“Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you! … Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus”.
– from the Gospel According to Saint Luke, chapter 1
Monday, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, one of the great feasts of our Orthodox Church. Please join us on Sunday, March 24, at 6:00PM as we begin to celebrate this great day with the vigil for the feast.
The readings from Holy Scripture for this day are: Isaiah 8:13-9:7 (6th Hour), Genesis 6:9-22 (Vespers, 1st reading), Proverbs 8:1-21 (Vespers, 2nd reading), Exodus 3:1-8 (Vespers, 3rd reading), Proverbs 8:22-30 (Vespers, 4th reading), Luke 1:39-49, 56 (Matins Gospel), Hebrews 2:11-18 (Epistle), and Luke 1:24-38 (Gospel).
Of this feast we are told:
“The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. … The Greek and Slavonic names for the Feast may be translated as “good tidings.” This, of course, refers to the Incarnation of the Son of God and the salvation He brings. The background of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel of Saint Luke (1:26-38). The troparion describes this as the “beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the eternal mystery,” for on this day the Son of God became the Son of Man”.
The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
