I like the orthodox view as I understand it.
She was the best a human could have been without being the messiah, she needed to be to birth the messiah because in Genesis, it prophecies that she will be in total opposition to sin.
So I take it to mean that she never consciously chose to sin (or rather, always chose not to). Not that she didn’t sin though, she was subject to sin nature, so she wasn’t good enough to recognize her “little” sins.
I definitely can’t get behind praying to her, or anyone other than God. It’s a major thing preventing me from being totally orthodox.
How can a dead person intercede anyway? It is egotism, worship of the self through the reverence of dead men. Christ alone can intercede on our behalf. Mary *was probably* the best woman, and even the best *man* behind Christ. She had to be the new Eve to bring the new Adam. But she’s dead to us. She cannot help us directly. Christ be with her.
