It’s Greek for “all holy” and one of the titles the Orthodox Church gives to Mary, the mother of Jesus. In two weeks we’ll be commemorating the Dormition of the Theotokos (“Mother of God”), which is, the death of Mary. Both of those names should give some idea of how highly she is revered in Eastern Orthodoxy, a reverence that goes back to the Third Ecumenical Council in 431 when Theotokos was recognized by the Church.

The theological significance of the title is to emphasize that Mary’s son, Jesus, is fully God, as well as fully human, and that Jesus’ two natures (divine and human) were united in a single Person of the Trinity. Calling Mary the Theotokos or the Mother of God (????? ????) was never meant to suggest that Mary was coeternal with God, or that she existed before Jesus Christ or God existed. The Church acknowledges the mystery in the words of this ancient hymn: “He whom the entire universe could not contain was contained within your womb, O Theotokos.”

(from Wikipedia)

In the same way, the Dormition of the Theotokos recognizes another mystery: the resurrection of the body. The Orthodox Church teaches that after three days, Mary’s body was no longer present in her tomb.

Thus, this Feast is a feast of hope, hope in Resurrection and life eternal. Like those who gathered around the body of the Virgin Mary, we gather around our departed loved ones and commend their souls into the hands of Christ. As we remember those who have reposed in the faith before us and have passed on into the communion of the Saints, we prepare ourselves to one day be received into the new life of the age to come.

We also affirm through this Feast as we journey toward our heavenly abode that the Mother of God intercedes for us. Through Christ she has become the mother of all of the children of God, embracing us with divine love.

(from GOARCH.org)

That last bit will sound familiar to those who have read Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. I’ll admit, like so many other aspects of the Orthodox tradition, to my born-and-raised-Protestant mind the reverence shown towards Mary is very, very foreign. Over the next two weeks we will fast in preparation (another Orthodox tradition I should write about sometime – thank God for http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/) and maybe by the end, it won’t seem so foreign anymore.