Homily in Praise of Mary the Mother of God

1A hymn in praise of the holy Mother of God, by our holy Father Epiphanius, Bishop of the city of Constantia, in Cyprus. Having grasped the shimmering rays of the Mother of God, and the fearsome and incomprehensible powers, the mystery of the inhabited heaven and earth, a wonder and a means of atonement, I, a lowly man, have attempted to bring this wonder to a more precise understanding by searching deep within my heart with profound memory and highest contemplation; and much trembling and fear seized me, O beloved ones. For the memory of this awesome vision did not merely punish my soul and heart with moderate dread, but tortured them powerfully. The memory of this greatest vision strikes my mind, for it is an incomprehensible mystery that I lack the strength to speak of. For who is capable of expressing such a mystery? What mouth could utter it, or what tongue could speak it? It has been said that it is impossible to speak of it. Now, however, I will dare to speak about the only Mother of God as much as I can grasp; and yet, I fear again. I do not have a tongue worthy of speaking of such very great things. For I am weak-voiced and slow of speech, and I am not eloquent, to speak thus about the highly honored, holy, ever-virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Lord; about whom the tongues of men will not speak easily. For the tongue falters and shrinks back before her, not being worthy to speak. For she astonished even the powers of the heavens; all angels, archangels, principalities, authorities, thrones, dominions, cherubim, and seraphim, and the whole host of angels, were seized with terrible fear and trembling. For they beheld on earth Him who is in the heavens within her, and it was terrifying. They saw the Virgin, a heaven and a throne, and they were seized with fear, beholding the Ruler descending from a cherubic throne into a virgin womb. O blessed root, from where did this spring? Concerning this, the prophet Isaiah, like a swallow...

It proclaims with a fiery tongue: 'A rod shall rise up from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from the root, and the Spirit of the fear of God shall rest upon it.' From the root of Jesse came King David, and from the tribe of David came the holy Virgin, the daughter of the holy ones among holy men, whose parents Joachim and Anna pleased God in their lives and who brought forth such a fruit: the holy Virgin Mary, both a temple of God and a mother. Joachim, Anna, and Mary—the three of them clearly served the Trinity. For Joachim is interpreted as 'preparation of the Lord,' for through him the Virgin was prepared as a temple of the Lord. And Anna is similarly interpreted as 'grace,' for Joachim and Anna received grace so that they might bring forth such a fruit through prayer, by obtaining the holy Virgin. For Joachim prayed on the mountain, and Anna in her paradise. After carrying Him, Anna gave birth to heaven and a cherubic throne, the holy maiden Mary. For she is found to be heaven, temple, and throne. For Mary is interpreted as 'lady,' but also as 'hope.' For she gave birth to the Lord, Christ, the hope of the whole world. Again, Mary is interpreted as 'sea-myrrh'; and it speaks of myrrh, as I say, concerning immortality, because she was destined to give birth to the immortal pearl in the sea, that is, in the world. The sea refers to the whole world, to which the Virgin granted calm, having given birth to Christ, the harbor. Furthermore, the blessed name of the venerable maiden Mary is interpreted as 'illuminated,' for she was enlightened by the Son of God and enlightened those who believe unto the ends of the earth by the Trinity. For the holy Mother of God, the maiden Mary, is a bride of the Trinity, the precious jewel of the divine economy, to whom Gabriel said: 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.' Gabriel remembered, and the Father sent the Holy Spirit from heaven as a pledge, driving the Virgin toward the...

2The only-begotten Son, the heavenly bride, whom the Father loved, whom the Son made His home in, and upon whom the Holy Spirit descended. For this is the bride and the veil, and from this veil comes Christ the Bridegroom, according to the song of the prophet David: 'He set his tent in the sun,' and He comes forth like a bridegroom from His veil. O, longing of the Bridegroom for purity! Gabriel rushes to her, the one who is both handmaid, bride, and mother; he becomes the herald of the Virgin, the incense that joins heaven and earth. The prophets clearly wrote of her, proclaiming the order of the marriage: how the Virgin is found to be both a heavenly bride and a mother, having received the Holy Spirit as a gift before the marriage, and receiving both heaven and paradise as a dowry.

