Слово на Благовещение Пресвятой Богородицы

When the fullness of time came and the time of deliverance of the human race through the Divine incarnation approached, it was necessary that such a pure, immaculate and holy virgin be found who would be worthy to incarnate the incorporeal God and serve the cause of our salvation. And such a Virgin was found: a Virgin - the purest of all purity, the most immaculate incomparably more than any rational creature, the holiest of all shrines, the Most Pure and Blessed Virgin Mary, the branch of the saints, the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the fruit of parental prayers and prayers, a daughter from the royal and bishop's family. Found in a holy place, in the Church of Solomon, She was to be the animated Church of God. Inside the church, in the sanctuary called the “Holy of Holies,” she was found who had the power to give birth to all the saints the most holy Word (From the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos). There, from the height of the glory of His Kingdom, the Lord looked upon the humility of His servant and chose Her, pre-elected from all generations, to be the Mother of His Eternal Word. From the reliable narratives of the saints, we learn that even before the Annunciation of the Archangel, the incarnation of God, the Word, was mysteriously announced to Her. Living in the church for about twelve years, the Most Pure Virgin practiced not only in unceasing divine prayer and daily handicraft, but also in reading Divine books, studying the law of the Lord day and night. Saint Epiphanius and Ambrose write about Her that She was distinguished by an extraordinary mind, loved to study and was diligent in reading the Divine Scripture. Church historian Georgy Kedrin 2114 tells about Her that even during the life of Her parents She studied Jewish books well. Often reading in the prophecy of Isaiah the words: “Behold, the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14), which means: God is with us 2115, She was inflamed with ardent love not only for the expected Messiah who is about to come, but also for this Virgin, who is destined to conceive and give birth to Him. At the same time, She reflected on how great the dignity of becoming the Matter of Emmanuel 2116, the Son of God, and how inexpressible this sacrament is, for the Virgin to be the Mother. Knowing from the prophecies that the time of the coming of the Messiah was approaching, that the scepter had already been taken from Judah and the Weeks of Daniel were ending, She believed that the Virgin foretold by Isaiah should already be born into the world, and often from the depths of her heart she sighed and prayed within herself, so that God would vouchsafe Her to see this Virgin and, if it were possible, to be at least Her last servant. One day, when, as was Her custom, She stood at midnight prayer and raised such fiery desires to God, suddenly an extraordinary light shone on Her from above and shone on Her. From the middle of this world a voice was heard saying to Her: It is impossible to express in words the joy with which the Blessed Virgin was filled, and the feeling with which She bowed to the ground, giving Her gratitude to God the Creator. Thus, the Lord “looked upon the humility of His servant” (Luke 1:48). She who, out of love for God, wanted to serve the pure Mother of the Messiah, was honored to be His Mother and Mistress of every creation. This revelation came to Her in the twelfth year of Her life, two years before Her betrothal, and She did not reveal this secret to anyone until the Ascension of the Lord. After this revelation, She became aware that that in Her virgin womb there was a sacrament of conception, and She was waiting for the time when the event of this sacrament was to take place. When, according to the testimony of Saint Evoda 2117, the Blessed Virgin’s stay in the Temple of Solomon was eleven years old and the twelfth year had come, and according to the testimony of George Kedrin, She was fourteen years old, the bishop and priests began to order Her, so that She, according to legal custom, moved from the church to a house, like other girls of Her age, and got married. But She answered them that She had been given from the shrouds by her parents to God alone, and She promised Him to preserve Her virginity forever, and therefore it was impossible for Her to marry a mortal man, and nothing in the world would force Her to marry, since She dedicated her virginity to Her immortal God. The bishops were surprised by the news of this vow, for there was not yet a single maiden on earth who promised God to preserve her virginity forever, and She appeared in the world first in this regard. They began to consult with each other on what to do. They did not want Her to continue to live at the church, they did not even want to let Her into the church of the Lord behind the inner veil, but at the same time they did not dare to betroth a virgin who had been promised to God to her husband, and