St. Mary is means for our Salvation [ምክንያተ ድሂን], the gate of salvation [ኣንቀጸ ኣድኅኖ] ,the gate of light [ኣንቀጸ ብርሃን] and door of light [ኆኅተ ብርሃን]
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In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit One God Amen
“O Mary for this we love and we exalt you because you did bear for us the true food of righteousness and the true drink of life. ”
On 7 Nehase or the 13th August of 5485 after creation (or 15 B.C) she was conceived of by her Mother, St. Hanna, and father, St. Eiakem. She was born on 9th May (Ginbot 1 in Geez] of 16 B.C. The Virgin Mary stayed with her parents until she was three years old. At age 3, she was brought to the Temple of God, according to her parents’ promise. St. Mary dwelt in the House of the Lord like a pure dove for 15 years and the angels of the Lord visited her with food and drink continuously. When she was 15 years old, she moved to the house of St. Joseph the carpenter. She stayed with him for 34 years until the Ascension of the Lord; and she spent the last 14 years of her life with St. John the Evangelist, according to the Lord’s commandment which he told him at the cross, “Behold, this is your son,” and to St. John, “Behold, this is your mother”.
St. Mary holds a special [unique] place and role in Orthodox Church [and every Christian] since God has favored and glorified her high as an instrument for the work of mankind’s salvation. It is very difficult to talk / explain about the mystery/miracle of Incarnated God, God’s relationship with humanity, God’s love and charity without her willingness to participate in the Salvation of humanity to bear the Word of God Himself -hence the Church has called her the means for our Salvation [ምክንያተ ድሂን]. God has extended His grace to humanity in the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Holy Virgin. Therefore, according to St. Irenaeus, “St. Mary has a distinctive function in God’s plan towards our salvation. For she offered her free consent to God”.
The Lord is the Life as He Himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” [Jn 14:6]. And the Virgin is the gate of through which the Lord came, therefore she is the gate of life. The same can be said regarding her being “the gate of salvation” because the Lord is the Salvation; He came for salvation for the world, “to save that which was lost” [Lk 19:10]. St Yaried noted in his Hymn that she is the gate of salvation [ኣንቀጸ ኣድኅኖ] through whom the Saviour entered, and Abba Giorgis of Gasaca called her the gate of light [ኣንቀጸ ብርሃን] and door of light [ኆኅተ ብርሃን] in which the True light , Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, entered and ever lighted it. St Irenaeus similarly said, “becoming disobedient, Eve became the cause of death, both to herself and for the entire human race, But Mary .. Still a virgin, yielded obedience and so become the cause of salvation, both for herself and the whole human race..”
It is worth mentioning that, in Orthodox Church, at a high point of worship in the word of liturgy and praises called “the Trisagion”[ጸሎተ ኪዳን], she is mentioned in the opening line saying … “Holy Mighty.. Holy immortal ..who was born from the Holy Virgin.” to indicate her role in the divine mystery of the incarnation. Like mentioned above, her name is inseparable when explaining the mystery of incarnation because “her humanity guarantees that the true humanity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is like ours”. This means that it is through her that our salvation has become accessible in her Son, Our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. She willingly chose to participate in our salvation to bear the Word of God Himself and become the Mother of God. In the ministry of the word before reading the Holy Gospel, the Virgin is also remembered to intercede and plead for us as she always points us to our Savior and prays for us.
“We have no boldness before our Lord Jesus Christ apart from your prayers and intercessions, O our Lady, the Lady of all, the Theotokos”.
God Bless