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Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin annuntiatio), also referred to as the Annunciation to the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady,[1] or the Annunciation of the
Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the
Blessed Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Jewish
messiah and Son of God, marking His Incarnation.[2] Gabriel told Mary to name her son
Jesus, meaning "YHWH is salvation".[3]

According to Luke 1:26, the 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 on 25 March,[2] an approximation of the northern vernal equinox nine full Annunciation (c. 1472–1475), Uffizi, is thought to be
months before Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. The Annunciation is a key topic Leonardo da Vinci's earliest complete work
in Christian art in general, as well as in Marian art in the Catholic Church, having been
especially prominent during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A work of art depicting the
Annunciation is sometimes itself called an Annunciation.

Contents
Biblical account
Manuscript 4Q246
In the Quran
Eastern Christianity
Churches marking the location of the Annunciation
Feast day
In Christian art
Music
Annunciation, work by unknown
See also artist, c. 1420, Museu Nacional d'Art
de Catalunya, Barcelona
Notes
References
External links

Biblical account
In the Bible, the Annunciation is narrated in Luke 1:26–38 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=L
uke%201:26–38&version=!):[5]

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel 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 favoured!
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 favour 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 Annunciation by El Greco,
the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over c. 1590–1603, Ohara Museum of
Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." Art, Kurashiki, Japan

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 and different annunciation is that given to Joseph in Matthew 1:18–23:[5]

18 This is how the birth of 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 The Annunciation by Salomon
public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Koninck, 1655, Hallwyl Museum,
Stockholm
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,

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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

Manuscript 4Q246 of the 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.[6]

It has been suggested that the similarity in content is such that Luke's version may in some way be dependent The Annunciation by Murillo, 1655–
on the Qumran text.[7] 1660, Hermitage Museum, Saint
Petersburg

In the Quran
The Annunciation is described in the Quran, in Surah 003:045 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc
=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0006%3Asura%3D003%3Averse%3D045) (Ali-Imran – The Family of Imran)
verses 45–51 (Yusuf Ali translation):

45 Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! God 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 God;"

Surah 019:016 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0006%3Asura%

3D019%3Averse%3D016) (Maryam – Mary) verses 16–26 also refers to the Annuciation.

Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Feast of the Annunciation is
The Annunciation (Evangelismos).
one of the twelve "Great Feasts" of the liturgical year, and is among the eight of them that are counted as "feasts
Orthodox style icon by anonymous,
of the Lord". Throughout the Orthodox Church, the feast is celebrated on March 25. In the churches that use the
1825, Church Museum of the
new style Calendar (Revised Julian or Gregorian), this date coincides with March 25 on the civil calendar, while
Bishopry of Thessaloniki
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:[8]

Today is the beginning of our salvation,

And the revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As 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 has such an important place in Orthodox
Christian theology that the festal Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is always celebrated on the feast, even if
it falls on Great and Holy Friday, the day when the crucifixion of Jesus is remembered. Indeed, the Divine Annunciation to Zechariah, taken
Liturgy is celebrated on Great and Holy Friday only when the latter coincides with the feast of the from an Ethiopian Bible (c. 1700),
kept at the British Library
Annunciation.[9] If the Annunciation falls on Pascha (Easter Sunday) itself, a coincidence which is called
Kyriopascha (http://orthodoxwiki.org/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 Christ fell on 10 Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, the
day in which the passover lamb was selected according to Exodus 12. Some years 10 Nisan falls on March 25,
which is the traditional date for the Feast of the Annunciation and is an official holiday in Lebanon.

Churches marking the location of the Annunciation

Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches hold that the Annunciation took place at Nazareth, Greek Orthodox Church of the
but slightly differ as to the precise location. The Basilica of the Annunciation marks the site preferred by the Annunciation, Nazareth
former, while the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation marks that preferred by the latter.

Feast day
The feast of the Annunciation is usually held on March 25.[2] It is moved in the Catholic Church, Anglican and Lutheran liturgical calendars when
that date falls during Holy Week or Easter Week or on a Sunday.[10] The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and 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
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these churches, even on Good Friday a 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 according to the New Calendar, but Easter according to the Old Calendar), these special
Liturgies can never be celebrated any more, since the Annunciation is always long before 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.

