In the Church and the world
international monthly
edited by Giulio Andreotti
Extract from No. 12 - 2004
CHRISTIANITY
The Akathist hymn The sweet victory of Mary
It is considered the most beautiful Marian hymn of all time. For fifteen centuries the Christians of the Churches of Byzantine tradition have recited it in thanks to the Virgin and to ask her to safeguard them in the faith of the Apostles. 30DAYS asked Bartholomew I, Ecumenic Patriarch of Constantinople, to comment on the Akathist. An interview
by Gianni Valente
To you, as invincible
On this page, mosaics in the church of Christ Savior
in Chora, 1320c, Museum of Kariye Camii, Istanbul, Turkey. the Annunciation
To you, as invincible Captain, I raise songs of victory, I that am your City, O Mother of God. And as you possess irresistible power, free me from dangers of all kinds, that I may proclaim you: Hail, Bride and Maiden ever-pure! We shall never cease to hymn to you as one should, O Mother of God, and say: Hail, Bride and Maiden ever-pure! As soon as the angel had received his command, he hastened to Joseph's house and said to the ever-virgin: «Behold, heaven was brought down to earth when the Word Himself was fully contained in you! Now that I see Him in your womb, taking a servant's form, I cry out to you in wonder: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!»
The Nativity
NARRATIVE PART 1.An Archangel
was sent from heaven to greet the Mother of God, and as he saw you assuming a body at the sound of his bodiless voice, O
Lord, he stood rapt in amazement and cried out
to her in these words: Hail, O you, through whom Joy will shine
forth! Hail, O you, through whom the curse will
disappear! Hail, O Restoration of the Fallen Adam! Hail, O Redemption of the Tears of Eve! Hail, O Peak above the reach of human
thought! Hail, O Depth even beyond the sight of
angels! Hail, O you who have become a Kingly
Throne! Hail, O you who carry Him Who Carries All! Hail, O Star who manifest the Sun! Hail, O Womb of the Divine Incarnation! Hail, O you through whom creation is
renewed! Hail, O you through whom the Creator
becomes a Babe! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 2.Knowing that
she was a virgin, the blessed one courageously answered the angel: |«Your surprising words seem hard for my mind to accept: how can you speak of a birth that
is to come from a conception without seed? And
why do you cry, “Alleluia?”» 3.Trying to
grasp the meaning of this mystery, the Virgin asked the holy messenger: “How
is it possible that a son be born from a
virginal womb? Tell me.” And he answered her with awe,
crying out in these words: Hail, O hidden Sense of the Ineffable
Plan! Hail, O Belief in Silence That Must Be! Hail, O Forecast of the Marvels of Christ! Hail, O Fountainhead of truths concerning
Him! Hail, Celestial Ladder, by whom God came
down! Hail, O Bridge leading earthly ones to
heaven! Hail, O Wonder, ever-thrilling to the
angels! Hail, O Wound, ever-hurting to the demons! Hail, O you who gave birth to Light
ineffably! Hail, O you who told no one how it was
done! Hail, O you who surpass the wisdom of the
wise! Hail, O you who enlighten faithful minds! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure! ». 4.When the
power of the Most High overshadowed the one who had never known
the nuptial bed, her fruitful womb conceived,
and she became for all a delicious field: for
those who wished to reap salvation by singing «Alleluia!» 5.Pregnant
with God, the Virgin hastened to Elizabeth, her unborn child rejoiced, immediately knowing her embrace. Bouncing and singing, he cried out to the Mother of
God: «Hail, O Tendril whose Bud shall not wilt! Hail, O Soil whose Fruit shall not perish!
Hail, O Tender of mankind’s loving Tender! Hail, O Gardener of the Gardener of Life! Hail, O Earth who yielded abundant
mercies! Hail, O Table full-laden with appeasement! Hail, for you have greened anew the
pastures of delight! Hail, for you have prepared a haven for
the souls! Hail, acceptable Incense of Prayer! Hail, Expiation of the whole universe! Hail, O you Favor of God to mortal men! Hail, O you Trust of mortals before God! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 6.Filled with
a storm of contradictory thoughts, the wise Joseph was greatly disturbed: until
then, he had seen you a virgin, and now he
suspected you of secret guilt, all-blameless one!
