THE THEOTOKARION OF ST. NEKTARIOS ... ODE 1

Celebrating you in song, pure Mother of God,
I magnify you who magnified our race. 
I earnestly beseech you, most celebrated Virgin,
for you have ever entreated your Son.
 
I fervently bless you, O Queen Mother,
whom the generations of the faithful bless.
I praise in song your grace, O Queen,
whom the choirs of angels magnify.
 
Pure and unwedded bride,
I entreat you to shed grace upon my mind.
Unwedded, pure Maiden,
I entreat you:  Enlighten my eyes.
 
O Mother of God, Mary, bride of God,
guide my life, I ask.
Virgin Mother, pure Queen,
Preserve me amid dangers.
 
O crown of our salvation,
Bring to perfection my salvation.
Our beginning of God’s favor towards men,
Give even me a divine blessing.
 
As you bore the unsetting light,
Illumine my darkened mind.
As you have dispersed the shades of errors,
Guide me to walk aright.
 
O queen of all and protector of the world,
Deliver me from trials and dangers.
As you bore grace for the world in your womb,
Give me everlasting joy.
 
O manifestation of fear-inspiring mystery,
Open the gates of repentance to me.
O abolition of the sin of mortals,
Show me to be a son of salvation.
 
As you bore Christ in your arms,
Cause the judge to be well-disposed towards me.
As you nursed our Creator as an infant,

Incline the Master of all things to be merciful to me.
 
Inexhaustible treasury of life,
Enrich my impoverished soul.
Brilliant lamp, all of light,
Shine on my darkened mind.
 
Bride of God, source of strength of those in distress,
Strengthen my worn-out soul.
Most celebrated physician of the sick,
Heal me, for I am terribly sick.
 
Clear fountain poured by God,
You are ever-flowing and inexhaustible.
Watering my thirsty soul,
Show forth my soul as an irrigated land.
 
Prelude of God’s goodwill,
O Virgin, be well pleased that I be saved.
Fair shelter of those who sail,
Preserve me from the storm.
 
O nourishment succeeding the manna,
Nourish my famished soul.
O minister of holy nourishment,
Deem me also worthy of divine nourishment.
 
Ever-shining, luminous cloud,
Enlighten my soul, heart and eyes.
Wholly pure unwedded Bride,
Have mercy on those who hymn you fervently.
 
As you bore the living bread,
Restore me to life, O Virgin, for I have been put to death.
As you produced the divine ear of corn,
Renew me, for I have been delivered up to death.
 
O revival of heavenly joy,
Fill my heart with delight.
Destruction of the kingdom of Hades,
Honor my soul and mind with your favor.
 
Most celebrated Mother, abounding in graces,
Preserve me from terrors and dangers.
Ever-virgin, unwedded bride,
Protect me, embattled as I am.
 
Firm protection of virginity,
Keep my soul pure.
All-holy dwelling of God,
Protect me amid dangers.
 
Wholly pure and immaculate Maiden,
Heal the passions of my soul.
All-holy Virgin, model of all virtues,
Bring an end to the disturbance of my soul.
 
O abundant though unploughed land,
Divinely chosen out of all generations,
Sow the ground of my soul, pure Virgin,
And cause it to wave with ears of corn.
 
All-holy Virgin, help me,
For I have taken refuge in your protection.
My all-holy Lady, hear me!
I have put my hope in your boldness.
 
Wholly pure Virgin, by lawless sins
I have defaced the beauty of my soul;
But be pleased to wash with tears my soul,

Which I, a wretch, have foolishly ruined.
 
Pray earnestly to your Son and God,
And render the judge kindly towards me.
By your intercessions reconcile your suppliant to God
And deliver me from terrible condemnation.

ENDNOTES FOR THE CIRCUMSPECT

Dedications.  I must first express my heart-felt gratitude to dear friends for graciously buying St. Nektarios’ Theotokarion in Greece.  Telling someone going abroad to spend time and energy to find books which they do not need and then load up their bags with unnecessary weight takes a lot of nerve, which I guess I have.  Please pray for the servants of God, the subdeacon Bilyan and his wife, Emily!  May St. Nekatrios pray for them, too!

Second, I owe a debt of gratitude to my eagle-eyed Aeteia for proofing my translation.  Any errors remaining are purely my own.

