The Samaritan woman, known for her adulterous actions, became known and enlightened after encountering and meeting Christ. Although the Holy Scripture does not mention her name, in the Orthodox tradition, she is known as Photini, which means “enlightened.”
Her encounter with Christ completely changed the course of her life. In this encounter with Christ, we see the importance and value of the human soul to God. It is mentioned in the gospel that “He (Christ) needed to go through Samaria” (John 4:4, NKJV). At this time, the Jews and Samaritans despised each other. It was rare and dangerous for a Jew to pass through Samaria, but Christ went, and He went alone. He went to meet a defeated, tired, and in many people’s eyes, sinful woman.
In this encounter, we also see Christ’s inseparable divinity and humanity. St. John explains that Christ was “wearied from His journey” (John 4:6, NKJV). This weary is because of humanity’s weakness, as stated in the first litany of the 11th hour – “the burden and the heat of the day I did not endure because of the weakness of my humanity.” We are then introduced to the divinity of Christ when He publicly proclaims that He is the Messiah.
Pray to the Lord on our behalf, O Samaritan Woman, Photini the enlightened!
Comments are closed