www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Mary...

Viewing from the outside I don't see as much Marian devotion from EC & EO as I see in the RCC. Is that a fair assessment?

No, it's not. But our Marian devotions tend to take a more corporate, paraliturgical form, such as celebration of the Akathistos or Paraclesis. Mary is invoked constantly in the Divine Liturgy and other liturgical services, and her icons are found not only in our churches but in the homes of the faithful. I can only quote an anecdote related by Father Lawrence Cross, a Greek Catholic priest in Australia:

Father Lawrence says he was trying to explain to his (Irish Catholic) mother about his ecumenical work with the Orthodox, but she did not understand. Finally, she asked him, "These Orthodox, do they love our Lady?" And he replied, "Yes, mum, they do--probably more than we do". "Well, then", his mother said, "It's all right".

I am not an academic, but I completely back Stuart up on this. My opinion is the devotion to the Mother of God is more profound in the East - because she is truly part of the Divine Liturgy. She is always with her Son, even there, today and always.

The earliest non-Scriptural prayers to the Mother of God are from the East (We Fly to Thy Patronage - called the Sub Tuum in Latin). Some believe that the rosary in the West has its origins in the Akathistos in the East.

I'm amused by this because it was only in the context of the Byzantine liturgy that I learned to love the Theotokos. I came from the Roman Catholic church where devotion to Mary was either (in my perception) saccharine and shallow or totally out of whack, with more attention being given to the Mother of God than to her Son. It was only in the context of the Divine Liturgy that I began to understand the Theotokos and to welcome her presence in my prayers.

So to answer your question, I must say, No, that is not a fair assessment!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Bro John Samaha prepared a concise document on Mariology in Byzantine Churches. I hope you find it helpful.

Deacon El

****************

Is There a Byzantine Mariology? by Bro. John Samaha

Researching this question leads to a seeming paradox. On one hand we find a
tremendous richness of Marian thought in the liturgy, but on the other hand a
virtual absence of specifically Mariological studies in theology. The
Mariological experience and piety of the Byzantine Churches - Catholic and
Orthodox- seem to be embodied almost entirely in their worship. But we find no
prominent theological reflection on the subject, nothing that would parallel the
specialized Mariological treatises of the Western Church. Theology manuals
contain no chapters dealing with the place of Mary in the economy of salvation.
The veneration of Mary, which is so central in Byzantine worship has not been
extensively expressed, analyzed, or evaluated systematically.

This scarcity of theological reflection may seem to some a deficiency in
Byzantine theology. How could the Byzantine Church which never prays to God or
Jesus Christ without at the same time also addressing her prayers to Mary, and
which constantly praises her who "...is more honorable than the cherubim and
beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim" neglect theologizing about her?
Why has the Byzantine theological mind not been focused on this enormously
important aspect of its life and worship?

In the Byzantine mind this seeming absence of theological study and reflection
is seen as an integral part of the "mystery of Mary" in the experience of the
Church. The Byzantine scholar questions whether theology as the rational
investigation of the truths of faith is adequate to transpose into precise terms
the real content of that mystery. Perhaps the proper locus of Mariology is in
liturgy and prayer, that is in worship. This is reminiscent of Prosper of
Aquitaine's maxim, "Lex orandi, lex credendi."

In Eastern Christianity, worship and liturgy are paramount. Liturgy is not seen
as an action of the community. Liturgy is the procession or entrance into the
eschatological reality of the Kingdom of God. It is the meeting place between
this world and the Kingdom of God fully realized. Worship is not the
commemoration of a past event; it is participation in the events of salvation
themselves, because although these occurred historically they also occur outside
the category of time. While this Byzantine tradition differs from the
theological elaboration common in the West, it nonetheless "belongs to the full
Catholicity and the Apostolicity of the Church" (Vatican II, Decree on
Ecumenism, n. 17).

Some in the West have speculated that the Nestorian controversy, which was lived
in Byzantine territory, may have contributed to fuller liturgical celebration of
the Theotokos' in the East. This development gave the East a more satisfying and
habitual expression of devotion to Mary, and would support the notion that the
proper locus of Mariology is primarily in liturgy.
The West, which lacks such regular liturgical expression, sought other means of
elaborating Marian devotion, such as defining privileges and giving impetus to
various movements.

The exploration of three areas may enlighten our appreciation of the Byzantine
Marian heritage: the place of Mary in liturgical tradition, the development of
the veneration of the Mother of God, and a synthetic view of its theological
significance.

1- Byzantine Liturgy and Mariology

In the Byzantine liturgy we find four main expressions of Mariology: Marian
liturgical prayers, Marian feasts, Marian iconography, and Marian paraliturgical
piety.

a- Marian Liturgical Prayers

Each cycle of prayers concludes with a special prayer addressed to Mary. For
example, the groups of hymns called stichiras in the structure of the daily
services always conclude with the theotokion, which follows the doxology, "Glory
to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of
ages." This rule applies to all liturgical prayer units, daily, weekly, and
yearly cycles, and also the sanctoral cycle. Whatever the theme of any
liturgical celebration, the last word and seal will be the Theotokos, Mary the
Virgin Forthbringer of God.

b- Marian Feasts

The liturgical year includes a series of highly developed Marian commemorations.
Four belong to the category of the twelve major feasts: the Nativity of the
Virgin, September 8; the Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple, November
21; the Annunciation, March 25; the Dormition, August 15. The feast of the
Purification, February 2, belongs to the same category and is also deeply Marian
in meaning. Among the lesser Marian feasts are the Protection of the Virgin,
October 1; the Synaxis of the Theotokos, December 26; the Conception of Mary,
December 9, and others.

c-Marian Iconography

The icons of the Theotokos are integral to the life of the Byzantine Church.
Their very position in the apse and on the iconostasis indicates definite
theological meaning.

An icon is not meant to be a visual representation to stimulate the imagi-
nation for devotional purposes. Neither is it meant to teach nor inspire. In the
spiritual sense, it is a living thing, the point at which heaven and earth meet.
St. John of Damascus called the icon a "channel of divine grace." Laden with
faith and grace, the icon is a mirror of divine revelation and gives testimony
to the reality that the saving truth is not communicated only by mere human
words but also through wordless beauty.

Also to be considered is the highly developed cult of the commonly termed
"miraculous" icons of the Theotokos, some of which have given rise to important
and extremely popular feasts.

d- Paraliturgical Piety

In addition to the official Marian prayers and celebrations of the liturgy, we
find an enormous amount of secondary or paraliturgical feasts and services. To
gather all the akathistoi to Mary, written after the pattern of the renowned
Akathistos attributed to Romanus, would result in several printed volumes. They
testify to the constant flow of heartfelt piety, love, and praise directed to
Mary.

Not all these compositions are of equal value and quality. However, the
outstanding Byzantine hymnographers like St. John of Damascus, St. Andrew of
Crete, St. Cosmas of Maioum, wrote some of their best works on Marian themes.
In the products of their pens we find the true expression, contemplation, and
understanding of Mary in Byzantine tradition. The Byzantine patrimony in this
area also includes the commentaries on these themes in the homilies composed for
Marian feasts by the Greek Fathers and Doctors.

2- Historical and Liturgical Perspectives

Because the Eastern Churches have no comprehensive historical record of the
veneration of Mary, our observations are limited. The first liturgical
expression of Marian veneration must have been the "concomitant" feasts, the
celebrations attached to the major feasts of Christ. Most likely the first
Marian feast in the Byzantine calendar was the Synaxis, December 26, which is
directly connected with the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Originally the name given
to the Sunday before Christmas was Annunciation. These facts point to the
Christological basis of the veneration of Mary. The Byzantine Church
contemplated Mary within the mystery of the Incarnation. This Christological
dimension is still evident today in the chief Byzantine icon, which portrays
Mary as the Mother with the Child, an icon of Incarnation.

Concerning the Biblical expression of Marian themes, the Byzantine Church
focuses special interest on applying to Mary the terminology of the Temple and
its cultic symbolism. The Temple and its sacred furnishings are under stood by
Byzantine hymnographers and preachers as announcing the various dimensions of
the mystery of Mary. She is called the Temple, the Door, the Candlestick, the
Censer, the Holy of Holies, and so forth. In this context the non Biblical
feasts, like the Nativity of the Virgin and the Presentation into the Temple,
are considered basically as the fruit of a particular reading and understanding
of the Old Testament.

Also to be considered is the origin of certain Marian feasts rooted in the
construction and dedication of churches in places where events of sacred history
were supposed to have occurred.

In tracing the history of Byzantine Marian piety we find that it is rooted not
in any special revelation, but primarily in the experience of liturgical
worship. Theological reflection on Mary did not give rise to her veneration.
This veneration sprang from the liturgy as the experience of "heaven on earth,"
as communion with heavenly realities, as an act of love and devotion, that
gradually revealed the unique place of Christ's Mother in both the economy of
salvation and the mystery of the "world to come." The Church preaches Christ,
not Mary. But communion with Christ reveals Mary as the secret joy within the
Church. States a Byzantine hymn, "In her rejoices the whole creation!"
In celebrating the liturgy, there is really no time gap. In the mystical area of
time beyond time, Jesus' redeeming act and one's being redeemed are going on
together now, this day, hour, minute. When one is praying with the Church, one
is not praying a memory of an event; one is living the dynamics of the event
with that special awareness that recognizes the presence of the Lord.
In seeking to understand the meaning of Eastern Christian liturgy, the Byzantine
in particular, it is important to note that it is not symbolic in the Western
sense. A liturgical action has no isolated intrinsic meaning. Neither can
theology be appealed to for a definition or rational explanation of a single
sign or action; because Eastern Christian theology describes rather than defines
the reality of salvation. The Eastern Church resists attempts to define meaning
piece meal by analyzing elements of liturgy. Eastern Christian worship must be
comprehended wholistically, and liturgical actions recognized as pointing beyond
themselves to a greater reality in which the Christian participates when
worshipping.