This ode does not come from a canon organized in conformity with tradition.  It has no eirmos or katavasia.  The refrain is not given, though it is probably the usual.  There are 25 troparia.  By way of contrast, the typical canon, omitting eirmi and katavasiae, contains four troparia in each ode, therefore 32 troparia altogether.  Each troparion is a near-rhymed quatrain in ABAB.  Each line has eleven syllables.  

My notes are not necessary reading.  I have made them so that I can remember why I translated certain puzzling words one way and not the other.  If they help anyone else, that is good.  The numbers refer to the troparia.

1.  “Celebrating” (ανυμνών).  Lexicographers are all over the board on this word.  Great Scott reports celebrate in song; Kyriakides reports extol, sing in praise; Montie reports announce, celebrate with/in song, exalt, assert, declare, declaim.

“Magnify” (μεγαλύνω ).  Not in Lampe.  Muraoka reports declare great, boast.  Great Scott and Kyriakides report magnify, extol.
“Pure” (αχραντε).  Lampe reports undefiled; Montie reports uncontaminated, intact, pure.  Kyriakides reports immaculate, spotless.  See the comments below on “Pure” in troparion 4.
“I earnestly beseech” (Δυσωπών δυσωπώ) seems to mimick the Hebrew infinitive absolute construction, which is intended to intensify the action of the main verb.  (See any competent commentary on Genesis 22:17).  DGE reports that δυσωπώ can mean pedir con insistencia.  Δυσωπώ (orig. put to shame) only later acquired the meaning of beseech (“ask earnestly for” [COED]), implore (“beg earnestly for” [COED]), entreat (“make earnest prayer for” [OED]) etc.
“Most celebrated” (πανύμνητε).  Let’s review ὑμνητός, for which Great Scott reports sung of, praised, Slater reports celebrated in song, Kontopoulos worthy of being celebrated in hymns, deserving of song, celebrated, Schrevelius renowned, Lampe to be praised.  Now for the adjective at hand.  Pan- in Greek is generally used with an elative/intensive or extensive character.  In extension we find that an αἴτιος can mean being a cause but παναίτιος being the cause of all things.  When taken intensively, we have ὑμνητός (worthy of praise) vs. πανύμνητος (worthy of all praise).  How we translate the elative depends on context.  The main thing is to avoid at all costs saying “all-praised,” which is in modern English a meaningless compound.  In reality, it is a calque that soothes the conscience of the translator without actually requiring him to ponder the best way to communicate the possible intentions of the composer.  Lampe and Montie report that πανύμνητος can mean praised by all, worthy of all praise, Montie alone is willing to report the Valley-Speak totally celebrated, Stephanos reports ab omnibus celebratus, laudatissimus.  All of these definitions evidently illustrate the elative (praised by all) and intensive (laudatissimus) renditions of this troublesome title.  Now, when translators translate πανύμνητος as “all-hymned,” are they making the same sort of mistake that Strong made when he rendered παῤῥησία as “all-outspokenness”?  I.e., the periphrasis blinded him to the intended meaning.
Below is a table I have drawn up.  I have divided the definitions into three groups and the effects of παν- into two groups. 
By way of caveat, we have to consider the following points.  (1)  Our hymnographers—like Homer on occasion—are susceptible to semantic bleaching (think of words that need the support of intensifying prefixes, like “over-exaggerate,” “extra-special”).  (2)  Our hymnographers, sensitive to the requirements of ecclesiastical chanting, are very scrupulous to assign to every troparion exactly the right number of syllables, and are consequently less sensitive to the demands of grammar, syntax and style.  (3)  Among the hymns to the Mother of God, ύμνητος and ἅγια do not seem to be used of her in the vocative—only compounds like πανύμνητος and παναγία.  The latter word is definitely used like a personal name among Greeks.  This makes me think that πανύμνητος is almost a kind of hymnographical boiler-plate. 

πανύμνητος	extent	degree
hymned	Universally hymned, all-hymned = hymned by all.	Very hymned, absolutely hymned, completely hymned, most-hymned, quite hymned, wholly hymned.
praised, extolled	Universally praised, all-praised = praised by all, lauded by all.	Very praised, absolutely praised, completely praised, most praised, wholly praised.
renowned, famous, celebrated	Renowned among all, universally renowned, esteemed by all, honored by all, far-famed (cf. πολυύμνητος).	Very famous, most famous, etc., very celebrated, most celebrated, etc.