The Virgin, therefore, seeks to see the one she longed for, saying: Where is the Bridegroom whose beauty I desire? Where is the beauty brighter than the sun? Where is the unutterable glory of all beauty? Where is the unfading light that I seek in my longing? Where is the sun that seeks its own ray? Where is the lyre of the cherubim? Where is the sleepless eye of the seraphim? Where is Christ? Where is the worship of the angels that Gabriel announced? Where is the only-begotten Son of the Father, the Only One, whom the Virgin longs for, loves, and seeks to embrace? To her, Gabriel says: 'Rejoice, highly favored one.'

The infinite grace of the Holy Virgin. Rejoice, highly favored one, adorned with many virtues, O Virgin, bearing the light more brilliant than the unfading sun. Rejoice, highly favored one, the lure of the spiritual hook; for in you is the hook of Divinity. Rejoice, highly favored one, the spiritual ark of glory. Rejoice, highly favored one, the golden jar holding the heavenly manna. Rejoice, highly favored one, who has filled those who thirst with the sweetness of the eternal spring. Rejoice, highly favored one, the spiritual sea holding the heavenly pearl, Christ. Rejoice, highly favored one, the bright heaven holding the God who cannot be contained by the heavens. Rejoice, highly favored one, who makes the cherubic throne of Divinity shine. Rejoice, highly favored one, who holds the circle of heaven, and the God who is uncontainable, yet in you is contained and is not constrained. Rejoice, highly favored one, the pillar-like cloud holding the God who led the people through the desert. What shall I say? And what shall I speak? How shall I bless the...

Does glory overflow? For apart from God alone, she exists above all things. For she is more beautiful than the Cherubim and Seraphim, and she is above every angelic host; the tongue will not suffice to describe her in relation to heaven and earth, and perhaps not even the angels. For they themselves offered hymn, wine, honor, and glory, yet they were not able to speak in a manner worthy of her. The angels rejoiced, as they alone possess God, toward her whom the all-holy Virgin is superior to, she who conceived God in her on earth, so that she might thus draw the hosts of angels to the earth along with men. For she has become a unity, acting as the mediator of heaven and earth.

O blessed Virgin, pure dove, O heavenly bride Mary, heaven and temple and throne of the Divinity; she who held Christ, the sun that flashes in heaven and upon the earth; she who is the luminous cloud, the all-bright lightning that flashed Christ upon the world; she who is the heavenly cloud, who brought down to the world the thunder hidden within herself, she who poured out the rain of the Holy Spirit upon the whole earth for the fruitfulness of faith. Hail, you who are full of grace, the gate of heaven, concerning whom the prophet has cried out, saying: 'Behold, the gate is shut, and no one shall enter through it, nor shall anyone leave it, except the Lord God alone; and the gate shall remain shut to the ruler, because the ruler himself shall be called, and all nations shall hope in him.'

Concerning this gate, and in the Song of Songs, the prophet speaks loudly and clearly, crying out: 'A garden shut up, my sister, my bride; a garden shut up, a spring sealed.' The holy and venerable maiden Mary remained in virginity, the luminous cloud who held the divine Word within her; to whom the loud-voiced Isaiah said: 'Behold, a cloud light as down, and she shall come into Egypt.' The unhewn mountain, she who held the unapproachable stone, Christ, concerning whom the most wise Daniel says: 'A stone was cut out from a mountain without hands.' That is to say, the Virgin gave birth to the solid rock, Christ, without a man; the temple without a builder, she who held the heavenly stone, Christ; the thundering cloud, she who carried the lightning within her womb. And the divine Scripture testifies to me by its word, saying: 'Your womb is a fenced garden of wheat among lilies.' The uncultivated land, she who held the Word as a grain of wheat...