they were perplexed how to arrange Her celibate, virginal life in a manner pleasing to God so as not to anger God. They considered both to be a great sin: to force a virgin into marriage who had promised God eternal virginity, and to keep a virgin who had reached adulthood in the “Holy of Holies.” Saint Gregory of Nyssa speaks about it this way: “While She was still in her youth, the priests kept Her, just as they did Samuel in the church; but when She reached perfect age, they consulted among themselves: what should they do next with Her, so as not to anger God.” The church historian Nikephoros Callistus 2118 tells the following about the same thing: “When the Holy Virgin came of age, the priests drew up a council among themselves on how to arrange for Her, so that they would not turn out to be insulters of Her holy body, fearing that they would commit the sin of sacrilege if they gave in marriage and subjected to the law of matrimony She Who once and for all belonged only to God alone; at the same time, they said that it was not appropriate for a girl who had reached such an age to stay in the sanctuary, that the law did not allow this, and this was unworthy and not befitting a shrine. And so, having approached the ark of the covenant and made fervent prayer, they, as the blessed one narrates. Jerome, received an answer from the Lord to look for such a worthy husband to whom a virgin could be entrusted under the guise and image of marriage to preserve immaculate virginity. Regarding how to find such a husband, the Lord’s advice was this: from the house and tribe of David, select celibate husbands and place their staff in the altar - whose staff flourishes, the Holy Virgin should be entrusted to him. At that same time, the feast of the Dedication of the Church, established by the Maccabees, came; the beginning of the holiday was November 25, and the celebration was December 3. And then a multitude of people from the surrounding cities gathered in the church; Men from the family of David, relatives of the Virgin Mary, came to the holiday. George Kedrin narrates that the saint, the great Zechariah, the father of the Forerunner of the Lord, having gathered twelve celibate men from the tribe of David, among whom was Saint Joseph, a righteous man of advanced years, took their staffs and laid them in the holy altar for the night, saying: “Lord God, bring forth a man worthy to be betrothed to the Virgin!” The next morning, when the priests, together with those twelve men, entered the church, Joseph’s rod was found in full bloom, and on it, as Jerome testifies, sat a dove that had flown from above. Then everyone knew God’s good will that the Virgin should be handed over to Joseph for safekeeping. Some think that the Blessed Virgin, who in every possible way avoided betrothal and was very concerned about the purity of Her virginity, no matter how any insult was caused to Her, also had a special revelation, so that She would not hesitate to go to Her relative and betrothed Joseph, a righteous, godly and holy husband, not for a carnal marital union, but for the observance and preservation of Her virginity arranged by the highest providence. After the betrothal was completed, Saint Joseph took the Most Pure Virgin from the hands of the high priest from the Church of the Lord for pure and immaculate cohabitation, not damaging the color of virginity. And Saint Joseph was only Her imaginary husband, but in reality the chaste guardian of Her virginity and the servant of Her virginal life, filled with great sanctity.” Living in the house of her betrothed, the Most Pure Virgin did not change her previous way of life, which She had in the Holy of Holies. She practiced nothing else but divine prayer, reading Divine books, and ordinary women’s needlework. Joseph's house was like a prayer church for Her, from which She never left, but always remained there in solitude, fasting and silence, talking only with Her household, i.e. with Joseph's daughters. George Kedrin tells about Her: “Mary, in the house of Her betrothed, was fasting and avoided going out among the people, spending time with Joseph’s two daughters; I only talked to them sometimes, when it was necessary, and then only briefly.” According to the testimony of Saint Evoda, after Her four-month stay in the house of Joseph, the hour of the incarnation of God the Word came, the hour longed for for centuries for the whole world, in which our salvation began. And God sent one of the heavenly spirits closest to His throne, Archangel Gabriel, with the announcement of the mystery, hidden for centuries and unknown to the Angels themselves, to announce to the Most Pure Virgin the wondrous conception of the Son of God, surpassing all understanding and human nature. Saint Luke writes about this gospel in the Gospel: “in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God” (Luke 1:26). It was the sixth month after the conception of Saint John the Baptist, and the same Angel who announced the conception