The Theotokos

Opening Prayer

(You will want to have the words readable for students on a chalkboard or chart.)

Troparion Discussion

Ask students, "Have you ever had something go wrong because you didn't listen to your parents or another adult who loves you?" (Let students answer briefly.) Then, with the words of the troparion in mind, read Genesis 1: 27-30 and 3: 1-15 together.

Discuss these questions:

• Were human beings created as man and woman right from the beginning? (Yes-verse 1: 27.)
• What are some of the gifts God gave His creatures? (These are enumerated in 1: 29-30.)
• Why was the curse put on the serpent? (The serpent caused God’s beloved creatures, man and woman, to sin.)
• Was anyone cursed besides the serpent? (No. Human beings, men or women, were never cursed by God. See Genesis 3: 17-19.)

Look back at the words of the troparion. How do the words reflect Scripture? (The "curse" in Genesis is overcome by Jesus Christ. When He comes to the world, He defeats death. Since the time of Adam, death had had full power over human beings. With the coming of Christ, death's power is no longer final. We can rise to a new and everlasting life with Christ. That is why the New Testament and the Church often refer to Jesus Christ as the "new Adam".)

Icon Description

Scripture Review

As a mini-review of the session so far, print out and complete Genesis 2 & 3 Review Activity found in the Resource Section.

Nativity of the Theotokos - Story Time

Read together the story of The Nativity of the Theotokos found in the Resource Section.

After reading the story, discuss these questions and points:

• Think of Joachim after being turned away when he tried to make his offering to God. How did he feel? How would any of us feel? What does it feel like not to be part of a group because other group members think you are different from them in some important way?
• Joachim and Anna had to wait a very long time to be blessed with a child. Have you ever had to wait a very long time for something you wanted very badly?
• Joachim and Anna are honored by the Church for their patience and faith. When do we hear their names? (At the end of the Divine Liturgy, when we remember the saints of the day.)
• We know that Mary freely consented to be the Mother of the Lord. She did what God asked. The “first Eve” refused to co-operate with God, and did what He had asked His creatures not to do. She and Adam listened to the serpent’s false promise that they would be “like God” rather than listening to God Himself. But Mary did co-operate with God, and did as He asked. That is why we call her the “new Eve."

Troparion and Kontakion

Review the meaning of the words in the Troparion and in the Kontakion. Ask students how, according to the troparion, Christ “annulled the curse.” (This is another way of saying that Christ destroyed death. Now it no longer has the final power over us that it did before.)

Talk about the three groups people "freed" according to the words of the kontakion. Joachim and Anna are freed from the shame of barrenness or childlessness. Adam and Eve are freed from the separation from God which resulted from their disobedience. And all of us are freed from the final power of death.

Closing Prayer

As a closing prayer, let students (those who wish to speak) offer thanks to God for some freedom they have. Close with the kontakion of the feast.

Kontakion - Tone 4

By your Nativity, O most pure Virgin,
Joachim and Anna are freed from barrenness;
Adam and Eve, from the corruption of death.
And we, your people, freed from the guilt of sin,
celebrate and sing to you:
"The barren woman gives birth to the Theotokos,
the Nourisher of our Life."

Opening Prayer

Troparion (Tone 4)

Today is the prelude of the good will of God,
of the preaching of the salvation of mankind.
The Virgin appears in the Temple of God,
In anticipation proclaiming Christ to all.
Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice,
O Fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation!

Make sure students understand these words in the hymn:

• prelude: something that prepares us for what is to come. (If some of your students play or study music, they may be familiar with this word in the context of music)
• anticipate: look forward to
• dispensation: God's (the Creator's) gift or plan of salvation
  

The Story of the Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple

Tell the class that you are going to read about the event described in this hymn. Read the story of the Feast found in the Resource Section.

