But from the beginning it was not so

Alright, it's time I return to posting here on a regular basis. I have never intended this to be an apologetics blog and it won't become one. My goal is to go into some details and provide a different perspective that might challenge the way some view Eastern Orthodoxy (or Catholicism for that matter). I am not arguing (at least not strictly speaking) against Eastern Orthodox positions and opinions, I am simply providing information in order for people to have a more sober and informed assessment of them. There are many scholars and highly knowledgeable people out there but I am that village idiot that annoys them with questions, keeping them busy and remind the village folk not to trust any smart guy who comes to town. Anyway, continuing with this "pastoral" theme, here's an interesting story. 

A long time ago in a land far far away a guy decides to leave his wife of  many years for another beautiful woman. You know how life goes. However, this was a time when divorce was not taken lightly; no one really cared about personal feelings and desires. So, the guy says his wife tried to kill him, and so the poor woman is arrested and sent away. The main elder of the land, however, refuses to acknowledge this phony divorce and bless the new union with some cunning broad. Sounds familiar? Well, we aren't talking about England and Henry here. We are talking about Constantine VI, his wife Mary, Patriarch Tarasius, all of whom lived, as you've guessed already, in the Eastern Roman Empire. Disregarding the disapproval of Tarasius, a priest-monk by the name of Joseph "marries" Constantine and one of his court ladies Theodota in Hagia Sophia. Soon after other noblemen figured they could do the same and started banishing their wives under different excuses. I guess, it was their Summer of Love. However, this was a time when the real cool guys, the rock-stars of their time were always on the side of morality, purity and righteousness. One of these guys was Venerable Theodore the Studite.

Our joy and deliverance is brought into the Temple!

Most Holy Theotokos, save us! Happy feast day to any one attached to the Julian calendar. Today I noticed this passage from the Matins in the second sedalion:

Even  before  thy  conception  thou  wast  consecrated  to  God,  O  pure  one,  and,  having been born on earth, thou hast now been offered to Him as a gift.

The Church Slavonic text is: 

Пре́жде зача́тия, Чи́стая, освяти́лася еси́ Бо́гу/ и, ро́ждшися на земли́, дар принесла́ся еси́ ны́не Ему́,/ исполня́ющи оте́ческое обеща́ние.

I'll eventually get to more obvious and straight forward passages that deal with Mary's immaculate existence from the moment of her conseption but this passage is no less interesting. 

The English translation is fine but the word "consecrated" doesn't really translate the word "освятилася" fully, so I'd translate it like this: "Before thy conception, O pure one, thou wast sanctified unto God". Yes, it is almost the same thing but the word consecrated in modern English gives the impression that it simply refers to the fact that God chose or set her aside before all ages (which is also true). The Greek word used is καθηγιάσθης, which is from the same root as καθαγιάζω. Now, the word for sanctification is ἁγιασμός, which is the same root as ἅγιος, i.e. holy. The English "consecration" really connotes making something sacred The word καθαγιάζω is used twice in the Bible. 2 Maccabees 1:26 reads: "Receive the sacrifice for all thy people Israel, and preserve thy own portion, and sanctify it.". The Vulgate translates sanctify as 'sanctifica' from the verb 'sanctifico', i.e. to make holy. Russian Synodal Bible also reads 'sanctify' and in Church Slavonic - освяти - make it holy, sanctify it. Another mention is Leviticus 27:26, "The firstborn, which belong to the Lord, no man may sanctify and vow: whether it be bullock, or sheep, they are the Lord's". A lot of translations also have 'dedicated' or 'consecrated', and this brings us to the question of what dedication or consecration of something is. The use 'sanctify' makes it clear that this act means to making something saintly, holy or sacred and not just setting something or someone aside for something special, as the same canon lets us know, calling the Theotokos "sanctified treasure of the Lord".

Why am I writing all of this? No, I'm not trying to read the Immaculate conception into everything. At the same time, I am not trying to avoid it either (obviously). The phrase "Before thy conception... thou wast sanctified (consecrated)" reads differently if you pay close attention to both cannotations of those words. She was made holy before her conception and after she was born, offered to the Lord as a gift. Any stain on the animal being sacrificed makes it unfit: "If it have a blemish you shall not offer it, neither shall it be acceptable" and  "The man that offereth a victim of peace offerings to the Lord... shall offer it without blemish, that it may be acceptable: there shall be no blemish in it". Thus, the same canon refers to her as "Pure and undefiled one" (ode 3) and "the  unblemished  ewe-lamb" (Glory: after sedalion), "unblemished  heifer" (ode 5).