of John to Zacharias was sent to announce the conception of Christ to the Most Pure Virgin; in the sixth month he was sent so that the six-month-old Forerunner in the womb of the Mother would leap with joy, feeling the coming of the Mother of the Lord. “The angel Gabriel was sent to a city of Galilee called Nazareth” (Luke 1:26). Galilee was then a pagan country, although it was partly inhabited by Israelites, which is why the Scriptures speak of it: “Galilee of the pagans” (Isaiah 9:1). Among the Israelites, it was considered the last region and was despised because it was inhabited by sinful and unbelieving inhabitants; That’s why the Jews, disparaging her, said: “Will Christ come from Galilee?” (John 7:41); “Look and you will see that no prophet comes from Galilee” (John 7:52). Therefore, Nazareth, the city of Galilee, was considered by them to be the most insignificant, the most wretched and the last city, so that they said: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46). But let us pay attention to God's favor. Where did He want to have His Most Pure Mother? Not in the land of Judea, not in the holy and great city of Jerusalem, but in Galilee, which was considered sinful, in wretched Nazareth, in order, on the one hand, to show that He came to earth for the sake of sinners: “I came,” He said, “to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32), and from unfaithful pagans to create a faithful Church for Himself; on the other hand, so that it would be clear that He looks mercifully on the humble, rejected and humiliated, and not on the proud and noble. For when God the Word wanted to descend from heaven to sinners, from the height of His glory He looked where there were more sinners, and in Judea He saw the Jerusalemites, who considered themselves righteous and justified themselves before people, and the Galileans, despised by everyone and considered sinners more than all others. So, having passed the supposedly Holy Judea, the Lord descended into the supposedly sinful Galilee, passing also Jerusalem, this great, revered and glorious city; He descended to Nazareth, a poor and despised town, choosing for Himself the last place in this world and humbled himself even to the image of a slave and sinner. Nazareth was humbled, but what great grace He was granted! All the other great cities of Israel, which ascended to heaven, could not be worthy of this. In wretched Nazareth is the Virgin, highest of all the holy Angels, whose womb the incontainable Christ God created more spacious than the heavens. Archangel Gabriel is sent here, here the Holy Spirit overshadows, here God the Word is embodied; for where there is humility, there the glory of God will shine. Proud cities were not pleasing to Christ, but humble cities were pleasing to Him. In the inglorious city of Nazareth Christ was conceived, and in the glorious city of Jerusalem He was crucified. In little Bethlehem He is born, in great Jerusalem He is betrayed to death. The Lord appears to the humble, but the proud drive Him away from them. Saint Andrew of Crete speaks about the sending of the Archangel to the Most Pure Virgin: “God commands one of His foremost Angels to announce the secret and, with a wave of His greatness, seems to say: “Gabriel! Go to Nazareth, a city of Galilee: in it lives the Virgin Mary, betrothed to a husband named Joseph.” “Go,” says the Lord, “to Nazareth.” For what? For the sake of the fact that the Almighty accepts the most coveted beauty of virginity, like the most fragrant rose from a thorny land. “Go to Nazareth” so that the prophecy will be fulfilled: “he will be called a Nazarite” (Matthew 2:23). Who will be called a Nazarite? He whom Nathanael would later call the Son of God and the King of Israel. Gabriel is sent, who was previously commanded to proclaim the Divine mysteries, as is clearly stated in the book of the prophet Daniel. “Go to Nazareth, the city of Galilee,” God says to Gabriel and, having come there, brings to the Virgin the joy that Eve once lost. Be careful not to confuse Her; for this greeting of yours is a sign of joy, not sorrow, consolation, not embarrassment. And can the highest joy for the human race be that human nature will unite with the nature of God and, due to this union in the One Person, become one with God! Could anything be more amazing than to see God humble himself to be carried in a woman’s womb? Oh, amazing miracle! God, Whose heaven is the throne, and the earth is the footstool 2119, God, Whom the heavens cannot contain, Who is One with the Father and shares the throne of eternity, is contained in a virgin’s womb! Can anything be more amazing than to see God in human form, not being separated at the same time from His Divinity, and to see human nature united with the nature of its Creator, so that God appears as a perfect and complete man? “Gabriel,” continues St. Andrew of Crete, having listened to the Divine broadcast and accepted the command, confirmed by the wave of God, but exceeding his