Author: Press service of the temple
Publication date: 04/06/2019
Dear parishioners, congratulations on the holiday!
On April 7, the Church celebrates the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - one of the 12 main (twelfth) holidays in the Orthodox calendar.
Annunciation means “good” or “good” news. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced to Her about the coming birth of Jesus Christ - the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
Troparion to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, tone 4
The day of our salvation is the most important, / and from time immemorial the mystery has been revealed: / The Son of God, the Son of the Virgin, is born, / and Gabriel preaches grace. / Moreover, we also cry out to the Mother of God with him: / Rejoice, O full of grace, / The Lord is with you.
Translation: On this day of our salvation, the beginning and the eternal mystery is revealed: the Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin and Gabriel preaches the gospel of grace. Therefore, we will also cry out to the Mother of God: “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”
Kontakion to the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, tone 8 To the victorious Voivode who has been lifted up,/ as having been delivered from the evil ones,/ let us write thanksgiving to Thy servants, O Theotokos,/ but, as having an invincible power,/ freeing us from all troubles, yes we call Ti // rejoice, Bride Not a bride.
Translation: To the Commander who defends us, for deliverance from terrible troubles, we institute victory celebrations for You, we, Your servants, are grateful, Mother of God! But You, as having irresistible power, free us from all dangers, so we cry to You: “Rejoice, Bride, who has not known marriage!”
Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
Troparion of the Annunciation, tone 4:
The day of our salvation is the most important and the most important mystery since the ages: the Son of God is the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel preaches grace. In the same way, we cry out to the Mother of God: Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Kontakion of the Annunciation, tone 8:
To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil ones, let us write thanks to Thee, Thy servants, to the Mother of God, but, as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
The Greatness of the Feast of the Annunciation:
The Archangel's voice/ cry to You, Pure One:/ Rejoice,/ Gracious One,// The Lord is with You.
Worthy of the Feast of the Annunciation, voice 4:
Annunciation - the day of the creation of the world
For the first time, this date appears in the writings of Western authors of the 3rd century Tertullian and the Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome as the day of the Crucifixion of the Savior according to the Roman calendar (back in the 6th century, St. Martin of Braga wrote that many Gallic bishops considered Easter a fixed holiday).
Preach, O earth, great joy, // Praise, O heavens, the glory of God.
Like the animate ark of God, / let no evil hand touch it, / but the lips of the faithful to the Mother of God are silent, / the voice of an Angel sings, / let them cry out with joy: / Rejoice, full of grace, / the Lord is with you. Gospel of Luke I, 24-38
After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself for five months and said: Thus did the Lord do for me in these days, in which he looked upon me, to remove from me the reproach of men.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; The name of the Virgin is: Mary.
The angel, coming to Her, said: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women.
When she saw him, she was embarrassed by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this would be.
And the Angel said to Her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for You have found favor with God; and behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
Mary said to the Angel: How will this be when I don’t know my husband?
The angel answered Her: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Here is Elizabeth, Your relative, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month, for with God no word will remain powerless.
Then Mary said: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from Her.
The meaning of the holiday of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh:
“The Annunciation is the day of good news that a Virgin has been found throughout the human world, so believing in God, so deeply capable of obedience and trust, that the Son of God can be born from Her. The incarnation of the Son of God, on the one hand, is a matter of God’s love - the cross, affectionate, saving - and God’s power; but at the same time, the incarnation of the Son of God is a matter of human freedom. St. Gregory Palamas says that the Incarnation would have been just as impossible without the free human consent of the Mother of God as it would have been impossible without the creative will of God. And on this day of the Annunciation, we contemplate the Virgin in the Mother of God, who with all her heart, all her mind, all her soul, all her strength managed to trust God to the end.
And the good news was truly terrible: the appearance of an Angel, this greeting: Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb, could not but cause not only amazement, not only trepidation, but also fear in the soul of a virgin who did not know a husband - how is this could be?..