Discuss these points:

• Mary's entrance into the Temple reminds us that later her divine Son will also be presented. Read together Luke 2: 22-40. Note that Mary and Joseph followed the law of the Old Testament and brought their Son to present Him to the Lord. Simeon and Anna the Prophetess (not the wife of Joachim) had been waiting many years to see the Savior, and when Jesus was brought to the Temple, they knew they had seen Him.
• In the next verses of Luke (41-50) we see something that goes beyond the law of the Old Testament. The young Jesus is teaching the rabbis and scholars in the Temple. Now the law of the Old Testament is fulfilled and the Savior they promised has come.
• The Old Testament also gives us a "prelude" of Mary's entrance into the Temple. Look at Psalm 45, verses 13-17. Note how these verses are reflected in the story you have just read together.

Holy Women of the Bible

Icon Activity

The Theotokos as the "living temple"

Talk together about the title “living temple” that is often applied to the Theotokos. Ask students to tell what they think it means. (Bring into the discussion the idea that Mary carried Jesus Christ in her body as He was getting ready to be born. But also, she did the will of God. In both ways, she was ready to be God’s servant. So she was always offering God worship. The temple is the place where God is always worshipped. Thus we can call Mary a “living temple” of God.)

Let students come up with their own ideas. Varied answers are completely acceptable, but they should be along the lines of the ideas offered here.

Next, ask students how we can become “living temples.” Ask them to create something that expresses their thoughts about this. They may decide to create a poem, a drawing, a short story or essay, a cartoon or some other form of expression.

Closing Prayer (Sung together)

Use the Kontakion of the Feast

Kontakion - Tone 4

The most pure Temple of the Savior;
the Precious Chamber and Virgin;
the sacred Treasure of the Glory of God,
is presented today to the House of the Lord.
She brings with her the grace of the spirit,
which the angels of God do praise.
Truly this woman is the Abode of heaven!

If you have time, go over the meaning of the last line of the kontakion with your students: "Truly this woman is the abode of heaven." Make sure they understand that the word "abode" means a place where someone lives or stays. Ask them what it means to say Mary is the abode of heaven. (She carried Jesus Christ in her body as He was getting ready to be born. This is the same as what any mother does with her baby. But Jesus is God's only Son, who came from heaven. So we can say that Mary carried heaven in her body when carried Jesus Christ. She was His "abode.")

Opening Prayer

Troparion of the Annunciation - Tone 4

Today is the beginning of our salvation,
The revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry out to the Theotokos!
Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.

• The first line reminds us that Mary has a central role in God’s plan to save the world from the final power of death (this is what “salvation” means.) She consents to be the Mother of God.
• The second line reminds us that God has planned this salvation forever (that is why it is “eternal”, and it is a “mystery” because it is God’s plan and therefore beyond our power to know or understand fully)
• The last line gives the Virgin Mary the title “Full of Grace.” Grace is God’s gift to all human beings who truly want to follow His commandments and someday live with Him in the Kingdom. Grace is what enables us to follow Him through this earthly life with its temptations and difficulties

Story of the Annunciation

Tell the class that the Feast of the Annunciation is about an announcement, and make sure they understand that “annunciation” is the act of announcing. Discuss the general idea of “announcements” briefly: To announce a thing is to share it, and we only announce important things. There are many ways of announcing things (let the class come up with examples such as TV, radio, websites, e-mail, fliers, newspapers, invitations.)

Read the story of the Annunciation (found in the Resource Section) together:

With the class, read Luke 1: 36-45. Talk together about these questions and points:

1. What other good news does Gabriel give Mary? (He says that her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who has wanted a child, is going to have one.)
2. What does Mary do after talking with angel? (She goes to visit Elizabeth to share her joy. This shows us something of Mary’s loving and outgoing nature.)
3. What title does Elizabeth give Mary? (She calls Mary “the mother of my Lord.”)
4. What unusual thing happens when Mary tells Elizabeth her wonderful news? (Elizabeth’s own baby “leaps for joy” inside her body. That baby is John the Baptizer and Forerunner. Even in the womb he knows that Mary’s baby will be the Savior.)