3Having received, and having brought forth the branch, she is the spiritual furnace, she who holds the fire and the bread of life; the holy Mother of the Savior, she who gave birth to the Word of the Father having become flesh from you, to whom Isaiah spoke: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name, Emmanuel.' O holy Virgin, holy Mother of the Lord; blessed Bride of the inseparable Trinity; blessed are you among women, you who bore upon the earth as an infant the Creator of all; blessed are you among women, you alone on earth who conceived the heavenly God; blessed are you among women, whom the Nourisher of the universe suckled; blessed are you among women, you who have now given birth to Him who once formed Adam from clay in Paradise, holy Mother of God, Virgin Mary.

For you are the Mother of God, you who gave birth to the Word having become flesh from you; you are the Mother of God, you who conceived God the Word in the form of a servant; you are the Mother of God, because having received God the Word, you gave birth to Him becoming flesh; you are the Mother of God, you alone who gave birth to the only begotten Son of God, the Only One; you did not give birth to a God for a fleeting moment, but to the eternal God, who was before you and before all things, having become flesh from you. She is the spotless lamb, she who bore Christ the Lamb; she is the heifer of the unyoked yoke, she who bore the calf; she is the spiritual table of faith, she who provided the bread of life to the world.

What shall I say? And what shall I speak of this overwhelming glory? Concerning this holy maiden, who is ever-youthful and a virgin, as God says through the prophet: 'A ruler shall come forth from you, to be a leader in Israel; and his exits are from of old, from the days of eternity. Therefore he shall give them until the time of birth, and shall give birth, and the remnant of his brothers shall return to the sons of Israel; and he shall stand and shall feed, and the Lord shall be the strength of his flock.'

O holy Virgin, being the mother of eternal light; the light of Him who illuminates the armies of angels in the heavens; the light of Him who illuminates the ineffable eye of the Seraphim; the light of Him who illuminates the sun with bright torches; the light of Him who illuminates the ends of the inhabited world with the Trinity; the light of Him who said: 'I am the light of the world'; the light of Him who said: 'I have come as the light into the world'; the light of Him who was taken up and illuminated in...

In the heavens and upon the earth, throughout the entire universe. O all-holy Virgin, who has welcomed the army of angels! For it is a strange wonder in the heavens, a woman carrying the Light in her arms; a strange wonder in the heavens, another cherubic throne; a strange wonder in the heavens, a son of a woman who is also the Father of all ages; a strange wonder in the heavens, a virgin's chamber, holding Christ, the Son of God, as a divine bridegroom; a strange wonder in the heavens, the child of the Virgin has become the Lord of the angels.

O all-holy Virgin, Mother of the Savior, who gave birth to the unoriginated Word, the Son who is co-throned with the Father, consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who is from eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who arched the heavens and established himself upon the earth. Hail, all-holy Virgin, who holds the fire of divinity unconsumed, like a spiritual bush; the spiritual furnace, who brought forth the fire and the bread of life, warm for the world to eat; about which the Savior of the world, Christ, says: 'Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you for the forgiveness of sins.'

O beloved ones, the most excellent table of virginal abundance, which the holy Virgin and Mother of Christ bestowed upon the inhabited world for the enjoyment of all good foods, she who carried Christ, the shining lamp gleaming in heaven and upon the earth; to whom the prophet Zechariah says: 'Behold, a golden lampstand with its lamp upon it.' Likewise, David cries out this melodic song: 'Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths.'

O virgin lamp, who drives away the darkness and radiates the light. O virgin lamp, who brought forth the fire and the oil inseparable for illumination. O virgin lamp, a triple-light, an unquenchable fire, receiving from the Highest Throne that which is consubstantial with it, and shining forth for the illumination of the world. O virgin lamp, concerning whom God says through the Prophet: 'There I will raise up for David a horn; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ.'

