The work of salvation is a work of God, but it could not be carried out without the cooperation of human beings. After Mary heard the word of the angels she said, "Let it be done to me according to your word." This fiat, this "let it be done," made possible the Incarnation of the eternal Son in the womb of the Virgin. Maximus proposes that there is another fiat in the gospels, another "let it be done," the agony of the man Christ, in which Christ, by accepting his suffering and death, wills the salvation of mankind. Just as the plan of salvation required Mary's "yes," so it also needed Christ's "yes," for it was only through Christ's passion and death that the world's salvation could be accomplished.
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God Professor Robert Louis Wilken










