As Christians, we believe and confess with our hearts in what we call the deposit of faith, which includes core doctrines such as the Holy Trinity, the duality of natures in Christ, the Resurrection, and many more important and essential things, one of them being the annunciation and the character of the Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Christ. This topic, we will be exploring the biblical connection between the Old and New Testament of the Blessed Mother, and her importance in the tradition of the Church of The East, which is commonly described as not showing enough reverence to her. We will be demonstrating that the Church of The East upholds the Blessed Mother, as the highest above all creation, as according to the Bible, the Takhsa of the Raza (Rite of Liturgy), and of the Saints themselves. This will be broken down into a 4 part study in which we will examine what she means to us as being the Ark of The New Covenant.
What is the Ark Of The Covenant?
The Ark of the Covenant, is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible as being a Holy Sanctuary to exist in Israel. In Exodus 25, we find the construction of the Ark, and it being a place for God to dwell in, and for Moses to go and speak to God. We see it mentioned a few times more throughout the bible, but when we come across Hebrews 9, we get a more deeper description of the Ark, that was believed to be passed down by oral tradition of the jews, since we do not find the items that were placed in the Ark in the Old Testament.
This Ark was thus meant to not only serve as a sanctuary for God to dwell in, and be among his people, but also a place that represented as a promise, or “Covenant” between God and his people. This is important to understand for the later parts of the study, and to know what the Old Covenant vs New Covenant was and is.
Specifically in Hebrews 9:4, there are 3 things that were mentioned as being inside the Ark, and these are important to understand what they are and why the author of Hebrews decided to note this. One of them was the Stone Tablets of the Law, the Golden pot of Manna, and the Budded Aarons Rod. Here is what each of those items are and their representation:
The Significance of the Ark
Aaron’s Rod – In the Old Testament of Numbers 17, there was a rebellion which led to the Israelites questioning the authority of Moses and Aaron. God then commanded that each of the 12 tribes of Israel produce a rod, in which Aaron would represent the Levites. The rods were each placed in the tabernacle and then the next morning, only Aaron’s rod, which was dead wood, produced buds, and almonds, which showed then that life comes from death, and that the true priesthood was divinely selected by God.
Stone Tablets of the Law – These were two stone slabs of the 10 commandments in Exodus 31-34 that were written by the hand of God himself when Moses spoke with God on Mount Sinai. This was set to be the foundation of God’s laws and thus a covenant between them that would be a promise to follow the laws of God. In other words, it is quite literally the Word of God dwelling amongst his people.
Golden Jar of Manna – In Exodus 16, God commands Moses to have Aaron fill a jar with manna, which is the bread that descended from heaven to sustain the Israelites for 40 days in the wilderness , and was preserved miraculously and never rotting. It is thus to show heavenly nourishment, and God sustaining his people.
Old vs New Covenant Parallels
After going through the Old Testament description of what the Ark was, we can now draw the connections between the person of the Blessed Mother, and how the Ark was a typological foreshadowing of her. It goes as the following:
Ark – The dwelling place of God, to be among his people
Mary – The dwelling place of Christ who is God, to be among his people as stated in Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23
Ark – Made with incorruptible wood and with Gold
Mary – The incorruptible person and sinless vessel to carry God The Word
This would then foreshadow what Mary would carry in her womb being that she is the Ark, it would be Christ.
Ark – 1 Samuel 5 and 6 explains the story of David going to retrieve the Ark from the Philistines, Uzzah gets killed by touching it, and David says “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?”
Mary – Visits Elizabeth in Luke 1 in which Elizabeth proclaims to her “Why is this granted to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?
The words of both Mary and King David are echoed as being replicas of each other, foreshadowing once again what is to come.
The Stone Tablets of the Law – God the Word (Christ), The Law is written on Stone and The Lawgiver of God becomes flesh
The Manna from Heaven – Christ in the flesh as the Eucharistic Bread (John 6). The Old Bread preserves life temporally, The Eternal Bread from heaven grants eternal life.
Aarons Budded Rod – Christ as the Eternal High Priest as according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7). Aaron’s Rod grew life from dead wood. The True High Priest raises himself from the dead and on the cross which shows life sprouts from the death on the cross.
The Takhsa of Dukhrana D’Mart Mariam
“O, Reader, do not blame me, for calling her the Heaven; and, as I expect (anticipate) from Heaven, (for She is the) virtuous, high and exalted one. Our Lord who was hidden in Heaven, for six thousand years, and humankind was not saved, till She became unto Him a dwelling place. The Staff of Aaron gives witness to her that she has a Son and no husband; and Moses, by his rod confesses to Her, and the Rock with the Water gives witness to Her The Staff of Aaron bore the Almond Flower, while it was placed into the Ark (of the Covenant), even though it was not planted into the earth; it stayed for a time, and it withered. The Womb of Mary which gave birth, was revealed through the Rod of David; and it extended over all nations; and was stronger than iron; by it all nations were ruled, and under it were brought all the ends of the earth; and, by it were yoked-together, (bound) our necks and unto Him glorify all tongues. This is the Fleece not of wool, the Holy Spirit dwelt in Her, like that fleece of Gideon which received the rain; for Gideon had placed fleece on the threshing floor and tempted God by saying to God, the people of the world, thus said ‘If this night rain falls upon this place and if we find this fleece dried which we place here’. ‘I will believe that there is still redemption by the hands of this Israelite;’ and, as He said when He spoke in times past; thus, too, He speaks as in other times. If there is dryness on all (of) in this section, and this fleece which I place here, will squeeze or forth water from it. All earth was dry round about, and the fleece which I have placed here, wrings out water from it. All the earth was dry, and the fleece wrings out sediment; this is Mary who is more virtuous than fleece. As the fleece was dry, thus was Mary pure; and, never was seduced by lust, and was not wet by sin And, as the fleece received rain, while the earth was dry, thus dwelt in Mary the Spirit and was sanctifying all.
