Who are these people, and why do we honor them so highly? Isn't it enough just to have a personal relationship with God?

In the Orthodox viewpoint, there is really no such thing as a "personal" relationship with God-in the sense of a relationship between God and an individual, excluding all other individuals. We do relate to God as persons, but as persons who are part of a whole, an enormous worshipping Body that includes all other Christians, both those on earth and those in heaven. We are not saved in isolation; we are saved as part of a family, the family of God. That family includes the Saints.

The root meaning of "saint" is "one set apart." In one sense, all the faithful are saints, set apart from the world to the service of God. But those whom we honor as Saints with a capital "S" are those whose service to God has been of a demonstrably high order-those who gave themselves to Him so completely that His light, His Divine Energy, could shine through them to illuminate the world. When we honor these saints, we are actually celebrating what the Holy Spirit has done in their lives. They would be nothing without Him. Their whole life's purpose was to point us to God.

When we honor (or "venerate") the saints, when we pray before their icons and even kiss them, we are not worshipping the saints; worship belongs to God alone. Nor are we praying to them-they are not mediators, for Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. Rather, we are praying with them, and asking them to pray for us. We ask their prayers just as we would ask the prayers of our living relatives and friends. We are all together members of the family of God.

Those whom the Church officially recognizes as saints are only a small fraction of all the saints in heaven. Most of those who have gained the Kingdom of heaven are unknown to the world. Those who are known are regarded as the Heroes of the Faith. They come from all ages, from all races, from both sexes, from all places and walks of life. Some were martyrs for the Faith, like St. Lawrence; some gave their lives to Christ through monastic asceticism; some were apostles, teachers, or missionaries; some were fools for Christ, like St. Xenia; others lived as outwardly ordinary married men and women in the world. There are even whole families of saints, such as St. Sophia and her three young daughters, Faith, Hope, and Charity, who were all martyred; or that great family of theologian-ascetics, St. Basil the Elder and St. Emilia with their children, St. Macrina the Younger, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Peter of Sebaste, and St. Theosevia. What they all have in common is that they achieved in their lifetime, purity of heart, illumination, and deification; that is, they became like Christ.

As Christ loves His people, then, His saints also love us, their brethren here on earth. They love to pray for us, to inspire us with their example. We honor them, not out of duty, but out of love. They are our older brothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers, in the Faith. They surround us like a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1), cheering us on from the sidelines as we run our race to the finish.

The Theotokos, Mary the Mother of God
First and foremost among the saints is Mary, the Mother of God. The Church gives her the title "Theotokos," which means "God-bearer," primarily in order to safeguard the identity of her Son as fully God and fully Man. Mary stands first in line of all of redeemed humanity because she was the first to receive the Holy Spirit, the first to have Christ dwelling in her, and the first to be taken to heaven.

Mary is greatly honored in the Orthodox Church, but in common with the other saints, she is not worshipped. Nor is she regarded as a mediator between God and man. Rather, she leads the Church in its intercession before God. In icons, Mary is almost always depicted with Christ; in the most common pose, she holds the infant Christ in one arm and gestures toward him with the other hand, directing the believer's attention to Christ. When we sing in the Liturgy, "Most Holy Theotokos, save us," we are not suggesting that Mary saves in the same sense that Christ saves-that is, salvation from death and damnation. Rather, we are asking Mary to protect us from the dangers of this earthly life through her prayers on our behalf, just as we ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us. As St. James wrote, "Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

Mary is foremost among the saints because she made our salvation possible. She was chosen by God to bear His Son, but she had to give her consent to this choice. She is called the "New Eve" (as Christ is the "New Adam") because, by her obedience, she lifted the curse that was laid on mankind through the disobedience of Eve.

Mary in Orthodox and Roman Catholic thought
Orthodox belief about Mary differs in some respects from the Roman Catholic view. The Roman Catholics regard Mary as having been born free from original sin (the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception) and thus as being worthy to bear the sinless Christ. The Orthodox Church, by contrast, does not accept the doctrine of original sin in the first place; humans are seen as bearing the fallen nature of Adam, but not the guilt of his sin. Mary is seen as a remarkably pure young woman whose birth and nurture were planned and prepared by God ages in advance; at the Annunciation, when she accepted her role as Mother of God, she was completely cleansed of sin by the Holy Spirit coming upon her.

