Why Do Orthodox Christians Call Mary the Theotokos?

Orthodox Christians refer to the Virgin Mary by a number of different titles. The two most common are Theotokos and Mother of God. But why do we use these titles instead of simply referring to her as Mary—or Mary the Mother of Jesus? The short of it, is that the titles we give to Mary reflect our Christology; the titles we use for her are important in safeguarding the doctrine of Jesus Christ, who is fully man and fully God. I have written elsewhere about this topic and a little bit of the history behind it. But check if you are not really into reading about it, at least check out the video below.

The Role of the Virgin Mary in the Orthodox Church

Why do Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians pay so much attention to the Virgin Mary? This is a natural query in the mind of most protestants. The answer, in short, is because we love her. What does this mean? Far from being able to address this topic entirely in this short article, I would like to let you hear what Frederica Mathewes-Green has to say on the subject. The below video is three minutes and, though it will not explain everything, it may give you a glimpse into the role of the Virgin Mary in the Orthodox Church.

The Sign of the Cross, Icons, and Tradition in the Orthodox Church

What are icons and why do Orthodox Christians kiss them? Icons are like family photos. Just like a deployed soldier may kiss a photo of his wife, we kiss icons of Saints who have fallen asleep in Christ.

Perhaps you are also wondering what the sign of the cross means. Check out this video where Frederica explains how Orthodox Christians make the sign of the cross, what it means, and how she began to appreciate the Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

This video is part of an ongoing series entitled Welcome to the Orthodox Church produced the Theoria Youtube Channel .