Is this not worshipping Mary? Well, this blog is not dedicated to polemics with the Protestants, so I am going to leave this question aside. However, it should be said that though Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, in the Byzantine tradition we do not just ask Mary to pray for us, we ask the Mother of God to save us, because she is "the mediatress of salvation" (sedalion of the canon) and even more emphatically: "Thou  art  our  glory  and  salvation" (Glory: after sedalion). Does any one think that Byzantines did not realize that Christ was the Saviour, not Theotokos? Yes they did but they also knew of the close connection between Christ's sacrifice and that of Mary: "Thou art the  deliverance,  thou  art  the  joy  of  all,  thou  art  our  restoration,  through  whom  the  Uncontainable One shall appear unto me contained" (ode 5). Byzantine outlook is very hierarchical, that is why they had no problem with words that sound a bit excessive to a Western ear, which is especially clear (I think) in this passage from the canon: 

O pure Theotokos, as thou hast the most radiant beauty of purity of soul and art full  of  the  grace  of  God  from  heaven,  with  the  ever-existent  light  thou  dost  ever  enlighten  those  who  cry  out  with  joy:  Truly  thou  art  more  highly  exalted  than  all,  O  pure Virgin!

One should also notice how the canon says phrases such as: "Birthgiving  which  passeth  understanding" or "Strange   is   thy   birthgiving". What's so strange about it, given the fact that she was born like any other person? Well, I am not going to speculate about Mary's pre-purification but I do suspect that her birth and the following were related for the author of the canon:

Rejoice,  O  most  immaculate  Mother  of  God,  by  whom  we  have  been  delivered from the primal curse, coming to share in incorruption!

Anyhow, if you want to find some food for thought when pondering Mary's being the most-immaculate one, the one who became the new Eve by being without the primal curse, or even the controversial Co-Redemptrix, look no further than Byzantine hymnography. 

Rejoice, O thou  fulfillment of  the  Creator's dispensation!

Typikon on the Nativity Fast

For these 40 days we must keep three days of every week for fasting from oil and wine - on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, unless there is a major saint, in whose memory we allow it for the sake of our love for him and because of his feast, which falls in this month on: 16, 25, 30, and in December on the 4, 5, 6, 9, 17, 20. In those days like on Tuesday and Thursday we eat fish. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we allow only oil and wine but we do not eat fish, unless it is the parish feast; if there is a church in the monastery dedicated to one such day\saint, we allow fish and wine. Whatever the day the Entry of Theotokos falls on, including Wednesday and Friday, we allow fish.

Same thing more generally:

It should be known that during the Fast of the Holy Apostles and of the Nativity, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we do not eat fish but only oil and wine. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we do not consume oil, nor wine but we fast until the 9th hour and eat raw food on those days. On Saturdays and Sundays we eat fish. If there a saint day that has doxology falls on Tuesday or Thursday, we eat fish; if this occurs on a Monday - same thing; if it falls on a Wednesday or a Friday, only oil and wine is allowed and eat once during the day. If the saint has a vigil, we allow oil, wine and fish on Wednesdays and Fridays. If there is a commemoration of a saint, whose church it is, we do the same  on Wednesday and Friday.

Nativity Fast according to the Typikon

Translation of a Russian article about fasting according to the Typikon (auth. E. Kovina)

