I've seen some references to the Theotokos as 'the Queen of Heaven.' Is this title obligatory? I feel a good deal of reluctance to use this title due to the unfortunate connotations with Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Astarte, etc.
http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sunburst.htm
Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated.
icxn wrote:: the queen stood by on they right hand, clothed in vesture wrought with gold, and arrayed in divers colors. (Psalm XLIV 8-9)
Although most people have never seen it, when performing the Prosthesis before every Divine Liturgy, the Priest recites this verse when he cuts out the triangular piece from the Prosforo in memory of the Theotokos and places it to the right of the Lamb.
Let me begin by saying that I agree that the Theotokos is factually the Queen of Heaven. I also believe that this title is one of many positions She has, and they are all subordinate to her main office as Theotokos, the birth giver of God.
Having said that, there is a problem with the title "queen of heaven."
This title belonged to various false gods of the Old Testament (see link in the original post) and "the queen of heaven" is condemned in scripture:
"Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Jer 7:19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
Jer 44:18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
Jer 44:19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
Jer 44:20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
Jer 44:21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
Jer 44:22 So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. "
Are we honoring the Theotokos by giving her this title?
If you met the present German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder , would you address him as "Der Fuhrer ?" He certainly is 'the leader' of Germany. It would be a legitamate title, except for the negative connotation given it by his predecessor in office.
If you know any fundamentalist types and wish to give them an apoplectic fit , just tell them you are asking the Queen of Heaven to pray for you!
wretched sinner wrote:"Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger......
Dear Servant of God,
The problem, I think, is the version of the Old Testament you are using.
The Orthodox Church accepts only the Septuagint.
In every place where you have quoted references to the "queen of heaven" in Jeremias in your post, the Septuagint says: "στρατιά του ούρανού" (ie "hosts of heaven")
George
"As long as it depends on Monothelitism, then Miaphysitism is nothing but a variant of Monophysitism."
