory Palamas even though they lived in different times and in different places,
propose the same exegetical methodology: acceptance of the miracle, of the divine
intervention in the historical course, using not the affirmative categories or
arguments of common reason, but the apophatic (= a type of theological thinking
which approaches the Divine by negation. Cataphatic theology approaches the Divine by
affirmations) determination in order to explain and accept these events 42.

In addition, St. Cyril is in a sense warning the people not be unfaithful because of the
concept of the virginal birth of Jesus, since a lot of prophets in the Old Testament had
already spoken of it like Joel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Moses. In the person of the Theotokos
we find the fulfillment of the words of the prophets of the Old Testament; here we are not
speaking of a transition from one place to another, but the transition from the time
of anticipation to the time of salvation. The prophets were prophesying without being
able to be understood by the common people of their time, as they spoke about the
Fleshless Word of God (Άσαρκος Λόγος του Θεού) as well as about the Incarnated
Word of God (incarnated in a virgin woman). The Word was given life in flesh by the
Holy Virgin, but at the same time He remains God, since He pre-existed before his birth.
In this point it is very interesting to see how the Greek Fathers managed to explain
linguistically the difference between Jesus’ birth and every other human being’s birth.
They used two different verbs: (prosélthen-προσήλθεν) and (synélthen - συνήλθεν). The
first verb προσήλθεν has as the subject the Holy Spirit, with whose energy Jesus was
“driven into” the Holy Virgin’s womb; while the second verb συνήλθεν has as the subject
the married couple who give birth to a child.
St. Cyril replying to the potential question: «why did God choose that way of saving
humanity through the incarnation of His Son?» answers that this embodiment of God in a
human form was so that Christ could send His grace to transform people from being
children of human beings into being children of God, through the energy of the Holy
Spirit43. Jesus as a first born (πρωτότοκος) 44 and only begotten (μονογενής)45 restored the
“imago dei” (image of God) by His kenotic sacrifice. The first one refers to divine
economy (history of salvation) and the second one refers to theology (to the Holy
Trinity).

40
Cfr. CYRIL of Alexandria, PG 70, 204.
41
Cfr. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, PG 57, 43.
42
Cfr. P. EVDOKIMOV, The art of the icon – Theology of beauty, Pournaras, Thessaloniki 2009, p.178. (in
Greek)
43
Cfr. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, PG 74, 277.
44
Cfr. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, PG 73, 205.
45
Cfr. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, PG 72, 485.

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The Theotokos is also called by the Greek Fathers a virgin, a mother and servant.
Particularly she is called “Virgin” because she remained virgin before, during and after
the birth of Jesus. Here I would like to emphasize that her virginity was not only
restricted to her body, but it refers to her soul and mind too. The evidence of that is by
virtue of her reason, will and heart being filled by the Holy Spirit’s grace. In addition,
Mary’s virginity must not be perceived as a refusal of the married state of life. It is not by
accident that Jesus’ first public miracle took place at a marriage feast and it was Mary,
actually acting as a mother, who asked her Son to work a miracle. For St. Gregory of
Nyssa Mary’s virginity and motherhood is called the “innovation of nature”.46

Mary is also called “Mother” because she holds her Saviour Jesus Christ, the fruit of her
womb, in her arms and she feeds him with her milk. She became a mother without being
a wife. In her hypostasis (person) coexist the opposites: motherhood and virginity. 47
Another perspective of Mary’s motherhood is given again from St. Cyril, where he says
that she could not understand how it is possible for her son to be nailed on the Cross! It
was a real scandal for her! And what was Jesus’ reaction to that? John the Evangelist
gives us Jesus’ words: “When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved
standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son”. 48 At that point Jesus
assigned Mary to his disciple John to explain to his mother the deep and real meaning of
His crucifixion and His suffering and not only to provide her with protection and shelter.
In Mary’s heart a great tension happened between the sentiments of a mother’s tenderness
looking on her bleeding son on the cross and the sentiment of responsibility, accepting
the call to serve humanity by offering her contribution in order that death might be
conquered. The mystery of the Theotokos can only be understood through the mystery of
Christ.

Finally Mary is called “Servant” by the Church Fathers clarifying that Mary, even though
she gave birth to the second person of the Holy Trinity, she remained a creature. Thus,
the adjective “servant” confirms two things: firstly her natural relationship with the rest
of the creation, meaning that still she remained a human being and secondly her personal
relationship with her Son. This kind of relationship was transformed from one of
dominion between a master and a servant to one of love and condescension between the
Saviour and the saved. The necessary precondition of this transformation was the true
faith that the Virgin Mary possessed.