According to the Typikon, it is conducted the same way as the Fast of Sts. Peter and Paul. When the so-called "Alleluia service" (i.e. service that is strict and is akin to services during the Great Lent)* is conducted and there is no liturgy, one is to eat raw food at the 9th hour. The first day both the Nativity and the Petrine Fast, unless it falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, such service has to be performed. On other days of these fasts when commemorating minor saints, the choice is left to the parish priest. The Typikon specifies feasts, on which there is a polyeleos or a vigil and one can eat twice and have wine and oil, on the following days: 16, 25 and 30 November and 4,5,6,9,17, 20 December (Julian Calendar). Days that commemorate Russian saints are also added.* On the Eve of the Nativity, i.e. 21st of December (JC) fish is no longer allowed even on Saturdays and Sundays. During the eves of the Nativity and Epiphany one is to fast from food and drink until the evening. One is to eat cooked food with oil once a day after the Vespers, i.e. no earlier than the 9th hour (3pm). If those days fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, in order avoid fasting (i.e. full abstinence from food\drink), after the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom at the 6th hour (12pm), one can eat "a piece of bread and a little wine". After the Vespers "we eat normally without fish but with oil and boiled porridge or Kutia with honey; we drink also wine or in poorer countries - beer".

*See your Horologion for details or check here: http://www.orthodox.net/ustav/alleluia-days.html It should be noted, however, that at least in MP this tradition is almost fully abandoned when it comes to lesser lenten periods and only a handful of parishes still keep it.

**If one is Greek - Greek saints, Georgian - Georgian saints, etc.

Regarding the Nativity Fast

For those interested in going old-school, here's an excerpt from the so-called Small Home Rule, which is a compilation from various books for lay people on things related to praying and fasting.

From the Great Rule. From the day of holy apostle Phillip until the day of our holy father Nicholas one is to eat raw food on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as on Saturdays and Sundays one can eat fish. From the day of our holy father Nicholas until Christmas, we eat fish on Saturdays and Sundays, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays we consume cooked food with oil and we also drink wine.

From the Nomocanon. Before Christmas fish is allowed during  the fasting period only on Saturday and Sunday, while on Tuesday and Thursday oil and wine is allowed. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we fast until the 9th hour (i.e. 3pm). If someone cannot drink water on Monday, oil and wine is allowed. Wednesdays and Fridays should be observed as strict as one's strength allows, save for great and burdonsome ailment.

From the Rule of Solovetsky Monastery. During the Christmas fast until the day of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, one is to eat fish on Saturdays and Sundays, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Saturday and Sunday - twice*, on Tuesday and Thursday - once during the day. On Monday shchi (simple cabbage soup) is eaten with one cold dish and one hot one. On Wednesday and Friday shchi is to be eaten along with two cold dishes. From the day of Saint Nicholas until the Christmas Eve we eat Plasti (dish with cold fish), on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we add two cold dishes to Shchi; on Tuesday and Saturday we add one cold dish and one hot dish to Shchi. On Christmas Eve on Saturday and Sunday we eat with oil twice a day; on other days we eat as during the Great Lent.

*Fasting also includes the number of dishes eaten. Unless specified otherwise - it is assumed that one eats twice a day, either after the 6th (12pm) or the 9th hour and then after the Vespers (the choice will depend on the way services are conducted). Breakfast is considered a sort of vanity and ideally people are to pray in the morning instead of eating.

The King of glory shall come in

This is a excerpt of a lament poem from a 17th c. compilation ('sbornik' - a book, which gathers individual articles, works and liturgical services, hymns, etc.) dedicated to Alexis of Russia. You can see a crying eagle (evidently mourning Alexis' death) and two suns: one that is setting and one that is rising, which symbolises the new ruler - Feodor III.

Lord Heavenly King loves the Trinity (it's a Russian saying: 'Bog ljubit Troicu', which people use before doing something in threes) and though this royal Trinity loves all. Two crowns sit on the two heads of the royal eagles. Who is crowened by the third one? Of course, the King of glory! The King of Heavens in the third crown seeks good {not present in this image} and helps His annointed one in all things.

Thou hast rauished my heart, with one of thine eyes, with one chaine of thy necke

Preliminary note: I'm pretty sure I have ADD and dysgraphia, so there probably will be many mistakes, which I will be correcting as I keep proof-reading. I post stuff first, because the correction stage will take too long. Hopefully, substance of the article will make up for everything.