My opinion is that either “far-famed” or “most celebrated” would fill the bill.  “Far-famed” may be taken as a rough calque of πανύμνητος.  I am inclined towards “most celebrated,” which enjoys the advantage of already being semantically pre-bleached.
2.  “I fervently bless” (ευλογών μακαρίζω).  Not exactly an infinitive absolute, as the verbs are different, but close enough to make me think that that was what he was aiming at.
“I praise in song” (αναμέλπω).  The Greek verb is one of the many synonyms for hymn on which hymnographers can draw for variety. 
“Queen Mother (Δέσποινα).”  Another example of how the Greek language affords her hymnographers no end of synonyms.  Montie reports that δέσποινα means mistress, lady, but that in Pindar princess, queen and at Rome empress.  Lampe reports mistress, queen.  Sophocles reports lady not as a courteous appellation but as a title applied to “the empress or the emperor’s mother.”  Donnegan admits “female sovereign.”  
Woodhouse reports mistress, “in invocation to goddesses,” with which Great Scott concurs.  Stephanos reports apud Byzantinos, sicut δεσπότης de Imperatrice, ita de Matre imperatoris, to which he pointedly adds item de Sancta Virgine.  Two facts must be reckoned with in order to get the translation of this frequently mistranslated word right.  The first is that our hymnographers show a decided preference for Pindar.  The second is that they lived in the world or in the memory of empires, emperors and empresses.  This leads us to suppose mistress and queen.  In English, the title mistress is antiquated and bears now only one active meaning, which is unsavory.  To write such things as “mistress of creation,” when every word in the Greek language is screaming for “queen of the world,” is abominable.  This leaves us with queen.  If the other word for queen is used in the same troparion, we can justifiably render Δέσποινα as empress or queen mother.  To say “lady” is to pretend that Δέσποινα is a courteous title addressed politely to any woman or properly to a noble woman.  See my remarks on “Lady” below.  Stephanus and Sophocles puts the kibosh on “lady” and “mistress.”  Δέσποινα is a prerogative of royalty, and the Mother of God enjoys that prerogative to its fullest extent. 
“Queen” (ἄνασσα).  Applied to goddesses and mortal women from Homer on.  Lampe reports queen, lady, and adds that it is applied to the church and to the Mother of God.  Montie reports that it can be used to mean patroness or any woman who leads or guides.
“Lady” (Κυρία).  Lampe reports that this title is used “in gen. as title of address.”  E.g., Thayer points out that this is the title used by St. John (II John 1).  He adds that according to Epictetus this title is addressed to girls from 14 years of age.  Kyriakides reports madam, Mrs.  However, κόσμου παντὸς Κυρία is a far cry from “lady of the house.” 3.  “Pure” (αδιάφθορε):  Great Scott reports uncorrupted, chaste, imperishable.  Pape reports unverdorben, incorruptus.  This may be taken negatively as uninjured, uncorrupted or positively as pure, holy.  The tendency of Anglophone translators is to use the definitions closest to the lexical form, since they do not understand how the lexicographers do their work, which is to put the radical concept first, then list the various ways by which that concept may be expressed in our language.  Furthermore, Kittel must be right—that the apostles and fathers as a rule give cultic terms “new religious and moral content.”  The tendency of translators to adhere rigidly to the details of the originally cultic terminology is disturbing.
“Shed grace” (χαρίτωσον),  or shed [your] favor.  The verb is uncommon before the fathers.  Nicol notes that “it has two senses:  to make one agreeable, possessed of grace . . . or to bestow grace on one, to compass one with favour.”  The two instances of this verb in the New Testament (Luke 1:28 and Eph. 1:6) seem to fall into the second sense.  Lightfoot renders the passage in Eph as “graciously bestowed on us.”  Anyone reading St. Paul with the view that grace is “a supernatural help of God for salutary acts granted in consideration of the merits of Christ” (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911) is bound to misread St. Paul and to suppose that our hymnographer wants us to think that St. Andrew is sending us “supernatural help . . . for salutary acts,” putatively “granted in consideration of the merits of” the saint, since grace can only come from God.  BRIEFLY:  The word grace does not have such a limited meaning either in antiquity (where it had a wide range of meanings), or in St. Paul (who uses most of the anciently available range of meaning), or in this canon (which probably relies upon the epinician poets for its use of the word).  