Melissa MacKenzie explained in a recent podcast the importance to society of the Ever-Virgin Mary, as the archetype of (and inspiration towards) true womanhood and motherhood.  She had many salutary things to say, and, as the Great Feast of the Annunciation to the Mother of God is upon us (March 25^th), we would like to extend the discussion of the centrality of the Theotokos (literally, Birthgiver of God) for Christians.

It is no secret that the peoples of the States face dangers from a number of different vectors:  an invasion at the border, suicidal nihilists who murder school children, inner city gangs, etc.  We are in dire need of guardians.  And throughout Church history, Christians have often turned to the Theotokos for protection and deliverance from violent foes.

This is seen very clearly in Orthodox Church hymnography.  One of them, the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, sung during Great Lent, was originally done so in celebration of her protection of Constantinople on various occasions.  For example, during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius in the 7^th century:

Now the Khagan, that is, the ruler, of the Mysians and the Scythians (Avars and Slavs [Bulgars]), on learning that the Emperor had crossed over the sea into Persia, broke his treaty with the Romans and, at the head of countless hordes, invaded Constantinople from the west, sending up blasphemous cries against God. At once, the sea became full of ships, and the land was filled with innumerable infantry and cavalry. Patriarch Sergios made many appeals to the people of Constantinople not to fall into despair, but to place all their hope wholeheartedly in God and His Mother, the All-Immaculate Theotokos. Bonus, a Patrician, who was governor of the city at that time, made suitable preparations for warding off the enemy; for, together with help from on high, we, for our part, must do whatever we can. Along with the entire populace, the Patriarch, carrying the holy Icons of the Mother of God, went around the upper walls, thereby ensuring their security. When Sharbaraz from the east and the Khagan from the west began to set fire to the outskirts of the city, the Patriarch bore the Icon of Christ “Not Made with Hands,” the pieces of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, as well as the Precious Robe of the Mother of God and went around the walls. The Scythian Khagan launched an attack on Constantinople via the land walls with a countless multitude of soldiers, so great that for every Roman there were ten Scythians fighting against him. But the invincible Champion, with the very few soldiers who were in her Church of the Life-Giving Spring, destroyed a very large number of the enemy. Encouraged by this and rejoicing over it, the Romans, under their invincible leader, the Mother of God, continued to inflict heavy defeats on them.

Some of the hymns themselves are as follows:

O Champion General, we your faithful inscribe to you the prize of victory as gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded (source).

Mother of God Ever-Virgin, you have given your holy Protection, through which you protect those who hope in you, as a mighty refuge for your race. For as of old so now you have wondrously saved us, enveloping your people like a spiritual cloud. And so we implore you to grant peace to your commonwealth, and to our souls God’s great mercy (source).

Wonderworking icons of the Panagia (All-Pure) also manifest her protection for Christians.  The Mother of God, through her Pochaev Icon, one of the most prized treasures of the Ukraine, once delivered the Pochaev Monastery from an invasion of the Poles:

In the summer of 1675 during the Zbarazhsk War with the Turks, in the reign of the Polish King Jan Sobesski (1674-1696), regiments composed of Tatars under the command of Khan Nurredin via Vishnevets fell upon the Pochaev monastery, surrounding it on three sides. The weak monastery walls and its stone buildings did not offer much protection against a siege. Igoumen Joseph Dobromirsky urged the brethren and laypeople to pray to their heavenly intercessors, the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job of Pochaev (October 28).

The monks and the people prayed fervently, prostrating themselves before the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God, and the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Job. At sunrise on the morning of July 23, as the Tatars prepared to attack the monastery, the Igoumen ordered an Akathist to the Theotokos to be sung. At the opening words, “O Queen of the Heavenly Hosts,” the Mother of God suddenly appeared over the church, in “an unfurled radiant white omaphorion,” with angels holding unsheathed swords. Saint Job stood beside the Mother of God, bowing to her and beseeching her to defend the monastery.

The Tatars believed that the heavenly army was a vision, and in their confusion they started shooting arrows at the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job, but the arrows turned backwards and wounded those who shot them. The enemy, gripped by terror, fled in panic, trampling upon and killing each other. The defenders of the monastery pursued them and took many prisoners. Later, some of the prisoners converted to the Orthodox Faith and remained at the monastery thereafter.

