A characteristic mark of all the saints is their Theotokophilia, their inordinate love for the Most holy Theotokos. The saints' love for the Theotokos is either a fruit of their love for Christ, who was born of her, or a condition for attaining love for her Son. Consequently the saints' love for the Panagia is very closely connected with love for Christ. Theotokology is closely connected with Christology.
Referring to the Panagia, and indeed to the fact that she is rightly and truly called Theotokos, St. John of Damascus writes "for this name expresses the entire mystery of the Incarnation". And that is true, because the Word of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, assumed human nature from the pure blood of the Most holy Theotokos. This unity came into being in her womb, and there the assumed human nature was made divine by the divine nature. Thus, as our Church sings, "Paradise and her womb, in which the divine child was intelligibly manifested". The honour paid to the Most holy Theotokos is referred in reality "to Him who was incarnate of her".
According to the teaching of St. Symeon the New Theologian, the saints are related to the Theotokos in three ways.
First, they are related because of human nature, since both they and she come from the same clay and the same breath. The Panagia was the Mother of God, but at the same time she was also a human being as we all are.
Secondly, they are related "because it is through the flesh taken from her that they have a part in common with her". When we commune of the sacraments, of the Body and Blood of Christ, we commune of the deified flesh of the Word which He assumed from the Virgin. Therefore, as St. Symeon teaches, in communing of the Body and Blood of Christ, we commune also of the flesh of the Theotokos.
Thirdly, the saints are related to the Panagia "because through the holiness in spirit which came to them thanks to her, each one conceives and also possesses in himself the God of all, just as she possessed Him within herself". Although the Theotokos gave birth to Christ in the flesh, she is united with Christ and has God inseparably within her for ever.
Thus the saints are, on the one hand, her servants in that she is the Mother of God, and on the other hand, they are her children, "in that they commune of the all-pure flesh of her Son".
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[ BACK ] 1. The Hagiorites and the Theotokos |
The Hagiorite Fathers feel a close communion with the Theotokos and have a special love for her. I remember that when I went for the first time to the Holy Mountain, I expressed to various monks whom I met my puzzlement over the fact that the Holy Mountain was closed to women visitors in particular. Almost all of them connected this tradition of closure with love for the Panagia. They told me that this was in order to give special and rich honour to the Panagia, whose "garden" is the Holy Mountain.
Perhaps some women are indignant at not being allowed to visit the Holy Mountain, but nevertheless it is true that nowhere else is woman in the Person of the Panagia so much honoured as on the Holy Mountain. Every icon of the Panagia has a special name as well, because it is connected with a miraculous event or a sign.
When a visitor comes to the Holy Mountain, he encounters many such icons, and he sees the great reverence which the monks have for this great person, who is the end of the preparative period of the Old Testament and the beginning of the new creation in Christ. I shall mention a few names of icons: the famous icon "Axion esti" (It is meet), "Kukuzelissa"(the name of a chanter), "Economissa" (Stewardess), "Ktitorissa or Vematarissa" (Sacristan), "Paramythia" (Consolation), "Esphagmeni"(Slain), "Elaiovrytissa" (She who flows with oil), "Pyrovolitheissa" (She who was shot), "Portaitissa" (She who guards the gate), "Tricherousa" (With three hands), Panagia ton chairetismon (Salutations), "Myrovlytissa" (Full of fragrance), "Phobera prostasia", (Awe-inspiring protection), "Gerontissa" (Elder), "Epakouousa" (Listening), "Gorgoepikoos" (Quick to help), "Hodigitria" (Guide), "Antiphonitria" (Responsive).
These names alone show the great love of the Hagiorite Fathers for the Panagia, as well as special protection of the Hagiorite monk by the Theotokos. Anyone speaking with the old Hagiorite monks would hear many stories about appearances of the Theotokos and would see their expression of gratitude for her love. Some of them live with the assurance that the Panagia brought them to the Holy Mountain, that it is her land, others that they have saw her comforting them and protecting them from various dangers, others that she will save them on the day of Judgement if they remain in her "garden". They live intensely with the Panagia and her presence.
The words of a contemporary Hagiorite, St. Silouan the Athonite, are characteristic.
"Many are the marvels and mercies that I have witnessed at the hands of the Lord and of the Theotokos but there is naught I can render in return for this love of theirs.
"What could I give our most holy Theotokos for coming to me and bringing enlightenment, instead of turning away in loathing for my sin? I did not behold her with my eyes but the Holy Spirit gave me to know her through her words, which were filled with grace, and my spirit rejoices and my soul leaps to her in love, so that the mere invocation of her name is sweet to my heart.
"Once when I was a young novice I was praying before an icon of the Mother of God, and the Jesus Prayer entered into my heart and there began to repeat itself of its own accord. And another time in church I was listening to a reading from the prophet Isaiah, and at the words, 'Wash you, make you clean' (Is. 1, 16), I reflected, 'Maybe the Panagia sinned at one time or another, if only in thought. 'And marvellous to relate, in unison with my prayer a voice sounded in my heart, saying clearly, 'The Theotokos never sinned even in thought. 'Thus did the Holy Spirit bear witness in my heart to her purity".
