The
Annunciation

Annunciation (from
Latin

Latin annuntiatio), also referred to as the
Annunciation

Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Annunciation

Annunciation of Our
Lady,[1] or the
Annunciation

Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration
of the announcement by the angel
Gabriel

Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she
would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking
his Incarnation.[2]
Gabriel

Gabriel told Mary to name her son Yeshua, meaning
"YHWH is salvation".[3]
According to Luke 1:26, the
Annunciation

Annunciation occurred "in the sixth month"
of Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist.[4] Many Christians
observe this event with the
Feast of the Annunciation

Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March,[2]
an approximation of the northern vernal equinox nine full months
before Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. In England, this
came to be known as Lady Day, [5] and
Lady Day

Lady Day marked the beginning of
the English new year until 1752.[5] The 2nd-century writer
Irenaeus

Irenaeus of
Lyon regarded the conception of
Jesus

Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the
Passion.[6][disputed – discuss]
The
Annunciation

Annunciation has been a key topic in
Christian art

Christian art in general, as
well as in Marian art in the Catholic Church, particularly during the
Middle Ages

Middle Ages and Renaissance. A work of art depicting the Annunciation
is sometimes itself called an Annunciation.
Contents
1 Biblical account
1.1 Manuscript 4Q246
1.2 In the Quran
2 Eastern Christianity
2.1 Churches marking the location of the Annunciation
3 Feast day
4 In Christian art
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Biblical account[edit]
The
Annunciation

Annunciation by Salomon Koninck, 1655, Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm
The
Annunciation

Annunciation by Murillo, 1655–1660, Hermitage Museum, Saint
Petersburg
The
Annunciation

Annunciation (Evangelismos). Orthodox style icon by anonymous,
1825, Church Museum of the Bishopry of Thessaloniki
In the Bible, the
Annunciation

Annunciation is narrated in Luke 1:26–38:[7]
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel
Gabriel

Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s
name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you
who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be
afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and
give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be
great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over
Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a
virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born
will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is
going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be
unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will
ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to
me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
A separate, briefer annunciation is given to Joseph in Matthew
1:18–22:[7]
18 This is how the birth of
Jesus

Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother
Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came
together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not
want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her
quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the
prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and
they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Manuscript 4Q246[edit]
Main article: 4Q246
Manuscript
4Q246

4Q246 of the
Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls reads:
[X] shall be great upon the earth. O king, all people shall make
peace, and all shall serve him. He shall be called the son of the
Great God, and by his name shall he be hailed as the Son of God, and
they shall call him Son of the Most High.[8]
It has been suggested that the similarity in content is such that
Luke's version may in some way be dependent on the Qumran text.[9]
In the Quran[edit]
Annunciation

Annunciation in miniature
Main articles:
Mary in Islam
.jpg/360px-Virgin_Mary_and_Jesus_(old_Persian_miniature).jpg)
Mary in Islam and
Jesus

Jesus in Islam
The
Annunciation

Annunciation is described in the Quran, in Sura 003:045
(Al-i-Imran – The Family of Imran) verses 45–51 (Yusuf Ali
translation):
45 Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of
a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held
in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of)
those nearest to Allah;"
Sura 019:016 (Maryam – Mary) verses 16–26 also refers to the
Annuciation.
Eastern Christianity[edit]
Annunciation

Annunciation to Zechariah, taken from an Ethiopian
Bible

Bible (c. 1700),
kept at the British Library
Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth.
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See also: Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox and
Oriental Orthodox

Oriental Orthodox churches, the Feast of
the
Annunciation

Annunciation is one of the twelve "Great Feasts" of the liturgical
year, and is among the eight of them that are counted as "feasts of
the Lord". Throughout the Orthodox Church, the feast is celebrated on
March 25. In the churches that use the new style Calendar (Revised
Julian or Gregorian), this date coincides with March 25 on the civil
calendar, while in those churches using the old style Julian calendar,
March 25 is reckoned to fall on April 7 on the civil calendar, and
will fall on April 8 starting in the year 2100.
The traditional hymn (troparion) for the feast of the Annunciation
goes back to St Athanasius. It runs:[10]
Today is the beginning of our salvation,
And the revelation of the eternal mystery!
The
Son of God

Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As
Gabriel

Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:[n 1]
"Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!"
As the action initiating the Incarnation of Christ,
Annunciation

Annunciation has
such an important place in Orthodox Christian theology that the festal
Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom is always celebrated on the
feast, even if it falls on Great and Holy Friday, the day when the
crucifixion of
Jesus

Jesus is remembered. Indeed, the
Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy is
celebrated on
Great and Holy Friday

Great and Holy Friday only when the latter coincides
with the feast of the Annunciation.[citation needed] If the
Annunciation

Annunciation falls on Pascha (
Easter
.jpg)
Easter Sunday) itself, a coincidence
which is called Kyriopascha, then it is celebrated jointly with the
Resurrection, which is the focus of Easter. Due to these and similar
rules, the rubrics surrounding the celebration of the feast are the
most complex of all in Orthodox Christian liturgics.
St Ephraim taught that the date of the conception of
Jesus

Jesus Christ
fell on 10
Nisan

Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, the day in which the passover
lamb was selected according to Exodus 12. Some years 10
Nisan

Nisan falls on
March 25, which is the traditional date for the Feast of the
Annunciation

Annunciation and is an official holiday in Lebanon.
Churches marking the location of the Annunciation[edit]
Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches hold that the
Annunciation

Annunciation took place at Nazareth, but slightly differ as to the
precise location. The
Basilica of the Annunciation

Basilica of the Annunciation marks the site
preferred by the former, while the Greek Orthodox Church of the
Annunciation

Annunciation marks that preferred by the latter.
Feast day[edit]
Main article: Feast of the Annunciation
The feast of the
Annunciation

Annunciation is usually held on March 25.[2] It is
moved in the Catholic Church, Anglican and
Lutheran

Lutheran liturgical
calendars when that date falls during
Holy Week

Holy Week or
Easter
.jpg)
Easter Week or on a
Sunday.[11] The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and
Eastern Catholic Churches

Eastern Catholic Churches do not move the feast. Instead they have
special combined liturgies for those years when the Annunciation
coincides with another feast. In these churches, even on Good Friday a
Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy is celebrated when it coincides with the Annunciation.
One of the most frequent accusations brought against New Calendarism
is the fact that in the New Calendar churches (which celebrate the
Annunciation

Annunciation according to the New Calendar, but
Easter
.jpg)
Easter according to
the Old Calendar), these special Liturgies can never be celebrated any
more, since the
Annunciation

Annunciation is always long before
Holy Week

Holy Week on the
New Calendar. The Old Calendarists believe that this impoverishes the
liturgical and spiritual life of the Church
Greek Independence Day is celebrated on the feast of the Annunciation
and 25 March is also a national holiday in the Lebanon.
When the calendar system of
Anno Domini

Anno Domini was first introduced by
Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525, he assigned the beginning of the new
year to March 25 since, according to Catholic theology, the era of
grace began with the Incarnation of Christ. The first certain mentions
of the feast are in a canon of the 656 Council of Toledo, where it is
described as celebrated throughout the church.[2] The 692 Council of
Constantinople "in Trullo" forbade observance of any festivals during
Lent, excepting Sunday and the Feast of the Annunciation. An earlier
origin had been claimed for it on the grounds that it appeared in
manuscripts of the sermons of
Athanasius

Athanasius and
Gregory Thaumaturgus

Gregory Thaumaturgus but
they were subsequently discovered to be spurious.[2]
Along with Easter, March 25 was used as the
New Year's Day
.jpg/480px-Mexico_City_New_Years_2013!_(8333128248).jpg)
New Year's Day in many
pre-modern Christian countries.[12] The holiday was moved to January 1
in France by Charles IX's 1564 Edict of Roussillon.
Lady Day

Lady Day was
the English New Year's until 1752. Also in England, the 1240 Synod of
Worcester banned all servile work during the Feast of the
Annunciation, making it a day of rest.[7]
In Christian art[edit]
Main article:
Annunciation

Annunciation in Christian art
See also: Marian art in the Catholic Church
Part of a series on the
Mariology
of the Catholic Church
The Immaculate Conception, by Murillo
Overview
Prayers
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Sub tuum praesidium
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Catholicism portal
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The
Annunciation

