Father Gavril Galev: Theotokos – our intercessor before God
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Saint Ambrose of Milan, speaking of the earthly life of the Most-Holy Virgin Theotokos, describes her as follows: “She was a Virgin not only in body but also in soul, humble in heart, pious, vigilant in her words; she constantly read the Scriptures, she was tireless in her labours, chaste in her conversations, speaking with people as before God. She did not insult anyone, she wished everyone well; she respected everyone, she did not make fun of anyone, but with Her love she covered everything she saw; from Her lips came nothing other than grace; all Her works radiated the most sublime virginity; Her outward appearance was a reflection of Her inward perfection, gentleness, and benevolence.”
According to St. Epiphanius and the ecclesiastical historian Nicephorus Callistus, the Most-Holy Virgin Mary was of medium height or slightly taller, “her hair light brown; her eyes were clear with olive colour; eyebrows curved and dark, nose not short, mouth filled with sweet words; face not round and not sharp, but slightly elongated; hands and fingers longer. ” Her clothes were simple, without any ornaments, as can be seen from Her turban that has been preserved to this day. In a word, the immense grace of God was present in all of Her.
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite also longed greatly to see the Theotokos. Thus, three years after his conversion to Christianity, with the blessing of his teacher, the holy apostle Paul, he travelled from Athens to Jerusalem. Regarding that event, he wrote:
“I confess before God, Oh glorious teacher and guide, that it seemed to me unbelievable that besides our God, there is a being so abundantly filled with divine power and miraculous grace. Yet, not only with the spiritual but also with the physical eyes I have seen what no human mind can comprehend. Yeah, yeah, I saw with my own eyes the God-resembling, the All-Holy Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, more Holy than the heavenly spirits …
I confess again and again before the omnipotence of God, before the grace of the Saviour and before the glorious perfection of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, that when John, the supreme apostle and the greatest prophet, who shines on earth like the sun in the sky, brought me to the God-resembling and Most-Holy Virgin Mary, I was enlightened not only on the outside but also on the inside by such a great and immeasurable divine light, and such a miraculous fragrance spread, that neither my powerless body nor my spirit could bear such miraculous signs and primordial (elementals) of eternal bliss. My heart weakened, my spirit weakened within me from Her glory and divine grace.
God is my witness, who was born of Her virgin womb, that I would have acknowledged Her as the true God and worshiped her as I ought to worship only the true God, if your divine teachings and laws were not still fresh in my newly enlightened mind. One cannot attain greater bliss, honour and glory than the bliss I vouchsafed to see the Most-Holy Theotokos. I was perfectly blissful and happy then. I thank the Almighty and Delightful God, the Divine Virgin Theotokos and the glorious Apostle John, and you, the High Representative and Head of the Church, for doing to me such a great good.”
She strengthened them all, comforted them all with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, and she prayed for all. When the holy apostles were imprisoned in darkness, the Mother of God offered for them a prayer of thanksgiving to God, and an angel of God was sent to them, who that night opened the door of darkness and carried them out (Acts 5: 18-19). When the holy first-martyr Stephen was brought to death, the Mother of God walked far behind him, and when he was stoned, she stood far away with St. John the Theologian and earnestly prayed to the Lord to strengthen him in the suffering and to receive his soul. When Saul was bothering and persecuting the Church, the Mother of God prayed fervently to God for him to turn him from a bloodthirsty wolf into a meek lamb, from an enemy to an apostle, from a persecutor to a disciple and teacher of the universe. Through Her intercession and grace, the Church was so strengthened that even the gates of hell could not harm the Church, and for that, the Mother of God rejoiced greatly, in accordance to the words of David, as a mother rejoices over her children (Ps. 112, 9).
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We respect you even today, O Sovereign Lady, O Sovereign Lady, and again I say: O Sovereign Lady! Virgin Theotokos! By binding our souls with hope to You, as to the most firm and totally unbreakable anchor, fully surrendering our minds, souls and bodies to You, we praise You with ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’ (Eph. 5:19), as much as we can, for we are not worthy. (…)
Intercede for us, O good Sovereign Lady, Parent of the good Bishop, lead us where You want, and stop our shameful passions, calm the storm and lead us to the peaceful harbor of the God’s will, and honour us with the future bliss, with the sweet and wonderful splendour of the Incarnate by You God the Word, Who, together with the Father and the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, is worthy of glory, now and forever. Amen.
Fr. Gavril Galev
Abbot of the monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
13 / 10 / 2021
[1] Свети Јован Дамаскин.
