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You are here: Experts > Homework Help > Christianity - General > Eastern Orthodox > Theotokos
Expert: Alex Anatole - 10/31/2009
Question
QUESTION: I have converted (or reverted) to Orthodoxy from a Protestant tradition. I understand the concept of requesting prayers on our behalf from the Theotokos and the Saints and I understand that when we say "save us" in that context that we mean we are saved by the prayers of the saints, but occasionally I run across a prayer using language that seems to take an extreme view of the Mother of God's role. For instance this excerpt from the Theotokian of Matins: "..for thee alone do we have as our only hope". Our ONLY hope? As Orthodox Christians we surely have Christ as our hope and the prayers of other saints as our hope don't we? Can you please explain this reference?
ANSWER: Daniel,
First, welcome home!
Second, remember the first rule of Orthodox liturgics: If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.
Yes, taken in isolation and out of context, some phrases from our liturgical prayers, especially those concerning the Theotokos, do seen a bit over the top. Of course Christ is our only hope, our only Lord, our only Savior. (Except for the Father and the Holy Spirit.) Therefore we have to remember what makes the Saints in general, and the Theotokos in particular, so special. It is their relationship to Christ that makes them special, and honorable, and powerful, and holy. Without Christ, they are hopeless, helpless, and doomed.
We honor the Theotokos because it is by her that our Savior assumed human nature - our nature! - and broke the power of death and sin over it. And before she bore Him in her womb, she followed God's will and abstained from sin. And, after testing the spirits, she said "Yes" to God's call.
That is why we sing her praises, because she is the means of Christ's saving Incarnation.
She is our "only" hope in the sense that she among all women is the only one whom God found worthy to be Mother to the eternal Son.
It's all in the context.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: As I travel along the Orthodox path I find myself thinking in different ways about things... in a less linear progression with relation to time. Am I right in my understanding from what you say that we praise the Theotokos as being our hope because in the context of eternity she is the mother of God? In other words I don't have to reference praise for the Theotokos or any other Saints from my own time perspective but from the perspective of God and his unfolding plan? Intuitively this makes perfect sense to me.
Answer
Daniel,
Exactly! Acquiring the mind of Christ, learning to see things from God's perspective, is an essential part of our Theosis. This is why our iconography uses reverse perspective, making things farther from us look bigger than those which are closer. It is a symbol that the icon must be viewed from God's perspective.
Would you care to join us in my forum? You would find many good Orthodox Christians and catechumens there. And you would be a good addition to the group.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/OrthodoxWay/start
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