Praise of the Holy Mother of God

A hymn in praise of the holy Mother of God, by our holy Father Epiphanius, Bishop of the city of Constantia, in Cyprus. Having grasped the shimmering rays of the Mother of God, and the fearsome and incomprehensible powers, the mystery of the inhabited heaven and earth, a wonder and a means of atonement, I, a lowly man, have attempted to bring this wonder to a more precise understanding by searching deep within my heart with profound memory and highest contemplation; and much trembling and fear seized me, O beloved ones. For the memory of this awesome vision did not merely punish my soul and heart with moderate dread, but tortured them powerfully. The memory of this greatest vision strikes my mind, for it is an incomprehensible mystery that I lack the strength to speak of. For who is capable of expressing such a mystery? What mouth could utter it, or what tongue could speak it? It has been said that it is impossible to speak of it. Now, however, I will dare to speak about the only Mother of God as much as I can grasp; and yet, I fear again. I do not have a tongue worthy of speaking of such very great things. For I am weak-voiced and slow of speech, and I am not eloquent, to speak thus about the highly honored, holy, ever-virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Lord; about whom the tongues of men will not speak easily. For the tongue falters and shrinks back before her, not being worthy to speak. For she astonished even the powers of the heavens; all angels, archangels, principalities, authorities, thrones, dominions, cherubim, and seraphim, and the whole host of angels, were seized with terrible fear and trembling. For they beheld on earth Him who is in the heavens within her, and it was terrifying. They saw the Virgin, a heaven and a throne, and they were seized with fear, beholding the Ruler descending from a cherubic throne into a virgin womb. O blessed root, from where did this spring? Concerning this, the prophet Isaiah, like a swallow...

It proclaims with a fiery tongue: 'A rod shall rise up from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from the root, and the Spirit of the fear of God shall rest upon it.' From the root of Jesse came King David, and from the tribe of David came the holy Virgin, the daughter of the holy ones among holy men, whose parents Joachim and Anna pleased God in their lives and who brought forth such a fruit: the holy Virgin Mary, both a temple of God and a mother. Joachim, Anna, and Mary—the three of them clearly served the Trinity. For Joachim is interpreted as 'preparation of the Lord,' for through him the Virgin was prepared as a temple of the Lord. And Anna is similarly interpreted as 'grace,' for Joachim and Anna received grace so that they might bring forth such a fruit through prayer, by obtaining the holy Virgin. For Joachim prayed on the mountain, and Anna in her paradise. After carrying Him, Anna gave birth to heaven and a cherubic throne, the holy maiden Mary. For she is found to be heaven, temple, and throne. For Mary is interpreted as 'lady,' but also as 'hope.' For she gave birth to the Lord, Christ, the hope of the whole world. Again, Mary is interpreted as 'sea-myrrh'; and it speaks of myrrh, as I say, concerning immortality, because she was destined to give birth to the immortal pearl in the sea, that is, in the world. The sea refers to the whole world, to which the Virgin granted calm, having given birth to Christ, the harbor. Furthermore, the blessed name of the venerable maiden Mary is interpreted as 'illuminated,' for she was enlightened by the Son of God and enlightened those who believe unto the ends of the earth by the Trinity. For the holy Mother of God, the maiden Mary, is a bride of the Trinity, the precious jewel of the divine economy, to whom Gabriel said: 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you.' Gabriel remembered, and the Father sent the Holy Spirit from heaven as a pledge, driving the Virgin toward the...