Why Do We Place Such a High Place for the Veneration of Mary?

Mary has the title of Birth-giver of God or Theotokos.  She is honored more than any of the other saints, even higher than the angels. In Scripture we see the angel Gabriel venerate her and also the Mother of Saint John the Baptist, Elizabeth. (Lk 1:28-29; 40-43) Luke records, "for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. for He that is mighty hath done to me great things..." (Lk 1:48-49). In our services we cry out boldly, "Most Holy Theotokos, save us!"


Elder Cleopa says this about the high place we give to Mary who we say is most holy.

The veneration that we render unto her is called honorific and reverential, as she is the Mother of the Lord, having not only a spiritual relationship with Him, as happens with other saints, but also a physical union with Him. For this reason we chant in the Church's hymn to her: "It is truly meet to call thee blest, the Theotokos, the ever-blessed and all-immaaculate, and Mother of our God.  More honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare than the Seraphim, thee who without corruption gave birth to the God the Word, the very Theotokos we magnify thee." She is higher than the saints and the angels, and therefore from angels and saints she receives veneration.  Thus it was that the Archangel Gabriel venerated her in the Annunciation. And in the same manner did Elizabeth, the Mother of Saint John the Baptist, also venerate her. The holy Virgin herself prophesied in the Holy Spirit that all generations would honor her: "for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, For He that is might has done to me greg things..." (Lk 1:48-49) Hence, the honor rendered to her is according to the will of God.

 How is we can say in our prayers, "Most Holy Theotokos save us", or, "We have no other hope beside thee"?


Regarding the prayer, "We have no other hope besides thee", Elder Cleopa tells us the meaning is as follows:

With this we do not deny the uniqueness of Christ as mediator of our  salvation, yet neither are we indifferent to the rendering of any sort of help related to our personal salvation.  The meaning of this expression is as follows: "You can give us the most help for our personal salvation" or "another superior helper we cannot find, nor in one of the saints." Or, "We have none other who is able to help us as much as you, O Mother of the Savior."

Regarding the exclamation, "Most Holy Theotokos save us" the Elder gives the following interpretation:

This expression means: "Entreat your Son to save us," or "Redeem us."  In the Greek language... the word save means to redeem from evil, temptations, distress and necessity. Consequently, it means: "Help us by your prayer to be redeemed from evil, from the works of the devil, from our passions."  Therefore, by "save us" we don't mean "forgive us of our sins," but "entreat your Son for our salvation." ... All veneration shown to the Mother of God is a constituent part of the veneration shown her Son, Who chose her and blessed her to be His Mother.  

In Scripture we are told the following:

God foretold us that after the fall of Adam and Eve the Mother of the Lord would be a woman-virgin who with her Son would slay the head of the dragon. (Gen 3:15)
Isaiah prophesied that this virgin would give birth to Emmanuel-God. (Is 7:13)
Archangel Gabriel showed her veneration she calling her "full of grace" and "blessed art thou among women." (Lk 1:28)
Elizabeth, the mother of Saint John the Baptist, venerated her calling out, "blessed art thou among women" and Mother of my Lord." (Lk 1:40-43)
Jesus was obedient to his mother (Lk 2:51)
Jesus' first miracle happened in Cana of Galilee at her request. (Jn 2:3-10)
Christ cared for her when he was Suffering on the Cross when he entrusted her care to the most beloved of his disciples John. (Jn 19:26-27)
She prophesied in the Holy Spirit that all generations would call her blessed and venerate her on account of of the glory God granted her on the account of her humility.
We also know that she will be standing at the right hand of the throne of Her Son at the Last Judgment.

Elder Cleopa further says,

How can we not honor the Mother of God when Scripture itself shows us that even the archangel Gabriel esteemed her worthy of honorable veneration? How can we not venerate the Theotokos who is the Church of the King of glory and is glorified above the heavens, since she bore in her womb God, whose glory can be contained neither in heaven or in earth?  For this reason we venerate the Mother of God who, according to the testimonies of Scripture and of the Evangelist, is "full of grace." Likewise, for this reason the Theotokos is considered a woman of great virtue, for she had grace from God and was blessed among women.

Reference: The Truth of Our Faith, 80-92.

How Can Saints Help Us?

There is no question that only Christ is able to save us from sin. So, how can saints aid us? When we honor saints and ask them to pray for us we are not putting them in the place of Christ. They are close to God, so when they pray for us they seek our salvation from Christ.


Elder Cleopa puts it this way,

When the saints pray for us, it is precisely our salvation that they seek from Christ. They interceded with Him for our salvation. From Christ they entreat our salvation. This is what we mean when we say they intercede for us. By their prayers the saints petition for our salvation -- not, however, as if they themselves have the power to save, for the only one who saves is Christ. Thus we do not venerate saints and angels as we do God. (That which we render the saints and angels is solely a veneration of honor and reverence, while God we adore and worship with perfect adoration which is thus properly called worship)

The apostle Paul reminds us that the saints are our fellow citizens who can help us. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph 2:19).


How is we know that the saints have the ability to pray to God on our behalf? We know this from Scripture. "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having everyone of them harps, and golden vials full of orders, which are the prayers of the saints" (Rev 5:8)


Some are concerned that the veneration of saints eclipse the glory and honor that belongs to God alone. But God himself glorified His saints. "And the glory which thou gravest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" (Jn 17:22).


Elder Cleopa says,

No eclipse or depreciation of the glory of God results from the reverence and veneration of His angels. This is so, first of all, because the veneration that we offer God is one thing and the veneration we render to the angels and saints is another. The same Holy Spirit exhorts us to glorify God with His saints saying, "Praise ye God in His saints." Thus we glorify God likewise when we seek in prayer the help and mediation of the angels and saints, since the saints in their succession convey our supplications and requests together with their own prayers to God.

The saints are given special powers by God to work miracles. It says in Scripture, "In the saints that are in His earth hath the Lord been wondrous; He hath wrought all His desires in them" (Ps 15:3). Elder Cleopa lists many examples from the Old Testament of people who were given such powers and then points out the powers of the Holy Apostles, including the seventy, who are able to render all sorts of things.


He writes,
God himself glorified His saints and robed them with His glory: "And the glory which thou gravest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" (Jn 17:22). Elsewhere He says, "He that receiveth you receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him who sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophets reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in th ename of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward" (Mat 11:40-41). These statements prove sufficiently enough the delusion of those who repudiate the honor shown toward the saints and angels, -- those beloved servants of God -- not realizing that in practice they turn their back on God himself, the Creator and Fashioner of saints.


Reference: The Truth of Our Faith, 67-77

Are Saints Faultless?

We often have the impression that saints are sinless and infallible, but this is wrong.

People who are great and triumphant in a worldly way manage to seem infallible and sinless.  At their every mistake, at their every failure, they put forth an effort to convince everyone that they are in fact correct.  They refuse to accept their mistakes, or seek forgiveness, so that their image is not destroyed.  They therefore keep a safe distance from others, to avoid being scrutinized.

The saint, however, does not have these fears.  He knows very well that "saint" does not mean one who is sinless or infallible, but one who is repentant.  For this reason he is not ashamed to admit his mistakes, to ask forgiveness, or to reveal his sinful self.  Whereas a great person of this world has many things to hide, the saint has nothing to hide.  And the more he is scrutinized, the more he gains.  For this reason one admires the majesty of his soul, his genuineness.

Taken from The Blessed Surgeon: the life of Saint Luke Archbishop of Simferopol. p 98