Learning that your conception was of the Holy
Spirit, he cried out: «Alleluia!» 7.The
Shepherds heard the angels singing hymns of praise to the Coming of Christ in the
Flesh. And running to Him as to a shepherd, they
saw Him as a spotless lamb, grazing at Mary’s
breast. They sang a hymn to her and said: «Hail, O Mother of Lamb and Shepherd! Hail, O Fold of rational sheep! Hail, O Protection against unseen foes! Hail, O Key to the Doors of Paradise! Hail, for the heavenly rejoice with the
earth! Hail, for the earthly meet the heavens in
song! Hail, the Unsilenced Voice of the
Apostles! Hail, the Undaunted Might of Martyrs! Hail, O Steadfast Foundation of Faith! Hail, O Shining Emblem of Grace! Hail, O you through whom death was
despoiled! Hail, O you through whom we were clothed with glory! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 8.When they
saw the Star moved by God, the Magi followed its glittering light. Using
it as a beacon, they found through it the Mighty
King, and reaching the One Beyond All Reach,
they rejoiced and cried out to Him: «Alleluia!» 9.The Sons of
Chaldaea saw in the Virgin’s hands the One whose hands had fashioned men: and
acknowledging Him as the Master, although
He had taken the form of a servant, they
hastened to honor Him with their gifts and cried out
to the Blessed One: «Hail, O Mother of the Star Without
Setting! Hail, O Radiance of the Mystical Day! Hail, O you who quenched the flame of
error! Hail, O Light of those who search the
Trinity! Hail, O you who unthroned the Enemy of
Men! Hail, O you who showed forth Christ the
Lord, Lover of Mankind! Hail, O you who cleansed us from the stain
of pagan worship! Hail, O you who saved us from the mire of evil deeds! Hail, O you who made cease the cult of
fire! Hail, O you who dispelled the flames of
Passion; Hail, O you who guide the faithful toward
wisdom! Hail, O you, Delight of all the Nations! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 10.The Magi,
become God-bearing heralds, returned to Babylon, conforming to your command, announcing You, the Christ, to
all, and leaving Herod as a fool who did not
know how to sing: «Alleluia!» 11. Illuminating Egypt with the Light of
Truth, you cast away the darkness of error. For
the idols, unable to stand your might, fell down, and
those who had been delivered from them cried out
to the Mother of God: «Hail, O Resurrection of mankind! Hail, O Downfall of the Demons! Hail, O you who crushed the error of
deceit! Hail, O you who exposed the fraud of
idols! Hail, O Sea who drowned the symbolic
Pharaon! Hail, O Rock who quenched those who thirst
for Life! Hail, O Pillar of Fire who guided those in
darkness! Hail, O Shelter of the World, wider than the
clouds! Hail, O Food who took the place of Manna! Hail, O Handmaid of holy delight! Hail, O Land of the promised good! Hail, O you who flow with milk and honey! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 11.As Simeon
was about to leave the present deceitful world, You were entrusted to him
as an infant, but You made Yourself known to him
as the perfect God. Wherefore he marveled at your
wisdom beyond words, and cried out:: «Alleluia!» THEMATIC PART 12.The Creator
displayed a new creation to us who had come from Him: He came forth from a
womb that had received no seed, and He left it
intact as it had been, so that at the sight of this
marvel, we would sing to her and cry out: «Hail, O Blossom of Incorruption! Hail, O Crown of Self-mastery! Hail, O you who shone forth as a Sign of
Resurrection! Hail, O you who displayed the Life of
Angels! Hail, Fruitful Tree from whom believers
feed! Hail, Shady Glen where many are sheltered! Hail, O you who have born the Guide of the
Lost! Hail, Source of Life to the captives’
Release! Hail, O you who unsettled even the Just
Judge! Hail, Indulgence of many who have fallen! Hail, O Stole for those who lack freedom
to speak! Hail, O Tenderness who exceed all desire! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 14. Now that we have seen this strange
birth, let us estrange ourselves from the world
and turn our minds to heaven: indeed, it is for
this that the God Most High appeared on earth as a lowly
man, desiring to draw up to heaven those who
cry out to Him: «Alleluia!» 15. While fully present amid those below,
the uncircumscribed Word was in no way absent
from those above: for what happened was a
divine condescension, and not a moving from one
place to another: and it was a birth from a Virgin
inspired by God, who heard these words: «Hail, O Space of the Spaceless God! Hail, O Gate of the Sublime Mystery! Hail, O Message unsure to men without
faith! Hail, O Glory most certain to those who
