Preliminary General Questions
This article proceeds from the fact that Christ is God (quotes).
The Virgin Mary is venerated on the basis of the teaching on the veneration of the saints, so first of all it is worth proving the Veneration of the Saints and Prayers to the Saints.
Here, however, will be given the grounds not simply for the veneration of the Virgin Mary as one of the saints, but for her special veneration as the greatest of the holy servants and friends of God, as the mother of Jesus Christ (that is, the Mother of God, since Jesus Christ is God).
The Reasons for the Special Veneration of the Theotokos
The Virgin Mary’s special attentiveness to the words of God;
Perfect humble obedience to God;
Chosen by God. No one in the universe has been granted by God the honor of giving birth to Him in His humanity. The merit is not that she gave birth, but that God, knowing Mary’s qualities in advance (Rom. 8:29), chooses her because of these qualities. By this choice God points to her greatness;
The Son of God honors the Virgin Mary as His mother. No one else is the mother of the Son of God (no other being in the universe);
The fulfillment of the prophecy: “henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Luke. 1:48), — that is, all generations of people (γενεαί — ge-ne-ai). God has done great things for the Virgin Mary: “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name” (Luke. 1:49);
Chosen for Her Humility
“And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed’” (Luke. 1:46-48) (Greek: ταπείνωσιν — “lowliness, humility”)
Even the father of the greatest of the prophets (Zacharias) was punished by the archangel (Luke. 1:20) for unbelief, or rather distrust or doubt. The Mother of God, however, obediently accepted what was determined about her, humbly answering:
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke. 1:38)
On the importance of humility:
“For your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly” (Jdt. 9:11)
“The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord. <...> For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified” (Sir. 3:18,20)
Important quotes about humility: https://bibleox.com/ru/ru/w/смирение
The Most Attentive Listener to the Words of God
“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways” (Prov. 23:26)
“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke. 2:19) (Greek: πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα — “kept all these words”);
“but His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke. 2:51)
“But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke. 11:27-28)
As Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) says, she proved to be the most attentive and constant listener to, and fulfiller of, the teaching of God:
The Ever-Virgin is above all holy people both because she became the Mother of the God-Man, and because she was the most constant, the most attentive listener to and fulfiller of the teaching proclaimed by the God-Man.
(An Exposition of the Teaching of the Orthodox Church on the Mother of God, in Russian; translated from the Russian)
She Became the Mother of Christ God
One of the reasons for the special veneration of the Mother of God is the fact that she is the Mother of God (in His humanity), for no one else is the Mother of God, not a single being in the universe. The divine commandment obliges us to honor our parents (the 5th commandment), therefore Christ God Himself honors the Theotokos as His mother, and after Him so do His believing disciples.
The Virgin Mary Gave Birth to the Son of God
It was precisely the Only-begotten Son of God who was truly born of a woman:
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son (the Only-begotten), born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4)
The Only-begotten Son, the Word of God, truly became incarnate:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John. 1:14)
The Archangel Gabriel directly calls the Virgin Mary’s child the Son of God:
“And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke. 1:35)
The Virgin Mary Is the Mother of the Son of God
The righteous Elizabeth, the mother of the prophet John the Baptist, directly calls the Virgin Mary the mother of God:
“But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke. 1:43)
“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him” (Matt. 2:11)
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’” (John. 19:26)
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it’” (John. 2:5)
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there” (John. 2:1)
(Matt. 2:14; Matt. 2:20; Matt. 2:21; Matt. 12:46; Mark. 3:31; Luke. 2:33; Luke. 2:34; Luke. 2:43; Luke. 2:48; Luke. 2:51; Luke. 8:19; John. 2:3; John. 2:12; John. 19:25; John. 19:26; Act. 1:14)
If the Son of God became man forever (and this is true), then the Virgin Mary became the mother of the Son of God forever.
