Under Her Mantle

We at the Hermitage live only two timezones from the eastern shores of the Russian Land but about 7,000 miles from Moscow (such is the breadth of Russia). Yet we join them today in a blessed Feast venerating the the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. For Orthodox Russians, the hustle and bustle of daily life stops in order to bow before our Most Holy Mother, but in personal terms. From individual apartments in Moscow to snow-covered cabins in the Taiga, the faithful draw near to the Holy Mother in Her icons and speak to Her in tones of gratitude and heartfelt affection. For it is Her care for us, Her desire that we come to no harm, which we reverence.

The Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos is among the most beloved feasts among the Slavic peoples. The signature cathedral which we associate with Russia, called St. Basil's in Red Square, is formally known as Pokrovsky Sobor. The Russian word pokrov mean "cover" generically, but in particular on this feast day, "mantle" or "veil." The Most Holy Mother of God shelters us "under Her mantle" and under the protection of Her intercessory prayers — all expressed in this word, pokrov.

I pause to share that upon our Altar is a second-class relic of St. Anne, the Most Holy Mother of the Most Holy Mother of God. It is a shred of her clothing, perhaps of her tunic, which we take to be her veil protecting us.

Here in Polynesia, living as we do on a small rock in the middle of a vast ocean, we marvel at the scope of Mary's Veil, her Pokrov. As the icon at the top of this reflection depicts, it is likened unto rays emanating from the sun, touching all, warming all, with its life-giving beams. They are visually linked to angel's wings, suggesting that God is everywhere present through His messengers. And, of course, the prayers and protection of the Most Holy Queen of Heaven and earth are without limit and universal.

Yet, the Mother of God, in a more homely image, is also seen to keep us under Her cloak — an intimate expression of Her motherly love, recalling the protecting wings of a mother eagle. This is individual love suggesting Her knowledge of each one of us, our particular weaknesses and needs. As another icon posted with this reflection suggests, she protects particular figures, not a general everyone, but each of us seated her, people one-by-one everywhere. Depicted are a monarch, a patriarch, a military general suggesting all aspects of society, everyone.

We think of Psalm 91:

We think of our Lord's vivid image,

Let us go back to the image with which we began — Mary of Bethany sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus. Is she not a chick covered by the safety of His feathers? Jesus declares, "This is the one needful thing," intimacy with the Lord.

Both this dimension of intimacy and of universal protection are perceived in Russia as the Pokrov-Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. She is seen to protect all the Russian Land. And, by that fact, She binds together this most diverse geography — with its 135 language groups — into one Russian people. In fact, we might say, that Her wings protect all of the Church's faithful, scattered all over the world, gathered in the case of Russian Orthodoxy, as sons and daughters of Holy Rus' — more than a place, but a spiritual world of holiness: Holy Rus, a foundational idea dating to the ninth century.

Our Lady of the Angels Hermitage is devoted to the Most Holy Mother of God, Ever-Virgin Mary. She is our Patroness and our Most Holy Protectress. Each of us here live together but as hermits, individually. We pray together. We labor together. We eat together. Yet, we are individual pilgrims sharing a holy Hermitage. Each one of us here individually thinks of the Holy Theotokos as being his or her Most Blessed Mother, Who hears our individual prayers and knows our struggles and aspirations and fears intimately. We may sit together before our icons, but inevitably we commune with Her individually. She speaks to us as She is prominently venerated in many aspects: Oranta, Our Lady of the Sign (the Virgin Who bears a Child), Hodigetria (the Guide), Eleusa (Tenderness). She is present to each of us as a Mother. And we are Her gathered children.

Yet, we know that in Her universal love we are among all people born into the world, who mysteriously are touched by the warming rays of Her beams and who are gathered together under a vast mantle .... if they will .... wings that reach out to cover all of us, if we will, Jesus says. As with all things, Her love and the love of Her Most Sovereign Son, go out to everyone, to each living soul and heart, where they are cherished and reverenced .... or ignored.

How do we receive this life-giving love? Tell all whom you know .... If you are not baptized, become baptized! If you do not worship God, seek a canonical Orthodox church and worship. If you do not pray, then begin and end each day with at least a brief prayer, acknowledging that He is Present. And He most certainly is. But, above all, do not ignore God. Do not ignore His Most Holy Mother. For They do not ignore you, nor have They forgotten you.

On this day especially, bow down before Your Most Blessed Mother and whisper words of holy thanks.

Her prayer is simple: that each of us be the apple of Her eye and that each live under the shadow of Her wing.