Do Orthodox Christians Worship the Virgin Mary?

No. Orthodox Christians do not worship the Virgin Mary as a goddess or as an equal to God. Worship belongs to the Holy Trinity alone.

Why is Mary so highly honored?

Orthodox Christians call Mary the Theotokos, meaning the one who gave birth to God, because the child born from her is Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man. Honoring Mary therefore protects an important truth about who Christ is.

Why ask the Theotokos to pray for us?

Orthodox Christians believe that the faithful who have died in Christ remain alive in Him. Asking the Theotokos or another saint for intercession is understood as asking a member of the Church to pray, not as replacing Christ.

What is the difference between veneration and worship?

Veneration is reverence and honor; worship in the fullest sense belongs to God alone. The same distinction helps explain why Orthodox Christians venerate saints and sacred icons.

Orthodox devotion to the Virgin Mary is therefore Christ-centered: she is honored because of God's work in her and because she points toward her Son.