In later times, during China’s Boxer Rebellion, there is this account of the Albazin Icon of the Theotokos:

In the summer of 1900, during the “Boxer Rebellion” in China, the waves of insurrection reached all the way to the Russian border. Chinese troops suddenly appeared on the banks of the Amur before Blagoveschensk. For nineteen days the enemy stood before the undefended city, raining artillery fire down upon it, and menacing the Russian bank with invasion.

The shallows of the Amur afforded passage to the adversary. In the Annunciation church services were celebrated continuously, and Akathists were read before the Wonderworking Albazin Icon. The Protection of the Mother of God was again extended over the city, just as it had been in earlier times. Not daring to cross the Amur, the enemy departed from Blagoveschensk. According to the accounts of the Chinese themselves, they often saw a Radiant Woman over the bank of the Amur, inspiring them with fear and rendering their missiles ineffective.

Clearly, there is much to recommend to those States who have eyes to see that they should implore the Mother of God for her protection.  Mythologist/Storyteller Richard Rohlin, in some of his interesting Univeral History conversations with iconographer Jonathan Pageau, has gone so far as to say that a people/country is not fully developed unless it has acquired an icon of the Theotokos unique to them.  If this is so, then the Cajuns are close to maturity, for they have gone so far as to make the Mother of God their patron saint, portraying this symbolically with a star on the Acadian national flag.  And the South is closer still, as there now exists an icon of the Mother of God spreading her protecting veil across the Southern States (her Protection of the Southland icon; viewable here).

But not wanting to give offense to any, we offer a short explanation to those who may question this recommendation of ours vis-à-vis the Mother of God.

On why Christians should give special veneration to her:

A.: We honor her because Jesus Christ Himself honored her on several occasions recorded in Scripture. He fulfilled her requests and also gave her special thought even while He was dying on the cross (Luke 2:51; John 2:3-9; John 19:26-27). Even before Christ was born, she was honored by heaven when the Archangel Gabriel appeared and said to her: “Hail, thou that art full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Holy Scripture further proclaims of her that “henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48), because from her womb came forth God in the flesh. This means that all who believe in Christ and in the Bible must give special honor and veneration to the one that is “blessed among women.” It is not enough to merely give attention to her at Christmas time, when she appears in the manger scenes of western Christian churches. No, this “one full of grace” must occupy a very special place in the hearts of those that follow her Son, just as she did among the first Christians.

. . . A.: We believe that there is only one Lord God and Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ. No one is equal to Him, and no one but Him can save mankind. We do not turn to Mary, the Mother of Christ our God, as to a savior, and we certainly do not put her on the same level as her Son, but we turn to her as to one who helps us by her prayers, just as St. Paul himself said that he had become all things to all men, “that I might by all means and in any way save them” (I Cor. 9:22). St. Paul was not claiming to usurp Christ as the savior; he merely wanted to help and strengthen others on the path to salvation. It is in this sense that we Orthodox Christians say, “Most Holy Mother of God save us” — that is, “Please help us toward salvation by your prayers.”

The subject of the Ever-Virgin Mary’s role in our salvation was of such importance that the Church went so far as to declare at the Third Universal Council held at Ephesus in 431 AD that the Virgin Mary is to be called not simply Christotokos (Birthgiver of Christ, that is, of his human nature alone) but Theotokos (Birthgiver of God, as noted above, denoting the eternal union of Jesus Christ’s divine and human natures in one Person).

No one, therefore, ought to be conflicted about honoring her, who, through her humble cooperation with God’s Grace, was holy enough to bear within her the uncreated Word of God without being consumed by His holiness, like the unburned bush that Moses saw, which was a prefigurement of the Panagia.  She has truly become the pinnacle of all created beings, as we find in another hymn:  ‘It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, without defilement you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos we magnify you!’

This is the one whom we could have protecting us here in Louisiana, across Dixie, and in other wise States also.  So then, as we celebrate the Archangel Gabriel’s good tidings to her, let us also hasten to ask her, in these perilous times and always, to be our unfailing defender.