A friend once told me something along the lines of: No, I'm either going to remain an Old Believer or become a Catholic, because Nikonians blaspheme against the Theotokos. This refered to the fact that the so-called Nikonians ended up not only denying the Immaculate Conception of Mary but also her pre-purification, which was accepted almost by everyone. You will be hard-pressed to find a person in the Orthodox circles, who can explicitely state what the teaching regarding Mary's absolute immaculate existence is. Most would agree that she had never sined but would likely say she simply did not sin by the grace of God and that any other speculation is at best a theologoumenon and at worst a heretical Latin raving. Of course, one can find many authors, who believed in Mary's pre-purification and even her immaculate conception  (IM) after the schism - Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Cyril (now Patriarch) or Demetrius of Rostov, just to name a few. For quite some time IM was if not widely-held but a popular opinion nevertheless. Though, currently it doesn't seem to be a very important theological issue, it certainly was important for the Old Believers, since even among their first generation one can find voices, who defended the Most Blessed Virgin against certain foreign novelties.

This is neither an academic, nor a polemical article (though it becames that a little bit at the end), nor a history of this teaching in the East, this is merely a very shallow overview of what Old Believers had to say about it. So with that it mind, one should start by mentioning the book called The Tablet (Skrizhal') published by Patriarch Nikon. It included a work by a Greek with Protestant education (it should be menioned that the 17th and 18th centuries  were marked by presence of a Catholic-leaning party on one side, and a Protestant-leaning party on the other), translated by the infamous Arsenius the Greek, which Nikon got through Patriarch Paisius of Jerusalem, as well as a reply by another Patriarch Paisius of Constantinople to certain questions that Nikon had.

Skrizhal', page with Paisius' reply to Patriarch Nikon

To make a long story short, the book included anti-immaculist theology (i.e. she was purified at the Annunciation), which one of the leaders of the early Old Believer movement priest Nikita (Necetas), who recieved the nickname Pustosvyat, which literally means 'empty (i.e. fake\vain\false) saint', thought to be blasphemous. He was outraged and so wrote directly to the Czar Alexei the following words: "Our most pure and most holy Lady Theotokos... did not have the original stain, for she recieved a sanctification and was prepared to become a dwelling of God even in the womb of her mother". The Big Moscow Council of 1666 sought to publish a reply. The first choice for the role of the refuter fell on Paisios Ligarides, titular Metropolitan of Gaza, who was in Moscow at the time. Surisingly he started to defend Nikita and so the Council had to pick another person to write the refutation. This person was Simeon of Polotsk. He wrote a book titled The Rod of Ruling (Zhezl Pravleniya), which was officialy approved by the Council. Interestingly enough, though it does speak in favour of Nikon's reform, it once again defended not only the teaching of Mary's pre-purification but also of her Immaculate Conception, despite the author's Protestant leanings in other respects. One of the late Old Ritualist polemicist Melnikov pointed out an inconsistency in his "Wandering Theology)" (Bluzhdayusheye Bogosloviye), since the Council approved two books with opposed theological views (we will translate some parts from Melnikov's works later). The highly complex and fascinating relationship between the Russians and different theological parties within the Greek circles deserves a separate article, so we shall leave it at that, though of course one can just call it "Latin captivity" and brush this whole period of Church history aside.

"Monk Paul of Belaya Krinitsa"

Of course this issue was overshadowed by other questions, related to first and foremost the new rituals as well as different ecclessiologies of different groups of Old Believers.  However, one can almost safely say that until the second half of the 20th century, most of them accepted the fact that the Most Holy Theotokos was conceived without blemish of the original sin. As the so-called Nikonian church drifted further and further away from the belief in the Immaculate Conception and then from the pre-purificationist position in general, some Old Believers felt it necessary to mention this issue in respect to their differnces with the "State Church". One of them was Paul of Belaya Krinitsa, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Old Rite Church in 2004, and who was one of the two monks responsible for converting Metropolitan Ambrose, the founder of Belokrinitskaya hierarchy. In order to do everything "by the books", Paul decided to aquire an official status for the monastery (though the monastery was granted all religious freedoms already by Joseph II), where the future Metropolitan would  live. In turn, to do that he had to write the Rule of this monastery. Perhaps, for the sake of not writing two books, Monk Paul  included not only regulations of the monastery but also the teachings of the priest-accepting Old Believers. On September 6th, 1844 the monks recieved an official approval from Ferdinand of Austria to bring in Ambrose and establish their hierarchy. Among other things, the Rule included the following passage about the Most Blessed Virgin (the wording might seem strange but it's only because it's quite difficult to translate late Church Slavonic as it gets pretty "baroque"):