strength, was between fear and joy. Not recognizing himself as worthy to fulfill the Divine command, but not daring to disobey it, he, obeying the voice of God, flew off to the Virgin and, having reached Nazareth, stopped at the entrance to Joseph’s house. Perplexed and reflecting within himself, he seemed to be reasoning like this: “How to begin to fulfill God’s commandment! Should I rush in immediately? But then I can disturb Virgo’s calm. Should I log in more slowly? But then the Virgo, sensing my presence, will want to hide. Should I knock on the door? But this is unusual for Angels: for for the disembodied there is nothing locked and prohibiting entry. Should I open the door? But I can also enter through closed doors. Should I call Virgo by name? But with this I can scare Her. I would rather enter quietly and greet Her with meekness, as He who sent me commanded me. But what will I start telling Virgo? Will I first of all proclaim joy to Her, or will I say that God Himself has room in Her, that the Holy Spirit will come upon Her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow Her! First of all, I will tell Her joy, and then I will tell Her a wonderful mystery. I will approach Her and joyfully sing the greeting: “Rejoice! Have fun! Be comforted!” These words will be the most decent beginning of my conversation with the Virgin. Then She will no longer be afraid, and her thoughts will not confuse Her. Therefore, I will begin my evangelism like this: first of all, I will bring Her the news of joy and gladness, with such words I should greet Her as a Queen: for this is an event of joy, a time of joy, the kingdom of peace, God’s advice about salvation, the beginning of consolation.” You see, with what reverence the Archangel comes to the Virgin Mary, with what great reverence he prepares to approach the Lady of the whole world, how he first reflects on those joy-filled words of the annunciation with which he must address Her. At the same time, it is worthy to turn his reverent attention to the fact that he found Her not outside the house and his upper room, not on the city streets among the people and worldly conversations, not fussing around at home in the cares of life, but practicing in silence, prayer and reading books, as the icon image of the Annunciation clearly shows Her, presenting the Virgin Mary with an open book laid before Her, as proof Her constant exercise in reading Divine books and thinking about God. At the very time when the heavenly messenger appeared to the Virgin, She, as the God-wise Fathers of the Church believe, had in her mind the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, the Virgin will conceive in her womb” (Is. 7:14), and pondered how and when that strange and unusual conception and birth for a virgin’s nature would take place. Even earlier than this time, She, as was already said above according to George Kedrin, was informed by God's revelation that no other virgin, but She Herself, would serve to perform the sacrament and give birth to the desired Messiah. From this announcement She burned with Seraphim love for God and Her Creator and prayed for His mercy, that He would quickly fulfill His Divine promise and the prophecy of Isaiah, and with fiery desire she said to Herself: “When will that longed-for time come for Me, and My Creator, deigning to accept human flesh from Me, will come down from heaven and dwell in Me? When will I achieve that blessed bliss to become the Mother of My God! Until the time when I achieve this, my tears will be my food day and night. For those who are waiting for something so coveted, even a short time seems too long.” When the Most Pure Virgin was pondering this way and, in the secret of Her heart, offered up a divine prayer with fiery, ardent love for the Lord, suddenly the evangelist Archangel Gabriel quietly appeared before Her. The same holy teacher, Andrew of Crete, writes about this: “Archangel Gabriel entered the house and, approaching the inner peace in which the Virgin lived, quietly approached the door and, penetrating inside, began to talk with Her in a meek voice. “Rejoice,” he said, “O full of grace, the Lord is with you!” He who was before You is now with You and will soon come from You; He who was before all eternity will now be under time.” O immeasurable love for mankind (exclaims Saint Andrew)! O inscrutable mercy! The Archangel not only preaches joy, but the joy of the Creator’s dwelling in Virgo. For his words “The Lord is with you!” clearly show the presence of the King, who, although he took human flesh from Her, did not in the least depart from the glory inherent in Him! Rejoice, joyful one, the Lord is with you! Rejoice, all-honorable instrument of the world, by whom the sorrowful sentence that condemned the world to damnation is applied to joy! Call to bliss! Rejoice, truly Blessed One! Rejoice, most excellent Virgin! Rejoice, beautiful church of heavenly glory! Rejoice, consecrated chamber of the King! Rejoice, palace in which Christ was betrothed and united with humanity! Blessed are You among women, Whom Isaiah saw with prophetic eyes and called Prophetess, Virgin, sealed book! Blessed indeed are You, called by Ezekiel the star and the closed door through which the One God passed! Blessed indeed are You, the One, Which the man of desires, Daniel, saw as a mountain, and Which the wonderful Habakkuk called the overshadowed mountain, and Your royal ancestor, David, prophetically sang as the mountain of God, the fat mountain, the anointed mountain, the mountain in which God was pleased to dwell. Blessed are You among women, Whom Zechariah, the viewer of the Divine Mysteries, foresaw as an excellent golden lamp, decorated with seven lamps, signifying the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Are You truly reverent, containing in Yourself, as it were, paradise and the Garden of Eden - Christ, Who, by His ineffable omnipotence, coming from Your womb as a fountain of living water, watered the whole face of the earth with four streams of the Gospel?” Hearing such a greeting from the Angel, the Virgin was embarrassed by his words and thought: “What kind of greeting would this be?” She was embarrassed, but not afraid, because such a visit was not completely new, unexpected and sudden. The appearance of the Angel could not frighten Her, for She usually had friendly communication with the Angels even during her stay in the Holy of Holies, where, according to the testimony of Saint Herman, She daily took food from the hands of the Angel. But She was embarrassed in surprise because an Angel had never before come to Her in such great heavenly glory, with such a joyful face and with such words filled with joy. She was embarrassed by the news of all this, especially by the words of the Angel that he came with an unusual greeting, saying: “Blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28), thereby counting Her, the Virgin, among the wives. She was embarrassed, like a chaste one, but she was not afraid, like a courageous one, and, like one gifted with the spirit of prudence and wisdom, she thought to herself: “What kind of greeting would this be? What does the Angel want to tell Me with this greeting? Will he bring Me again into the church of the Lord, or will he bring Me some new food from heaven? Or will he not announce a new secret from God? Will he not teach Me, who ponders so much and cannot understand, how “A virgin will conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14)? What will come of this greeting?” Then the Angel said to Her: - Don't be afraid, Maria! Do not doubt anymore about the Virgin predicted by Isaiah. You are the same Virgin who acquired such grace as to conceive Immanuel without seed and give birth to Him ineffably, as He Himself knows. You have found the grace of God through many of Your virtues, especially the three highest: You have found grace through Your deep humility, for God gives His grace to the humble, saying: “On whom will I look: the humble and silent” (Is. 66:2). You have found grace through Your virgin purity; for God, as the purest by His nature, desires to be born from the Most Pure and Incorruptible Virgin; You have found grace from God through your ardent love for Him, for the Lord said: “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me will find grace” (Prov. 8:17). And since You loved and sought Him with all your heart, therefore you found grace from Him, and You will give birth to a Son, not a mere mortal, but a Divine Son, the Son of the Highest, God from God, born before the ages from the Father without a mother, from You, the Virgin Mother, having to come into being without the Father. His name will be wonderful and ineffable: You will call His name Jesus 2120, which means Savior, for He will save the whole world and reign, without comparison, more glorious than the forefather David and all the former kings from the house of Jacob. But His kingdom will not be temporary, but eternal, endless into endless centuries. “How will this happen,” Mary asked Angela, “when I don’t know my husband?” The Most Pure Virgin believed the words of the Angel, for by the grace of God, with which She was filled, she knew that She would give birth to the Good One, of which she received notification during her stay in the church from God Himself; but She just didn’t know: how would this come true, how could a Virgin who has not known a husband give birth? That’s why She asked the Angel: “How will this happen?” Discussing this, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, on Her behalf, speaks to the Angel: “O Angel! Tell Me the image of birth itself - and you will find My heart ready to fulfill Divine favor: for I desire such a fruit for Myself, but without breaking virginity.” Saint Ambrose discusses the same thing as follows: “She asked the Angel well: “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34). For, although She had previously read that the Virgin would conceive, she did not know how this would