Before 1989 I knew nothing of the spiritual attitude of Orthodoxy towards the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like all Protestants, I heard the name Mary only in connection with the feast of Christmas, without more honor & love. I guess it was difficult for me to understand why we should revere the Blessed Mother. In the year 1991 I had the opportunity to study at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I began to follow the actions of the Greek Orthodox towards the Mother of God, but I could not find the reason why they acted this way and what basis there is in the Bible.
As you know, Protestants accept only the evidence of the Bible – Sola Scriptura – therefore they deny the Holy Tradition of the Church. Later, I began to wonder how a so-called Christian can fulfill Luke 1:48 if he does not know Mary? How do they say they only believe the Bible, but as a generation of men they do not know how to praise, to bless the Mother of God? How do they believe that Christ is the only redeemer of the world, and that by His blood and body, He redeemed man from the bondage of sin and delivered mankind from eternal death? Why do they never consider from what mother the flesh and blood of the Word of God took His blood and flesh? And how could I worship the saving work of Jesus Christ for me personally without being grateful to His Mother, who gave birth to Him, nursed Him, cared for Him, and raised Him as a common child?
How can I not want to know the mother of God, who so sacrificed herself for my salvation and the salvation of the world?
I would be breaking one of God’s ten commandments, “Honor your parents”, if I never honor the mother of Life, because Jesus emphasized: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn. n. 6). With all the above and many other questions, I came to a point to study the person of Mary, Mother of Christ and my true life. In 1995, I decided to write a postgraduate thesis at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, on the subject of “Theotokos according to the teaching of St. Nicodemus the Athonite”. My goal was very simple: it was not limited to the academic requirements, but it would also help me to fulfill my personal fixation on Theotokology. And indeed, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the truth, which until then had remained outside my life. The Theotokos becomes a type of humility, obedience and holiness.
I began to love the Petition, translated it into Indonesian so that the people could enjoy its hymns and also directly the role of Our Lady in their spiritual struggle.
Now, we are struggling, after so many years since the Orthodox Mission in Indonesia, especially in North Sumatra, to communicate to those around us the Orthodox attitude towards the Mother of God. It is a great grace for us to hear the little children say “the most honorable of Cherubim and the most inexpensive of Seraphim… the Mother of God indeed, we magnify you…” and the other hymns to the greatness of the Virgin Mary.
In addition, in 2005 the Theological School in the capital of Sumatra, Medan, started to operate, almost 1000 students have graduated, and very often we have discussions about the person of the Virgin Mary, both in and out of the classroom. Even the irreligious have begun to think about the Mother of God, although most have difficulty understanding the subject because of their wrong theological presuppositions.
So, in my life, I have experienced the great grace of the Virgin Mary and even through Her I have been saved from physical death and from an unknown illness that has not been clarified so far. In the first case, it was on 27 October 1990. After the birth of my daughter, Soteria, it was discovered that I had been poisoned by drugs after surgery, and the gynecologist told my family that I was 98% likely to die. He also said that only by a miracle would I be saved. Upon hearing the news, the newly Orthodox community along with the priest tearfully performed the petition to the Virgin Mary, using the corridor of the Roman Catholic church of the hospital. And the miracle happened. Early the next morning, which was Sunday, I slowly came back to life, not realizing what had happened to myself. Later I realized that something of the “invisible war” had happened, but whatever it was, it brought me into the arms of Mother Mary.
There were other events that revealed the grace of Our Lady. I believe that I am insured only in her. Last year, a young man of 15 came to our house who was suffering greatly from demons. At one time I had placed a small wooden icon of Our Lady on a shelf up high as we came in and out of the front door of the house. We had it there for years and probably hadn’t noticed that the icon was still in place. When we were praying, the young man started shouting and pointed his finger at the icon and shouted: “What is that! Why is the light shining so brightly and I can’t stand it!” The demon was terrified before the image of the Mother of Christians! With this event our daughter Evangelia stopped being afraid of the darkness and the influence of the devil. Great is the grace of the Virgin Mary!
Our personal experience above reveals a new spiritual power that only Orthodox Christians have. God has merited me to become Orthodox too. We have the Virgin Mary as our mother. In the struggle of our mission, the Virgin Mary is a person after Christ and the Holy Trinity, whom we invoke in our every action. We never rush anyone to confess the faith that grows in them, but we teach them that they must understand the Bible correctly and that many passages in the New Testament speak of the role of Mother Mary in the work of saving the world. It is right to beatify her face and thus fulfill the word of the Gospel:
‘For behold, from the present blessed one, all generations have seen me.’
Elder Elizabeth Koamesakh-Manalu, Indonesia
