Part 3 of 9 · 2 min read

Mary and the saints

In short Orthodox Christians honour Mary because of who her Son is. They ask her and the saints to pray for them, the same way you’d ask a friend.

Why Mary matters so much

• Her title protects the truth about Jesus

  Orthodox call her Theotokos, meaning “God-bearer” or Mother of God. In 431 the whole Church argued about this title. The real question was about Jesus: was the baby she carried actually God? The answer was yes. So calling Mary “Mother of God” is really a statement about Christ.

• She said yes to God

  “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Her yes made the Incarnation possible, and it’s the model for every Christian. She herself said “all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Orthodox just take that literally.

• She points to her Son

  In almost every icon she’s holding Jesus or gesturing towards him. At Cana she tells the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it” (John 2:5). Honouring her never stops at her.

“Most Holy Theotokos, save us”

This line jars most Protestants at first. “Save” here means “help us” or “rescue us” through her prayers, not “be our Saviour”. Paul uses the word the same way about himself: “that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Orthodox are clear that only God saves.

What Orthodox believe about her

• Ever-virgin. The “brothers” of Jesus are understood as relatives, or Joseph’s children from an earlier marriage.
• All-holy. She’s seen as the first and greatest saint.
• Her “falling asleep” (the Dormition). She died, and Christ took her body and soul into heaven. It’s celebrated in August.
• No Immaculate Conception. That’s a Catholic teaching. Orthodox understand sin and inheritance differently, so they don’t hold it.

The saints

The Church on earth and in heaven is one family. Hebrews calls the saints a “great cloud of witnesses” around us (Hebrews 12:1). They’re proof that God really does change people.

Asking them to pray is the same as asking anyone to pray: “the prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16). The saints are alive in Christ, so asking them works the same way.

You’ll also see respect for relics (saints’ bones or belongings). The Bible has examples of God working through these too (2 Kings 13:21; Acts 19:12).