Likewise at another point St. Silouan writes very expressively.
"O, if we might only know the love of the Panagia for all who keep the commandments of Christ, and how she pities and sorrows over sinners who do not reform! I had experience of this myself.
"Of a truth I say, speaking before God, Whom my soul knoweth: in spirit I know the Most Pure Virgin. I never beheld her but the Holy Spirit gave me to know her and her love for us. Were it not for her compassion I would have perished long ago but she was minded to come to me and enlighten me, so that I should not sin. This is what she said: 'It is painful for me to look upon thee, at what thou doest. 'And her words, soft, quiet and gentle, wrought upon my soul. Over forty years have gone by since then but my soul can never forget those sweet words, and I know not what return to make for such love towards my sinful self, nor how to give thanks to the good and forbearing Mother of God.
"Verily is she our advocate before God, and alone the sound of her name rejoices the soul, But all heaven and earth too rejoice in her love.
"Here is a wonderful thing which passes understanding: she dwells in heaven and ever beholds the glory of God, yet she does not forget us, poor wretches that we are, and spreads her compassion over the whole earth, over all peoples.
"And this most pure Mother of His the Lord has bestowed on us. She is our joy and expectation. She is our Mother in the spirit, and kin to us by nature, as a human being, and every Christian soul leaps to her in love".
The fact that the Holy Mountain is the "Garden of the Panagia", the place given wholly to her, and that those who live there are the special objects of the affection amd dread protection of the Mother of God, is seen from the assurance which the holy Theotokos gave to St. Peter the Athonite, who was the first inhabitant of the Holy Mountain, as St. Gregory Palamas has recorded. We have spoken of this whole assurance in the chapter entitled "The first settler on the Holy Mountain". There it appears that the Theotokos herself informed St. Peter that the land would be dedicated to her, it would be called holy, and she herself would protect all who led the ascetic life there, since she would be guardian, physician and nourisher.
Early Hagiorite monks preserved the information which came to them from their elders, that all the empresses who undertook to pass the barrier of the Holy Mountain were prevented by the Panagia. Thus the barrier to the Holy Mountain has a peculiarity, it is connected with the personal intervention of the Theotokos, and the monks are dedicated soul and body to her.
It is in this framework that we should look at St. Gregory's teaching about the Theotokos. As a saint and a Hagiorite he bears unlimited love and respect for her sanctified and all-pure person. St. Gregory Palamas is akin to the Theotokos, apart from the three reasons which we have mentioned already, according to the teaching of Saint Symeon the New Theologian and for two other reasons as well. First because the Panagia was his godmother all his life, and he was her protégé, and secondly because he was a Hagiorite in the full sense of the word. This explains St. Gregory's love for the Panagia as expressed in many sermons. What will follow, little as it may be, will manifest the great love of St. Gregory for the Panagia.
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[ BACK ] 2. Personal relationship of St. Gregory with the Theotokos |
We have said before that every saint loves the Panagia. Sainthood is not understood without this Theotokophilia. And it occurs because the saints, after tasting the love of God, communing of the Body and Blood of Christ, and experiencing the gifts of the incarnation of Christ, feel the need to give thanks also to that Person who was the cause of this great joy. It is well known that the saints are very sensitive and are therefore grateful for even the smallest gifts which they receive, and much more for the great gift of the deification of human nature, which came about in the womb of the Theotokos. She gave her flesh to the Son and Word of God for his incarnation.
This is also the case with St. Gregory Palamas. However, the saint felt love for the Panagia also for other reasons. He was granted to see her in his life, he was her protégé. We shall give some details to demonstrate this truth, as his biographer and fellow monk, Philotheos Kokkinos, Patriarch of Constantinople, describes them.
The first indication is the fact that from an early age he was given into the protection of the Theotokos by his father. Before his father died, St. Gregory's mother asked him to ask the emperor to protect his children. That saintly man not only did not accept her words, but rebuked her in a way and said to her: "I do not leave my children to some earthly rulers, but I leave my children to this Mistress of all, the mother of the king of heaven". He did not want to leave his children to the protection of the earthly kings, but to the mother of the king of heaven. And indeed at the time when he said these things he was looking at the icon of the Theotokos which was in front of him. St. Philotheos says in his biography of St. Gregory that the words of his holy father came true, because the Theotokos herself persuaded the emperor to take care of the orphan children, but also later "she was seen to be their protectress and guide, and in every way the saviour of both their souls and their bodies".
The second circumstance which shows that his father's prophetic words were actually fulfilled and the Theotokos was a wonderful sponsor, governess and doyen, came from the period of his studies. At the beginning of his studies the saint had difficulty in memorising. Then he placed a restriction on himself not to come near the books and not to begin reading without first having knelt three time before the icon of the Theotokos, saying a prayer at the same time. When he did this work every day he succeeded very easily in memorising and reciting the lessons. But if he sometimes forgot to follow this rule, "even the recitation failed right away". At the same time, as St. Philotheos says, the Panagia persuaded the emperor to be the guardian of the children and to assume all their personal expenses. Furthermore the emperor showed particular sympathy, for he invited them to come to see him and talked with them in a kind and loving way.