believe! Hail, O Sacred Chariot of the One above the Cherubim! Hail, Perfect Dwelling of the One above the Seraphim! Hail, O you who reconciled opposites! Hail, O you who combined maidenhood and motherhood! Hail, O you through whom transgression was erased; Hail, O you through whom Paradise was
opened! Hail, O Key to the Kingdom of Christ! Hail, O Hope for the Ages of Bliss! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 16. The whole order of the Angels marveled
at the great work of your becoming a man:
for they saw the One Inaccessible as God become a Man accessible to all, living with us and
hearing us cry out: «Alleluia!» 17. O Mother of God, we see the best of speakers become as mute as fish in your
regard, for they could not explain how you could give birth while remaining a virgin. As
for us, while marveling at the mystery, we cry out
to you with faith: «Hail, O Container of God’s Wisdom! Hail, O Treasury of His Providence! Hail, O Reproof of foolish philosophers! Hail, O Confusion of speechless wise men! Hail, for you perplexed the inquisitive
minds! Hail, for you dried up the inventors of
myths! Hail, for you ripped the Athenians’
meshes! Hail, for you filled the Fishermen’s nets! Hail, O Retriever from the Abyss of
Ignorance! Hail, O Lamplight of Knowledge to many! Hail, O Ship for those who seek Salvation! Hail, O Harbor for the Sailors of Life! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 18. Desiring to save the world, the
Creator of All came down to it of His own will. Being at
the same time our Shepherd and our God, He appeared among us. And so the like called
upon the like, and as God He heard: «Alleluia!» 19. O Virgin Mother of God, you are the
strength of Virgins and of all those who have
recourse to you. For the Maker of heaven and earth
covered you with His shadow, O Pure One, and came to dwell in your womb, and taught us all to cry out to you: «Hail, O Pillar of Virginity! Hail, O Gateway of Salvation! Hail, O Principle of the New Creation! Hail, O Dispenser of God’s bounties! Hail, for you restored those born in
shame! Hail, for you gave sense to those who had
lost it! Hail, O you who stopped the corruptor of
minds! Hail, O you who bore the Sower of
Chastity! Hail, Holy Chamber of virginal wedlock! Hail, O you who join the faithful with
God! Hail, O gracious Foster-Mother of virgins! Hail, O Bridesmaid of holy souls! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 20. Every hymn falls short when it
attempts to sing the multitude of your mercies: we
could sing to You as many songs as there are grains
of sand, O Holy King, without ever doing anything
worthy of what You have given to those who cry out to You: «Alleluia!» 21. We see the holy Virgin as a brilliant
luminary enlightening those who live in darkness;
for having kindled the immaterial Light, she
leads men to the knowledge of God and fills
their minds with radiance, so that she is
worthily praised in these words: «Hail, O Beam of the Mystical Son; Hail, O radiance of the Light without
setting! Hail, Lightning-Flash that brightens the
souls; Hail, Thunder-Clap that strikes down the
foes! Hail, for you have raised the many-lighted
Star; Hail, for you have opened the many-coursed
Stream! Hail, O you who traced the living Model of the Pool; Hail, O you who erased the stain of sin! Hail, flowing Water that cleanses the
conscience; Hail, Holy Vessel overflowing with joy! Hail, O Fragrance of the sweetness of
Christ; Hail, O Life of the Mystical Banquet! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 22. Because He wished to grant release
from all the ancient debts, the One who pays men’s
dues came down Himself to those who had spurned
His grace; He tore up their obligations,
and heard from all of them this cry: «Alleluia!» 23. By singing praise to your maternity,
we all exalt you as a spiritual temple, Mother of God! For
the One Who Dwelt Within Your Womb, the Lord Who Holds All Things in His Hands, sanctified
you, glorified you, and taught all men to sing to you: «Hail, O Tabernacle of God the Word! Hail, O Holy One, more holy than the
saints! Hail, O Ark that the Spirit has gilded! Hail, Inexhaustible Treasure of Life! Hail, Precious Crown of rightful
authorities! Hail, Sacred Glory of reverent priests! Hail, Unshakable Tower of the Church! Hail, Unbreachable Wall of the Kingdom! Hail, O you through whom the trophies are
raised! Hail, O you through whom the enemies are
routed! Hail, O healing of my body! Hail, O salvation of my soul! Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!» 24. O Mother worthy of all praise, you who
have given birth to the Word, the Holiest of
the Holy, accept this present offering, deliver all
men from every affliction, and save from the future
punishment those who cry out to you: «Alleluia!»