And here we grasp the difference between the wavering - albeit deep - faith of Zechariah, the father of the Forerunner, and the faith of the Mother of God. Zechariah is also told that his wife will have a son - naturally, despite her old age; and his answer to this message of God: How can this be? This can't happen! How can you prove this? What assurance can you give me?.. The Mother of God poses the question only this way: How can this happen to me - I’m a virgin?.. And to the Angel’s answer that this will happen, She responds only with words of complete surrender of Herself into the hands of God; Her words: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; wake me according to your word...
The word “slave” in our current usage speaks of enslavement; In the Slavic language, a person who gave his life and his will to another called himself a slave. And She really gave Her life, Her will, Her destiny to God, accepting with faith - that is, with incomprehensible trust - the news that She would be the Mother of the incarnate Son of God. Righteous Elizabeth says about Her: Blessed is she who believed, for that which was spoken to Her by the Lord shall be done...
In the Mother of God we find an amazing ability to trust God to the end; but this ability is not natural, not natural: such faith can be forged in oneself by the feat of purity of heart, by the feat of love for God. A feat, for the fathers say: Shed blood and you will receive the Spirit... One of the Western writers says that the Incarnation became possible when the Virgin of Israel was found, Who with all her thought, with all her heart, with all Her life was able to pronounce the Name of God so that It became flesh in Her.
This is the gospel that we have now heard in the Gospel: the human race gave birth, brought God as a gift to the Virgin, who was able in Her royal human freedom to become the Mother of the Son of God, who freely gave Himself for the salvation of the world. Amen".
Materials from previous years
- City of the Annunciation, 04/07/2018, Tatyana Soboleva - read ...The angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a Virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; The name of the Virgin is: Mary. The angel, coming to Her, said: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women (Luke 1:26-28).
- Annunciation, how to find unshakable joy? 04/10/2017, Prot. Yaroslav Ivanov - read the Festive Sermon of Archpriest Yaroslav Ivanov “The Day of Our Salvation is Chief.” From these words, with which the troparion of the Feast of the Annunciation begins, it becomes clear: it is this event, and not the Nativity of Christ, as some answer offhand, that marks the beginning of our path to salvation. Nine months before the birth of Christ, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on April 7. The events of the holiday are as follows: Archangel Gabriel appears in the cell of the Mother of God, still a very young girl, and informs Mary that She is to become the Mother of God.
- Annunciation, 04/06/2016, Irina Vysokovskaya - read Annunciation is one of the most joyful holidays of the year. The very word “good news” tells us about special joy, like the entire Gospel, which in Greek also means “good news”; and even the bell ringing in the temple is called “blagovest”: it means that people are called to joyful worship. And besides, we had a good custom: on this day we release birds from their cages into the wild. What is served on this day is not the abbreviated Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and not the long Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, but the usual one of St. John Chrysostom. Fasting is permitted in the sense that it is permissible to eat fish; other times during Lent this is permitted only at the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem. At meals, in general, “there is great consolation for the brethren: we eat fish, drink wine, some day it will happen” during fasting. However, during Holy Week, in the first four days, permission is given “for oil and wine”; and on Good Friday - only for wine; and “we eat dry food”: usually on this day the monks do not eat or even drink anything... Of course, “Open to me repentance...” is never sung: it is not a time of repentance, but only a joyful one... Annunciation... The ringing is “in all seriousness” . So the Church rejoices!
Troparions and kontakion for the holidays
Wed. worshipSeptember 8, Nativity of the Virgin Mary. — September 14, Elevation of the Cross.
Introduction to the Temple
(November 21).
Troparion,
voice 4
:
On the day of God's favor, the prefiguration and the preaching of salvation for men, the Virgin clearly appears in the temple of God and announces Christ to everyone. To that we too will loudly cry out: Rejoice, fulfillment of the Creator’s vision.