The royal crown, possessing the precious pearl-like stone, Christ; the royal purple, having clothed the King of the whole world in a purple garment of heaven and earth; the unfading faith of Christians; the incomprehensible book,

4She who revealed the Word and the Son of the Father to the world. Blessed among women, she who gave birth to the Word made flesh from herself—the Word, the Son of the Father, the Word, the eternal God, the Word, without beginning and without end, the Word who is worshiped with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Word who sits on the throne of the Father, the Word who sits upon the cherubim, the Word whom the four living creatures glorify, the Word who created the angels, the Word who made the principalities and powers, the Word who stretched out the heavens and established the earth, the Word, the true God, Jesus Christ our Lord, whom you brought forth, all-holy Virgin, and remaining a virgin after childbirth; she who gave birth to the pearl and wove the royal crown. O blessed Virgin, who brought forth heavenly glory, who filled the world with the fragrance of many flowers from Paradise. The Virgin remains an unblemished lily, having given birth to Christ, the unfading rose, the vine of truth, who is much-fruitful and without thorn in her virginity, who did not dig but bore fruit, bearing Christ as the cluster upon the vine.

How then did you bring forth fruit, convince us, all-holy Virgin; how did you appear as Mother of God on earth, receiving the eternal Word? I, a virgin bearing a womb, have become an incorruptible, undefiled temple for the eternal, unwedded God the Word who dwelt in me. Carrying Emmanuel in an incorruptible womb, into an undefiled womb, resembling a cherubic throne; into whom the Word of the Father became flesh, the one without beginning and invisible, yet visible through the divine economy, the God who became man. Having no experience of man, I gave birth to the eternal God, Jesus Christ. For I remain a virgin even now after childbirth, purer than before. I gave birth alone, not as every woman does; for the things that happened to me are unlike theirs. Human nature did not know my childbirth, except for the God who dwelt in me.

O Virgin, a precious treasure of the Church, a great and fortunate mystery, who is called both priest and altar, she who, bearing the table, gave us Christ, the heavenly bread, for the forgiveness of sins. O undefiled womb, containing the circle of heaven, and bearing the God who cannot be contained within you. O womb wider than the heavens, who did not confine the God within you.

O seven-layered heaven, and one who is greater than them! O seven-layered heaven, higher and wider! O seventh heaven, above the firmament! O Virgin, possessing the unquenchable light of the sevenfold grace! What shall I say, or what shall I speak concerning the venerable and holy Virgin? Longing draws me to speak of the Mother of God, yet fear seizes me to remain silent, feeling unworthy to speak. The mind calls forward, but fear pushes back; one draws me in, while the other holds me back. Therefore, since I am held by both, it is appropriate for me to speak of the highly exalted and holy Virgin.

For I call her both heaven and throne, as well as a cross; for having stretched out her holy arms, she bore the Lord as a cherubic, cross-shaped, heavenly throne, of whom I peer through the Scriptures into the heavens and see her being worshiped by angels. This is why Gabriel first greets the Virgin: 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you'; rejoice, highly favored one, bright heaven; rejoice, highly favored one, who possesses the rays of the sun, Christ, who flashes from heaven with brilliant splendors. The Virgin has become a Seraph, many-named and many-formed, an ungraspable vision; a spiritual shelter found through a bodily presence, surpassing the Cherubim.

For those angels turn away, unable to gaze upon the intellectual fire of the Divinity. But she, gazing with clear eyes upon the ungraspable and sleepless eye of Christ, greeted Him while longing and loving Him. Armies of angels, falling at the feet of the Savior, are not able even to see or to touch; but she greeted the ungraspable one, lip to lip. O Virgin, bearing the wonder of an ungraspable mystery, you proclaimed a threefold faith to the world. The Virgin has become higher than the angels, greater than the Cherubim and the Seraphim, pleasing to the King Christ as a worthy handmaid and a mother honored by God.

