THE THEOTOKOS AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY

   THE THEOTOKOS AND 

EVER-VIRGIN MARY

   Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God,  is being eternally born of the God the Father, and in the fullness of time, without change,  He was born of His Mother, the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea, thus He also became the Son of man. Giving thought to these things and their meaning is astounding. The eternal Father in heaven has designated Mary to be the Mother of His Son in the flesh, being a most amazing event in history, for God the Father and Mary the Mother together have both given birth to Jesus Christ the Godman!

Therefore, the Theotokos, is now enthroned next to God the Father, having a special common bond, which He has and which she has acquired, for they are both the birthgivers of Jesus Christ. What an astounding and glorious woman she is! Christ is eternally being born of the Father before the ages and in time of His mother during the ages.

   What else does this mean? That Mary, who gave birth to God, is henceforth called by the Church, the Theotokos, and because  she is  supremely honored and glorified by God, the Church also honors and supremely and glorifies her.  

     For out of all humanity, only this one woman was found worthy to bear His eternal Son in the flesh.  This was by their mutual agreement, therefore, God the Father honors her above all creation, and the Church glorifies her singing:  “All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace; the assembly of angels and the race of man. A sanctified temple and noetic paradise; from whom God was incarnate and became a Child; He who is our God from before the ages.  He made your womb a throne and your body more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of grace; Glory to you!”

  We see her sweetly portrayed  in icons, which we reverence and  kiss with hearts that pour out to her and  from all the holy Orthodox Church throughout the world. God has honored her to be: “More honored than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim!”

   See where she is positioned in the Church?  She is in the place of highest honor, for in the center of the iconostasis are the royal doors, which signify the gate to heaven. On the right is our King and God Jesus Christ, and on the left is His Mother. This means that to enter the holy of holies here and the kingdom of heaven above, we must enter through them and the honor and glory and love that we give to Christ and His Mother, the Theotokos.  She is also depicted beyond the Holy Table, as the Platytera or Spacious One, for she was enabled to contain the uncontainable God of all in her womb.

     The Theotokos is our constant hope for she is a human like us and she has overcome the Evil One from her youth, living an ascetic life, fasting and praying, serving only God in the temple of God.  Now she sits next to His throne and intercedes for those who honor her and worship her Son in truth. She is so pure and holy that although she was in living in  the physical  temple of God, she became His royal temple in which God the Logos lived for nine months, when a new creature was formed, the Godman and King of all. By His indwelling,  He  honored her more than words can describe, for she is worthy of all honor and glory, for her extreme  humility, obedience, and perfect love!

Those who fail to honor the Theotokos or who insult her have no place in the kingdom of God. She is the perfect human being who gave birth to God in the flesh,  thus He honored her, showing her to be worthy of such honor from every creature in the heavenly and earthly domains.

     We too, must become impregnated with the words and teaching of Jesus Christ, and gradually become filled with Holy Spirit. Then through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, keeping all the command-ments, we may become the image Christ. Then we too can give birth to Christ, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, by our actions, our thoughts, our speech and especially our deep love for everything and everybody, for love is from God and God is love.  For this reason Christ told His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love each other, even as much as I love you. By this all men will know, that you are my disciples; if you have love for each other.”