Kontakion,
voice 4
:
The most pure temple of the Savior, the valuable palace and the Virgin, the sacred treasure of the glory of God, is today introduced into the house of the Lord, conferring grace, even in the Divine Spirit, even as the Angels of God sing: This is the village of heaven.
Nativity
(December 25).
Troparion,
voice 4
:
Thy Nativity, Christ our God, shines the light of the world's mind, in it for the stars who serve as stars learn to bow to Thee, the Sun of righteousness, and lead Thee from the heights of the East, Lord, glory to Thee.
Kontakion,
voice 3
:
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Most Essential, and the earth brings a den to the Unapproachable; Angels and shepherds praise, and wolves travel with a star: for for our sake, the Young Child, the Eternal God, was born.
Epiphany
(6th January).
Troparion,
voice 1
:
In the Jordan I am baptized to You, O Lord, Trinitarian adoration appeared: For the voice of your parents testified to You, naming Your beloved Son: and the Spirit in the form of a dove made known to Your words the statement: Appear, O Christ our God, and enlighten the world, glory to You.
Kontakion,
voice 4: Thou hast appeared this day to the whole universe, and Thy light, O Lord, has appeared upon us, in the minds of those who sing Thee: Thou hast come and Thou hast appeared, the Unapproachable Light.
Presentation of the Lord
(February 2).
Troparion,
voice 1: Rejoice, Blessed Virgin Mary, for from You has risen the Sun of Truth, Christ our God, enlightening those who are in darkness: rejoice and you, the righteous elder, are received into the arms of the Liberator of our souls, who gives us resurrection.
Kontakion,
voice 4: You have sanctified the womb of the Maiden with Your birth, and blessed the hand of Simeon, as it was fitting, and now You have saved us, O Christ God; but pacify your life in battle, and strengthen the Orthodox Christians, whom you have loved, O O One who loves mankind.
Annunciation
(March 25).
Troparion,
voice 4: The day of our salvation is the main thing, and since the beginning of time the mystery has been revealed, the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin, is born, and Gabriel preaches grace. In the same way, we cry out to the Mother of God: Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Kontakion,
voice 8: To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil, let us write thanks to Thy servants, the Mother of God: but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
Transfiguration
(August 6).
Troparion,
voice 7: Thou art transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, showing Thy disciples Thy glory, as unto a man; May Your ever-present light shine upon us sinners too, through the prayers of the Mother of God, Light-Giver, glory to You.
Kontakion,
voice 7: Thou art transfigured on the mountain, and as Thy disciples have seen Thy glory, O Christ our God: that when they see Thee crucified, they will understand the free suffering, and the world may preach: for Thou art truly the Father's radiance.
Dormition
(August 15).
Troparion,
voice 1: At Christmas you preserved your virginity, at the Dormition you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos, you reposed in the Life, Mother of the Life of the Life, and through Your prayers you delivered our souls from death.
Kontakion,
voice 2: In the prayers of the never-sleeping Mother of God, and in intercessions, the immutable hope, the grave and mortification cannot be restrained: like the Mother of the Life, put to the Life the one who dwells in the ever-virgin womb.
Troparion and Kontakion
from the Lenten Triodion
On the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Kontakion,
voice 4: Let us flee from the high speech of the Pharisees, and let us learn from the high speech of the publicans the high verb of the humble, crying out in repentance: O Savior of the world, cleanse Thy servants.
On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Kontakion,
voice 3: You foolishly ran away from your Fatherly glory, squandering it on the wicked; you betrayed your wealth to me. In the same way I bring the voice of the prodigal to Thee: those who have sinned before Thee, O generous Father, accept me repentantly, and make me as one of Thy hired servants.
On Meat Week
Kontakion,
voice 6: When you come, O God, to the earth with glory, and everyone trembles: the river of fire draws before the judgment, the books are unbent; and the secret are: then deliver me from the unquenchable fire and make me worthy to sit at Your right hand, O Most Righteous Judge.