The third sign is from the period of his asceticism on Mount Athos. Immediately after he came to the Holy Mountain he gave himself over with great zeal to ascesis, fasting, vigil and unceasing prayer. It is significant, according to the information of St. Philotheos Kokkinos, that he prayed unceasingly to the Theotokos. He prayed day and night to God, projecting the Mother of God "as guide, protector and mediator, all the time bringing before his eyes her aid and her countenance, with words and prayers and noetic movements, and pondering the way of obedience with her guidance". So in the first two years the saint was praying constantly to God, with the Panagia as his guide and mediator. The prayer which he was saying at that time was "enlighten my darkness".
During a great stillness, while his nous had turned inward and to God, John the Evangelist appeared to him, not in a dream, but in a vision, and assured him that he had been sent "as a messenger from the Queen beyond", to find out why he was constantly praying: "enlighten my darkness, enlighten my darkness". St. Gregory replied that, since he is a passionate man, he was praying to be enlightened by God to be conformed to His saving will. Then John the Evangelist said: "Do not be afraid, do not doubt... the Queen of all is giving the order through us: 'I myself will be your help'". And when again St. Gregory asked when the Theotokos would be his help and ally, in the present or future life, then the Evangelist replied: "both before and now, in both the present and the future".
This appearance of St. John the Evangelist, sent by the Most holy Theotokos, was revealed by St. Gregory himself years later to his fellow-monk Dorotheos, later Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. It is characteristic that the Theotokos heard the prayer and assured him that, just as longer ago, so also now and in the future, she would be his helper and defender, and moreover, that she was filling him with divine gifts.
The fourth sign is the revelation which the Theotokos herself made to St. Gregory. It was at the time when he had returned to the Lavra, but he was staying at St. Sabbas frontisterion outside the Monastery of the Great Lavra. He once prayed for himself and his escort to the Panagia, "the usual governor and deliverer", that both their guidance and their journey toward God might be unimpeded, but also that they might have what they needed for their nourishment, in order not to be very much occupied with collecting supplies and neglect prayer. Then the Panagia, the Queen of all, appeared in a vision, "dressed modestly and purely", just as the holy icons present her. Many saints had appeared and were following her. Then the Theotokos turned and gave them the order to serve St. Gregory and his escort: "From now on you are to be stewards and distributors of the necessities for Gregory and his escort". And St. Gregory was assured that from then on "all that was necessary for our bodily needs was offered us without effort wherever we happened to be".
From what we have said it is clear that St. Gregory Palamas had a close relationship and communion with the Theotokos. All the things that he writes about her, which we shall see further on, are obviously not dry, intellectual thoughts and reasoning conjectures, but experiences of the Panagia. This explains his great love for her. We can also see the progressive manifestation and revelation of the Theotokos. At first, through his father's prayer she took up his protection. Then she showed him clearly that he must trust in her, for she would protect him throughout his studies. Then, through John the Evangelist she assured him that she would be his helper and protector, and finally she herself was revealed personally. Throughout his life the saint was convinced that he had the protection and help of the Theotokos, and therefore he struggled with strength and courage, expounded the theology of the Church in an orthodox way and defeated the heresies of his time.
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[ BACK ] 3. St. Gregory's teaching about the Theotokos |
In a short chapter it will not be easy to present the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas about the Panagia. However, we shall set out the most central points in this theology as they are presented in his sermons on various feasts of the Mother of God. We usually know St. Gregory as a teacher of prayer and as a theologian of divine Grace, since for almost all his life he devoted himself to analysing the Church's teaching about the uncreated essence and uncreated energy of God and about participation in deifying Grace. In what follows we shall look at his central teachings about the Panagia.
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[ BACK ] a) The Birth of the Most holy Theotokos |
In his sermon on the Birth of the Most holy Theotokos St. Gregory Palamas also presents the theology of the Church about orthodox marriage.
In explaining the meaning of the feast he says that it is the first feast of the remaking and renewal of man, and that is why it is the first feast of the Church year, which begins on the 1 of September. The year's time denotes the life of man and the life of the whole world, and this time also becomes saving when it is combined with the events of the divine Economy. The birth of the Theotokos is the beginning of the salvation of man.
The Panagia, who was born of the blessed couple Joachim and Anna, is characterised by many ornamental epithets, which show at the same time the great work which she accomplished by becoming the Mother of the Son and Word of God. The Theotokos is "the new world, the strange paradise, the miraculous book, the spiritual tent and ark of God, the truth from the earth, the much-sung rod of Jesse".
From the Orthodox Tradition we know that the Theotokos was a child of devout parents who lived godly lives and conceived her with prayer, abstinence and fasting. St. Gregory Palamas attaches great significance to this point. He says that the wise Joachim went to the desert to fast and pray in order to become a father. He returned to his home only when he had been informed that he would have a child. Anna, being of the same mind, enclosed herself in the nearest garden "and with aching heart cried out to the Lord". The Lord heard their prayer and gave them a girl, the most wonderful of all the wonders that ever happened, this birth-giver of the creator of all, who deified the human race and made the earth heavenly, who made the son of man God and the son of God man...". The Theotokos is a fruit of holy parents, who lived in ascesis and prayer, who conceived her in fasting and prayer. St. Gregory Palamas says that just as the Panagia alone, and no one else, dwelt in the holy of holies, so naturally "neither before nor after, was that maternal womb seen to carry any other embryo".
