The Orthodox church holds Mother Mary in very high esteem and dedication. The Orthodox church’s respect and esteem is not to be misunderstood for worship. Orthodox Christians only worship one God, and no other. The reason Orthodox Christian value and appreciate St. Mary the way they do, is because God himself holds her in very high esteem.

We do not pray to the Virgin Mary in the same way we pray to God, but we address her when we pray and ask her to intercede for us. This intercession, also known as a request, is an expression of her motherhood towards us. When most of us need something as children, we go to our mothers. We ask for help, or guidance, or sometimes we even ask our mothers to intercede for us with our fathers. We should do the same thing with our Mother Mary. When we do so, we must remember St. Mary’s wonderful deeds and dedication to God, and we must recognize that she is always there to pray on our behalf.

“Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16) If the prayer of a righteous person avails much, can you then imagine what the prayer of the Mother of God could do?

The intercession of Mother Mary or other saints should not be confused with Jesus Christ as our mediator. In the Orthodox church we do not accept any mediator between God and man except the Lord Jesus Christ.

“There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…” (1 Tim 2:5)

“We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 Jn 2:1)

No one except Lord Jesus Christ is able to save man from sin. So when the saints or Saint Mary pray for us, it is our salvation that they seek from the Lord. They intercede with Him for our salvation. From the Lord they ask for our salvation – not as if they themselves have the ability to save, for the only one who saves is Lord Jesus Christ.

With this being said, we are all called to do good deeds for others, as the message of the Gospel is a message of love. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (Jn 15:13). This of course includes praying for each other! The true evangelical life is a life where we do our best to help all people achieve salvation. We all must pray for each other, as St. Paul teaches us that “all supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:1).

Asking others for prayer then simply declares the unity of the Church as members of one body. Can we then imagine how effective the prayers of the Mother of God would be for the salvation of her children? When there was no wine at the wedding of Cana of Galilee, the Virgin Mary informed the Lord that they had no more wine. Not because the Lord does not know, but because the Lord is full of love, and is pleased to see the mutual feeling of love in His Mother and His children.

Therefore, ask mother Mary with confidence, and she will present your needs to her Son.