The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin mary

The Vladimiskaya icon. 13th century?
Artist unknown.Church of St. Nicholas,Tolmachi. 

This post is in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary's birthday.

There is a prayer known in the West as the Sub tuum præsidium and it is considered to be the oldest Christian prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been found, for example, on an Egyptian papyrus dated to the third century A.D. (see the article posted on the New Liturgical Movement website). 

At the beginning of my research into this prayer, I was surprised to find a contrast in the first line between the Latin word præsidium and its equivalent in the Greek version of the prayer: εὐσπλαγχνίαν.

I reviewed the scriptural uses of præsidium online  and found they broadly match the senses given by Lewis & Short (see Logeion website) :

"defence, protection, help, aid, assistance; esp. of soldiers who are to serve as a guard, garrison."

There was a suggested derivation from præsideō, sēdī, 2, n. and a.: "to sit before."

An investigation into εὐσπλαγχνίαν through the Logeion website revealed:

εὐσπλαγχν-ία, ἡ, [eusplanknía]  good heart, firmness. 

Seeking further elucidation, I finally unearthed a surprising insight buried in a detailed article online:

Mirguet, Françoise. “Compassion in the Making: Lexicographic Explorations in Judeo-Hellenistic Literature.” CHS Research Bulletin 1, no. 2 (2013). Here is the link: 

Here is the conclusion of the article :

"§48 Words constructed on the root σπλαγχν- [splankn-] are built on the noun σπλάγχνα, [splankna] the “inner organs” or “womb.” Their association with compassion may have been influenced by the Hebrew term רַחֲמִים (rachamim), “compassion,” whose singular form designates the womb. At some point, the meaning “compassion” seems so attached to the root that both a noun (εὐσπλαγχνία) and a verb (σπλαγχνίζομαι) are coined, referring exclusively to the emotion. Terms built on σπλάγχνα, however, retain their embodied connotations, as reflected in metaphors where compassion is portrayed as a force moving or shattering the inner organs, alongside other bodily metaphors, all suggesting the effect of emotion on the body. The terms, therefore, tend to refer to compassion as a sensation, felt in the body. Besides, the association of σπλάγχνα with the womb, as well as its use in reference to maternal and paternal affection, suggests that compassion is felt for someone vulnerable."

The association of σπλάγχνα with the womb made me think of the words in the Ave Maria : Blessed is the fruit of thy womb and the way this is rendered by our French cousins/neighbours as: "le fruit de vos entrailles est béni." (see Luc i. 42, Bible Crampon).

The use of the word εὐσπλαγχνίαν in the Greek prayer suggests an image of the faithful supplicant flying to the tender and compassionate heart of the Theotokos, the Holy Mother of God.

The use of præsidium in the Latin prayer, however, suggests an image of the faithful supplicant flying to the protective safety of the Holy Mother of God. This imagery of a warrior-protectress is found in other significant references, e.g.,

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

[Genesis iii.15]

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? [Canticles (Solomon) vi. 9 & The Little Office]

There are also numerous references in the Old Testament to valiant women as "types" of Mary, the Theotokos : see Crushing satan's head: The Virgin Mary’s Victory over the Antichrist Foretold in the Old Testament, by Fr James Mawdsley [2023].

*        *        *

The (old) Russian Orthodox version of the prayer, Подъ твою милость (Pod tvoyo milost), seems to follow the Greek sense and this raises the question of whether an apparently minor difference of language reflects a more general contrast in the cultures of the Eastern (Greek/Russian) and the Western (Latin) traditions. I almost fancy this contrast may be heard when comparing a Russian musical setting with two from the West:

Bortniansky (Dmitry Stepanovich,1751 – 1825). Подъ твою милость :  ‘Beneath Thy Compassion’

“Sub tuum præsidium”  – Antiphon to the Blessed Virgin Mary – Gregorian Chant

Finally, the same prayer in a setting by Mozart (c. 1775). After a short orchestral introduction, the hymn begins at around the 48 second mark:

It is my fervent prayer in these dark days that the faithful Eastern (Greek/Russian et al) and Western (Latin) Christians reunite to form the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as it was in the age of the Church Fathers, the Martyrs and the Doctors - before the "great schism."

The Vladimiskaya icon. 13th century?
Artist unknown.Church of St. Nicholas, Tolmachi.

Here then is the Sub tuum præsidium:

WE fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Latin

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

Greek

Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν

εὐσπλαγχνίαν

καταφεύγομεν

Θεοτὸκε·τὰς ἡμῶν

ἱκεσίας μὴ παρ-

ίδῃς ἐν περιστάσει

ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ κινδύνου

λύτρωσαι ἡμᾶς

μόνη ἁγνὴ

μόνη εὐλογημένη.

Russian (old text)

Подъ твою милость,

прибѣгаемъ богородице дѣво,

молитвъ нашихъ не презри в скорбѣхъ.

но ѿ бѣдъ избави насъ,

едина чистаѧ и благословеннаѧ.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.