Is Mary really the salvation of the Christian "race?" Truth or Blasphemous Heresy?
How is an orthodox convert to make sense of this?
One of the prayers in my prayer rule ends with the following:
O Blessed Theotokos, for hoping in Thee, let us not perish; through Thee may we be delivered from adversities, for Thou art the salvation of the Christian race.
Campbell, Laurence. Prayer Book (p. 21). Kindle Edition.
Calling Mary the salvation of the Christian race seems to me to be going too far, even stepping over the line of blasphemy. I’m unsure how to square that or understand it in a way that makes sense. When saying my prayers, I would skip over that part and not say it for a long time. But that has bothered me because it’s in the prayer book, and it seems to be a legitimate belief within the church. And the LAST thing I want to have in my new faith is cognitive dissonance, like I experienced in Mormonism, because I know myself well enough to know that these types of things will become like needles in my mind, burrowing down until they become a full-blown crisis.
This has been in the back of my mind for several months. Recently, I saw a YT video by Fr. Josiah that talks about miracles performed by Mary and the Saints on our behalf, and I got an Idea that seems to work for me from a rational perspective, at least to the part of me that used to be Mormon. Let’s go through some of the perspectives, and then I’ll present my ideas, and you can let me know what you think in the comments.
First I think it’s important note: In the Orthodox view, Mary does not save independently of Christ. Salvation remains solely the work of God through Jesus Christ.
A quick TLDR on the video above
Mary's role in salvation is multifaceted. She is the Theotokos (God bearer), whose "yes" made the Incarnation of Christ possible. She is a powerful intercessor whose prayers help us on our path to salvation. She is a model of virtue, inspiring us to live holy lives. And she is the Mother of the Church, caring for all believers. While salvation comes from Christ alone, Mary plays a role in leading us to Him, and in working miracles to help us as we struggle with the suffering of life.
Miracles are constant: Fr Josiah emphasizes that miracles are not just flashy, extraordinary events, but also include the everyday experiences of faith, repentance, and spiritual growth. He describes life as an "ocean of miracles."
God works through people: While God is the ultimate source of all miracles and salvation, He works through human beings, including saints, apostles, priests, and even ordinary Christians. Humans can be said to "save" others, not independently, but working with Christ, through God's grace.
Mary's unique role: Mary, as the Mother of God, holds a special place among the saints. She is considered "deified and completely glorified" and her influence is immense. In LDS speak, Mary has achieved Exaltation. More about her role in salvation in the next section below.
Saints as channels of grace: Saints, including Mary, are seen as channels through which God's grace flows. Their relics and prayers are believed to have the power to work miracles.
Both/and, not either/or: Fr Josiah stresses that the idea of saints performing miracles is not in competition with God's power, but rather a manifestation of it. It's not "either God or the saints," but "both God and the saints" working together for the salvation and healing of humanity. Mary's miracles are understood to be "in Christ," through His power and blessing.
In summary, Mary and the saints, through their unique relationships with God, can and do perform miracles and act to help us achieve salvation, and to lighten our burdens. This is not diminishing God's power or usurping his role, but rather is an expression of it, and a testament to the deified state of those who are close to Him. The emphasis is on the collaborative nature of salvation and healing, with God working through His chosen servants.
Understanding Mary’s role in Salvation
In the Orthodox mindset, Mary's role in salvation is understood within the context of her unique relationship with God as the Theotokos (God-bearer) and her role as the Mother of Jesus Christ. While the Orthodox Church firmly believes that salvation comes through Christ alone, Mary is seen as playing a vital role in the process of salvation. Here's how:
1. Theotokos: Bearer of the Incarnation
Mary's most significant role is her willing acceptance of God's call to be the Mother of Jesus Christ. Through her "yes," the Incarnation became possible, allowing God to become man and ultimately save humanity from sin and death. In this sense, Mary's obedience and humility paved the way for salvation to enter the world.
2. Intercessor and Advocate
Mary is highly venerated as the "Most Holy Theotokos" and is considered the first among the saints. I have also heard her referred to on a few occasions as our “heavenly mother.” - a concept that will resonate with many LDS. Orthodox tradition also holds that she possesses immense influence with her Son, Jesus Christ.
It is believed that Mary constantly intercedes for humanity, pleading with Christ on our behalf. Her prayers are considered powerful and effective, and Orthodox Christians often ask for her prayers and assistance in their journey towards salvation.
3. Model of Virtue and Holiness
Mary is seen as the epitome of Christian virtues, particularly humility, obedience, and love. Her life serves as an example for all believers, showing us how to live a life pleasing to God.
By emulating Mary's virtues and seeking her guidance, Orthodox Christians believe they can grow closer to God and attain salvation. I can hear my wife and my mother both asking me, why not follow Christ’s example instead of emulating Mary’s virtues and guidance, and that is a great and valid question. My only response would be that Christ is both fully Man and fully God and perhaps that makes it more difficult to relate to him directly or for people to believe that they can emulate him, whereas Mary is 100%, was born 100% human, lived and died 100% human. That’s why her accomplishments are remarkable. Orthodox reject the latin doctrine of the immaculate conception as we see that as robbing our holy mother Mary of these accomplishments and putting the same distance between her and us as I mentioned before regarding Jesus.
4. Mother of the Church
Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus but also considered the Mother of the Church. She cares for all believers as her children and guides them towards Christ.
Her presence is felt throughout the Church, and her icons are venerated as reminders of her love and intercession.
My [newfound] understanding of all of this
This idea will probably only “land” or “click” if you will, with readers who are LDS or former LDS.
I understand the role of Mary in bearing God, and also as a Saint in hearing our prayers and praying for us to Christ, her son - with whom she has a special relationship. That all makes sense to me and I worked through my anti-catholic mormon brainwashing before baptism so that hasn’t been an issue for me for a long time, but I couldn’t help but feel that that answer was insufficient for some of the claims being made about Mary and the Saints being able to heal us or work miracles in our lives and in helping us on our journey of progressing towards theosis / exaltation.
The part that I might have been missing was the clear realization that Mary didn’t die like a normal human being. (I’m going to use LDS terminology here to help LDS readers follow me……) She was essentially Translated, taken up to Heaven, and Exalted.
So while we say she fell asleep, we also believe that she achieved her glorification and exaltation and now is residing in the presence of God.
Being that she’s with God and the rest of the Saints (also exalted) as an exalted being, why can’t she work miracles in our lives in accordance with God’s will for us? We really don’t know what it means to be a being that has achieved theosis or exaltation, other than to say that she has achieved union with God and is full of his Grace and energies. LDS would say that someone who has achieve exaltation has effective become a god, (little ‘g’.) I think that if its the case that she has been exalted, we would do well to assume that at the very least, she can work miracles.
One last tidbit of information from my ADD brain, is that Mary may often be associated with the virtue of Mercy because as the new ark of the covenant, she bears the mercy seat that sat atop the original Ark of the Covenant. (i.e. CHrist) thus she is not only the God Bearer and the new Ark of the Covenant, he role included bringing forth the ultimate instrument of love and Mercy.
From an LDS perspective, if Mary and the Saints have been deified through attaining exaltation, then we should fully expect that not only can they hear our prayers and pray for us, but they can also perform miracles for us and act in our lives. And that probably only scratches the surface of what they can do. It’s all part of the wonderful and exciting mysteries of God.