Everyone should honour the feast of the Birth of the All holy Theotokos - both monks and married persons, rich people, rulers and poor people, and in general all Christians. All should offer holy water "and purity of body through abstinence and prayer" as a gift to the Panagia. Fasting and prayer joined with devoutness marked out Joachim and Anna to be the parents of the Theotokos, "instruments, indeed such chosen instruments".
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[ BACK ] b) The Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple |
According to the tradition of the Church, the Theotokos spent three years in the Temple and only she entered the holy of holies, just as once a year the High Priest did, and there she stayed until the year of her betrothal to Joseph.
St. Gregory Palamas devoted two sermons to the feast of the Entry, in which he describes her stay in the Temple and the way which she followed in order to attain deification by Grace. These homilies are excellent, and the second in particular is very theological and constitutes the basis of the hesychastic life.
The significance of this sermon lies in the following points. First, it presents the whole majesty of our Panagia, for whom all races of men were waiting. Secondly, it expresses the great love which St. Gregory Palamas had for the Panagia. Thirdly, the means of deification is described, and this is the hesychastic way of life. Thus the Panagia is a type of a genuine hesychast. Fourthly, along with the description of hesychasm, at the same time the life of the true Hagiorite who practises hesychasm is described, as well as the personal experience of St. Gregory Palamas. It is very striking to say that the method used by our Panagia to attain deification is still preserved to this day on the Holy Mountain by the genuine Hagiorites. It seems, then, that hesychasm is the true orthodox life, which differs from the way of conjecture and is the essence of the Orthodox Tradition.
At the beginning of his homily St. Gregory Palamas explains why he wrote it. He could not do otherwise in order to satisfy his longing for her, in order to fill his need, and also to confess his joy at the gifts which he has received from her. This is why he extols her. He confesses that the gifts which he received from God, he received through her.
The Panagia lived in the holy of holies as in paradise. And not only was she living outwardly as in a blessed place, but also her way of life was free of any slavery. For certainly it is not enough to live in hesychastic places, but one must live the inner hesychastic life. He writes: "She lived an ascetic, carefree, unbusied life, devoid of sorrow, having no part in base passions, above the pleasure that is not without pain, living only by God, seen only by God, nourished by God, upheld only by God... and she was looking only at God, making God her noursihment, constantly devoted to God".
Anyone who has visited the Holy Mountain, and especially the Fathers who live in desert and hesychastic places, can understand that in describing the life of the Theotokos in the Temple, St. Gregory Palamas is essentially describing his own life. Moreover this is natural, because the hesychast Hagiorite Fathers are aware that they are imitating the Panagia and are living in accordance with her own way of life. The saints have a common relationship in the way which they use in order to attain deification, union with the Triune God.
According to the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas, the Panagia, full of wisdom as she was, "searched the powers of her soul if she might discover the means for being one with God. St. Gregory calls this oneness a holy and divine eros. In her attempt the Theotokos herself understood that union with God cannot be attained through sensation, imagination, doctrine and reason. These constitute the so-called irrational powers of the soul and do not lead a person to God. This communion takes place only through the nous. If one turns wholly to God through the nous, one can reach the longed-for union.
When the nous withdraws from God and wanders in search of sensory things, it is ill, and this in reality is man's illness. The nous needs to be cured first: to be freed from all its slavery to created things, and to be liberated from all the sensations of created things. There must be forgetfulness of things below, laying aside of all concepts, and then initiation into the things above. This is called hesychia of the nous and is also called "the way of hesychia" and "holy hesychia". In attaining health of his soul through holy hesychia a person attains the vision of God, by which he is "deified". Using this method" we are relieved of lower things and turn towards God". Our Panagia used precisely the same method, according to St. Gregory Palamas, and in the holy of holies she attained deification by Grace and became a borderline between uncreated and created.
Naturally this did not happen in an abstract way. It is not a matter of an abstract ascent which happened in a philosophical and buddhistic way, but of the method used by all the saints, those of the Old as well as the New Testament. The Panagia freed herself first from every material tie and relationship, raised herself above sympathy for the body, that is riddance of any material object and every pleasure, and then "annexed her nous by turning towards herself and by attention and unceasing divine prayer". In this way the Panagia was blessed with the vision of God and therefore "saw the glory of God and kept an eye on divine grace". And naturally this did not happen simply by her own struggle alone, but also by the energy of divine Grace. For no one can arrive at union with God only by his own human effort. Therefore we are not dealing with an abstract state, with conjecture and meditation of an oriental type, but with a healthy state, since there is prayer, the coming of Grace, union with the Personal God.
It is clear from this analysis of the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos and the way used by the Panagia to attain deification by Grace, that this is essentailly a description of the orthodox way of life toward salvation, but also the Hagioritic hesychastic way of life. And today the true Hagiorites live in the same way and therefore feel themselves to be children of the Panagia. It is not only a matter of their staying in one place, but of the use of the same mode of life.