- Anthem of The Deceased, Evening prayer for The Feast of Saint Mary
“O Christ who established Mary His begetter to intercede in behalf of all believers; and, to pray and beseech of Him for all the sheep of His flock: we beseech You * O Christ who has accepted the prayers of His begetter, while she was here on earth, and now always accepts and visits all those who take refuge in her, and through her intercession, call upon Him; we beseech You * O Christ who responds to His worshipers by the prayers of His begetter and answers the petitions of His servants who celebrate the commemoration of the upbringer of His manhood; we beseech You”
- The Karozoutha of the Evening Prayer of The Feast of Saint Mary
“we supplicate and beseech from You O God, that by the mediation of the glorified Sanctuary which You have established for Your dwelling place; in the Temple of the body of the Blessed Mary, You have made salvation for all creation, thus, O my Lord, also, this congregation which has gathered today to celebrate diligently the Feast of Her Commemoration,”
- Prayer by Mar Shalita of the Evening Prayer of The Feast of Saint Mary
“full of grace; the Holy One, the source of divine holiness; pure and splendid, and the ark of the Spiritual Mysteries; famous in the virtues of sanctifying triumph; the treasurer of the grace and the storehouse of Heavenly riches; O our Lady, Mary the exalted one, who is higher than other named heavenly ranks; the Temple of the Holy Spirit and the Mother of the Son of God; she who knit in her hidden members the rational image without seed and physical contact; and, carried within her pure womb; and, reared upon her holy knees;”
- The Litany Prayer for the Dukhrana of Mary in August
From the Takhsa of the ACOE, we can see that not only is she referred to as the Ark, but as the New Heaven, the Exalted one, The Temple and even more that we did not go over today in the large hymns and prayers we have dedicated to her. She is someone who we have and should maintain a deep reverence for, being that she is the mother of our Lord, and that she is a testimony to all believers as according to our prayers of the Church, and as well as the bible. By doing so, we rightly give her the status as being the most exalted of all creation.
The Church Fathers on Mary
Saint Athanasius has a beautiful quote in regards to his reverence of the Blessed Mother:
‘O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all. O Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides. Should I compare you to the fertile earth and its fruits? You surpass them, for it is written: “The earth is my footstool” (Is 66:1). But you carry within you the feet, the head, and the entire body of the perfect God.
If I say that heaven is exalted, yet it does not equal you, for it is written: “Heaven is my throne” (ibid.), while you are God’s place of repose. If I say that the angels and archangels are great—but you are greater than them all, for the angels and archangels serve with trembling the One who dwells in your womb, and they dare not speak in his presence, while you speak to him freely.
If we say that the cherubim are great, you are greater than they, for the cherubim carry the throne of God (cf. Ps 80:1; 99:1), while you hold God in your hands. If we say that the seraphim are great, you are greater than them all, for the seraphim cover their faces with their wings (cf. Is 6:2), unable to look upon the perfect glory, while you not only gaze upon his face but caress it and offer your breasts to his holy mouth….
As for Eve, she is the mother of the dead, “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Eve took from the tree and made her husband eat of it along with her. And so they ate of that tree of which God had told them: “The day you eat of it, you shall die” (Gen 2:17). Eve took from it, ate some of it, and gave some to her husband with her. He ate of it, and he died.
In you, instead, O wise Virgin, dwells the Son of God: he, that is, who is the tree of life. Truly he has given us his body, and we have eaten of it. That is how life came to all, and all have come to life by the mercy of God, your beloved Son. That is why your spirit is full of joy in God your Savior!
- St. Athanasius, Fourth Century Homily of the Papyrus of Turin, ed. T. Lefort, in Le Muséon 71 (1958): 216-217.
What Saint Athanasius is saying in this quote, is highlighting the idea of Saint Mary being above all creation, since she bore that which was Uncreated, aka GOD. This is why he essentially says that there is no other creature that she can be compared to, and also identifies her as being the Ark of the Covenant as discussed in the Old and New testament typology we went over.
“Owing to Joseph the workmen came to the Son of Joseph. Blessed be Thy Nativity, Thou Head of Workmen, the impress of which the ark bore, fashioned after which was the Tabernacle of the congregation‘ that was for a time only! Our craft praiseth Thee, Who art our glory.”
- Rhythm the 6th Saint Ephrem
Here we have Saint Ephrem making the same connection, as Jesus being the one born of the nativity of the Virgin Mary, is the same one who was in the Ark, being Mary, matching the typological connections that other fathers such as Athanasius makes.
Summary
Mary is called the New Ark of the Covenant because as we went over in the Old Testament, the Old Ark carried the presence of God, while Mary carried within her womb, Christ who is the incarnate Word and fulfillment of the covenant itself. The Ark contained the manna from heaven, Aaron’s priestly rod, and the tablets of the Law, while Mary bore Christ, who is the true Bread sent down from Heaven, the eternal High Priest according to the order of Melchizdek, and the Word of God as the Word was written on the Stone. The Ark was overshadowed by the glorious cloud of God’s presence, and likewise Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation (Luke 1:35). Both David and Elizabeth respond to the Ark and to Mary with almost identical words of awe, and both the Ark and Mary remain for three months in the country of Judah. The Early Christians saw these parallels as intentional biblical typology, along with the tradition of our Liturgical Breviary (Khudra) showing that Mary is the living sanctuary and holy dwelling place through whom God came to dwell among humanity in the Incarnation. It would be absolutely wrong for us to not have the utmost and highest reverence for the one that is called the most blessed amongst all women, the highest of all creatures, the exalted one, and more importantly the one whose intercession is accepted before God as a testimony of faith.
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