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Orthodoxia News Agency · Aug 12 View source View full article on hyper.nooz.ai

Καὶ σὲ μεσίτριαν ἔχω

🌐 Quote shown in the original Greek — English translation below

… μέσα από την οποία γνωρίζει ότι δεν πορεύεται μόνος, αλλά έχει σίγουρο συνοδοιπόρο την πρεσβεία της Θεοτόκου, η οποία μας συναγάγει αυτές τις ημέρες σε μια κοινή πορεία προς το “Πάσχα του καλοκαιριού”.

Πολλοί βέβαια αντιμάχονται την ιδιότητα της Παναγίας ως Μεσίτριας, λέγοντας ότι στην Εκκλησία ο Ιησούς Χριστός είναι ο ένας και μοναδικός Μεσίτης, μεταξύ Θεού και ανθρώπων, αφού κατά τον Απ. Παύλο: «Εἷς γὰρ Θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς» (Α΄ Τιμ. 2,5). Φυσικά ο Χριστός είναι ο μοναδικός Μεσίτης, διότι Αυτός, ως τέλειος Θεός και τέλειος άνθρωπος, ένωσε στο πρόσωπό Του την θεία και την ανθρώπινη φύση και με την Σταύρωση και την Ανάστασή Του, νίκησε την αμαρτία και τον θάνατο, συμφιλίωσε τον άνθρωπο με τον Θεό και άνοιξε τον δρόμο προς την Βασιλεία των Ουρανών.

Η μεσιτεία της Θεοτόκου δεν ανταγωνίζεται ούτε συμπληρώνει το λυτρωτικό …

▲ For · Jesus Christ
Sentiment: neutral

St. Paul asserts that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men.
🇬🇧 English translation

And I Have You as Mediatrix

"And I have you as mediatrix, toward the Philanthropic God, lest He examine my deeds before the Angels; I implore you, Virgin, help me in haste."

In our local tradition, the Fifteenth of August is called the "Easter of Summer." Amidst the "joyful light" of August, we gather in churches, sing the Akathist/Supplicatory Canons, and submit the names of the living, the sick, and the tested, offering our prayers to Her as fragrant flowers, standing with awe and emotion especially to one hymn: "And I have you as mediatrix, toward the Philanthropic God, lest He examine my deeds before the Angels; I implore you, Virgin, help me in haste." This same hymn is included among the Exaposteilaria sung at the end of the Small and Great Supplicatory Canons during this period, and it encapsulates within a few words the entire theology of the relationship between the faithful person and the Most Holy Theotokos.

If we dare to give it a definition, it would be a definition with four specifications. First, it is a word of trust; second, it is a word of confession; third, it is a word of repentance; and finally, it is a word of hope.

Analyzing its content and tone more extensively, we find that it is not merely a poetic "decoration" of worship, nor an emotional exaggeration toward the Mother of God and all of us, but is, essentially, the voice of a human being who admits their weakness, experiences the weight of their deeds, awaits the hour of judgment, and simultaneously does not despair, because they ultimately look to the mediation of the Lady Theotokos as an intercessor before the Philanthropic God.

The opening phrase "and I have you as mediatrix" becomes a personal expression for every Christian. For through the pen and thought of the hymnographer, each person does not address the Panagia as the mediatrix of Christians in general, but through a personal reference says: "I have you." I have you in my poverty, in my fear, in my fall, in my struggle. I have you not as a distant heavenly figure, but as a living presence within the Church and, by extension, throughout my entire life. And through this reference, faith becomes a relationship, and the faithful person is not limited to a theoretical assumption about the Theotokos, but expresses their trust, invokes her on a personal level, opens their heart to her, and asks her to stand beside them in what they cannot carry alone. Here we must emphasize that the word "have" (ἔχω) does not denote possession or an egoistic disposition, but a certainty of communion, through which one knows they do not travel alone, but has the certain companion of the Theotokos's intercession, which unites us these days in a common journey toward the "Easter of Summer."

