The ''Gabrieliad'' (russian: «Гавриилиада», ''Gavriiliada'') is a humorous poem on the subject of the Annunciation widely believed to have been written by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

in April

1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von B ...

, while he was in his student years.

Synopsis

The ''Gavriiliada'' is a satiric description of the beginning of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

, primarily making fun of the virgin birth and God's ineptness. In Pushkin's narrative,

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, a young and attractive Jewish girl, is married to an old and

impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of mal ...

carpenter who has taken her as wife only to keep house. God chooses her to be the mother of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and sends

Archangel Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

to announce the good news. Satan learns about God's plan and arrives first in the form of a snake to seduce and deflower Mary. Gabriel arrives too late to save her from Satan but manages to drive him off with an illegal punch to testicles. Then he quickly has his way with Mary, who had already seen him in a vision and was impatiently waiting for him. The next morning, God in the form of a dove flies into Mary's bedroom and has intercourse with her, thus thinking He has conceived Jesus.

Case of Gavrieliad

The poem was written anonymously because the author could be prosecuted for blasphemy by the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

. In 1828, an official investigation of the alleged authorship by Pushkin started. After initially denying writing the poem, Pushkin admitted it in a letter to Nicholas I.

External links

Full text

Article on the Gavriiliada case
1821 poems Poetry by Aleksandr Pushkin Cultural depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus {{Alexander Pushkin