The Eschatological Dimension of Motherhood

The Philosophical Sobor "The Great Russian Rectification of Names"

Session 9 “Female Patriotism”

My report will be dedicated to the theme of motherhood in the eschatological dimension. 

In my opinion, the most striking example of this is that of the Mother of God. I have tried very hard to get around this issue, because it is very subtle and deeply religious, but then I realized: who am I to look up to, if not to her? Perhaps, to no one else. 

Now, women often say that they are oppressed if we look at them in a conservative, traditionalist way, that their role is supposedly diminished, undervalued, even humiliated. It has become mainstream. A kind of resentment, a sacrifice. They mostly focus on the negative aspects. 

But if we look at it more deeply, then in religion, in philosophy, in eschatology, the feminine principle is one of the key dimensions. A woman does not just become involved in an important event or in a reflection. Even for the salvation of mankind, a woman becomes the key. Therefore, we see a deep reverence and a sacred role in these aspects when we really look at a woman from a conservative, a traditionalist point of view. 

One of the main images Socrates uses in his "Methods of Mayeutics" is that of Truth coming to birth. Birth is a key concept in cosmogony. The image of water as the beginning of life; the image of a woman who, in some form, brought the world into being. With Socrates, it's something different - the birth of Truth as an attempt to get that hidden truth out of a person. The image of childbirth is generally a suitable image to show how ideas are born, with what difficulty all ideas are hatched, including the Russian idea that finally bore fruit. It was a long process; we observed in 2014, and only now has it begun to bear fruit, to sprout. It was very painful - like pregnancy, like childbirth, for comparison's sake. If we think figuratively, where it is painful, painful ideas are born, as we see in the example of Western concepts; where less and less of what should have been remains of the image of woman and femininity. Unfortunately, the image of childbirth is now used not as something sacred, but in a materialistic sense, as an attempt to show that a woman is used as a tool for the birth of children - she is used, exploited. We see this a lot in popular culture. Take the recent TV show 'House of the Dragon'. There are 17 minutes of screen time for the entire season, and the only thing shown is a painful childbirth process, when you can be sure something bad is going to happen. 

The image of ta woman as the guardian of Orthodoxy. Everyone knows that in Orthodoxy there are two ways to salvation: monasticism and family life. The Orthodox Church has an advantage over the problems of many Catholics: a lot of priests get married, they have wives (matushkas). They are saved at the same time as they take the path to God and their faithful companions, who support them morally and physically and contribute to this salvation. In this way, many temptations and transgressions - various scandals that occur in the Catholic environment - are prevented. Matushka, as a priest's wife, is also an image of the savior of human life and soul.

The example of the Mother of God is a special way of chastity that can be followed by monastics, married people, and those whom the Lord leads on a special path alike.

The views of the philosopher Tatiana Goricheva, who came to Christianity thanks to the Mother of God, cannot be overlooked. This feminine principle awakened in her bright feelings of understanding the world as sacred. Tatiana Goricheva often says that the Mother of God is unique in that she has shown that it is possible to eliminate the eternal dualism of soul and body, and that the Mother of God is an ideal, pure, immaculate image in every sense. This is the woman who was earthly, who was human. At the same time, she was able to overcome the pressure of the material world. Her childbirth was immaculate. Her views on the world were immaculate. She represents the maximum concentration of love and care, not only for her beloved Son, whom she was not afraid to sacrifice, knowing what would happen, but on the other hand she continues to pray for her own, for people, for the weak, for everyone who turns to her. She does not turn anyone away and, as a mother, she has a special influence. Her great strength is that she can be an advocate for other people. This is meant to refute those who say that there is no place for a woman in Orthodoxy. The image of the Mother of God proves that, on the contrary, she is almost the leading image.

Tatiana Goricheva draws attention to the fact that the Mother of God by her example helped to make a smooth transition from the image of Mother Earth, a mother in the pagan sense - cruel, demonic, terrible, - to the image of a woman as a light-bearing being revealing herself as a spiritual being. This is a revolutionary example of the life of the Mother of God.

The Mother of God, as Tatiana Goricheva writes, is raised above the angels in her purity. She is the only pure, she is the Church of Christ, she is all beautiful. The feminine principle, degraded to the demonic in paganism, is illuminated here to such an extent, elevated to such an unattainable height, that it becomes a vessel for the perception of the Holy Spirit. And the image of the Virgin Mary is incompatible with the pagan image of women.

The Mother of God exemplified the theosis of gender. As Tatiana Goricheva writes, gender has become deified. By her example, Christianity destroys the dualism of body and spirit. It is the deification of gender that I think is an alternative to modern feminism, because it is not about women trying to dominate or prove their rights. Here gender itself is already sacred, gender itself allows softness, femininity to appear on the example of the Mother of God. The Mother of God, in addition to overcoming the problem of matter, the pressure of matter, and having sacrificed her beloved Son, continues to play a role in eschatology. As a mother, she loves not only her Son, but she loves the whole world, which makes her a saint. 

There are other important images in eschatology. For example, this is the Church as the bride of Christ. There are such feminine qualities, including ecclesiastical ones, as maintaining fidelity until a decisive moment, the engagement period, marriage ties - this has always been considered a sacred act, and accordingly there is no way to do without a woman. The Prophet Hosea tried to walk this path. He portrayed his relationship with God through communication with his wife. He had an inspiration, a conversation with the supreme principle - the Lord instructed him to find a harlot wife, a mother of bastards, and thus try to be saved. The image of a harlot also shows that any harlot can rise above matter, sin, and horror and become pure like the Mother of God. 

The image of a woman clothed with the sun is vivid in eschatology. This is what John the Theologian says about it. "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth" (Rev.12:1-2).

In the book of Revelation we see the theme of birth. This is a terrible birth. The dragon's attempt to devour the fruit of torment and love. The wife, clothed with the sun, is trying to save him. There are many interpretations of how to understand this, but here we return to Socrates, because many holy fathers interpret this light, this sun - the garment of this woman - as Truth, as the process of the birth of Truth, divine in their interpretation. 

Tatiana Goricheva comes to an interesting conclusion - one has to agree with feminists. A woman is not free because she is someone's wife, sister, mother, or because she lives in eternal dependence on men. Something else makes her a woman. Complete independence of roles and stereotypes, the exercise of a specific freedom that is not objectified, the restoration of the personality. Thus, true love, true mysticism and asceticism do not enslave, but reveal, free from fears and allow a woman to grow. Then, only after a woman has become a person, she can choose who she wants to be - a wife, a nun, a mother, or someone else.

Translated by Sophia Polyankina