The Son of God Is the Son of the Virgin Mary
“she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:25)
The Virgin Mary Is the Theotokos
The Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our God.
The One to whom the Virgin Mary gave birth is our God. This means she is the one who gave birth to God — the Theotokos (the God-bearer).
The Virgin Mary did not give birth to the eternal divine nature, which exists outside time and space, but to the human nature of the Son of God, which has a beginning and which from the very beginning of its existence belonged entirely to the person of the Son of God (God).
In short, the Virgin Mary gave birth to God in His humanity.
However, the greatness of the Theotokos lies precisely in the fact that she was chosen to be the Mother of God. The merit is not that she gave birth, for many give birth, but that God, knowing Mary’s qualities in advance (Rom. 8:29), chose out of all the people who have ever existed not someone else, but precisely the Virgin Mary.
The Theotokos Was and Remains a Virgin
Mary’s Virginity Before the Birth of Jesus Christ
The Virgin Mary did not have marital relations with the righteous Joseph. Being betrothed to Joseph (Luke. 1:27), she did not understand how a son could be born to her if she did not have marital relations:
“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’” (Luke. 1:34)
It is also worth noting that this question makes sense only if the Virgin Mary had made a promise to God to keep her virginity. Otherwise, even if the Virgin Mary had not had marital relations with the righteous Joseph until then, when the angel of God announces that a son will be born to her, obviously she should obey God and have marital relations with her husband so that the prediction would be fulfilled. But if the Virgin Mary had promised God to lead a virgin life, then the question immediately arises: “how can a son be born, if vows made to God may not be broken (Num. 30:2)?”.
The angel answered that what was foretold to Mary would happen without a husband, by the miraculous action of the power of God:
“And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke. 1:35)
Jesus Christ was the son of Joseph only in people’s opinion:
“Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli” (Luke. 3:23)
In reality, Christ was conceived not of Joseph, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mary’s Virginity After the Birth of Jesus Christ
The prophecy of the ever-virginity (virginity to this day) of Mary, that only one child would be born of her: Jesus Christ — God, who entered our world as through a gate, by means of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos:
“Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut’” (Ezek. 44:1-2)
Thus the Virgin Mary did not give birth to any other children besides Jesus Christ. And at the same time, Mary’s virginity was not violated.
It is also worth noting that on the day of the crucifixion, Christ entrusts the care of His mother to His beloved disciple — John the Theologian (John. 19:26-27). This indicates that besides Christ, the only Son of the Virgin Mary, she had neither a husband nor other children who would have had to take care of her.
The righteous Joseph was elderly even at the time of the Nativity of Christ, and therefore by the time of Christ’s crucifixion he had long since died. And indeed, after the description of the childhood of Jesus Christ, Joseph is no longer mentioned in Scripture.
The Virgin Mary is entrusted to John because it was he who would live on earth longer than the other apostles. The Lord Himself indicates that the Apostle Peter would suffer for Christ, but the Apostle John would live considerably longer (John. 21:22). As we know, John was the youngest of the apostles and labored on earth until the end of the first century, while the other apostles suffered a martyr’s death. This allowed the Apostle John to care for the Virgin Mary longer than all the others.
This fact also indicates that the Virgin Mary had no other children who could have taken care of her.
All Generations Will Call the Theotokos Blessed
The Theotokos will be called blessed; God has done great things for her:
“For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed (μακαριοῦσίν). For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name” (Luke. 1:48-49)
A similar statement is found about Christ Himself:
“His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed (μακαριοῦσιν)” (Ps. 72:17)
Christ’s Special Relationship with His Mother
The Son of God Honors the Virgin Mary as His Mother
The Son of God was born under the law:
“God sent forth His Son (the Only-begotten), born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4)
God commands us to honor father and mother:
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you” (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Ex. 21:15)
“You know the commandments: <…> ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Luke. 18:20)
“He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. <…> But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban’” <…> then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother’” (Mark. 7:9,11-12)
No being in the universe, except the Virgin Mary, is the mother of the Son of God. In this respect, no one among angels and people is higher than the Virgin Mary, because the Son of God Himself, God, honors her as His mother.
