"Then why does so much of your faith revolve around Mary?"
Attend a few Orthodox services (make sure they are in English), and you will see that the overwhelming center is Christ. We have virtually no icons of Mary that do not also contain Christ, and the fact that her importance derives from the fact she gave birth to the Savior is emphasized at every turn where she does appear in our liturgical texts.
I could ask in turn why you seem so determined to give the smack-down to any extra respect directed toward the mother of Christ. The same people who would stand up with respect for the President of the United States if he walked into the room throw a hissy if someone treats the woman who gave birth to the eternal God come in the flesh as anything other than some kind of surrogate mother heifer chosen at random.
If your reply is that it's just the prayer and veneration that bothers you, then why don't you at least treat Mary in your life and church with at least the same reverent respect that, say, most conservative Republicans treat the memory of Ronald Reagan?
Truth to be told, much of the fervor with which you hold to your beliefs about Mary seems to me to be motivated by little else than a determination to believe the opposite of whatever Catholics believe. It's not that we Orthodox don't understand that temptation to say the opposite of what Catholics do -- it's just that we try to resist it.
I give her the same respect that Jesus did.
Mark 3:35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Truth to be told, much of the fervor with which you hold to your beliefs about Mary seems to me to be motivated by little else than a determination to believe the opposite of whatever Catholics believe.
Anything that denigrates Jesus Christ, as adoration of Mary does, I am against it totally. NO matter who preaches it.
Babe, I can in no way compare Jesus Christ to Ronald Regan than you could compare Mary the mother of Jesus to Daisy Duck.
In contrast, try to find the name of David's mother in the bible-- good luck, she isn't even mentioned. Other than how David came to know Solomon's mother, she too gets no great mention. Poor Leah, she had to trick Jacob into loving her, as he loved Rachel more. The precedent is set for Mary to fulfill her great mission and to live as just another Jewish woman. If it was not so, Jesus would have made sure to say so. We believe what Jesus said in the bible, and that is our only fault.