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[ BACK ] c) The Annunciation of the Theotokos |
In the holy of holies the Panagia attained deification by Grace, she became a habitation of the living God. Having this grace, transforming herself, she was found worthy of becoming the mother of Christ. In the homily on the Annunciation of the Most holy Theotokos St. Gregory Palamas presents several distinguishing marks which extol the person of the Most pure Mother.
After the fall of Adam and the inheritance of the results of the fall, which is identified in the Orthodox Tradition with the illness of human nature, God in his love for mankind came down from heaven "and assuming our human nature from a holy virgin, he renewed it and brought it back, or rather brought it up to a divine and heavenly height".
The Virgin's name was Mariam. The word Mariam is interpreted to mean Mistress. Therefore, the Panagia was really Mistress. St. Gregory Palamas examines all the meanings of this quality of the Panagia. She is called Mistress as the Virgin, for the certainty of her virginity, for her transformed and prudent life, which was immaculate. She was a virgin because she had virginity in both body and soul. Likewise the Panagia is called Mistress as "the one who holds sway over all things, both conceiving by nature in virginity and divinely giving birth to the lord of all". Likewise she is called Mistress because she is "the source and root of the freedom of the race".
The archangel Gabriel calls her "highly favoured" and at the same time announces to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you" (Luke 1, 35). He calls her highly favoured, because she was really holy. But she will also receive the Holy Spirit "to prepare and work out the divine action in you (her)". The power of the Most High will overshadow her in order to empower her and to form humanity to be holy, "Son of God and the power of the Most High formed as a man".
At the end of the homily on the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos St. Gregory extols her in a godly and worthy manner. Among other things he says that this Virgin Mother "alone is the borderline between created and uncreated nature". All who know God will know that she is a place of the uncontainable and "she will be extolled by all who extol God". The Panagia is the cause of those before her, protectress of those after her and bringer of eternal blessings. She is the hypothesis of the Prophets, principle of the Apostles, foundation of the martyrs, platform of the teachers. She is the glory of those on earth, the delight of heaven, the ornament of all creation. She is the beginning and source and root of the hope that is stored up for us in heaven.
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[ BACK ] d) The Theotokos at the resurrection of Christ |
In the homily of St. Gregory Palamas for the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, analysing the holy texts of the Scriptures with many reasonings, he ends by concluding that the Theotokos saw the Risen Christ and indeed saw him before the other women, and she alone was granted to clasp his feet. But let us look more analytically at this teaching.
The Myrrh-bearing Women followed Christ "with the Mother of the Lord" and remained with her and made ready to anoint the Body of Christ with spices. According to Mark the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sat in front of the tomb and watched the burial of Christ. The phrase 'the other Mary' meant "the Mother of God herself in any case". The Panagia was also called Mary the mother of James and Joses, who were children of Joseph her betrothed, by another woman.
According to St. Gregory Palamas, the Panagia was the first to come to the tomb with Mary Magdalene. "First of all the Theotokos came to the tomb of the Son of God...". The other Mary "was the Mother of God in any case". All the other myrrh-bearing women went to the tomb after the earthquake and the flight of the guards, and therefore they found the tomb opened and the stone rolled away. However, "the Virgin Mother was present when the earthquake took place, and when the stone was rolled away and the tomb opened, and the guards were present". The guards fled after the earthquake, "but the Mother of God was elated at the sight". At the same time St. Gregory Palamas teaches that that life-bearing tomb was opened for the Theotokos and it was also for her that the angel of the Lord flashed like lightning because it is for the Theotokos and through the Theotokos that all the good things were opened. According to St. Gregory, this angel was the archangel Gabriel, the one who at the Annunciation said to her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God" (Luke 1, 30). As soon as he saw her hastening to the tomb, he too hastened to announce to her the resurrection of her Son.
The women fleeing from the tomb were seized with fear and great joy. According to St Gregory Palamas, fear was in the other women and Mary Magdalene, while the word joy is said about the Mother of God "because she understood the words of the angel and surrendered completely to the light, being completely purified and divinely favoured, and with all these things she knew the truth and believed in the archangel since he had for a long time appeared credible to her because of his deeds". The Panagia was favoured, she had been made pure and had attained deification; she had also seen the archangel Gabriel and been assured at that time of the credibility of his word, and therefore also now she was granted this great experience.
With the information about the resurrection of Christ which was given by the archangel Gabriel, the Panagia, "joined by the other women", went back to where she had been. Then Christ appeared and said "Greetings". The Evangelist says: "They came to him, clasped his feet, and worshipped him" (Matt. 28, 9). St. Gregory Palamas says that just as the Theotokos alone of all the women understood the meaning of the angel's words, so also she was the first of the women "both to see and to know the risen one, and she was the first to fall down and clasp his feet and become his apostle to the Apostles".
Mary Magdalene was not with the Mother of Christ when the Lord met her. This is seen first from the fact that when Mary Magdalene had just met the Apostle Peter she said to him: "They have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put him"; second from the fact that she was weeping, because she thought that they had taken Christ, she did not recognise Christ, and Christ did not let her come near Him. So therefore the ever-virgin Mary was the first to come to the tomb and she first received the message of the resurrection. Then came the other myrrh-bearers as well.
