Annunciation

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Annunciation

In Christianity, the Annunciation is the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus by the archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God. The Christian churches celebrate this with the feast of Annunciation on March 25, which is nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christmas. The date of the Annunciation was also the New Year in many places, including England (where it is called Lady Day) and the American colonies. The traditional location of the Annunciation is in the town of Nazareth, Israel, where is currently located the Church of the Annunciation.

The Annunciation in the Bible

The archangel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth in Galilee, to the virgin Mary, and announced to her that she had been chosen by God to bear His son, Jesus. She asked how that would be, since she was not yet married to Saint Joseph and was still a virgin. The angel replied that she would conceive through the Holy Spirit. She consented, saying "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

Eastern traditions

In Eastern Orthodoxy Mary is referred to as Theotokos. This is a traditional Eastern Orthodox hymn for the day of the Annunciation:

Today is the beginning of our salvation,

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!

It is also an interesting fact that the feast of the Annunciation, as the action initiating the Incarnation of Christ has such an important place in Eastern Orthodox theology, that the Festival Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is always celebrated on this day, regardless of what day it falls on. In fact, the only time a divine liturgy is ever celebrated on Great and Holy Friday is if it is on March 25, although this only occurs in the Julian Calendar (this calendar is used to calculate the date of Pascha so that all Orthodox celebrate Pascha at the same time, though most dioceses use the Gregorian Calendar for celebration of fixed feast days, e.g. Christmas and Theophany). Due to this, the rubrics regarding the celebration of the feast are the most complicated of all those in Orthodox liturgics.

Related dates

In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the feast is moved if necessary to prevent it from either falling on a Sunday, or during Holy Week or the week in which Easter occurs. To avoid a Sunday, the previous Saturday (March 24) would be observed instead, but in the pre-Vatican II calendar, it is moved to Monday, March 26. In years when March 25 falls during Holy Week or Easter Week the Annunciation is moved to the Monday after Octave of Easter, which is the Sunday after Easter (if the Feast of St. Joseph, normally falling on March 19, must also be moved to a later date as a consequence of Easter falling on one of its earliest possible dates, the Annunciation remains on Low Monday, with the feast of St. Joseph on the following Tuesday, as the higher-ranking person is transferred first.)

The date is close to the vernal equinox, as Christmas is to the winter solstice; because of this the Annunciation and Christmas were two of the four "Quarter days" in medieval and early modern England, which marked the divisions of the fiscal year (the other two were Midsummer Day, or the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - June 24 - and Michaelmas, the feast day of St. Michael, on September 29).

Annunciation in the Quran

Annunciation is also cited in the Quran, in chapters 3 (Aal 'Imran - The family of Imran) verses 45-51 and 19 (Maryam - Mary) verses 16-26, although never with the mention or insinuation that Jesus is the son of God.

From chapter 3

^* (Remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allâh gives you the glad tidings of a Word ("Be!" - and he was! i.e. 'Isâ (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary)) from Him, his name will be the Messiah 'Isâ (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to Allâh."

^* "He will speak to the people in the cradle and in manhood, and he will be one of the righteous."

^* She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me." He said: "So (it will be) for Allâh creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: "Be!" - and it is.

^* And He (Allâh) will teach him ('Isâ (Jesus)) the Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunnah, the faultless speech of the Prophets, wisdom), (and) the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel).

^* And will make him ('Isâ (Jesus)) a Messenger to the Children of Israel (saying): "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, a figure like that of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allâh's Leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by Allâh's Leave. And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.

^* And I have come confirming that which was before me of the Taurât (Torah), and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a proof from your Lord. So fear Allâh and obey me.

^* Truly! Allâh is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the Straight Path.

From chapter 19

^* And mention in the Book (the Qur'ân, O Muhammad (peace be upon him) the story of) Maryam (Mary), when she withdrew in seclusion from her family to a place facing east.

^* She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Ruh (angel Jibrîl (Gabriel)) and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects.

^* She said: "Verily! I seek refuge with the Most Gracious (Allâh) from you, if you do fear Allâh."

^* (The angel) said: "I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son."

^* She said: "How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?"

^* He said: "So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is easy for Me (Allâh): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (Allâh), and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by Allâh).' "

^* So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place (i.e. Bethlehem valley about 4-6 miles from Jerusalem).

^* And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!"

^* Then (the babe 'Iesa (Jesus) or Jibrîl (Gabriel)) cried unto her from below her, saying: "Grieve not: your Lord has provided a water stream under you.

^* "And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you."

^* "So eat and drink and be glad. And if you see any human being, say: 'Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Gracious (Allâh) so I shall not speak to any human being this day.'"

References

External links

Entheomedia.org
'The Annunciation' by Edward Burne-Jones at the Lady Lever Art Gallery
Read the account (Luke Ch.1 26-55) at Bible Gateway (various versions)
The Annunciation Icons (mostly Russian)
Feast of the Annunciation at the Catholic Encyclopedia

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