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Coffee with Sister Vassa
HOW DOES THE THEOTOKOS “SAVE” US?
“The laws of nature are overcome (Νενίκηνται τῆς φύσεως οἱ ὅροι / Побеждаются естества уставы) in you, O Pure Virgin: for birthgiving remains virginal, and life is united to death; a virgin after childbearing and alive after death, you ever save your inheritance, O Theotokos.” (Canon of Dormition, Ode 9)
On the eve of the great feast (or fast, if we’re on the Older Calendar) of the Dormition of the Theotokos, I’m reflecting on how the above-quoted hymn helps us better understand its final words: “you ever save your inheritance (i.e., all of us), O Theotokos.”
Let’s first note that we do not confuse the Theotokos with our one-and-only Savior. What we are doing, when we affirm that the Theotokos “saves” us, is professing the indispensable role that she played, as Theo-tokos, in His incarnation, without which we would not have salvation.
What is “salvation”? It means “a return to wholeness” from previous fragmentation or separation from that wholeness through all the contradictions of our being. Salvation is accomplished by the “Theo(s)”-part of the “Theo-tokos,” by God, but not without her part, the “tokos” or “birth giving” part. Our incarnate Lord integrates and overcomes our contradictions, like life and death, birth giving and virginity, fruitfulness and barrenness, victory and defeat, divinity and humanity, heaven and earth, spirit and body, by becoming one of us, in the flesh, through one of us – the Theotokos. The Mother of God exemplifies, par excellence, the whole Mother-Church that participates in this integration of the contradictions, in this return to wholeness that is “salvation,” in communion with Christ. The above-quoted hymn celebrates the salvific overcoming or integration of the contradictions in and through our “Theo-tokos.” That is to say, through the synergy of God and the human being that is manifested in her unique vocation, which continues to “save” us on a daily basis.
This is why we say, “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” – and not, “Mary, save us!”because we are professing our faith in the vital, indispensable part of our salvation that is the incarnation. And this is why traditionally we do not depict the Theotokos alone on icons, but always together with the Lord. It’s not just about her, nor just about God. It’s about both her, – a human being just as human as the rest of us, and God, Who invites all of us to participate in the synergy she exemplifies. We’re all invited to be “blessed” by receiving the Word of God (inside us, in our “wombs”) and then to “keep it” by giving it away; by giving birth to it in our world and sharing it in our own context. As Christ said to the woman who cried out from the crowd and blessed His mother (Lk 11:27): “Moreover, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it!”
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A timely reflection from Sister Vassa as we approach the eve of the Feast of the Dormition. In addition to offering us some very good over-all theological insights into what is a somewhat controversial liturgical text - "Most holy Theotokos, save us!" - when heard in isolation and not placed in a wider context; she also may provide some further insights that we can convey to our Protestant friends (many of whom accept the title Theotokos, or at least in terms of what it reveals about the identity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ).
