Leena Mari Peltomaa: The Intercessory Function of Mary in Byzantine Understanding

The successful lifting of “the last great siege of antiquity” – the siege of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by the Avars and the Persians – was widely believed to have been the result of a miraculous Marian intervention. This belief had an enormous and long-lasting impact on eastern Roman citizens’ perceptions of themselves as well as on their political decision-making and subsequent actions. The fact that contemporary sources concerning the siege assign the victory to the Virgin Mary’s intervention was mostly ignored by modern historians, since as a matter of faith it was not susceptible to scholarly analysis. Insofar as recent research literature within Byzantine Studies deals with this subject at all, it seems to presuppose the so-called goddess theory: Mary’s power is considered to be a later projection of the victorious powers previously associated with ancient deities or goddesses. There is no decisive historical answer to the question of why people in peril turned to Mary; the events of 626 and Mary’s perceived role in their outcome are both in need of re-examination.

Research literature makes no clear distinction between Mary’s protective and intercessory function. Although these functions can coincide partly with each other they are basically different. Here we will focus on the intercessory function. It seems apparent that the process which resulted in the characteristically Byzantine cult of Mary was catalyzed by an inherent social element associated with this function. It manifests itself in disastrous circumstances which were suited to generate eschatological or apocalyptical atmosphere, caused by innumerable prophecies linking the end of the world with the end of the Roman Empire and its capital. Thus God-fearing Byzantine people with the vision of Christ appearing as the Judge resorted to experience from ordinary life employing the model that had been used for ages in normal social relations: mediation. Mary’s status as the mother of the Master is decisive, since she has the freedom of speech (parrhesia) with her Son.

This paper offers a new approach to the question of the origins of the Marian cult, which is of such vital importance to our understanding of the mentality of Byzantine people, but it will also provide a useful perspective on the rise of the cult of Mary in general.