Christ Listens to His Mother
Christ points out that the time for preaching and miracles (the manifestation of His glory) has not yet come, yet for the sake of His mother’s request He performs the first miracle:
“And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’ <…> Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, ‘Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.’ And they took it. <…> This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him” (John. 2:3-5,7-8,11)
Christ Cares for His Mother
During the cruel torments on the Cross, Christ shows care for His mother:
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (John. 19:26-27)
The Character of Christ’s Personal Relationship with His Mother
In the most terrible hour, enduring terrible bodily torments on the Cross, betrayal, the flight of the disciples, the human feeling of abandonment (the ninth hour: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Mark. 15:34), the Lord cares for His mother, who follows Him to the end.
In this most difficult time He turns His attention to His Mother, shows special care for Her, entrusts Her to His beloved disciple, and not simply as “look after her, take care of her”, but receive her as “your mother”.
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (John. 19:26-27)
Let us note that all those people whom Christ pointed to, saying “here are My mother and My brothers” (Matt. 12:48-50), left Him alone (John. 16:32), while His mother was with Him to the end.
“Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John. 16:32)
“And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John. 8:29)
And Christ did not leave His Mother alone for the same reason.
Is It Important That the Mother of God Was with Christ to the End?
The Apostle Paul before his death also went through a similar experience of abandonment:
“This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (2 Tim. 1:15)
“for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica — Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me” (2 Tim. 4:10-11)
The Mother of God was attentive, obedient and faithful to God in everything, from the very beginning to the very end. She always was and remains with God.
Criticism
But the Word “Theotokos” Is Not in Scripture
The word “Trinity” is not in Scripture either — so what? Scripture says the same thing that the word “Theotokos” says. The Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God. The Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, that is, she gave birth to God — clearly, in His humanity. The One who was born of her is God. The Virgin Mary is the one who gave birth to God, or, in short, the Theotokos.
“Blessed Is the Womb That Bore You”
People praised the Theotokos for her family ties, for giving birth to and nursing Christ, but Christ Himself corrected this understanding (placed the emphasis), pointing to the greatness of His mother because of her special attentiveness to the Word of God and her complete humble obedience to God:
“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!’ But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke. 11:27-28)
“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke. 2:19)
“Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke. 2:51)
“Who Is My Mother and Who Are My Brothers?”
Here Christ again places the emphasis: the greatness of the Virgin Mary lies not so much in family ties, as people thought, but in her unconditional fulfillment of the will of God:
“Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother’” (Matt. 12:47-50)
“And Did Not Know Her Till She Had Brought Forth” (Matt. 1:25)
“and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:25) (Greek: ἕως οὗ — “until”)
The expression “did not know her till she had brought forth” does not mean that after the birth of Christ he “knew” her. This is a common expression in the Bible, which does not mean that something changed afterwards.
For example:
“teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matt. 28:20) (Greek: ἕως — “until”)
— but after the end of the age too, obviously, Christ will be with those who believe in Him.
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’ These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them” (John. 12:35-36)
— but after Christ’s ascension into heaven too, one must believe in the Light (in Christ);
“For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:25)
— but after the enemies are put down too, obviously, Christ will reign (Luke. 1:33; 2 Pet. 1:11).
“The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’” (Ps. 110:1)
— but after the enemies are placed under His feet too, obviously, Christ will sit at the right hand of the Father, that is, He will reign.
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come” (Rev. 2:24-25)
— but after the coming of Christ too, obviously, one must hold fast to virtues and faith.
“Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death” (2 Sam. 6:23) (Greek: ἕως — “until”)
— but after death too, obviously, Michal had no children.
It is also worth paying attention to such passages of Scripture:
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory” (Matt. 12:18-20) (Greek: ἕως ἂν — “until”)
She Bore a Firstborn — So There Were Other Children?