The Child Jesus and Mary
When the barbarians laid siege to
Constantinople, its citizens invoked the help of Mary, to whom the city was
consecrated. And after enjoying her protection, they thanked her with songs and
vigils in her name. All night long the people sang the Akathist, the great hymn to the Mother of God, by
an unknown author. When finally the Byzantine Empire fell, the patriarch George
Scholarios addressed Mary and told her that the faithful would no longer
importune her to save the city, but would continue to invoke her so that she
safeguard them always in the faith of the Fathers. Still today the Christians of the Eastern
Churches of Byzantine tradition address their entreaties and thanks to Mary
through the Akathist.
For fifteen centuries, individual and communal recital of the hymn has worked
as a precious means of safeguarding them in the simple faith of the apostles.
The only worthwhile treasure, even today when there are no Christian empires. In the interview that follows 30Days asks Bartholomew I, Ecumenic Patriarch of
Constantinople, to comment on what many consider the most beautiful Marian hymn
of all time. In which all the mysteries that the liturgy proposes at Christmastime
are contemplated.
Bartolomew I
Your Holiness, what does the Akathist mean to you? Bartholomew I: It is one of the most
beautiful and most frequently used hymns in the Orthodox Church, one that
deeply moves the soul of every believer. It is read each day in the holy
monasteries during the office of Compline, and the majority of monks and many
devout lay people know it by heart and recite it to themselves, in the happy or
painful circumstances of life. It is above all a prayer of praise and
forcefully expresses the feelings of awe, devotion, hope, faith and charity of
every soul toward the All-holy Mother of God. What the Akathist hymn is for every Orthodox believer, it
is also personally for us. It doesn’t have a character limited in time. It’s
true that, according to Tradition, it was composed and sung for the first time
at a concrete historical moment, during a vigil, by the people of
Constantinople standing on their feet (akathistos means precisely “not sitting”), as an act
of thanksgiving because the city - then dominant – had been saved from enemy
invasion. But the devout heart of every believer feels that this prayer is
valid for every happy or sad event, whether personal or communal. And it is
recited every day with a feeling of awakened relevance. For the soul of
believers, who place all their faith in the help of the All-holy Mother of God,
the historical juncture for which the hymn was written is not important, but
only belief in the help that comes from the Ever-Virgin Mary and the certain
hope that, as happened then, so also now the same help is granted to those who
invoke Her. Indeed, in the last series of tropes of the Akathist, the faithful
fiercely beg the All-holy to deliver them all from all evil. Thus trust in her
efficacy for the believers of all periods is clearly expressed. What is the Akathist hymn shaped on? Bartholomew I: The Akathist belongs to the category of hymns called
“Kontakia”. It’s composed, as is known, of twenty-four units known as “Oikoi”
(stanzas), with an alphabetical acrostic. Half of them – the odd numbered ones
– begin with a poetic exposition, that describes an event, and is followed by
thanksgivings to the All-holy Mother of God, full of marvel and of praise for
Her, that end with the doxological exclamation: «Hail, Virgin and Bride!». The other half of the stanzas – the even
numbered ones – are composed by a series of tropes that ends with the
exclamation of praise «Alleluia!» Each stanza has as its starting point an
event in the life of the All-holy Mother of God or also, on occasion,
happenings in the life of Jesus Christ, born of Her, or in that of other people
connected with them, so as to highlight the part played by her or Jesus Christ
in that episode and her importance for the salvation of mankind. Everything begins with the Annunciation to
the Mother of God by the Archangel. Then the wonderment of the All-holy is
described and her dialogue with him. The conception of the embryo in Her womb
through the workings of the Holy Spirit is proclaimed. Then the visit of Mary
to Elizabeth is recounted, Joseph’s doubts, the adoration of the shepherds, the
visit of the Magi, the offering of gifts and the praise of the Magi to the
Virgin Mother, the flight from Herod... The shepherds and the Magi are the
first witnesses to the birth of Jesus from the womb of that Jewish girl. How is
the story reported? Bartholomew I: The seventh stanza
introduces us to the accomplished birth of Christ in the cave in Bethlehem,
testified by the hymn of the angels that amazed the shepherds. The shepherds,
according to the hymn writer, thinking in a human way, hastened to see the
incarnate God as a majestic shepherd, but instead of seeing him in the guise of
shepherd, they see him as spotless Lamb feeding at Mary’s breast, and they
exalt Her in these words: «Hail, O you through whom death was despoiled». The eighth and ninth stanzas refer to the
journey of the Magi following the star, and to their offering of royal gifts to
the Word of God who has taken on the form of servant. The hymn writer puts words
of great marvel at the Mother of God on the lips of the Magi: «Hail, O Mother
of the Star Without Setting»; «Hail, O you who saved us from the mire of pagan
worship»; «Hail, O you made cease the cult of fire».In the tenth stanza we are told that the Magi, ignoring
foolish Herod, returned to Babylonia and there began to proclaim Jesus Christ. «So the like called upon the like». As
one reads in the eighteenth stanza of the hymn. How is the attraction aroused
by the humanity of Jesus Christ described in the Akathist? Bartholomew I: There are two references to
it in the Akathist.