Holy Mother, who gave birth to Christ—who said, 'Before Abraham was, I am'—who glorified the cave and magnified the manger. For the Virgin, the cave, and the manger, having the circle of heaven, bore the uncontainable God; the three of them clearly served the Trinity when the...

5The Virgin, having conceived the Sovereign of heaven and earth in a cave, placed Him in a manger; then ranks of angels surrounded the Virgin, crying out and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men.' Therefore the shepherds, while watching in the fields, heard such a doxology of the angels concerning the Savior, and having run on their way, they worshiped the Light, beholding a strange wonder: the handmaid of the Sovereign and the earthly Virgin, the heavenly bride.

For she appeared in the cave as both bride and mother, and as the Mother of God, when she gave birth to the child Christ, according to the prophetic voice of Isaiah: 'For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'

After this he says: 'The Magi from the east, being illuminated and guided by a bright star, having traveled the length of the road from the east, arrived to worship Him who was born in Bethlehem.' Therefore, upon reaching the city of Jerusalem, the star was hidden from them; and they, being troubled at having lost their guide, were compelled by necessity to ask those in the city, inquiring of them: 'Where is the Christ to be born?' For this was considered a strange wonder by all. Concerning which...

6When Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and calling the priests, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They answered and did not deny; they confessed and did not lie. They were unable to hide the rays of the sun, and they testified to the voice concerning the Savior being made clear through the prophet, saying: 'In Bethlehem the Christ is born.' For thus it cries through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come forth one to be a ruler in Israel.'

O, the unyielding Israel! They confessed what was written in the Law, yet they denied the Lawgiver. They themselves testified where the Christ was to be born, and yet they themselves again denied the Christ who was born. What, then, of the Magi? Their minds were unsettled, their hearts were greatly troubled and consumed by grief, their sobs like the violence of waves flooded their ship, their eyes poured out pearl-like tears upon the earth, and their distress was boundless as they sought the Rising Sun, a guide they did not possess, yet they searched while having the desire. Where is the star, the guide of the Magi? Just as the star is hidden from them, look to the truth, and...

7Look at the wonder and the sign! Because of this, the star was hidden from them, so that when the unbelieving priests asked about it, the mystery of heaven and earth might be made manifest to all. Therefore, after everyone had come to know, the star was revealed again to the Magi, until it came and stood over the Child in the cave, or rather, in heaven. For where Christ is, there is heaven; for the cave appeared as heaven upon the earth.

Those who saw the star, and even more so the Savior, rejoiced with great joy; they bowed down and worshiped, and brought out their gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold, as for a king; frankincense, as for God; and myrrh, as for a mortal—but rather so that they might also signify the burial of Christ, the Creator and Maker of all, whom the heavenly bride Mary brought forth, she who is the heaven, the temple, and the throne of the Divinity, the ineffable treasure of Paradise.

Angels once praised Eve, but now they glorify Mary; she who, having glorified the weakest of women, raised up the fallen Eve, and sent Adam, who was cast out of Paradise, into the heavens, and she who opened the closed Paradise, and through the thief again...

8You have planted Adam again. For through you, O holy Virgin, the enmity that stood in the middle of the barrier was destroyed; through you, heavenly peace was granted to the world; through you, the ends of the inhabited earth were enlightened; through you, humans have become like angels; through you, humans have been called friends, servants, and children of God; and through you, humans have been worthy to become fellow-servants and fellow-neighbors of the angels. Through you, heavenly knowledge is sent up from earth to the heavens in praise; through you, humans have boldness before the Most High in heaven. Through you, the Cross has shone throughout the whole inhabited world, upon which your Child, Christ our God, was hung. Through you, death is trampled and Hades is plundered; through you, idols have fallen and heavenly knowledge has been awakened. Through you, we have come to know the only-begotten Son of God whom you bore, O all-holy Virgin, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all angels and humans, while worshiping, say that we glorify the unoriginated Father, the unoriginated Son, and the unoriginated Holy Spirit, the indivisible and consubstantial Trinity, unto the ages of ages. Amen.