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To: metmom

Just as God needs nothing from us, the saints — those saved by grace in Christ Jesus, among whom the Church has always held the Virgin Mary as foremost, in that her “yes” to Christ was the means of His Incarnation without which He could not have wrought our salvation on the Cross, and thus of a universal significance that the “yes” to Christ every other saint has offered, offers today or will offer in the future does not have — the saints do not need anything from us, neither titles nor prayers.

The titles exist for us. Among the Orthodox we use lots of titles for different saints to remind us of the evidence or form of their sanctity: the Holy Great-Martyr George (a Great-Martyr is one whose martyrdom led others to accept martyrdom for Christ), the Venerable Bede (”Venerable” indicates one whose sanctity shown chiefly in asceticism), Our Father Among the Saints Raphael of Brooklyn (that title indicates one whose ministry and sanctity involved teaching sound doctrine), the Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb (that title indicates one whose sanctity was shown in meekly accepting death in a Christ-like manner, but who was not killed for being a Christian), the Fool-for-Christ’s-Sake Xenia of St. Petersburg (one who showed sanctity by an extreme ascesis which the world would mistake for madness), the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (the first titles two are obvious, ‘the Theologian’ is a rare title, indicating great depth of teaching of sound doctrine) and so forth. In this case, though, the title “Theotokos” is chiefly about Jesus, not about Mary, though it, as well as the Nestorian alternative, also reminds us of the evidence and form of her sanctity.


770 posted on 01/13/2012 9:07:14 AM PST by The_Reader_David (And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know. . .)
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To: The_Reader_David; metmom

>> “...in that her ‘yes’ to Christ was the means of His Incarnation without which He could not have wrought our salvation on the Cross” <<

.
You are grossly mistaken.

The Bible records no ‘yes,’ just an announcement delivered by Gabriel, to the effect that she was with child, and that it was a sign of favor.

Just more convoluted Maryolatry.


779 posted on 01/13/2012 9:42:04 AM PST by editor-surveyor (No Federal Sales Tax - No Way!)
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