St. Gregory Palamas uses all these things to interpret the related accounts of the Evangelists. But he adds that the Panagia was the first to see the resurrected Christ, was counted worthy of divine conversation, became an ear-witness of his, touched him with her hands, "as was right and just". Actually this is right and just. For, on the one hand, we cannot believe that all the other women went to the tomb but not His Mother, nor that Christ gave the joy of his appearance to all the others first and not to His Mother. Therefore it was both "right" and "just" that his first appearance was to be to the Panagia.
But the point is why did the Evangelists not speak clearly, but wrote it in a shadowy way. And at this point St. Gregory indicates that the Evangelists did not refer to it openly, "not wanting to offer the Mother as witness, lest they give unbelievers reason for suspicion". There was a possibility that the unbelievers, as soon as they heard that the Mother of Christ saw Him first, might doubt the resurrection. St. Gregory says that now that is not the case, because this is being said to the faithful.
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[ BACK ] e) The Dormition and assumption of the Theotokos |
After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ into heaven the Panagia was the comfort and consolation of the whole Church. She was in the midst of the Church, offering her help to all. St. Gregory Palamas mentions three characteristic services of our Panagia.
First, her glory, which had come to her because of the Birth of the Son and Word of God, was in competition with the most persevering and varied asceticism". In spite of the great grace which the Panagia had, she practised great asceticism after the Ascension of Christ.
Second, she prayed for all the world and attended to various needs.
Third, the Theotokos was a support and comfort to the holy Apostles who were preaching the Gospel to all creation. This aspect of the help given by the Theotokos is very important, and it is not usually mentioned. It is clear that the silence and stillness which the Panagia chose as her part in the subsequent life of the Church was a support for the spiritual "action" and the preaching. St. Gregory writes: "and by the advice and exhortations to the preachers of God who travelled everywhere, she was a support as well as a comfort to all, being heard and seen and collaborating in every way with the preaching of the Gospel".
The Dormition of the Most holy Theotokos is familiar. Her dormition was glorious and famous, commensurate with her life. For man's end will be commensurate with the glory of his earthly life.
At the beginning of his sermon on the Dormition of the Theotokos St. Gregory Palamas says that more than anything else he is obliged to and loves to tell the Church the greatness of the ever-virgin Mother of God". And then he points out that if the death of the saints is honourable and the righteous should be remembered with praise, this should be the case much more with the Theotokos, who is the saint of saints and through whom the holiness comes to the saints.
But speaking of the Dormition of the Theotokos, he not only calls it glorious, but at the same time names it decease. "... celebrating as we do today the anniversary of her holy dormition or decease". Her death is life-bearing, conveying life to heaven and immortality".
This so-called decease is the resurrection and ascension of the body of the Panagia. According to the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas as well as of other saints, we celebrate not only the ascension to heaven of the soul of the Theotokos, but also that of her body. He writes that the Theotokos went to heaven to the "fitting kingdom" and took her place at the right hand of the king of all, dressed "in an embroidered garment interwoven with gold". The "garment... interwoven with gold" means "that transluscent body", and "embroidered" indicates being adorned with "all kinds of virtues". Thus she ascended to Heaven with her body, and she is the only one who is in the heavenly place with her body with her Son. Explaining this point he says that the tomb and death could not hold her life-giving and life-receiving body, which is a beloved dwelling-place of the heaven of heavens. If a soul which has received divine Grace ascends to heaven after departing from the body, much more was this the case with the body of the Panagia, who received within her the pre-eternal only-begotten Son of God, who is the everlasting source of Grace, and not only did she receive Him within her, but she also was the producer.
Thus we speak of the resurrection and ascension of the body of the Theotokos. That is to say, the Panagia, according to St. Gregory Palamas, is in heaven with her body. Indeed the saint writes: "Therefore the body which gave birth is justifiably glorified with a glory worthy of God, along with that which was born and, in accordance with the prophetic song, is raised together...". Just as her Son, who assumed flesh from her, could not remain in the earth and was resurrected and taken up, the same should be the case with the Panagia. "Therefore she was taken up directly from the tomb to the supra-celestial place...".
Thus by her assumption she united the things above with those below. And the Theotokos, who had room in her for him who fills all things, must have been above all things and transcended all things with her virtues. The fact that she is above all things and higher than the saints and the angels is seen from the taking up of her body into heaven. That is to say, it is seen from the fact that she was made immortal after her death and she alone with her body dwells in heaven with the Son and God, and from there she also pours out abundantly the richest grace to those worthy of it...".
This teaching of St. Gregory Palamas about the resurrection and assumption of the Theotokos, which came through the Grace and energy of her Son, is a teaching of the Church. St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite collected passages from the Fathers, both from their teachings and from their troparia, such as those of St. Cosmas, St. Andrew, Bishop of Crete, St. John of Damascus, St. Mark Eugenicos, as well as other troparia in which we can see the teaching of the Church that the change in the Theotokos is an ascension of her soul, but also a resurrection and assumption of her body, so that the Theotokos is bodily in heaven.