On Cheese Festival Week
Kontakion,
voice 6: Master of wisdom, Giver of meaning, punisher of the foolish, and Defender of the poor, strengthen, enlighten my heart, Master: Give me the word, the Father’s Word, for I will not forbid my lips to call You: Merciful, have mercy on me who have fallen.
On the 1st Sunday of the Holy Pentecost
Troparion,
voice 2: We worship Your most pure image, O Good One, asking for forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God: by the will of Your flesh You have deigned to ascend to the cross, so that You may deliver what You have created from the work of the enemy. Thus we cry out to You in gratitude: You have filled all with joy, our Savior, who came to save the world.
Kontakion,
voice 2: The indescribable Word of the Father, from You, Mother of God, we describe ourselves incarnate: and imagining the defiled image into the ancient, with the Divine goodness of the mixture: but confessing salvation, in deed and word, we imagine this.
On the 2nd Sunday of the Holy Pentecost
Troparion,
Tone 8: Lamp of Orthodoxy, affirmation of the Church and teacher, kindness of monks, invincible champion of theologians, Gregory the wonderworker, Thessalonite praise, preacher of grace, I pray for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion,
voice 8: Holy and divine organ of wisdom, luminous theology according to the trumpet, we sing to you Gregory the God-speaker: but as the mind stands before the first mind, to Him our mind, Father, instruct us, so we call: Rejoice, preacher of grace.
On the 3rd Sunday of the Holy Pentecost
Troparion,
voice 1: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving Thy residence through Thy Cross.
Kontakion,
Voice 7: There is no one who guards the gates of Eden with a flaming weapon: for you will find the glorious soul, the tree of the cross: having driven away the sting of death and the victory of hell, you appeared, my Savior, crying out to those in hell: enter again into paradise.
On the 4th Sunday of the Holy Pentecost
Troparion,
voice 1: Desert dweller and angel in body, and wonderworker appeared to our God-bearing Father John: by fasting, vigil, and prayer, we receive heavenly gifts, healing the sick, and the souls of those who flow to you by faith: glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to Him who crowned you, glory to Him who works through you healing to all.
Kontakion,
voice 4: The Lord of abstinence, the true one, set you on high, like an unflattering star that guides the ends, our teacher John, our father.
On the 5th Sunday of the Holy Pentecost
Troparion,
voice 8: In you, mother, it is known that you were saved in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and in action you taught to despise the flesh, for it passes away: to be diligent about the souls, things more immortal: in the same way, the angels rejoice, the Venerable Mary, the spirit is yours.
Kontakion,
voice 3: First filled with all sorts of fornications, the bride of Christ has appeared today in repentance, imitating the angelic life, destroying the demons of the cross with weapons: for this sake of the Kingdom the bride has appeared, O most glorious Mary
Entrance to Jerusalem
Troparion,
Tone 1: Assuring the general resurrection before Your passion, You raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ our God. Likewise, we, like the youths of victory who bear signs of victory, cry out to You, the conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Kontakion,
voice 6: On the throne in heaven, carried on the earth by lots, O Christ God, Thou didst receive the praise of Angels and the singing of children, calling to Thee: Blessed art Thou, who cometh to call Adam.
Troparion and Kontakion
from Triodion Tsvetnoy
On Easter week
Troparion,
voice 5: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the tombs.
Kontakion,
voice 8: Even though you descended into the grave, Immortal, you destroyed the power of hell, and you rose again as a conqueror, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice, and grant peace to your apostles, grant resurrection to the fallen.
On the Sunday of St. Ap. Thomas
Troparion,
Voice 7: To the sealed tomb, Thou didst shine forth from the tomb, O Christ God, and to the closed doors, Thou appeared as a disciple, the resurrection of all: renewing the right spirit for us, according to Thy great mercy.
Kontakion,
voice 8: Thy curious right hand, life-giving, tested Thomas's ribs, O Christ God: for thou enteredst with the closed door, with the rest of the Apostles crying unto Thee: Thou art the Lord and my God.
