The Annunciation
The Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated nine months prior to Christmas.
The event which the Church commemorates on this feast is described in the Gospel
of St. Luke (1:26-38).
"Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Having come in,
the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at
the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. The angel said
to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you
will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name
‘Jesus.’ He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.” Mary said to the
angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” The angel answered her, “The
Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of
God. Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age;
and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For everything
spoken by God is possible.” Mary said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it
to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her."
Eastern traditions
In the eastern church Mary is referred to as Theotokos (Θεοτόκος="God-bearer").
The traditional Eastern Troparion (hymn for the day) of the Annunciation is:
Today is the beginning of our salvation, And the revelation of the eternal
mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin As Gabriel announces the coming of
Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: "Rejoice, O Full of Grace, The
Lord is with You!"
The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the twelve Great Feasts of the church
year. As the action initiating the Incarnation of Christ, Annunciation has such
an important place in eastern theology that the Festal Divine Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom is always celebrated on March 25, regardless of what day it
falls on—even if it falls on Pascha (Easter Sunday) itself, a coincidence which
is called Kyriopascha. The only time the Divine Liturgy may be celebrated on
Great and Holy Friday is if it falls on March 25. Due to this, the rubrics
regarding the celebration of the feast are the most complicated of all in
eastern liturgies. The Annunciation is called Euangelismos (Evangelism) in
Greek, literally meaning "spreading the Good News".
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