Annunciation has been one of the most frequent subjects of
Christian art.[13][14] Depictions of the
Annunciation

Annunciation go back to early
Christianity, with the
Priscilla catacomb

Priscilla catacomb including the oldest known
fresco of the Annunciation, dating to the 4th century.[15] It has been
a favorite artistic subject in both the Christian East and as Roman
Catholic Marian art, particularly during the
Middle Ages

Middle Ages and
Renaissance, and figures in the repertoire of almost all of the great
masters. The figures of the virgin Mary and the angel Gabriel, being
emblematic of purity and grace, were favorite subjects of Roman
Catholic Marian art, where the scene is also used to represent the
perpetual virginity of Mary via the announcement by the angel Gabriel
that Mary would conceive a child to be born the Son of God.
Works on the subject have been created by artists such as Sandro
Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Duccio, Jan van Eyck, and
Murillo among others. The mosaics of
Pietro Cavallini

Pietro Cavallini in Santa Maria
in Trastevere in Rome (1291), the frescos of
Giotto

Giotto in the Scrovegni
Chapel in
Padua

Padua (1303), Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco at the church of
Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella in
Florence

Florence (1486), and Donatello's gilded
sculpture at the church of Santa Croce,
Florence

Florence (1435) are famous
examples.
The
Annunciation

Annunciation by Johann Christian Schröder, c. 1690
The
Annunciation

Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis, 1712, Saint Louis Art Museum,
Saint Louis. The white lily in the angel's hand is symbolic of Mary's
purity[n 2] in Marian art.[16]
See also[edit]
Angelus
Annunciade, religious order
Annunciation

Annunciation of Ustyug
Basilica of the Annunciation
Chronology of Jesus
Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth
Incarnation (Christianity)
Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
Roman Catholic Marian art
Notes[edit]
^ In Eastern Orthodoxy, Mary is referred to as
Theotokos

Theotokos (Greek:
Θεοτόκος, from Θεο, theo-, "God", and τοκος, tokos,
"bearer").
^ Purity is a wider concept than virginity, which is comprised within
it, but which relates to a physical aspect only of purity.
^ "Lessons for Holy Days » The Prayer Book Society of Canada".
Prayerbook.ca. 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
^ a b c d e EB (1878).
^ "
Bible

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 1:18-23 - Complete Jewish Bible".
Bible

Bible Gateway.
^ Patella, Michael (2005), The Gospel according to Luke, p. 14,
ISBN 0-8146-2862-1
^ a b EB (1911b).
^ Michael Alan Anderson, Symbols of Saints (ProQuest 2008
ISBN 978-0-549-56551-2), pp. 42–46
^ a b c EB (1911a).
^ Dead Sea scrolls manuscript Q4Q246, translated in "An Unpublished
Dead Sea Scroll Text Parallels Luke’s Infancy Narrative", Biblical
Archaeology Review, April/May 1990
^ The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls: Their significance for
understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity, James C.
VanderKam, Peter W. Flint, p. 335, Continuum, 2005,
ISBN 0-567-08468-X
^ Speaking the Truth in Love: Theological and Spiritual Exhortations
by John Chryssavgis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomu 2010
ISBN 978-0-8232-3337-3 page 85
^ Holweck, Frederick George (1907). "Feast of the Annunciation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic
Encyclopedia. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ Groves, Marsha (2005), Manners and Customs of the Middle Ages,
p. 27
^ The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture by Peter
Murray and Linda Murray 1996 ISBN 0-19-866165-7 page 23
^ Images of the Mother of God: by Maria Vassilaki 2005
ISBN 0-7546-3603-8 pages 158–159
^ The
Annunciation

Annunciation To Mary by Eugene LaVerdiere 2007
ISBN 1-56854-557-6 page 29
^ Ross, Leslie. Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary, p. 16, 1996
ISBN 0-313-29329-5
References[edit]
Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "Annunciation", Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
p. 90
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Annunciation", Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 78
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Lady Day", Encyclopædia
Britannica, 16 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press,
p. 62
External links[edit]
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Wikisource

Wikisource has the text of the 1913
Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Encyclopedia article The
Annunciation.
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Annunciation

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Annunciation

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