AT LENGTH:  St. Paul did not avail himself of the Augustinian revival of the early modern era but of the χάρις of his Greco-Roman context.  The reader is directed to James R. Harrison’s book—Paul's Language of Grace in its Graeco-Roman Context (Mohr Siebeck, 2003; Wipf & Stock, 2017)—for details.  If that book is too much, the reader will be delighted that merely by reading the epinician poets (e.g., Pindar, Bacchylides, Simonides), he will be better equipped to understand St. Paul’s use of the word than if he had studied neo-Augustinians.  As for the poets, Chris Eckerman notes that "scholars generally assume that χάρις, in epinician poetry, has a broad semantic range that includes splendor, glory, charm, favor, ode, grace, gratitude, and service" ("Χάρις in the Epinician Odes of Pindar and Bacchylides").  Turning now to St. Paul, Harrison notes that grace must be understood as part of a culture to which St. Paul appealed to make his arguments for the faith.  Therefore, Pindar is more helpful to us for understanding grace than St. Augustine, Calvin or Luther.  He adds in his epistles that grace must also be regarded within a constellation of themes:  glory, wealth/abundance, mystery, power.   
“Unwedded” (απειρόγαμε).  Yet another synonym for παρθένος
(virgin).  It is unfortunate that English cannot conjure a host of synonyms for every word with the same facility as Greek can—English is doomed to exactly the repetitive vocabulary that the hymnographers strive so assiduously to avoid.  It cannot be helped.  The only way that English can exhibit a little variety is to resort to calques, which to the degree that they are not unnatural are meaningless.  According to COED, a calque is a loan-translation, i.e., a word which translates each part of the foreign word and combines the results.  For example, the Spanish word for skyscraper is the calque rascacielos (scrapes-skies). 
“Pure” (ακήρατε) or “undefiled.”  Woodhouse says that it is rare and found only in prose.
“Mind” (νοῦν).  Modern translators reflexively translate νοῦς as nous in order to indicate that this is a technical term referring to the Macarian “eye of the heart” (see Palmer et al.).  While there are many texts in the Philokalia which fairly demand just such a definition and would in fact be better served by simple transliteration than by the clunky “intellect,” we cannot assume that every appearance of this Greek word is a Philokalic technical term.  It is safer to let the context force such a translation strategy upon us, which it assuredly does not do in this Theotokarian.
“Eyes” (κόρας).  This word usually means daughter, maiden.  Lit., pupils.  As Montie reports, from daughter the word came to mean doll, then “from the small image that is reflected in it,” i.e., the tiny doll-like figure visible in it, pupil.  An interesting example of cascading metonymy.
4.  “Mother of God etc.”  This troparion is an interesting example of hymnography.  The hymnographers often simply pile up all the titles or attributes of the Mother of God that fit the meter of the troparion.  Sometimes this may two or three; here, St. Nekatrios uses two lines with three titles each.
“Guide my life” (τας οδούς μου κατεύθυνον).  The Greek is ambiguous.  We might take it as “guide my ways,” “make my ways straight,” “straighten out my life,” “grant me success” etc.
“Pure” (άσπιλε).  Great Scott reports faultless, without blemish; Kyriakides reports spotless, pure, immaculate.  Montie reports blameless and immaculate.  Woodhouse reports that καθαρός, ὅσιος, ἁγνός can mean morally undefiled.  Each synonym has its own angle.  I restrict myself to Great Scott to exhibit these angles.  He reports that καθαρός means clean or spotless; free (that is, in an open place), free of guilt or defilement, pure.  He similarly reports that ὅσιος can mean hallowed or holy; when used of people, it can mean pious, devout, religious, sinless or pure.  After Homer, he says, ἁγνός is used of maidens to mean chaste.  Kittel reports that this word, originally meaning “cultically ‘free from blemish,’” was transformed by the apostles to mean “morally pure.”  He adds that “the term illustrates the way in which the NT gives new religious and moral content to originally cultic concepts.”  Therefore, I opt to avoid the cultic meaning (stainless) in favor of “the new religious and moral content” (pure).
“Preserve me amid dangers” (κινδυνεύοντα συ διεφύλαττε).  Lit., “preserve me in danger,” which does not sound quite right.
