Sermon of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos by Archpriest Alexander Shargunov

The feast of the Annunciation is the first flower of Pascha, which Gabriel holds in his hand. “Rejoice, Thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with Thee!” And on Pascha, when everything is blossoming with the new, divine life for which man was created, we hear, “The Angel cried to the Lady full of grace: Rejoice O Pure Virgin. Again, I say: rejoice!”

The joy of the Annunciation is revealed to the Most Pure Virgin Mary and to the entire human race; to all who accept this joy—the joy that God has become man. There has never been anything in the world like this before. This mystery is the highest, the humblest, the greatest tidings from God that had ever been. Nothing on heaven or on earth can compare with this mystery. There is nothing more precious in anything that has ever been in the history of the world, and there will never be anything more precious.

Now are the doors of paradise open. The fiery cherubim do not bar the entrance but invite all to enter that place where the password is, “Be it unto me according to Thy word.”