Homily on the Dormition of the Theotokos:
The Treasurer of Inexhaustible Treasures
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Delivered in 2014)
The Treasurer of Inexhaustible Treasures
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Delivered in 2014)
The feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos rejoices our hearts, because the Panagia is the most beloved person after Christ. She, with her purity and humility, became the cause of the incarnation of Christ and therefore the cause of our salvation. We owe her much. She gave flesh to Christ, she raised Him from His infancy, as His Mother. The writings of the Fathers emphasize this offering of the Panagia. And indeed, it is a great honor for the Panagia to conceive Christ by the Holy Spirit, to carry Him in her womb, to give birth to Him, to nurse Him, to raise Him, to rejoice in His actions, to suffer during His Passion and Crucifixion, to rejoice in His Resurrection, to see Him taken up into heaven, and finally to see Him come to receive her soul after her glorious Dormition. What extraordinary and divine blessings did our Panagia receive! How great was the wealth she received!
Saint Gregory Palamas, contemplating all this offering and glory of the Panagia, says that she became a “treasurer” and a “region of graces,” that is, the Panagia became the treasurer of the wealth of divine Grace. Just as light warms and illuminates the place where it falls, so too did the Light of Christ, which entered into her existence, illuminate her and filled her with heavenly gifts. Christ, who is the fragrant myrrh, perfumed her and filled her with divine fragrance. The great value of the Panagia lies in the fact that she became the Mother of Christ, the “Theotokos and Mother of Light.” Her womb became wider than the heavens and her life was sanctified. The Panagia is all that we have precious from the human side, the most fragrant flower of human nature.
Saint Gregory Palamas says that, just as the king in the palace gives money to the people through the treasurer, that is, the person who has the treasury, so also Christ the King distributes his spiritual goods through the Panagia. That is why he says of the Panagia that she is “the treasurer of inexhaustible treasures, to whom is entrusted their distribution,” meaning that the Panagia oversees the distribution of the inexhaustible treasures, as the treasurer of the wealth of the inexhaustible treasures of God. This explains the great love of the saints for the Panagia. They felt that they had received the gifts from Christ, through the Theotokos, and therefore they constantly begged her to protect them.
The saints had personal experience of this reality, and therefore they prayed fervently to the Panagia. This is shown by the two Supplicatory Canons – Small and Great – which we have chanted throughout this period, every evening in the sacred temples, but we also chant them every time we have a need. This is shown by the Service of Salutations to the Panagia, which takes place during the period of Great Lent, which the monastics and pious Christians read every evening during the Service of Compline. This is also shown by all the amazing Theotokia and the Troparia which have been composed by outstanding hymnographers and which we chant in all the Sacred Services. This is shown by the sacred icons that present the Panagia in various forms and in various types, but also by the thousands of nicknames and cosmetic epithets that were given to her.
All the saints, with their Theotokophilia, feel that the Panagia is the treasurer of divine Grace, since Christ through her scatters His goods to those who ask for them. For this reason, Saint Gregory Palamas begs her: “Grant us abundantly, O Lady, even if we do not possess the capacity, to become more capacious.” That is, he asks her to impart to him abundantly all the graces and gifts of Christ, and if he does not have room, to make him more capacious so that he may receive more and greater goods from Christ.
The wealth of Christ’s Divinity is inexhaustible, and we “from His fullness” have received “grace for grace” (John 1:16). To those who received Him “He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Great is the wealth of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, and through the Mysteries and the entire ecclesial life we are spiritually enriched. Our Panagia is a great treasure, whom we venerate, love, and respect. In general, Christ with His Mother and His friends, that is, the Saints, filled us with precious gifts, His Grace, His love, His peace, our salvation. And to the Panagia who became the cause of joy, we owe eternal gratitude.
As Orthodox Christians, we have many opportunities to rejoice, to cast away hopelessness, despair and to be filled with hope, joy, peace and light. Brethren, let us not allow ourselves to be troubled by small things and secondary issues. We have great spiritual treasures, among which is the Mother of Christ, the Panagia, whose intercessions may we have.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