5.  “Our beginning of God’s favor towards men” (ευδοκίας ημών το προοίμιον).  Kittel reports that ευδοκία is a word which is unknown in Classical Greek—its first appearance is in the LXX.  There it denotes “the pleasure, grace or will of God.”  More particularly, it can describe “a sacrifice which is pleasing to God.”  In a different direction, it can refer to “God’s grace, favor [or] will.”  “In Gk. Sir. the predominant sense is ‘divine good-pleasure.’”  However, Gk. Sirach also uses ευδοκία to mean “divine ordination or resolve.”  This good pleasure is manifested as a “blessing” or “benefit” to men.  My ample translation tries to bring out all the notes which I believe St. Nektarios counted on his audience catching.
6.  “As you bore” (τέξασα).  This participle is called circumstantial.  Circumstantial participles, reports Smyth, can indicate time, manner, means, cause, purpose, opposition/concession, condition or (for all other entries) “any attendant circumstance.”  We must keep firmly in mind the fact that the Greeks do not have to choose which of these constructions are appropriate; the issue is only forced by translation.  So, which seems most appropriate for English?  Translators often duck the issue by retaining the participle:  “having borne the light.”  This can be done, but it often sounds unnatural.  Another expedient is to put the main verb in a relative clause (“you who gave birth”); this may work when a participle does not.  Finally, we may pick one of the constructions reluctantly.  But which one?  In a world of patronage, if one appeals to the Mother of the King, it is because her status guarantees our success.  Therefore, the construction is causal.  I often dodge the issue with “as” (“as you gave birth”), which avoids sound pat or crass. 
“Illumine” (φωταγώγησον).  Or guide or guide with light. 
“Guide” (παιδαγώγησον).  Lampe reports teach, instruct, train, lead on by instruction. 
“To walk aright” (βηματίζειν).  St. Nektarios would have anticipated that his readers would have understood walking as a metaphor for way of life.  Cf. Ps. 1:1 (“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly”).
10.  “Lamp” (λυχνία).  In ancient Greek, lampstand; in modern Greek, lamp.   
“Darkened” (σκοτισθέντα) might also be “blinded.”
“Bore . . . in your womb” (κυήσασα).  Montie reports that κυέω means conceive or carry in the womb in the active voice and give birth to in the passive.  This verb is not used in the LXX or in the NT, so there is no clear way to decide.  I think that most translators opt for conceive.  My hunch is that St. Nektarios would be too delicate to say “conceive in your womb.”
8.  “Abolition” (αναίρεσις).  Could also be repulsion, suppression or  annulment.  Roget (779) provides many possible ways to translate αναίρεσις.  Neither Roget nor the COED countenance annulment. 
9.  Βore (βαστάσασα).  Kittel admits cheerfully of βαστάζω that “the basic meaning is uncertain.”  Great Scott reports lift up, bear, carry, hold in one’s hands, endure and produce or yield (of land).  As the DGE points out, this verb is particularly used in Lk 11:27 with reference to the Mother of God.
12.  “Of those in distress” (καμνόντων).  Κάμνω is an interesting word.  It can mean work, toil, labor, be weary, be hard-pressed, be sick, be distressed, meet with disaster.  Apparently, in the ancient Greek mind, someone who works for a living is all of the above.
“Worn out” (καμούσαν).  This verb in the aor. ptc. implies that one is dead from exhaustion or has met with disaster.
13.  “Clear” (καλλίρους) or “beautifully flowing.”
“Poured by God” (θεόρρυτος).  Stephanus reports a Deo profluens and ab Jove fusus.  I went with the latter.
14.  “Prelude etc.” is taken from the Nativity of the Theotokos.
“Virgin” (αγνή).  According to Muraoka and Thayer, αγνή and παρθένος are synonymous.  Montie reports pure, holy, sacred, chaste, with which K. largely concurs.  Slater reports holy.  Cunliffe reports holy, pure, used by Homer to describe goddesses. 
15.  “Nourish” (έκθρεψον).  Schrevelius, like most other lexicographers, reports bring up, rear, but reminds us that τρέφω means nourish, which is the required meaning here.
“Minister” (η διάκονος).  Could be attendant, handmaid, maid, minister etc.
16.  “Luminous” (φωτοφόρε).  Kyriakides reported the winning entry.  Lampe’s lamp-holder is useless and his reference to φωσφόρος (light-bringer, morning star etc.) does not much advance the cause.  Lampe’s light-bearing is similarly unhelpful, although the reference to this word being used to describe Moses’ face points us in the right direction.
“Heart” (φρένας).  Φρήν is a tricky word.  It can mean heart, mind or soul.  Soul is out, since ψυχήν got there first.  I went with heart, since it seems unlike St. Nektarios to emphasize what in the West has become an unhealthy preoccupation with intellection.
