The Annunciation is when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would conceive and bear the Son of God. Mary said yes.
That’s the short answer. But this moment, recorded in Luke 1:26-38, is so central to our salvation that the Church celebrates it as one of the Twelve Great Feasts every year on March 25. We call it “the beginning of our salvation” and “the revelation of the eternal mystery.” Without the Annunciation, there’s no Incarnation. Without the Incarnation, there’s no salvation.
What Happened
Gabriel shows up in Nazareth. He greets Mary with words that still echo in our prayers: “Rejoice, O highly favored one, the Lord is with you.” She’s troubled by this. Who wouldn’t be? But Gabriel tells her not to be afraid. She’s found favor with God. She’ll conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son named Jesus, who will be called the Son of the Most High.
Mary asks the obvious question: “How can this be, since I know not a man?” Gabriel explains that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. Then he mentions that her cousin Elizabeth is also pregnant, because nothing is impossible with God.
And Mary says yes. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”
That’s it. That’s the hinge of human history.
Why Mary’s “Yes” Matters
We don’t believe Mary caused the Incarnation by her consent. God didn’t need her permission to save the world. But he chose to work through her free cooperation. The power came from the Holy Spirit. The initiative came from the Father. But Mary’s obedient response shows us what human cooperation with grace looks like.
She didn’t have to say yes. That’s the point. God doesn’t violate our freedom, not even to accomplish our salvation. Mary represents faithful humanity finally saying yes to God after generations of refusal. Where Eve said no in the garden, Mary says yes in Nazareth. Where Adam hid from God, Mary receives the Word made flesh into her very body.
This isn’t just about Mary. It’s about all of us learning to say yes to God’s will. Her humility and obedience model what repentance looks like, turning toward God instead of away from him. We’re being saved by learning to do what she did.
How We Celebrate It
March 25 is a big deal. We serve the full festal cycle, Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy, with hymns that unpack the mystery of the Incarnation. The troparion calls this day “the beginning of our salvation.” The kontakion magnifies Mary as the one through whom the Word became flesh. If you come to St. Michael’s on the Annunciation, you’ll hear these hymns repeated, you’ll see the icon of Gabriel and Mary venerated, and you’ll feel the Church’s joy at this moment when heaven touched earth.
Sometimes March 25 falls during Great Lent. We still celebrate the feast, because the Incarnation is too important to skip. The Church combines Lenten and festal elements in the services. And every once in a while, rare but memorable, the Annunciation coincides with Pascha itself. When that happens, the liturgical texts weave together the Incarnation and the Resurrection, because they’re two parts of the same story. Christ had to be born to die and rise. The Annunciation makes Pascha possible.
The Icon
You’ve seen this icon even if you didn’t know what it was called. Gabriel approaches from the left, often holding a staff, sometimes with a lily. Mary stands or sits on the right, usually holding red thread (tradition says she was weaving the temple veil when Gabriel appeared). A ray of light descends from the top, sometimes with a dove representing the Holy Spirit. The space between them is charged with the moment of her response.
It’s a window into the event. When we venerate this icon, we’re not worshiping paint and wood. We’re venerating the persons depicted and the mystery they reveal. We’re standing with Mary in that room in Nazareth, hearing Gabriel’s message, watching the Word become flesh.
For Those of Us in Southeast Texas
If you grew up Baptist or Church of Christ around here, this feast might feel unfamiliar. Your church probably didn’t mark March 25 on the calendar. That’s okay. You’re learning a new rhythm now, the rhythm the Church has kept for centuries. The Annunciation has been celebrated since at least the fourth century. It’s not some medieval addition. It’s ancient.
And if the theology feels dense, don’t worry. You don’t have to understand everything at once. Come to the service. Hear the hymns. Look at the icon. Let the Church teach you slowly what this moment means. Fr. Thomas Hopko used to say that we learn the faith by living it, not just by reading about it. Show up on March 25, and the feast will start to make sense in your bones.
The Annunciation tells us that God didn’t stay distant. He didn’t just send instructions or make demands. He came himself, taking flesh from a young woman in a backwater town. That’s the kind of God we worship. One who shows up.