Scripture Reading

• Jesus Christ praises His mother.
• Jesus Christ does as His mother asks.
• Jesus Christ sees to it that His mother will be cared for after His death.

Icon of the Annunciation

Closing Prayer

Kontakion of the feast  (sing together).
O victorious leader of triumphant hosts!
We, your servants, delivered from evil, sing our grateful thanks to you, O Theotokos! As you possess invincible might set us free from every calamity
So that we may sing: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride.

Notice that the hymn tells us that Mary “possesses invincible might.” This reminds us of her willingness and ability to pray for us and intercede, as she did at the wedding in Cana. It also reminds us, once again, that she is not a passive or weak person but a strong one who loves us and will pray for us.

Opening Prayer

Troparion of the Dormition - Tone 1

In giving birth you preserved your virginity!
In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos!
You were translated to life, O Mother of Life,
and by your prayers you deliver our souls from Death!


Tell the class that today you will be talking about the Feast of the Dormition, or Falling Asleep, of the Theotokos. Tell them that they may also have heard this feast referred to as the Assumption. Go over the meaning of the word “translated” in the troparion. Ask the class what the word means to them. (They will probably say that it means changing a word from one language to another.) Tell them that in this case it means that the Theotokos was changed from one state of being into another. After she died, she was taken from death into life in the Kingdom of God. She is there with God, and is already taking part in the wonderful life of His Kingdom that we all hope to enjoy some day. Mary did not and does not lie in the grave, like other people who have died. Rather, she is with her Son, Jesus Christ. Ask the class to keep the following questions in mind as you read the story of the Dormition of the Theotokos together: What was special about the death of the Theotokos? Why do we refer to it as “Dormition” or “Falling Asleep”?

Story of the Dormition of the Theotokos

Read the story of the Dormition (found in the Resource Section) together: 

After reading the story, look again at the troparion. Point out to the class that two miracles about the Theotokos are compared. First, she gave birth to a child even though there was no human father—she “preserved her virginity.” Second, though she “fell asleep” or died, she lives in the Kingdom of God. Both of these show us God’s greatness. Ask the class, “What does the troparion tell us that Mary does now, in the Kingdom?” (She prays for us.)

Creating Flowers

• the name of the feast
• a line from the tropar or kontakion of the feast that tells something about it
• the date of the feast (Nativity 10/8; Entrance 11/21; Annunciation 3/25; Dormition 8/15.)
• one or more names of other people involved in the feast and/or shown in the festal icon

Icon of the Dormition

Closing Prayer

Kontakion of the Feast - Tone 2

Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos,
Who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions.
For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life
By the One who dwelt in her virginal womb!

Make sure students understand that the phrase “Mother of Life” refers to Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ.

Opening Prayer

Hymn to the Theotokos

It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos,
ever blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond
compare than the Seraphim,
without defilement you gave birth to God the Word.
True Theotokos, we magnify you!

Make certain the students understand that the Cherubim and Seraphim are ranks of angels. See the Introduction to the unit for guidance in talking about the word "defilement." "Magnify" means to glorify or praise.

Icons of the Theotokos

Read together the appropriate page (page 2) from The Icon Book. Say: Here are some additional types of icons of the Theotokos. What differences do you see in the various types of icon? Have the students spend a little time looking at the icons, discussing the facial expressions and the positioning of Christ and the Theotokos.

Read The Icons of the Theotokos - Description from the Resource Section.

Hymnography and Icons

• Discuss any words the students may have difficulty with.
• If there are only a few students, give them each several of the Troparia and ask them to match each to the icon they believe it goes with.
• If there are many students, assign numbers to the icons and letters to each Troparion. Give each student a piece of paper and have them match the numbers and letters.
• After they have completed this, go over the answers. Discuss what the Troparion tells us that helps to identify the icon.