17.  Νεκρωθέντα (made to) die, been deadened (SCHR).
θανατούμενόν kill, make dead (Lampe).  Lampe:  cause to die, been made to die, die.  Montie:  condemn to death.
Βλαστήσασα> βλαστάνω sprout, blossom, bring about growth (Montie), referring to soil and plants.
Νεοποίησον renew, rejuvenate (Montie).
18.  “Revival” (Ανέγερσις).  K reports raising, erecting, building, construction.  Lampe reports waking, resurrection.  Montie reports awakening, revival.
“Honor … with your favor” (χαρίτωσον).  Χαριτόω can mean make graceful or lovely, or by extension favor or bless.  Thayer suggests compass with favor, honor with blessings.  Lampe reports favor, shed grace upon, show favor to.  Obviously, the most neutral translation would be favor.  Muraoka may be getting at the heart of the matter with treat favorably and (a LXX first) cause to be accepted favorably. 
20.  “Pure” (αγνήν).  Montie reports pure, holy, sacred, chaste, with which K. largely concurs.  I owe the Nun Christina Oceanitissa the correct translation of την ψυχήν μου αγνήν διατήρησον.
21.  “Wholly pure” (πανακήρατε).  Can be all-uncontaminated (Great Scott!) or immortal (Stephanos and Pape).  Best is completamente puro (wholly pure), which is better than our calque all-pure.
21.  “Wholly pure and all-immaculate” (πανακήρατε κόρη πανάχραντε)  may be taken as an example of “synonymous parallelisms,” reminiscent of the Psalms.  Some might argue that this is an example of synonymia.  According to Peacham, we use synonymia “when by a variation and change of words that be of like signification, we iterat[e] one thing diverse times.” Peacham adds “this figure delighteth much both for the plenty of wordes and habite, whether it be in affection of praise or dispraise.”  A full-blown example of synonymia is found in Don Quixote, when the heroic hidalgo tells the merchants that la importancia está en que sin verla lo habeis de creer, confesar, afirmar, jurar y defender.  
“The passions” (τα πάθη).  Η πάθη (suffering, misfortune) must be distinguished from το πάθος, which overlaps somewhat with its  feminine counterpart but in the plural is the technical term for the passions.  Another point to remember is that every line must come out to hendecasyllables, so a certain amount of padding is to be expected. 
23.  “Protection/patronage.”  Προστασία can have many meanings in Greek.  It can refer to leadership or presidency, or it can refer by metonymy to the authority or dignity attached to such offices.  It can refer to the activities of a leader—caring for or helping people.  It can refer specifically to protecting people—crucially, for our hymnographers—in the capacity of a patron.  In church hymns, as in the ancient society on which they are based, patronage was the institution which compensated for the restrictions of a hide-bound class system.  See deSilva's very useful paper, "Patronage and Reciprocity:  The Context of Grace in the New Testament" at https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/.../ashland.../31-1_032.pdf.
24.  Muraoka reports that ἄμωμος can in the LXX mean unblemished or impeccable.  The former refers to animals brought in to be sacrificed; the latter represents the moral extension.  Montie reports irreproachable and (in later Greek) immaculate, pure.  The calque “all-blameless” has no merits.  The hymnographers constantly dwell on the purity of the Mother of God, but they do not want to limit themselves to one word—they want some variety.  The fact that ἄμωμος can have a cultic meaning does not mean that it always has one. 
25.  “Kindly” (ευμενή).  One thinks immediately of the Eumenides.  Kyriakides reports “benign, benevolent, propitious, clement, well-intentioned.”  Muraoka reports “well-disposed.”  Great Scott reports “well-disposed, kindly” when applied to the gods, “well-disposed” when applied to men, “friendly” when applied to actions, “favorable, bounteous, agreeable” when applied to various things like rivers, lands, roads.  By comparison, the COED defines propitious as “well-disposed, favourable, suitable for, favorable to.”  Yet propitiate is defined simply as “appease,” which is itself defined as “make calm or quiet, try to conciliate or bribe, soothe etc.”  Why can’t propitiate mean “render favorable,” or “render well-disposed”? 
“Reconcile [to God]” (οικείωσον).  Lampe reports that this word can mean claim as a friend, recommend as a friend, make a kinsman (to Christ).  In other words, St. Nektarios asks that the Mother of God use her clout to bring us into an amicable union with God (Montie).  I added to God in order to make the picture clear.