The words of St. Gregory Palamas can bring to mind that only the Theotokos is in heaven with Christ, and bodily, in connection with the taking up of the Prophet Elijah, since we know from the Bible that Elijah too was taken up to heaven with his body. But St. Gregory amazingly interprets this point as well. Speaking of the Ascension of Christ and especially saying that while there are many ascensions, Christ's ascension is unique, he also refers to the case of the Prophet Elijah. He writes: "But neither did he exceed the bounds of the earth's atmosphere; the ascension of each of them was a raising from the earth without being taken from the surroundings of the earth...". From this interpretation it appears that the taking up of the Prophet Elijah was in some way a translocation, we could say that it was a kind of death, and that of course in being taken up he did not go beyond the limits of the earth's atmosphere. Therefore only the Panagia was resurrected and taken up bodily into heaven, and is glorified with her Son, as His mother, in her human nature.
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[ BACK ] 4. Characterisations of the Theotokos |
The teaching of St. Gregory Palamas has not been exhausted in what we have said so far. Thus far we have simply presented the main points in the feasts of the Theotokos. But we would like next to give some phrases, images and decorative epithets which are applied to the Panagia and which show her greatness, her glory and the work which she achieved and is achieving in the human race.
We have said that in the holy of holies the Panagia attained deification by Grace and became a dwelling place of the living God. Therefore she acquired purity of soul and body. St. Gregory writes about this point: "...a dwelling place not of bodiless forms or containing first-fruits of embodied forms, but bearing within it marvellous and ineffable lightning flashes of noetic purity, a godlike mind, the lustre of virginity pleasing to God, the shinings befitting God of all that is good... truly the place of God who contains all things". The Panagia had within her the lofty and ineffable lightning flashes of purity, the godlike mind, the illuminations worthy of God, the brightness of virginity. Within this framework she is called "virgin treasure".
The worth of the Theotokos is in the fact that she became the Mother of Christ, that she gave her flesh in order for Christ to be born and to save the human race. The fruit of her womb is her chief greatness and glory. St. Gregory speaks of this many times in his homilies, thus expressing his love for the Theotokos. "...standing between God and the whole human race, she made God a son of man, and men sons of God. She alone showed herself to be supranaturally the mother of God by nature and through her ineffable childbirth became queen of every earthly and heavenly creature".
Since the divine united with human nature in her womb, she is the atonement of the whole human race: "...the common reconciliation of the whole race of men". It was through the Theotokos that the renewal of the human race came about, since it was through her that the gates of heaven were opened. "Now in her time and through her the renewal of the world was made manifest and through her heaven opened its gates again for us, not in order to send a violent and terrible and devastating deluge with a violent blast, but the dew of the Spirit, the sweetness shared by our souls, the great and 'unapproachable light' which passes understanding".
The Panagia did the work of greatest social benefit to mankind. It is not a matter of a superficial and temporary deed, but of the eternal salvation of man, of the fact that she brought life into the world. "For she performed a miracle of miracles on earth and a public benefit greater than any in history...".
The work of the Panagia was tremendous. She gave meaning to man and to his life. And this is because she gave substance, shape and form to man. These words of St. Gregory Palamas are characteristic: "Mother of God, you joined your nous with God; you joined God with flesh; you made God a son of man and man a son of God; you made the world a friend of the maker of the world; you taught us by works that vision of God is not given to real people just through sensation or even through thought (because then they would be only a little better than horses), but much more through purification of the nous and participation in divine grace, in which we delight in godlike beauty not through thoughts but through immaterial touches". Thus on the one hand she united God with man, and on the other hand she preserved the method which we must use in order to reach participation in God.
By giving herself to God and becoming His mother she made the earth heaven. By her prayer she did not bring the clouds, but the Lord of the clouds himself, and thus she bore the source of life. "...she made the whole earth heaven, not calling forth clouds, which many times have obeyed many people, but him who lifts clouds from the ends of the earth; and she did not call forth temporary relief with rain, but brought us the very treasure of all blessings, the eternal source which is opened up in the paternal bosom by eternal generation, the Word who is established upon the vaults of heaven. He brought us living water from there and offered sustenance which makes all who receive it immortal and sons of God...".
In this way the body of the Theotokos became the saving medicine of our race. "...that life-giving and God-receiving body, the true medicine of our race, the boast of all creation".
All the events of the Old Testament prefigure the Panagia. In reality she was "the tent of the Logos not made with hands", the "spiritual and living ark" which contained the jar of manna, "the book of life", the unfading plant, from which came the incorruptible flower which offered us incorruption".
In all these characterisations that express the work of the Theotokos, we can see her glory, which is incomparably higher than the Seraphim and Cherubim.
The characterisation by the archangel Gabriel is striking. He calls her Highly Favoured. According to St. Gregory Palamas, highly favoured points to her "being for ever adorned with the gifts of the Holy Spirit" and having the treasure of all things within her. Christ made the Panagia "his palace". And indeed the Panagia not only seemed able to contain "the fullness of divinity bodily by reason of her extreme purity", but also to be productive and creative "of divine kinship with all people before and after her time".