On the Sunday of St. Women of the Myrrh-Bearers
Troparion,
voice 2: When you descended to death, Immortal Life, then you killed hell with the brilliance of the Divine. When you raised those who had died from the underworld, all the powers of heaven cried out: O Life-Giver, Christ our God, glory to Thee.
Glory
: The noble Joseph took down Thy Most Pure Body from the tree, having wrapped it in a clean shroud and covered it with stench in a new tomb, and laid it: but Thou hast risen for three days, O Lord, granting great mercy to the world.
And now:
Appearing to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb, the Angel cried out: peace is fitting for the dead, but Christ has appeared alien to corruption, but cry out: the Lord is risen, grant great mercy to the world.
Kontakion,
voice 2: Thou commanded the myrrh-bearing women to rejoice, Thou didst assuage the tears of the foremother Eve with Thy resurrection, O Christ God: Thou didst command Thy apostles to preach: The Savior is risen from the grave.
On the 4th Sunday after Easter
Kontakion,
voice 3: O Lord, my soul, weakened by all sorts of sins and unplaceable deeds, raise up through Your divine intercession, just as You raised up the weakened one of old, so that I call You to save us: generous, glory to Christ, Your power.
On the 5th Sunday after Easter
Kontakion,
voice 8: The Samaritan woman, who came to the well of faith by faith, saw the water of Thy wisdom: and having drunk abundantly of it, she will inherit the kingdom on high forever, as she is ever glorious.
On the 6th Sunday after Easter
Kontakion,
voice 4: Blinded by the eyes of my soul, I come to You, Christ, as if blind from birth, I call You with repentance: You are the bright Light of those who are in darkness.
Ascension
Troparion,
voice 4: Thou art exalted in glory, O Christ our God, having brought joy as a disciple, by the promise of the Holy Spirit, by the former blessing communicated to them: for Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.
Kontakion,
voice 6: Having fulfilled your concern for us, and having united those on earth with heaven, you ascended in glory, Christ our God, in no way departing, but remaining persistent, and crying out to those who love You: I am with you, and no one is against you.
On the 7th Sunday after Easter
Troparion,
voice 8: Glorified art thou, O Christ our God, who founded our Fathers as lights on the earth; and by those who taught us all to the true faith, O Most gracious, glory to Thee.
Kontakion,
voice 8: The Apostle of preaching, and the Father of dogmas, sealed the Church with one faith: even wearing the robe of truth, I have drawn from the hedgehog from above theology, the great sacrament corrects and glorifies piety.
On Trinity
Troparion,
voice 8: Blessed art thou, O Christ our God, Who art wise as fishers of things, having sent down upon them the Holy Spirit, and with them caught the universe, Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.
Kontakion,
voice 8: Whenever the tongues of fire came down, the Most High divided the tongues: and when the fiery tongues were distributed, we called all together into one: and accordingly we glorified the All-Holy Spirit.
On All Saints' Week
Troparion,
voice 4: Who throughout the world has Your Church adorned with scarlet and fine linen, with the blood of You cries out to You, O Christ God: Send down Your bounties upon Your people, grant peace to Your life and great mercy to our souls.
Kontakion,
voice 8: As the firstfruits of nature, to the Planter of creation, the universe brings to Thee, O Lord, the God-bearing martyrs: through their prayers in the deep world Thy Church, Thy residence, O Mother of God, keep Thy most merciful.
On the Sunday of All Saints in the Russian Land who shone forth
Troparion,
voice 8: Like the red fruit of Your saving sowing, the Russian land brings to You, Lord, all the saints who shone forth in that one. With those prayers in the deep world, the Mother of God preserves the Church and our land, O Most Merciful One.
Kontakion,
voice 3: Today the face of the saints, who have pleased God in our land, stands in the church and invisibly prays to God for us: The angels praise him, and all the saints of the Church of Christ will celebrate him: for they all pray to the Eternal God for us.
