First Flower of Pascha

The Feast of the Annunciation is the first flower of Pascha, which the Holy Archangel Gabriel holds in his hand. "Rejoice, O Blessed One, the Lord is with you!" And at Pascha, when everything will blossom already with the new life of God, for which man was created, we will hear: "The angel cried to the Blessed One: Pure virgin, rejoice. And again I will say, Rejoice!
This is the joy of God becoming man. There has never been anything like it in the world before. This mystery is the highest and humblest, the greatest good news from God that ever was. Nothing in heaven or on earth can compare with this mystery. There is nothing more precious in all the history of the world, nor will there ever be anything more precious...
Now the doors of heaven are opening. The fiery cherub does not block the entrance, but invites everyone to enter, where the only way through are the words: "Be it unto me according to thy word".

Rev. Alexander Shargunov

Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos

Blessed Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos!
The Feast of the Annunciation is the first Easter flower that Gabriel holds in his hand. "Rejoice, Blessed One, the Lord is with thee!"

April 7 (March 25) Annunciation of the Mother of God

 

ANNUNCIATION is the day on which the doors of salvation were opened for the world.

To be saved means to be with God, for outside of Him there is and cannot be true life ... And on this day the GLAD TIDINGS are announced to the world that God wanted to become a man in order to bring a man closer to Himself.

May the Feast of the Annunciation be good news for our souls, for which the saving doors of repentance and the path to holy purity, glorified today by the Church in the Image of the Blessed Virgin, are always open.
PRAYER: Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls.

Annunciation of the Virgin Mary commemorated April 7/March 25

 

This Feast represents the day God sent the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to tell her that She was going to have a son and She should call Him Jesus. She was frightened, but accepted to obey God’s will because She knew that She was part of His plan for our salvation. This Feast is important not only because it celebrates the announcement of the impending birth of our Savior, but also because Mary showed us the importance and glory in following God’s path.

Icon explained:

The icon of the Annunciation is one that presents the joy of the announcement of the coming of Christ. It is an icon of bright colors, depicting the Archangel Gabriel (left), who has descended from heaven, and the Virgin Mary (right), who has been chosen to be the Mother of God.

The Archangel is shown with his feet spread apart as if he is running to share the good news with Mary. In his left hand is a staff, the symbol of a messenger. His right hand is extended toward Mary as he delivers the message and announces the blessing bestowed upon her by God.

On the right side of the icon the Virgin sits on an elevated seat, indicating that as the Mother of God she is “greater in honor than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word.” In her left hand she holds a spindle of scarlet yarn which depicts the task she was assigned of preparing the purple and scarlet material to be used in making the veil for the Temple in Jerusalem. Her right hand is raised in a gesture of acceptance in response to Gabriel’s message. Her posture expresses willing cooperation with God’s plan of salvation. Mary’s garments also have the three stars commonly used to represent her ever-virginity: before, during, and after the birth of Christ.

At the top of the icon the segment of a circle represents the divine realm, from which three rays emerge. This demonstrates the action of the Holy Spirit coming upon her. In other depictions of the same icon, Christ Himself – as a man – is shown in this semi-circle.

This icon marks the crowning of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery before all ages. For the Son of God becomes the son of the Virgin, and Gabriel proclaims to the ever-virgin Mary

“Rejoice, O full of Grace, the Lord is with You.” (Iconreader)

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.”