Both Orthodox and Roman Catholics regard Mary as Ever-Virgin. Her virginity was not violated in the conception or birth of Jesus, and she did not have marital relations with Joseph after Jesus' birth. (References in the Scripture to Jesus' "brothers" refer either to stepbrothers or to cousins.) There is a subtle difference in emphasis here between the two churches, however. In Roman Catholicism, there seems to be a notion that Mary must be ever-virgin because sexual intercourse involves corruption, even within lawful marriage. In the Orthodox Church, on the other hand, Mary's ever-virginity represents her complete dedication to God; it does not imply any slur on the marriage bed, which is holy and undefiled. Thus the Virgin Mary relates to both those who are married with children and those who choose celibacy.

Orthodox and Roman Catholics both maintain that Mary was taken bodily into heaven immediately after her death. (This event is called the Assumption in the Catholic Church and the Dormition in the Orthodox Church.) Thus Mary confirmed the promise of our bodily resurrection at the Last Day. The only difference here is that the Roman Catholic Church has dogmatized this view, while in Orthodoxy only doctrines regarding the nature of the Trinity have the status of dogma.

In popular Catholic piety, if not in dogma, Mary often seems to assume a stature equal to that of Christ. She is often depicted alone, and there is a movement to designate her as "co-Mediatrix" with Christ. This confusion of roles between Mary and her Son is completely foreign to Orthodoxy.

The Life of the Theotokos
The Bible itself tells us relatively little about Mary's life. However, there are ancient sources the Orthodox Church regards as authoritative that tell us much more. From these sources we learn that Mary was the daughter of a righteous couple, Joachim and Anna, of the tribe of Levi. Joachim was a temple assistant. The two lived into old age with no child, which was regarded as a disgrace and a sign of God's disfavor. After Joachim's sacrifice at the temple was rejected because of his childlessness, he and Anna separately prayed fervently that God would grant them a child, promising to dedicate that child to God's service. They each received an angelic message telling them that their prayers would be answered. A beautiful icon depicts the elderly couple embracing in front of their bed as they meet after receiving this message.

In due time, Mary was born, and she was raised by her loving parents until she was weaned at age three. Then, in fulfillment of their promise, Joachim and Anna took her to the temple. She ascended the temple steps of her own accord and remained there as a consecrated virgin until she reached marriageable age (age 14). At this time the priests met to decide what to do with her, as it was considered no longer proper for her to remain in the temple. It was agreed that they would call several righteous older men and choose a protector for Mary from among their number. Each man was to leave his staff in the temple overnight, and the one whose staff budded would be the one chosen by God.

The chosen man was Joseph, of the house of David. He was an older man, a widower with grown children, and he knew that he was to be Mary's protector, not her husband in the ordinary sense. He took her to live in his home, and it was here that she was visited by the Archangel Gabriel. Here her story is taken up by the Gospel of Luke.

Mary followed Jesus throughout His ministry, along with a group of women who helped to provide for His material needs. She followed Him even to the foot of the Cross. There He committed her into the care of the Beloved Disciple, John, with the words, "Behold your mother," whereupon she became the Mother of the whole human race. She continued in the company of this Apostle after Christ's Ascension, honored and beloved by all the Apostles and joining in their work, until the time of her death drew near.

Knowing that her hour had come, Mary asked all the Apostles to gather about her to say goodbye. All came except Thomas, who was late. He arrived after she had been entombed on the Mount of Olives and asked that her tomb be opened so that he could bid her farewell. When the tomb was opened, Mary's body was gone. Thus all the Apostles were witnesses that she had been taken bodily into heaven.

Mary is regarded as the Queen of Heaven, first among Christians, intercessor for all the faithful, the Mother of the Church. She loves us all as her own children, and we honor her as she herself prophesied in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55):

"My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly estate of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."