The first is in the fourteenth stanza and says that the Most High God has
manifested himself on earth as humble man, wanting to lift on high «those who
joyfully acclaim him: “Alleluia!”» The second comes in the eighteenth stanza
and says: «Desiring to save the world, the Creator of All came down to it of
His own will. Being at the same time our Shepherd and our God, He appeared
among us. And so the like called upon the like, and as God He
heard:“Alleluia!”» We believe that the composer of the Akathist, with the Orthodox Tradition in mind,
expressed in these words the belief that the God Word became incarnate and made
himself man to lead mankind back to God, given that mankind was incapable
through its own efforts of repairing the relation it had with God before the
fall. We don’t believe that it gives us a sentimental notion of man, deriving
from the human element of Jesus Christ. Rather it expresses an ontological
reality: Jesus, the Jesus God-Man, by taking on the human element, healed its
every imperfection, made it reborn, become a new Adam, and whoever unites with
Him renews himself, becoming free of the hereditary corruption that comes from
original sin, and so passes «from death to life». Since death is the main
consequence of hereditary corruption, to which all mankind is subject, after
their life-giving relation with God was broken by the disobedience of our first
parents. Noteworthy in the fourteenth stanza is the
way the hymn writer calls upon us to raise ourselves above worldly things to
celestial ones, because that is why God came into the world: to attract, that
is draw to himself, to his loftiness, those who believe in him, through a grace
that makes his attracting presence on the earth a felt experience, giving to
those who welcome it faith and the experience of the spiritual life. Again in the eighteenth stanza the hymn
writer stresses that God, according to his will, came into the world as man to
save the world, offering his invitation through the God-Man, like to men, who
is capable of accomplishing what simple men could not achieve. Certainly those
who love Christ feel in his person a tenderness and a beauty freighted with
attraction, but we believe that the hymn writer – in tune with his times, which
were very fond of dogmatic debate – expresses dogmatic truth, and not
sentimentality. At Christmas, the Mystery that makes
all things becomes a child, helpless as all children. The child Jesus needed
Mary and Joseph, two creatures also humanly helpless in the face of Herod and
the wickedness of the world. What mention does the Akathist make of the story of the flight into
Egypt? Bartholomew I: The escape in Egypt isn’t
mentioned directly and to any extent in the Akathist.In the eleventh stanza we are reminded that in Egypt Christ made the
light of the truth blaze, and those who through the Savior were freed from
idols acclaim the Mother of God, participant in the Divine Economy, with
various salutations full of admiration and praise. The majority of these
salutations allude to events in the history of the Jewish people in Egypt, who
symbolize or prefigure the contribution of the Mother of God to the Divine
Economy. Thus, the greeting «Hail, O Sea who drowned the symbolic Pharaoh!»
alludes to Hebrews’ crossing of the Red Sea and to the drowning of the
Egyptians pursuing them. It is believed that the event prefigures the Mother of
God because - as a trope puts it «after the passage of Israel the sea closed
again; the Immaculate, after the birth of the Emanuel, remained intact». The salutation «Hail, O Rock who quenched
those who thirst for Life» alludes, instead, to the rock in the desert from
which life-giving water sprang for the Hebrews, thanks to Moses’ prayer, and
also to the word of the Lord who told the Samaritan woman he had living water.
