Pope Shenouda III
In the Holy Bible the Virgin Mary is called ‘the gate’. It is written in the Book of Ezekiel that she is a gate that faces toward the East, and the Lord God entered by it and went out the same way (Ez.44: 2).
As the Lord is the Life, then the Virgin is the gate of Life. The Lord declares that He is the Life when He says: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John.11: 25). Since the Virgin is the gate through which Christ came, therefore she is the gate of Life.
In the same way, the Virgin Mary is the gate of Salvation because the Lord is the Saviour; He came to save the world; to save that which was lost (Lk.19: 10).
It is not surprising to call the Virgin ‘the gate’ because the Church was called ‘the gate’ a long time ago. Our father Jacob said of the holy place which he consecrated a church and named Bethel, that is, house of God: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (Gen.28: 17).