Many, of course, oppose the Panagia's attribute as Mediatrix, saying that in the Church, Jesus Christ is the one and only Mediator between God and men, since according to St. Paul: "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). Naturally, Christ is the unique Mediator, because He, as perfect God and perfect man, united the divine and human natures in His person, and through His Crucifixion and Resurrection, conquered sin and death, reconciled man with God, and opened the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The mediation of the Theotokos neither competes with nor completes the redemptive work of Christ. It exists within it, depends on it, and draws all its strength from it. The Panagia is not a savior instead of Christ. She is, so to speak, the "first among the saved" and, by the Archangel's mouth, the "Full of Grace." The Theotokos does not stand between an angry God and a terrified human, as if trying to change God's disposition, but offers to the weak human her mediation toward the "Philanthropic God."

The fact that our Panagia never thought of bypassing God's will is clearly seen in the event of the marriage at Cana. She discerns the difficulty of the people even before they publicly express their need. She does not dictate to her Son what He should do. She does not impose her will on Him, but humbly and quietly expresses the human need by saying to Him: "They have no wine," and then turns to the deacons and tells them: "Whatever He says to you, do it." Through this exhortation, she does not keep the human close to herself, but leads them in obedience to Christ. She does not desire to become the center herself, but always directs them toward her Son.

That is why the Panagia can intercede with such boldness, because her life was a total offering to God. She does the same during the Annunciation, where she does not merely offer a momentary consent but delivers her entire existence to the divine will, with "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And thus, this "let it be" of the Virgin becomes the gate through which the Savior Christ enters humanity.

The continuity of the hymn also carries special weight: "lest He examine my deeds before the Angels." Through this plea, we do not ask the Theotokos to help us hide our sin, but to confess it without being crushed by its weight. And in hearing this plea, she teaches us to stand with humility, truth, and trust before her Son.

This "lest He examine my deeds" is not a request for impunity, nor a search for an easy salvation without life change. Our invocation of the Panagia does not substitute for repentance, confession, the restoration of justice, the forgiveness of a brother, and the daily spiritual struggle. We cannot seek her help and despise the commandments of Christ; we cannot embrace her icon and at the same time wound our fellow human being, who is the image of God. For whoever says "and I have you as mediatrix," is simultaneously called to listen to her word: "Whatever He says to you, do it" and to practice the will of the Lord.

"I implore you, Virgin," the hymn continues. Considering the address "Virgin," without remaining only in the sense of physical virginity, we also realize the integrity of her existence. Her heart was not divided, as often happens to humans. She did not serve two masters, nor did she negotiate with the Divine will, but was completely dedicated to it.

In the modern world, where man often lives isolated among many voices, information, fears, and demands, the Panagia calls us to rediscover the inner space in which the word of God is heard, to learn the silence that is not inactivity but prayer, and to obey His will, which is not a form of servitude but freedom from everything that distorts our faith in God.

And the hymn concludes: "Help me in haste," giving this phrase the expression of the immediacy of a child calling their mother. Through this immediacy, every claim is cast aside and trust is expressed; thus, before sin becomes a habit, before habit becomes a bond, and the bond becomes despair, man seeks help "in haste." However, this speed of Theotokos's help does not mean the abolition of trial for any reason, but confirms that the Panagia helps not by removing our cross, but by giving us the strength to carry it. She does not make our tears disappear, but transforms them into prayer, and this prayer becomes strength and endurance in difficulties.

How many people, in times of illness, mourning, family trials, poverty, or loneliness, have not found refuge before a small icon of the Panagia? How many have not whispered only her name when they did not have the strength for more words?

"And I have you as mediatrix," then, serves as a deep spiritual security, but not a security of carelessness. We must not think: "I have the Panagia, therefore I do not need to struggle," but rather say: "I have the Panagia, therefore I can rise and struggle," because the Panagia does not use her maternal protection as a cover for sin, but as a compass for conversion and repentance. This is the power of the hymn. It does not cultivate fear without hope, nor hope without repentance, but joins the admission of our sin with the philanthropy of God. And between these two truths stands the Panagia, not as an obstacle, but as a guide toward Christ and His Church. As the Mother who takes us by the hand and leads us into the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, just as when we were small children and she always repeats to us didactically: "Whatever He says to you, do it," and we, with humility and faith, repeat: "And I have you as mediatrix, toward the Philanthropic God."

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