In the Eastern and Byzantine world the cultic, liturgical origin of Mariology
possesses special importance for the understanding of its true nature and
theological implications. Mary is not the object of a cult added to that of
Jesus Christ. Rather she is an essential dimension of the cult addressed to God
and Christ, a quality of that cult.

3- Biblical Theological Perspective

The Byzantine liturgy unfolds other Mariological themes that are Bibically
based. Christ is the New Adam and Mary is the New Eve. This is the primary and
soteriological dimension of her veneration by the Church. The Byzantine Church
concentrates in Mary the whole Biblical vision and experience of the
relationship between God and creation, the Savior and the world, as a mystery of
love whose closest expression in "this world" is the man-woman relationship. God
loves the world, God loves the chosen people, Christ loves the Church as the
husband loves his wife. More precisely, the mystery of human love reflects the
mystery of God's love for his creation. Mary stands for the femininity of
creation itself. Here femininity means responding love, obedience, self-giving,
the readiness to live exclusively in and for the other. The woman responds to
the initiative of man and follows him, and in this total self-giving she
fulfills herself. Eve failed to be woman because she took the initiative; she
distorted the order of creation and became the cause of sin. The chosen people
of God failed to be the handmaid of the Lord in love and obedience. But Mary, by
her total obedience, restores something absolutely essential in the order of
creation. She is not the representative of the woman or women before God. Mary
is the icon of the entire creation as response to Christ and to God. The
traditional icon of Mary "wider than heaven" expresses well this notion; it is
often found in the apse of Byzantine churches

4- Ecclesial Perspective

Another significant difference between Eastern and Western Christianity is the
understanding of Church. In the East the Church is not only an institution or
community, but sacrament in the sense of being the epiphany of the events of
salvation. In this context, liturgy is not the way in which the community
expresses its faith but is the participation of those who believe in the
timeless reality of salvific events.

The Church is institution and the Church is life. Since the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation ecclesiology has dwelt mainly on the institutional aspect of
the Church. These canonical and organizational aspects are necessary and
essential for the Church. All this, however, is not the Church. The Church is
new life in Christ, new joy, communion, love, deification, peace. The Church is
an eternal passage from the old into the new, from this world into the Kingdom
of God. This life is difficult to define; but those who live it, no matter how
imperfectly, know Mary is its perfect expression, its very movement. As heart of
the new creation, Mary is the icon of Christ, the Bride of the Bridegroom, as is
the Church. No ecclesiastical authority has decreed this. The living experience
of the church herself discovers this identification of the Church with Mary, and
expresses the life of the Church in reference to Mary and the veneration of Mary
in reference to the Church. The devotion of the Byzantine Church is Mariological
because Mary is the very embodiment of that piety, its image, its direction, its
movement. Mary is the oranta eternally alive in adoration and self-giving.

5- Eschatological Perspective

As icon of creation and icon of the Church, Mary is also "the dawn of the
mysterious day," the foretaste of the Kingdom of God, the presence of realized
eschatology mentioned by theologians. The one who is "virgin after child
bearing" is also "alive after death" states the Kontakion of the Feast of the
Dormition. Faith tells us that even before the common resurrection and the
consummation of all things in Christ, Mary is fully alive, beyond the
destruction and separation of death. The Christian East has never rationalized
this mystery.

In the East knowledge of God is not the result of logical arguments presented by
theology. Only in worship can human beings obtain knowledge of God. Such
knowledge is nonrational; it is contemplative and mystical. Mary's total unity
with Christ destroyed her death. In her a part of this world is totally
glorified and deified, making her the "dawn of the mysterious day" of the
Kingdom.

6- Maternal Perspective

Mary was associated in all the mysteries of her Son's life on earth. She stood
at the foot of the cross, and a sword of sorrow pierced her heart. Her crucified
Son made her our Mother. Each Wednesday and Friday the Byzantine liturgy
remembers her mystery of suffering and compassion in the moving
stavro-theotokia, Byzantine counterparts of the Latin Stabat Mater Dolorosa. The
experience of Mary as protection and intercession is another dimension of
Byzantine Mariology.

Mary is identified with all suffering and human tragedy. In this regard she is
the icon of the Church as Mother. This theme is emphatically expressed in the
feast of the Protection of the Virgin, and in the endless flow of paraliturgical
Marian prayers and writings previously mentioned.

7- The Byzantine Mariological Perspective

The role of theology in Eastern Christianity differs from that in Western
Christianity. In the West theology is symbolized and encoded in liturgical
action. In the East theology flows from liturgy and is subject to it.
Theological discussion is always dependent on liturgy, and can be understood and
experienced only in the context of the worship life of the Church.

Mariology is not an independent and free-standing element in the rich tradition
of the Byzantine Church or in any other of the Eastern Christian Churches. It is
not studied in itself. Rather, Mariology - doctrine and devotion - is anRejoice O highly favored of God---the Lord is with you...Blessed are you among women..." and again: "All generations shall call me BLESSED!"

Excellent! Accurate, concise, perceptive. Someone should print this up as a hand-out.

I agree with Stuart. Excellent document; worth taking the time to read.