In Scripture the son of the Theotokos is called the firstborn:
“and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn* Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:25)
*the word “firstborn” is absent in the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts; however, this word is present in Luke 2:7.
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke. 2:7)
Opponents of the teaching of the Orthodox Church consider this an indication that the Virgin Mary had other children too, saying: “if there is a firstborn, then there are other children too”. That this thought is mistaken is shown by Scripture itself.
God Himself in Scripture gives the definition of the word “firstborn” — that which opens the womb of all flesh:
“Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem” (Num. 18:15)
“All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed” (Ex. 34:19-20)
All the firstborn belong to God, therefore:
The firstborn of a man had to be brought to the temple and redeemed from the priests.
The firstborn of clean animals were brought to the temple and given over; they were killed, being offered in sacrifice to God.
The firstborn of unclean animals could not be offered in sacrifice, so they had to be redeemed.
As soon as a man or a beast had its first offspring, it had to be brought as a gift to God or redeemed. And it is perfectly obvious that at that very moment this newborn is an only-begotten child, yet God calls it firstborn, because it opened the womb. This means that every only-begotten child is a firstborn, but not every firstborn is an only-begotten child[2].
And if one thinks as those who rise up against the teaching of the Church do, that only one who has brothers or sisters is called firstborn, then it turns out that those who gave birth to their first child would have to say to the priest: “Wait until the second is born, so that this one may be called the firstborn; for now he is not a firstborn, but an only child, and therefore I need not bring him to God and redeem him”. But this absurd thought too contradicts Scripture and common sense, for the only-begotten Savior is brought to the temple according to this very law about the firstborn:
“Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” (Luke. 2:22)
It is obvious that the Lord Jesus Christ here is the only-begotten, and yet He is brought to the temple as a firstborn. So the firstborn in this case, according to the word of God, means the one who opens the womb of all flesh, and does not indicate whether the mother had other children born.
The Brothers of Jesus Christ
Scripture says that Christ had brothers:
“Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?” (Matt. 13:55)
“For even His brothers did not believe in Him” (John. 7:5)
“Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him” (Mark. 3:31)
“Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Cor. 9:5)
What is meant here are brothers from Joseph’s first marriage, or simply relatives. Any relatives are simply called brothers. For example, Lot was Abraham’s nephew, but in Scripture he is also called his brother:
“They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed” (Gen. 14:12)
“So Abram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren’” (Gen. 13:8) (Greek: ἀδελφοὶ — “brothers”)
Joseph was already elderly when Mary was betrothed to him as a guardian, since Mary could not be without a husband. If Christ had been born of Mary when she had no known husband, then according to the Law she would have had to be stoned (Deut. 22:20-21), because everyone would have thought that she had had fornicating (extramarital) relations. Therefore the Lord arranges it so that Mary has a husband, but she conceives miraculously, without a husband, by the descent of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18-25; Luke. 1:34-35).
After the childhood of Jesus, Joseph the Betrothed is no longer mentioned in Scripture, while the Virgin Mary accompanied Jesus Christ to the very end — to the sufferings on the Cross (John. 19:25-26), and she is also mentioned after the Resurrection, before the day of Pentecost (Act. 1:14).
Christ entrusts His mother to His beloved disciple — John (John. 19:27). Obviously, Joseph had already died by that time.
So the brothers of Jesus Christ are simply relatives, and not at all other children of the Virgin Mary.
And the prophecy clearly says that only the Lord Jesus Christ would be born of the Virgin Mary:
“Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut’” (Ezek. 44:1-2)
The Firstborn
There are verses in which Christ is called the firstborn of the Virgin Mary:
“and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:25)
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke. 2:7)
Some wish to see here an indication that besides the firstborn there were also second and third children born to her.
