Sinai Iadgari (Udzvelesi Iadgari)

On the twenty-fifth of March, the Annunciation. The stichera: The Lord sent the archangel Gabriel to Mary, saying to her: "Blessed one, the Lord is with you, for you have become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and Christ was incarnate from you." Mary was astonished at the word of Gabriel, saying to him: "Your coming has troubled me. How can this be, for I am a virgin and I know no man?" The chief of the angels reassured her and said to Mary: "Blessed one, rejoice, you are blessed among women, for the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." The blessed Mary said to the announcer Gabriel: "Behold, I stand as the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. The blessed Mary became the heaven and earth; the Creator was incarnate and from her came forth the Saviour of our souls, who underwent crucifixion for us. The troparion: By the will of God, Gabriel the angel was sent to announce to you, O Virgin Mary, and said to you: "Rejoice, the Lord is with you." The hymn: Let us sing a new hymn to the Saviour and God, who freed us from the bondage of the enemy by the revelation of His divinity and saved us, for He is glorious in glory.

Praise with new praise the Savior and God, who today sent the archangel Gabriel to the virgin Mary, who brought her joy. Today the virgin joyfully received from the angel Gabriel and conceived in her womb the co-eternal with the Father and the everlasting Spirit. Give glory to God, O people, who today deigned to dwell in the womb of the immaculate virgin. Truly the Lord is holy and just, who today glorified the name of His mother. The angel today granted the virgin the joy of the world from God. O immaculate Mother of God, virgin, be our intercessor before the Lord. Strengthen the hearts of your singers, O Lord, who today sent the chief of the angels to the virgin, and he said: "Rejoice, the Lord of glory is to be born from you." Confirm your Church, O Lord, which was immutably built from the virgin, and grant joy to the world, for you are the lover of mankind. O virgin, through your birth, free Eve and bring immortality to mortal men. Therefore we also acknowledge you as the Mother of God and worship you. O Lord, I hear your hearing, O Lord, and I glorify you, lover of mankind.

Rejoice, wholly holy, immaculate Mother of God, virgin, who in the first ages received the Word of God into your womb without seed by the voice of the angel. Be our intercessor for life. By night and by day we celebrate, offering glory to you, O Lord, who sent the archangel Gabriel to announce to the virgin Mary. He brought joy and sealed that treasure, which was sealed. Let us hymn the holy virgin and glorify her, who dwelt with him, for the Word assumed flesh and saved the whole world. The offspring of your mother, O Christ, the glorifiers of the virgin, have mercy on us, as a merciful and philanthropic God, and by her intercession save our souls. I cry out in my distress to the merciful God, and he alone, the sinless one, heard me and delivered me from corruption and death, O Lord. The archangel Gabriel brought joy to the Mother of God Mary, for: from you was born the Son of God, the Savior, who took away the sins of the world. The Word became flesh from the virgin and assumed humanity without change, in order to save the world, for he is philanthropic. Blessed are you, who among the children in that hidden place saw and announced the mystery of the strange virgin. Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers.

who sent the annunciation by the angel to the virgin, so that the sorrow of Eve might be transformed into joy, blessed are you, Lord, God of our fathers. Who dwelt in the womb of the virgin and purified the nature of men therein, blessed are you, Lord, God of our fathers. Who are of the same nature as the Father and the whole Holy Spirit, God, and dwelt in the womb of the virgin, blessed are you, Lord, God of our fathers. We have come to the blessed one, O faithful, today, and let us sing to the one who dwelt in the womb of the virgin, and let us say: blessed are all the works of the Lord to the Lord. The virgin, you, the Word of God the Father, conceived you without seed by the annunciation of the angel, and we say in song: blessed are all the works of the Lord to the Lord. Taught to worship the Trinity of one essence, the faithful with one voice let us sing and say: blessed are all the works of the Lord to the Lord. We glorify you, who sent the annunciation by the angel to the virgin and from her became incarnate for the salvation of all, we glorify you in song. You, who by Gabriel announced the mystery of your dispensation to the virgin and from her became man for our deliverance, we glorify you in song.

You, who became incarnate and were not separated from the Father, the only benefactor and savior of the human race, we praise with hymns. Today the joy of the whole world was made in the praise of the Lord, when the virgin trusted the archangel. The message, the word, was brought from heaven by the Father. The archangel rejoiced the holy virgin: Rejoice, blessed one, wholly holy virgin, graced one, the Lord is with you. The holy virgin was troubled at that greeting; she pondered in her mind: How shall I know this arrival, or how shall I comprehend the sender? How shall I take into my womb the creator of heaven and earth? She had concern for her virginity; she asked the archangel: How can this be for me, for I am a virgin and shall I remain in virginity thereafter? The archangel reassured the holy virgin: Do not fear, blessed one, wholly holy virgin, for your virginity shall remain virginity. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will protect you. Therefore, the one born from you shall be called holy and son of the Most High. In those days, the holy virgin went to visit Elizabeth, and the good forerunner announced from the womb: Behold, the mother of the Lord is coming, and she carries in her womb the son and the word of God, who has taken away the sins of the world.

Elizabeth raised her voice among the people and said: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Today the truth of the prophets is born, for they see the prophesied one fulfilled—the virgin who conceived and the Emmanuel born of her, which is: God with us. Today the earth becomes like the heavens, for the holy virgin became like the cherubim, she conceived without stain and gave birth without marriage to the Son and Word of God, who destroyed hell, renewed Adam, and granted to his faithful resurrection and eternal life. The troparion, tone 2: When Moses saw the pattern of the ark on the mountain, then the mystery of the Mother of God was prefigured to him, for it was built from incorruptible wood and clothed in pure gold. But she preserved eternal virginity by the renewal of the Holy Spirit. It is proclaimed by the angel to the whole world: "Rejoice, O favored one." He cried out: "The Lord is with you, who has great mercy." Psalm, tone 3: My soul magnifies the Lord and rejoices (Lk 1:46). The refrain: For he looked upon my lowliness (Lk 1:48). Alleluia, tone 4: Hear, O daughter, and see (Ps 44:11). Of the hand-clapping, tone 1: Strange was the greeting, and strange the parent of the Lord of all.

Gabriel the angel descended from heaven, and pondered in his heart: "What is this salutation, or who is Mary?" Among this people he beheld that virgin and offered her a gift: "Rejoice, O blessed one, bride, handmaid, and mother of the Lord." Blessed are you among women, more than Anna, Sarah, and Elizabeth. To which of them did Gabriel the angel come and cry out thus: "Rejoice, O blessed one, bride, handmaid, and mother of the Lord"? To whom do we cry out: "Have mercy on us"? The terrible and glorious and great mystery of holiness, the unceasing, the womb received. The mother after childbirth remained a virgin. When God was born from her, he became incarnate. To her let us cry out, to her let us offer praise, with the angels let us cry out: "Holy are you, who for our sake became man; O Lord, glory to you.