Luke 1.39-49, 56 (Matins Gospel, Annunciation)

39Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

46Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. 47My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, 48for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. 49For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

56Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

Isaiah 7.1-14 (6th Hour)

1And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it. 2And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind. 3And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, you, and your son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field. 4And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again. 5And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying, 6We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it; 7thus says the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass. 8But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if you⌃ believe not, neither will you⌃ at all understand. 10And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying, 11Ask for yourself a sign of the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height. 12And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13And he said, Hear you⌃ now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you⌃ contend against the Lord? 14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel.

Genesis 5.32-6.8 (Vespers)

1And Noe was five hundred years old, and he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. 3And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years. 4Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown. 5And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually, 6then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply. 7And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them. 8But Noe found grace before the Lord God.

Proverbs 6.20-7.1 (Vespers)

20My son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother: 21but bind them upon your soul continually, and hang them as a chain about your neck. 22Whenever you walk, lead this along and let it be with you; that it may talk with you when you wake. 23For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction: 24to keep you continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue. 25Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be you caught by your eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids. 26For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men. 27Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments? 28or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet? 29So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her. 30It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul: 31but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods. 32But the adulterer through lack of sense procures destruction to his soul. 33He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off. 34For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.

1My son, keep my words, and hide with you my commandments. My son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but him:

Exodus 3.1-8 (Vespers, Annunciation)

1And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep near to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb. 2And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire out of the bush, and he sees that the bush burns with fire, —but the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. 4And when the Lord saw that he drew near to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses; and he said, What is it? 5And he said, Draw not near hither: loose your sandals from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. 6And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. 7And the Lord said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction. 8And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey, into the place of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites.

Proverbs 8.22-30 (Vespers, Annunciation)

22The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works. 23He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth: 24even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: 25before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me. 26The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracks, and the highest inhabited parts of the world. 27When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds: 28and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth: 29decree. and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth: 30I was by him, suiting myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.

Hebrews 2.11-18 (Epistle, Annunciation)

11For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”

13Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.” 14Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham. 17Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

Luke 1.24-38 (Gospel, Annunciation)

24After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, 25“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”

26Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

29But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. 36Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”

38Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

When Mary the Virgin was about fourteen years old, the Archangel Gabriel came to Joseph’s dwelling, where she was living, and said to her, ‘Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ Receiving assurance that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God Himself, she answered in humility, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ Immediately, the Holy Spirit came upon her, the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and the Incarnation, long awaited by the whole creation, took place: He who contains the whole universe consented to be contained in the womb of one woman, the most holy Theotokos.

The Church teaches us that it was within the holy Virgin’s power to refuse the divine conception: her knowing and willing acceptance, the consummation of the faith of the whole righteous remnant of Israel, shows us that our very salvation is the fruit of the cooperation (synergia) of human faithfulness with God’s saving grace.

Carrying in her womb the Savior of the Universe, the Virgin went to the hills of Judea to stay with her kinswoman Elizabeth, who six months before had conceived in her old age (by Zacharias the priest) St John the Forerunner. As the holy Virgin approached, the child John leaped in his mother’s womb for joy, prophesying the coming of Emmanuel. Feeling the prophecy, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed the holy Mary and the fruit of her womb. And Mary in turn glorified God, saying ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior’ (Luke ch. 1).

New Confessor/Hieromartyr Tikhon, patriarch of Moscow (1925)

Born in 1865, he was tonsured a monk in 1891, and consecrated a Bishop in 1891. From 1900, he was Bishop of Alaska, with oversight of the Church throughout North America. In America, he consecrated the first Orthodox monastery on the continent and worked tirelessly to unite all ethnic groups as one flock. In 1907 he was made Bishop of Yaroslavl and returned to Russia.

In 1917, he was elected to be the first Patriarch of Moscow since the abolition of the Patriarchate by Tsar Peter the Great more than 200 years before. Almost immediately, the Russian Church was plunged into new and terrible persecution as an atheist and totalitarian government seized control. Patriarch Tikhon always sought not to quarrel with the Communist government, but his refusal to deny his faith or his Church marked him in their eyes as an enemy. In 1925 he died under mysterious circumstances, and is generally thought to have been murdered by the Soviets. He is commemorated as a Confessor, and by many as a Martyr also.

Note: because his commemoration falls on the Feast of the Annunciation, his service is usually transferred to the day before or after the Feast.