However, the word “firstborn” means only that the child was born first. It does not indicate the number of children. This is exactly how this word is used in Scripture. Every one that “opens the womb” is called firstborn, regardless of whether there were later children:
“Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem” (Num. 18:15)
“All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed” (Ex. 34:19-20)
Every only-begotten (the only one born) child of a mother is her firstborn, but not every firstborn is an only-begotten child.
So this word does not speak in favor of the Virgin Mary having other children besides Christ. Nor does it speak in favor of the Virgin Mary having had marital relations with the righteous Joseph. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only son of the Virgin Mary. See more[2].
Nowhere Is It Said That the Virgin Mary Did Not Believe in Christ
Critics of the Church often repeat the idea that the Virgin Mary supposedly did not believe that her Son was the Savior of people, the promised Messiah, the Christ. But this is simply untrue. There are no such words in Scripture. It is only said that the brothers (half-brothers, sons of Joseph from his first marriage) did not believe in Christ:
“For even His brothers did not believe in Him” (John. 7:5)
This was quite predictable, since these were children from Joseph’s first marriage. They were already adults and had seen the boy Jesus grow up. Therefore it was hard for them, as for Christ’s other countrymen (the inhabitants of Galilee), to believe (Matt. 13:54-58). But later the brothers too believed (Act. 1:14; Gal. 1:19).
The Mother of the King Is a Queen
Critics reproach the Church for calling the Theotokos a queen. But the mother of the King is precisely a queen.
“At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir” (Ps. 45:9).
The apostles were refused the right to sit on Christ’s right and left in His Kingdom:
“but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared” (Mark. 10:40)
If it was not the apostles who “sat” there, then who? In Orthodoxy, on the icon of the “Last Judgment”, it is precisely the Theotokos (on the right hand) and the prophet John the Baptist (on the left hand) who are painted next to Christ, as the greatest of those born of women (Matt. 11:11).
The Phrase “Most Holy Theotokos, Save Us”
Here one needs to understand the meaning correctly. There is one Savior, but there are many fellow workers in the work of salvation:
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9)
The apostle intends to save people:
“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22)
“if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them” (Rom. 11:14)
A wife can save her husband, and a husband — his wife:
“For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Cor. 7:16)
The apostolic call to save people:
“And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude. 1:22-23)
“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16)
The Phrase “Servants of the Theotokos”
Here it is the same as with salvation. One must understand the meaning correctly.
We do not serve the Theotokos as God, but we do serve her. If the Mother of God asked us for something, we would gladly serve her. And can one imagine Christians acting otherwise?
In the Bible there are places where righteous people call themselves servants (slaves) not only of God, while remaining servants of the one God.
The apostles are servants of Christians:
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5) (Greek: δούλους — “slaves”)
Obadiah, a God-fearing man who hid the prophets from persecution, calls himself the servant of the prophet Elijah, and Elijah — his lord:
“And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) <...> Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, ‘Is that you, my lord Elijah?’ And he answered him, ‘It is I. Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ So he said, ‘How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? <...> And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth’” (1 Kin. 18:3-4,7-9,12)
The Theotokos Was Raised After Her Burial
Opponents of the veneration of the Theotokos object to the Tradition of the Orthodox Church about the raising of His mother by the Lord Jesus Christ, as if it were something impossible, supposing that only Christ was raised. However, from the side of Scripture there is no problem with this, since after the resurrection of Christ many saints were raised (however we may decide to understand the nature of this resurrection):
“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matt. 27:51-53)
If after His resurrection the Lord raised many saints to life, then all the more could He bring back to life His own mother, whom He chose for His incarnation, whom He listened to when working miracles, and for whom He cared, entrusting her to His beloved disciple.
In confirmation of the Tradition about the raising of the Theotokos, it is also worth noting the circumstance that, with the Church’s reverent attitude toward the remains of the saints from the most ancient times (more, in Russian), the Church has no remains of the Theotokos, just as it has no remains of the Lord Jesus Christ (because He rose).