The coming of the Grace of God is conveyed by St. Gregory through the word "ordination", and that is why she became the highest queen and most blessed of all the blessed. "...since she had a higher share of worth and superior power and ordination from the heavens, she became the highest queen of the high and most blessed of the blessed...".
As we have emphasised before, the Panagia became a place of all the blessings of the Spirit: "For you are also a place of all the graces, and a fullness of every sort of goodness, and a spiritual catalogue of every virtue and kindness, as the only one of all who was found worthy of all the gifts of the Spirit, or rather as the only one who, surprisingly, accepted into your womb the one who contains the treasuries of all these things, and you became his surprising dwelling place, it seems...".
The Panagia was lacking in nothing. "...being the divine abode of all together and each separately of the things that are fine and good. She alone of the people from the beginning did not seem to be lacking in anything at all, but she far surpassed all in every way, as much as heaven differs from earth...". By the way and method which she followed, by placing her nous completely in God's care, she attained abundant wisdom, "and in this way received abundant wisdom from above...". So she was a treasury of the mysteries of the Holy Spirit".
The Theotokos is the angels' food and the place of propitiation for the race of man. The Theotokos is "the table of the angels' delight, the ploughed land of the undying plant, the common delight of the whole race of man...". Her glory is very great. She is brighter than light, more blossoming than paradise, more beautifully adorned than the whole world, seen and unseen".
Because she became the mother of Christ, when she gave her flesh to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity to become incarnate, therefore, on the one hand she is a holy of all that is holy, above all the saints, and on the other hand she gives gifts to the saints, since she is the treasurer of the wealth of the goodness of the Lord. On this point St. Gregory Palamas is astonishing.
Truly the Panagia is the crowning height of the saints. "In the case of the crowning extreme of all the saints... in the case of her who is higher even than the saints of heaven...". In another place St. Gregory writes: "The eternal holy of holies entered into the temporary holy of holies". And again in another of his homilies he says: "...how much more the remembrance of the holy of holies through which all the holiness comes to the saints".
She transmits grace to the saints. "in order that as in charge of the office where holiness is given, she may convey gifts of holiness to all without exception, without leaving anyone without a share, even of the hidden things of the universe, that is to say of those inaccessible things". This is because the Theotokos is not only holy, but she "alone is the boundary between created and uncreated nature". And therefore no one can come to God without her and through the mediation which has come from her; and none of the gifts from God could have been given to angels and men except through her". Indeed, making use of the example of the lamps, where no one can see in the direction of the light or receive its rays without the means of the lamps, it means that this is so in the case of the Panagia: "So also it is unfeasible to gaze towards God and proceed from him towards anything unless it is through this Godbearing and truly god-enlightened lamp, the ever-Virgin".
The granting of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not only given by the Panagia to the saints now, while they are living, but they will receive gifts through her also in the age to come. We know well that the saints will have progress towards holiness during the age to come, that is to say, the saints will progress from glory to glory and from strength to strength. This will happen, according to St. Gregory Palamas, through the Theotokos. "... and so also in the coming unending age every advance in divine illumination and every revelation of the most divine mysteries and every idea of spiritual gifts is impossible to contain without her. She, having first received the fullness of that which fills the universe, made it containable to all, bestowing on each according to the ability and measure of his purity". This is and will be, because the Panagia is "both treasury and office for granting the wealth of the divinity".
Indeed, as we have said before, this happens because the Theotokos is united with God, because the Logos Christ, who received human flesh from her, gave her great glory. Therefore all who recognise the glory of God and all who partake of the glory of God will also partake of and know the glory of the Theotokos. St. Gregory writes: " All who partake of God partake through her, and all who know God will recognise her as a place of the infinite, and all who praise God will praise her with God".
St. Gregory knows from experience that even just to remember the Panagia is a blessing. The recollection of her name gives great grace. The saint writes: "Even just remembering you blessed the defiled one; a nod towards you made the nous clearer, raising it straight towards the divine height; in you the eye of the mind is clarified; in you the spirit is illuminated by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, because you became a keeper and place of graces, not in order to possess them in yourself, but to fill the universe with grace. For the treasurer of the inexhaustible treasures is the manager of the distribution. What could your wealth do if entirely shut up, since it does not decrease? So transmit it richly to us, O Mistress, even if we cannot contain it, make us more spacious and thus add to it; for only you have not received by measure, since all things have been given into your hands".
St. Gregory's love for the Panagia came from his personal partaking of the Grace of God, as he felt gratitude for her who was the cause of Grace, and from the deep feeling that he was living in her 'Garden' on the Holy Mountain and was its citizen. As a Hagiorite he cherished great reverence and love for the Panagia. He regarded her as his patron and benefactress. He received rich gifts from her. For she is "the summit and completion of every saint".
In conclusion I would like to quote a saying of St. Gregory Palamas which is very expressive and characteristic:
"She also is a cause of those before her and patron of those after her and a cause of things eternal; she is a promise of the prophets, foundation of the Apostles, support of the martyrs, platform of the teachers; she is the glory of those on earth, the delight of those in heaven, the adornment of all creation; she is also the principle and source and root of the ineffable good things, she is the summit and completion of every saint".
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