As from the rock sprang life-giving water, so from the Virgin came Christ, as
living and life-giving water. In the same way, the salutation addressed to the
Mother of God as «Pillar of Fire who guided those in darkness», and that in
which she is exalted as «Shelter of the world, wider than the clouds», liken
the All-holy to the pillar of fire and to the cloud that guided the Hebrews in
the desert, as told in the Book of the Exodus (Ex 13,21). Finally, the «rejoice, O food who
took the place of Manna», and the «Hail, O Land of promised good, you who flow
with milk and honey», refer to the known facts of the Old Testament. In this way, many episodes in the history
of the chosen people prefigure, according to the composer of the Akathist, as also to other great poets of
Byzantium, the later potent action of the All-holy Mother of God. In response to the event of Christmas
and to the mystery of Mary’s motherhood the Akathist hymn depicts two attitudes, two
different reactions. On the one hand there are the shepherds, the angels, the
Magi. On the other those who are described as mythmakers or sophists («for you
dried up the inventors of myths… you ripped the Athenians’ meshes»). Those who
think themselves in command of the Mystery… Bartholomew I: The shepherds, the angels,
the Magi and believers in general marvel at and acknowledge the event of the
Divine Economy and glorify God and the All-holy Mother of God His co-operatrix
in it. The wise people of the world –who want to subdue the actions of God to human reasoning – are unable to
marvel and trust. They are concerned to explain and understand the events of
the Divine Economy, which however go beyond the knowledge of the wise, while
they shine before the hearts of believers, as the third stanza tell us. We
then, the faithful, «marveling at the mystery of the incarnation of God, we
sing with faith»: «Hail, O you Reproof of foolish philosophers; Hail, O
confusion of speechless wise men» (stanza 17). What is incomprehensible for the
mind, the faith brings close – substance of hoped-for things, proof of things
not seen – that makes the heart certain of their real, and not imaginary,
existence. Jesus is fount of life and of pardon
for sinners, gives them the grace lost. But in this work Mary, too, is
involved, «indulgence of many who have fallen», «stole for those who lack
freedom to speak», because it was her who gave him flesh. How is the work of
Mary in this unimaginable succour to the human condition, lapsed after original
sin, expressed in the Akathist? Bartholomew I: In fact, the sublime love
of God for mankind chose a way of salvation that could not be foreseen by the
mind of man, accustomed to conceive God in his immensity. Kenosis, that is the emptying out of God, his
manifestation as man, was unimaginable. Even more inconceivable was, and is,
his conception in the womb of a woman, and the very existence of a woman worthy
of welcoming the divinity in her own body and to become Mother of God
incarnate. That constituted scandal or foolishness, and for many it is still so
today. Human logic attributes to God the qualities that it imagines the great
man must or does possess; so not humility, abasement, love to the point of
self-sacrifice. Despite that, the unimaginable – though it
was also prophesized – did happen. On the one hand, a woman was found of such
purity to be worthy of conceiving, giving birth to and rearing the God-Man
Jesus Christ. On the other, God emptied himself of the glory of his
magnificence and manifested himself on earth as «humble man». This happening
fills with wonder and awe the author of the Akathist, who thus throughout the whole hymn shows
his boundless wonderment both toward God, and towards the All-holy Mother of God,
through extraordinary poetic expressions such as: «Hail, O Message unsure to
men without faith; Hail, O Glory most certain to those who believe!». «Hail, O
you who reconciled opposites; Hail, O you who combined maidenhood and
motherhood»; Hail, O you through whom transgression was erased; Hail, O you
through whom Paradise was opened». In phrases like these salvation is not
attributed to the Virgin Mary, but her cooperation is exalted to her, through
the bounty of God. The fact is hymned that God, who wants mankind to be saved,
sought – and in the person of the Mother of God, found – the unconditioned and
immediate collaboration of mankind. After the corruption of the human race
through the sin of our first parents, God incarnated himself in the new man, the
God-Man Jesus, he who is extraneous to corruption, and calls on all to embody
themselves in Jesus Christ so as to partake of the incorruptibility and
eternity of his life and truth. And this incarnation came about through a
woman. Indeed very great and magnificent is the work of God and the
participation of the All-holy in it, hymned in the Akathist. As the Epistle to the Hebrews says, after the unique and perfect
sacrifice of Jesus, there is no need for other sacrifices. The Akathist also speaks of the participation of
Mary, Mother of God, in this work of liberation: «Hail, O Light of those who
