Orthodox holidays - Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Congratulate →

If you count nine months back from the seventh of January, the date of the Nativity of Christ according to the Gregorian calendar (new style), you get the seventh of April It is on this date that the Orthodox Church celebrates the great date, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary The good news (good news) was that the Virgin, through the Archangel Gabriel, learned of her chosenness and the honor that had befallen her “Rejoice, full of grace,” said the Angel of the Lord “You may be the Mother of the Son of God” Since Mary had made the decision from childhood to devote herself to God and strictly guard her innocence, she was surprised and embarrassed by the news she received How can a virgin wife conceive without knowing a man? What thoughts did the Most Pure One share with the Archangel? This fact is considered very important, and not at all in physiological terms Christians are as aware as anyone about how humans reproduce and prefer to maintain a certain delicacy on the topic Believers are urged not to seek paternity either in Joseph, the official husband of Mary, or in the Archangel Gabriel, or even in God the Father The conception is a Miracle, and the importance of Mary's conversation with Gabriel is that before the Virgin indicated her consent, the Lord humbly waited And only after Mary’s affirmative answer, after the young woman said out loud that she was ready to submit “according to Your word,” did the Word take on flesh That is why the Annunciation approximately coincides with the approximate date of conception, as it would happen for an ordinary earthly woman After all, the Archangel could have brought news of pregnancy after it had occurred However, it is believed that this was not the case According to legend, just that evening Mary was reading the book of the Old Testament, authored by the prophet Isaiah The prophecy, recorded many years before the events described, spoke of the Messiah and that the conqueror of the devil would be conceived and born without male seed A few moments before the Archangel’s visit, the Most Pure Virgin thought about her readiness to be in the service of a woman who would give birth to the Messiah And after a very short time I learned that I myself was filled with the Grace of God The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary began to be actively celebrated only in the sixth century Information about how and whether there were festivities in honor of the Good News of the Messiah before 560 has been lost The Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, who reigned from 527 to 565 and became famous for his commitment to the Church and zeal for the Orthodox faith, began the tradition of the Annunciation He also indicated the date According to the old style, it fell on March 25, that is, exactly nine months before December 25, then the Church lived according to the Julian calendar “Good news” is translated from Greek as Gospel The meaning of the celebration comes down to the joy that a young woman, a Virgin, was found in the human world, so devoted to God, so meek and righteous, that the Son of God could be born from her With all her being, with all her soul, with all her heart, the Most Pure One trusted God the Father, obeyed him and followed his word Which became flesh in her womb