Annunciation in miniature
When the calendar system of 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 and Gregory Thaumaturgus but they were
subsequently discovered to be spurious.[2]

Along with Easter, March 25 was used as the New Year's Day in many pre-modern Christian countries.[11] The holiday
was moved to January 1 in France by Charles IX's 1564 Edict of Roussillon. In England, the feast of the Annunciation came to be known as Lady
Day,[12] and Lady Day marked the beginning of the English new year until 1752.[12] Also in England, the 1240 Synod of Worcester banned all servile
work during the Feast of the Annunciation, making it a day of rest.[5]

In Christian art
The Annunciation has been one of the most frequent subjects of Christian art.[13][14] Depictions of the Annunciation go back to early Christianity,
with the 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 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 in Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome (1291), the frescos of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua
(1303), Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco at the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence (1486), and Donatello's gilded sculpture at the church of
Santa Croce, Florence (1435) are famous examples.

The Annunciation by Johann The Annunciation by Paolo de The Annunciation in Russian The Annunciation in Armenian
Christian Schröder, c. 1690 Matteis, 1712, Saint Louis Art art, 14th century. art by Toros Taronetsi, 1323.
Museum, Saint Louis. The
white lily in the angel's hand is
symbolic of Mary's purity[n 2] in
Marian art.[16]

Music

Hans Leo Hassler composed a motet Dixit Maria, setting Mary's consent. Johann Sebastian Bach and others composed cantatas for the feast of the
annunciation which was still celebrated in the Lutheran Church at his time, such as Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.

See also
Angelus
Annunciade, religious order
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

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Notes
1. In Eastern Orthodoxy, Mary is referred to as Theotokos (Greek: Θεοτόκος, from Θεο, theo-, "God", and τοκος, tokos, "bearer").
2. Purity is a wider concept than virginity, which is comprised within it, but which relates to a physical aspect only of purity.
1. "Lessons for Holy Days » The Prayer Book Society of Canada" (htt
p://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/lessons-for-holy-days/).
Prayerbook.ca. 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
2. EB (1878).
3. "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 1:18-23 - Complete Jewish Bible"
(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1:18-23&
version=CJB). Bible Gateway.
4. Patella, Michael (2005), The Gospel according to Luke (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=EqjN49UVuTIC&pg=PA14), p. 14, ISBN 0-
8146-2862-1
5. EB (1911a).
6. Dead Sea scrolls manuscript Q4Q246, translated in "An Unpublished
Dead Sea Scroll Text Parallels Luke's Infancy Narrative", Biblical
Archaeology Review, April/May 1990
7. 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
8. Speaking the Truth in Love: Theological and Spiritual Exhortations by
John Chryssavgis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomu 2010
ISBN 978-0-8232-3337-3 page 85
9. "The Annunciation and St Augustine" (http://www.theannunciationan
dstaugustine.org.uk/the-annunciation-and-st-augustine.html). The
Annunciation and St Augustine. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
10. Holweck, Frederick George (1907). "Feast of the Annunciation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encycl
opedia_(1913)/Feast_of_the_Annunciation_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_
Mary). In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 1. New
York: Robert Appleton Company.
11. Groves, Marsha (2005), Manners and Customs of the Middle Ages,
p. 27
12. EB (1911b).
13. The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture by Peter
Murray and Linda Murray 1996 ISBN 0-19-866165-7 page 23
14. Images of the Mother of God: by Maria Vassilaki 2005 ISBN 0-7546-
3603-8 pages 158–159
15. The Annunciation To Mary by Eugene LaVerdiere 2007 ISBN 1-
56854-557-6 page 29
16. Ross, Leslie. Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary, p. 16, 1996 ISBN 0-
313-29329-5

References
Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878), "Annunciation" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Annunciation),
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 90
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Annunciation" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Annunciation), Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 78
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Lady Day" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Lady_Day), Encyclopædia
Britannica, 16 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 62

External links
The Annunciation Icons (http://www.icon-art.info/topic.php?lng=en&top_id=11)
The Annunciation at art-threads (http://www.arts.magic-nation.co.uk/annunciation1.htm)

Annunciation
Life of Jesus: Ministry
Preceded by
New Testament Succeeded by
Gabriel announces John's birth to
Events Mary visits Elizabeth
Zechariah

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