The apocryphal literature regarding the Mother of God coming from the early years of
Christianity, laid the path for the promulgation of the liturgical feasts dedicated to the
person of Mary and provided an introduction to the iconography of the Nativity of the
Theotokos. In addition a number of sermons, as well as other exegetical commentaries of
the Church Fathers of the East and of the West, gave an extra thrust to the worldwide
diffusion of the understanding of the role of Mary in the History of Salvation. Certainly,
the Council of Ephesus (431) played an important key role in the cult of Mary in the East
and later in the West.

46
GREGORY OF NYSSA, PG 46, 1136.
47
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, PG 77, 1005.
48
Jn 19: 26.

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7. FINAL THOUGHTS – CONCLUSIONS

In the end of my presentation I would like to offer a few personal thoughts coming
mainly from my heart.

One of the main characteristics of the Church itself is the internal connection and
interdependence between the Eucharistic vision and the continuous historical martyria
(witness) to the world in terms of actual life. The unity of the Church is not an end in
itself, but it is a refreshing and a dynamic procedure of ecclesial life as a mystical body
and as a living witness to society.

We, Orthodox and Catholics, originally come from the same and one Church, but
sometime around the end of the 9th century we adopted a different perspective of what is
life, what is God, what is the proper - let us say - relationship between God and human
beings in terms of worship etc. The result of that differentiation in the doctrinal teaching
and worshipping, between Catholics and Orthodox, was the development of a different
lifestyle in social terms and mainly of a different Christian culture, which has its
consequences in arts, music, poetry, sculpture, iconography, architecture, literature, ethics
etc. It is important though not to neglect sight of the Church’s mission which is
permanently linked to the eschaton (= the final event in the divine plan, the end of the
world).

Our “historical womb” is the same; the ecclesia (Εκκλησία) of Jerusalem, while our
“spiritual womb” is again the same, the Holy Virgin’s womb. Our “eschatological
tomb” is again the same, Christ’s tomb. Thus we are destined to be united, because that is
His will, His covenant, His mandate. It is up to us then to create a living – open space for
the Holy Spirit to perform His miracles 49 . It is here that dialogue, as a means of
communication, of exchanging, of sharing, comes to the fore.

This is exactly what Chiara’s vision was: to transform the whole world despite cultural,
social or religious differences into a whole spectrum of God’s kingdom, where everyone
has their own place. Plurality is the antidote to uniformity; dialogue is the answer to
absoluteness, collective sharing is the solution to individual possession of material or
even spiritual gifts. Nothing originates from us, but it is given to us from above as a gift
of divine grace. In the end of the day we must realize that we are all brothers and sisters
and will be united in Christ’s name. The life of a true committed Christian and member of
the Church must always be the imitation of the prototype (model), which is Christ
Himself. It is not strange that Jesus “went outside” of the walls of Jerusalem to give His
final witness of love and diakonia (service) to the whole of humankind through his
Crucifixion, thus breaking down the national, linguistic, cultural religious barriers and the
limits of His times and of His Jewish background. His sacrifice had and still has an
eternal ecumenical call to all nations and peoples of all time. His sufferings were not
addressed exclusively to the Jewish people, but to the whole of humanity, living and

49
Cfr. C. LUBICH, Essential Writings, New City, London 2009, p.68: “ […] to leave space for God, for his
plans, for his light-filled and wise design for the world and for each one of us”.

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dead. “I am making everything new! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and
the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of
life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be
my children”, Christ says. 50 With these apocalyptic words Jesus proved to be the
sovereign over history through the energy of the Holy Spirit.

All this was fulfilled because a chosen woman, named Mary, who gave her flesh and her
virginal blood so that the second person of the Holy Trinity could to be incarnated by the
Holy Spirit and so dwell among us. In the person of Mary the real meaning of the
Christian Gospel was revealed which is to love the salvation of others.

The Theotokos’ contribution to history was not an expression of ethical engagement, but
it was the result of her true love for God and her people (the whole of humanity living
before, during and after her, those to follow her unto the ages of ages).51

The images of the Mother of God as the Mother of Tenderness (Γλυκοφιλούσα) -

(associated with the Nativity of Jesus) and as the Lamenting Virgin (Θρηνωδούσα)
(associated with the Passion of Lord on the Cross) - were adopted in 9th and 10th centuries
creating new iconographic models and thus Mary in the Orthodox Church became
synonymous with veneration of icons through which her design in Salvation History can
be traced artistically.52

50
Jn, Revelation, 21: 5-7.
51
C. STAMOULIS, Theotokos and the Orthodox dogma, Palimpsiston, Thessaloniki 1996,p.41. (in Greek)
52
N. TSIRONIS, “From poetry to liturgy: the cult of the Virgin in the Middle Byzantine era”, in M.
Vassilaki ed., Images of the Mother of God – Perceptions of the Theotokos, in “Byzantium”, pp. 91-99.

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