search the Trinity». «Hail, O you who cleansed us from the stain of pagan
worship». «Hail, O you who exposed the fraud of idols». «Hail, O Downfall of
the Demons». Bartholomew I: One can’t quote all the
multitude of references in the Akathist to the contribution of the Ever-Virgin Mary to the
salvific work of Jesus Christ. Beginning from that «Hail, O you, through whom
Joy will shine forth; Hail, O you, through whom the curse will disappear», put
into the mouth to the Angel. These and all the other epithets of the Mother of
God, that fill the whole Akathist hymn, are fine poetic ways of presenting the
participation of the All-holy in the mystery of salvation. Thus the All-holy is
called: kingly throne, renewal of creation, mother of the Creator, star that
manifests the sun, forecast of the prodigies of Christ, celestial ladder, by
whom God came down, bridge leading earthly ones to heaven, yielder of abundant
mercies, she who has quenched the flame of error, she who threw down the
oppressor, wound ever-hurting to the demons, she who gave birth to the guide of
the lost, source of life of the captives’ release, indulgence of the fallen,
and so on. The Church recognized from the
beginning that in Mary’s virginity is manifest the resplendent beauty that
enamored God and drew him to us. How is God’s predilection for the virgin
beauty of Mary expressed in this hymn? Bartholomew I: The virginity of the Mother
of God, as deep, existential, free and total absorption of her love in God, as
spiritual situation during which her mind and heart were not turned towards
another earthly being, is continually sung in the Akathist hymn, along with God’s predilection for
this virginal devotion of the All-holy toward Him. One line even says that the
Lord who dwelt in her womb, he who contains all things, «sanctified and
glorified» her. Another says that the Creator of heaven and earth shaped the
All-pure, dwelling then in her uterus. The Catholic Church this year
celebrates the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception. How does the Eastern Christian and
Byzantine Tradition celebrate the Conception of Mary and her full and
immaculate holiness? Bartholomew I: The Catholic Church found
that it needed to institute a new dogma for Christendom about one thousand and
eight hundred years after the appearance of the Christianity, because it had
accepted a perception of original sin – a mistaken one for us Orthodox –
according to which original sin passes on a moral stain or a legal
responsibility to the descendants of Adam, instead of that recognized as
correct by the Orthodox faith – according to which the sin transmitted through
inheritance the corruption, caused by the separation of mankind from the
uncreated grace of God, which makes him live spiritually and in the flesh.
Mankind shaped in the image of God, with the possibility and destiny of being
like to God, by freely choosing love towards Him and obedience to his
commandments, can even after the fall of Adam and Eve become friend of God
according to intention; then God sanctifies them, as he sanctified many of the
progenitors before Christ, even if the accomplishment of their ransom from corruption,
that is their salvation, was achieved after the incarnation of Christ and
through Him. In consequence, according to the Orthodox
faith, Mary the All-holy Mother of God was not conceived exempt from the
corruption of original sin, but loved God above of all things and obeyed his
commandments, and thus was sanctified by God through Jesus Christ who
incarnated himself of her. She obeyed Him like one of the faithful, and
addressed herself to Him with a Mother’s trust. Her holiness and purity were
not blemished by the corruption, handed on to her by original sin as to every
man, precisely because she was reborn in Christ like all the saints, sanctified
above every saint. Her reinstatement in the condition prior
to the Fall did not necessarily take place at the moment of her conception. We
believe that it happened afterwards, as consequence of the progress in her of
the action of the uncreated divine grace through the visit of the Holy Spirit,
which brought about the conception of the Lord within her, purifying her from
every stain. As already said, original sin weighs on
the descendants of Adam and of Eve as corruption, and not as legal
responsibility or moral stain. The sin brought hereditary corruption and not a
hereditary legal responsibility or a hereditary moral stain. In consequence the
All-holy participated in the hereditary corruption, like all mankind, but with
her love for God and her purity – understood as an imperturbable and
unhesitating dedication of her love to God alone – she succeeded, through the
grace of God, in sanctifying herself in Christ and making herself worthy of
becoming the house of God, as God wants all us human beings to become.
Therefore we in the Orthodox Church honor the All-holy Mother of God above all
the saints, albeit we don’t accept the new dogma of her Immaculate Conception.
The non-acceptance of this dogma in no way diminishes our love and veneration
of the All-holy Mother of God.
