Wider Than Heaven: Eighth-century Homilies on the Mother of God

by Mary B. Cunningham (Translator)

"Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, was chosen by God to conceive and give birth to his only Son, Jesus Christ, as foretold by the Old Testament prophets. At the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus A.D. 431) Orthodox bishops proclaimed that the Virgin Mary had contained God himself in her womb and, therefore, should be praised as "Birth-giver of God" for her essential role in the mystery of the Incarnation." At the Church's recognition of her place in christological doctrine, popular veneration of the Virgin grew and feastdays commemorating her began to be added to the Constantinopolitan Church calendar. The twelve sermons translated in this volume are the work of eighth-century preachers John of Damascus, Germanos of Constantinople, Andrew of Crete, John of Euboea, and Kosmas Vestitor and were likely preached in the course of all-night vigils for the feasts in honor of the Virgin.

Genres: Christianity, Religion

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 700

Reviews

[Adam Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 12 eighth-century homilies from five preachers, written in commemoration of Mary's conception, her nativity, her entrance into the temple and the annunciation. It's an interesting window into both contemporary Mariology and homiletics. In terms of Mariology, I was struck by the repeated desire to find OT prophecies of Mary's conception, birth and God-bearing role - not just as the obvious virgin of Isaiah 7, but also as Ezekiel's "gate that faces eastward", Daniel's "great mountain", Habakkuk's "shaded mountain", Zechariah's "golden lampstand", and the psalmist's "scroll of the book" (Ps 40:7). On homiletics, I particularly enjoyed seeing the imaginative storytelling that a few of the preachers employed. Germanos of Constantinople even includes an extended imagined dialogue between the angel and Mary, and then between Joseph and Mary.

Devotionally, there's quite a disconnect between me and the first hearers - not least in the commitment to the immaculate conception and perpetual virginity. But I still very much appreciated the strikingly beautiful descriptions of Mary as Theotokos: "O earth-born little daughter who carried the Creator in your God-bearing arms" (63), as John of Damascus described her. Or the "bridal chamber in which Christ became the bridegroom of humanity!" (206), according to Andrew of Crete. Or, again, this memorable sentence from John of Damascus: "God suckled milk from your breasts, and your lips were united with the lips of God" (63). Wow.

[Josh Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some more engaging than others, but particularly enjoyed Andrew of Crete’s Sermon on the Annunciation. I enjoyed how thoroughly footnoted each translation was, with careful notes of obscurities and emendations. Solid!