Story:Miraculous icons

Throughout history, many miracles have occurred in association with icons of the Theotokos. Miracles of all types, especially spiritual and physical healings, have occurred. These icons have become increasingly valuable to the local communities and to the whole Orthodox Church. The Tikhvin Icon and the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir are two such icons. For many years the Tikhvin Icon was kept in the United States, until the Communist government, which was hostile to the Orthodox Church, fell. Bishop John (Garklavs) and later his son, Fr. Sergei, were guardians of the icon. In July of 2004 it was returned to the Tikhvin Monastery in Russia.

According to tradition, the holy Icon was written by the Evangelist St Luke and sent by him to Antioch. From Antioch the Icon was sent to Jerusalem, and later, in the 5th Century, to Constantinople where a temple was built especially for the Icon in the Blachernae district. Although the Icon disappeared from Constantinople several times, the last time it left the ancient city was in 1383.

The Tikhvin wonder-working Icon of the Theotokos first appeared in the Novgorod region of Russia during the reign of Prince Dimitry Ivanovich (Donskoy). The first people to have seen the miraculous Icon were fishermen on Lake Ladoga, who witnessed an extremely bright light above them. Looking up, they saw the Icon of the Heavenly Queen airborne in the midst of bright rays of light. The Icon came to rest about 30 kilometers from the lake at Smolnova on the Oncha River. The residents built a chapel, and many were cured of ailments.

The Icon moved about from place to place, mysteriously, and in each place the people erected chapels and then temples. The Icon finally came to rest at Tikhvin, on the Tikhvin River in 1510. A wooden temple was built, dedicated to the Feast of the Holy Dormition, and many people came to venerate the Icon and became cured of their ailments. The Icon is especially revered for helping cure children's illnesses. Several times the wooden temple was leveled by fire but the holy Icon remained unharmed.

Through the efforts of Prince Basil Ivanovich (1505-1533) a stone church was built to replace the wooden temple which had burned down. During construction, a section of the arches crumbled, burying 20 workmen. Although everyone was sure the workmen had perished, after three days when the rubble was cleared all 20 were found to be alive through the intercession of the Holy Theotokos.

About 50 years later, a monastery was established at this church and a stone wall was constructed to enclose the temple and the monastic compound. The Tikhvin Monastery was saved from destruction by the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1613 when the Swedish forces invaded the country and besieged the cloister.

The Mother of God "Vladimir" Icon

Tradition holds that the "Vladimir Icon" was written by St Luke the Evangelist. He wrote the Icon on a board from the table on which our Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Holy Mother and the Righteous Joseph ate their meals. In 450, the sacred Icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople. At the beginning of the 12th Century the Icon was transferred from Constantinople to Kiev and installed in the women's monastery of Vyshgorod. Soon the Icon was glorified by producing great miracles.

Prince Andrew Iurievich Bogolubsky, during his travels, saw a miraculous vision of the Mother of God directing him to take her Icon from Kiev (Vyshgorod) to the city of Vladimir. He fulfilled this task with great piety in 1160 and installed the holy Icon in the Church of the Holy Dormition in Vladimir (northeast of Moscow). From that time this icon became known as the 'Vladimir Icon' and was to be the source of many new and great miracles.
The feast of the Icon is celebrated three times during the year: May 21st, the day on which the memory of the Theotokos Vladimir Icon helped to save Russia from the invading Crimean-Mogay Horde of Makhmet-Grey; June 23rd, in memory of the saving of Russia by the miraculous protection of the Mother of God from the Golden Horde's Khan Akhmet in 1480; and on August 26th, to commemorate the Meeting of the Wonder-working Vladimir Icon in 1395, during the invasion of Moscow by the Tatar forces of Tamarlane.
(taken from http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/iconsmpoymiracles.html#vladimir )



In memory of the protection rendered by the Most Holy Theotokos and the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Heavenly Protectress, the Holy Church instituted June 26th as a feastday in honor of the Tikhvin Icon.

Closing Prayer