Archimandrite George of St. Gregorios: We owe so much to Panaghia

We owe so much to Panaghia.¹ This is why the Church honors and venerates the Theotokos so much, so that Gregory Palamas, summarizing Patristic theology, says that our Panaghia holds the second place after the Holy Trinity; that she is god after God, the boundary between the created and the uncreated.

+Archimandrite George of St. Gregorios, from Theosis The True Purpose of Human Life, The Contribution of the Theotokos to the Theosis of Man.
¹Panaghia: "All Holy", a title for the Theotokos Mary, the mother of God.

St. Romanos the Melodist: The Virgin today gives birth...

 The Virgin today gives birth to the superessential One, And the earth proffers the cave to the unapproachable One. Angels with the shepherds sing song of praise; The Magi, with the star to guide pursue their way. For us there has been born, A newborn babe, the God before time.

+St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion for the Nativity of Christ.