come true. She actually read the prophetic word: “Behold, the virgin will conceive,” but how she conceives is only now announced to Her by an Angel during the Annunciation. And so the Angel reveals to the Virgin the very image of conception, that this conception will not be according to human nature and the ordinary order, but supernaturally, “wherever God wills, the order of nature will be overcome” 2121, that this conception will be through the action of the Holy Spirit: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). You will receive from Him in Your womb, and He will accomplish an unknown conception in You. The One who could create Adam from a soulless earth, will he not be even more able to produce a Living Child from a living Virgin? If it was possible for God to create a wife from Adam’s bone, how much more can He create man in a virgin’s womb? The all-active Holy Spirit will do that in Your, Most Holy Virgin, Most Pure womb, from Your flesh, the flesh of the incorporeal Son of God will be mysteriously built. Through You, the door sealed with purity and preserved by virginity, the Lord will pass, like a ray of sunlight passes through glass and crystal, sanctifying and enlightening You with His Divine glory; so that You will be the true Mother of God, who gave birth to a perfect God and a perfect man, and an incorruptible Virgin, both before the Nativity, and abiding by Her both at Christmas and after the Nativity: this will be done in You, by the influx of the Holy Spirit, by the power of the Most High. And that this is true, in confirmation of this, let it serve as a sign to you that your relative Elizabeth, who was barren from her youth and already old, has conceived a son, for this is what pleases God, who makes the possible possible out of the impossible. For among people it seems impossible both for an incorruptible Virgin to conceive and give birth without a husband, and for a barren and old woman to conceive and give birth; but with the omnipotent Creator everything is possible, for “with God no word will remain powerless” (Luke 1:37); By His wave, the barren old woman conceived, and You, Virgin, will conceive. Hearing this news from the Angel, the Most Pure One bowed before the will of Her Lord and with the deepest humility answered from Her heart filled with love for God: “I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to Me according to Your word” (Luke 1:38). And at the same moment, by the action of the Holy Spirit, an indescribable conception took place in Her holy womb, without carnal delight, but not without spiritual delight. Then Her virginal heart melted especially strongly with Divine desire, and Her spirit burned with the flame of Seraphim love, and Her whole mind, as if being outside itself, was immersed in God, inexpressibly enjoying His goodness. In this delight of Her spirit with the all-perfect love of God and the mind with the vision of God, the Son of God was conceived, and “the Word became flesh and dwelt in us” (John 1:14) by incarnation.” The angel, having completed, at the command of God, his gospel and reverently, reverently worshiped the One Incarnate in the virgin’s womb and the Virgin, who embodies God in Herself, departed from Her to the throne of the Lord - Hosts, glorifying the mystery of the incarnation of God, with all the heavenly powers, in inscrutable joy forever. Amen. The day of our salvation is the main thing, and from the beginning of time the mystery has been revealed: the Son of God is the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel preaches grace. In the same way, we also cry out to the Mother of God: Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you. To the chosen victorious commander, as if we had been delivered from the evil ones, let us sing thanksgiving to Thy servants, the Mother of God; but as if you have an invincible power, free us from all troubles, and let us call to you: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride. George Kedrin is a Byzantine writer of the late 11th and early 12th centuries. Of his works, the “Synopis istorion” is especially famous. This work covers the history of the Jewish and Roman people and Byzantium, but does not have particularly great merits, since it is a retelling of other historical works in places, especially the chronicles of John Skylitzes and George Syncellus. This prophecy is given by St. Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 1:23). Emmanuel is the name given to Jesus Christ by the prophet. Isaiah (Is. 7:14) Translated from Hebrew, it means “God with us.” St. Evod is an apostle of the 70. Nicephorus Callistus, church historian of the 14th century, monk of the Sophia Monastery in Constantinople. His remarkable work is “Ecclesiastical History” (in 18 books), completed before the death of the Byzantine Emperor Phocas (611). Callistus died in 1350. Jesus (Greek Ἰησους - healer, from ιηαω - I heal) according to Hebrew. Iehochua - Jehovah's help, Savior. You might be interested in: