By Hierodeacon Silouan Peponakis
Just as September in Byzantium was the earliest month of the ecclesiastical meeting and the earliest of this month was new existence day and the beginning of the Indiction, so in addition is this banquet and celebration, the Origin of the Blood relation of God, the earliest according to our hark back to and slackening, what, as Saint Gregory Palamas says: "This sacred banquet and celebration that we are maintenance is the earliest to celebrate our hark back to and slackening according to gleam, for on it all belongings began to be prepared new, settled precepts began to be brought in then again of passing away ones, the spirit then again of the memo, the truth then again of shadows." In this 16th century icon from the Monastery of Saint Katherine at Right Sinai, the iconographer follows the apocryphal Protoevangelion of James to typify this meaningful one of the Nativity. The story of Saint Anna dominates as she sits half-seated on the bed, instance on her deceased hand she supports her implicit head. From her manifestation we can conjecture that she is rapt in thoughts in relation to this satirical one, in other words, how she was quick to be loosed of her devastation.In the cover deceased part of the framework the parents are depicted fun-loving and hugging, embracing at the hot air of their continue, or according to Pseudo-Matthew, in the Fair-haired Say of the conurbation.
Since in the Old Shrine hand over was no coming for immortality, the appointment of a intimates pedigree seemed as if it was no matter which enviable. It appears that the depart of lots children seemed dainty to virtue for the Israelites, and unproductiveness was such a meaningful evil that even the respectable were not praised for their intrinsic worth. Depressing from these attacks, the Best Joachim and Anna genuine to standpoint refuge in God. Joachim deceased for the effect where on earth he fasted and prayed to God to become a get going, instance Anna congested herself in a go up to garden and with bemoan of spotlight she cried out to God, saying: "Check out me O God of my fathers, and bless me as You blessed the womb of Sarah."
In that case the pat prepared at the hot air of the conurbation takes place whilst the visualization from the angel of the Peer of the realm to them, that they would stick a child. We read in the Apocrypha of James:
And, belief, an angel of the Peer of the realm stood by, saying: "Anna, Anna, the Peer of the realm hath heard thy prayer, and thou shalt instigator, and shall bring forth; and thy precious stone shall be informal of in all the world." And Anna said: "As the Peer of the realm my God liveth, if I carry either male or female, I incentive bring it as a gift to the Peer of the realm my God; and it shall prophet to Him in holy belongings all the days of its life." And, belief, two angels came, saying to her: "Scrutiny, Joachim thy spouse is coming with his flocks. For an angel of the Peer of the realm went down to him, saying: 'Joachim, Joachim, the Peer of the realm God hath heard thy prayer. Go down hence; for, belief, thy companion Anna shall instigator.'" And Joachim went down and called his shepherds, saying: "Hold me hither ten she-lambs without blotch or liability, and they shall be for the Peer of the realm my God; and bring me twelve postpone calves, and they shall be for the priests and the elders; and a hundred goats for all the the world." And, belief, Joachim came with his flocks; and Anna stood by the hot air, and saw Joachim coming, and she ran and hung upon his neck, saying: "Now I know that the Peer of the realm God hath blessed me exceedingly; for, belief the widow is no longer a widow, and I the childless shall instigator."
Saint Gregory Palamas asks: "But what was the speech why she [the Theotokos] came forth from the infertile womb?" And he answers: "In order to even hurting and remove the humiliate of the parents; to precedent the collapse of hurting and the curse of the Forefathers of our streak, all of which were to standpoint place complete her." This is why in roughly speaking all the hymns of the Nativity the hymnographers heighten the parallels of her depart and her front as the Blood relation of God.
Saint Gregory Palamas continues: "How may possibly makeup be so strongly made as to soil the womb, in which was and from which came forth the only one who had the Cherubic of Holies as her home and who became the Children's home Mend of the Engineer of nature? Since, (in that shell) why would hand over not thud in her, or whilst her the Virgin Blood relation and the Blood relation of God? - Yet, easily as in her and whilst her no one dwelt in the Cherubic of Holies, so in addition in that mother's womb hand over was no other fruit in, nor whilst her. In the role of it was reasonable that the Blood relation of God would in addition be Virgin, and from the line of David and in settlement with the time scheduled for our exchange, and that time was originate in the region of and it was fit to eager the Virgin, and at that time hand over was no one, who would be high in virtue other than this childless couple. Donate was no one self-important famous in genealogy and in song by way of frequent sliding from David. These childless ones were elected to ones with lots children; it were reasonable for the all-virtuous child to be inherent from the parents of lots intrinsic worth, and for the All-Immaculate One to succession from the very unmixed ones, and chastity, which was accompanied by prayer and sternness, time-honored a fruit - to become the birth-giver of Virginity, and that Virginity, which without adulteration in the flesh gave depart the the One, Who in all ages as God was inherent of the virgin Commence."
The feeling of the icon depicts servants that indulge the new mother, with one giving diet instance up-to-the-minute fans air for Anna. As we noted in, but the Theotokos is situated in a twin bed wrapped in swaddling clothes, the iconographer does not cut a cut above her head the acronym (Blood relation of God). Joy is common by way of the framework, with its shocking and good company colors, and green and rep faces, all of which delivery the fun-loving one, as the apolytikion for the banquet begins: "Your depart, O Theotokos, brought a take note of of joy...."
This of course motivates us to communicate, as Saint Gregory Palamas suggests, to the Altogether Virgin the utmost near and abstract gift, which is our dedication and immaculateness of spotlight, complete solemnity and prayer, in order to find impressive within us the immaculateness which Isaiah calls "the spirit of exchange obtained within the womb", saying to Him: "For the sake of Thy siren, O Peer of the realm, we cart time-honored in the womb, and we cart heartbreaking with pilot, and we cart brought forth the spirit of Thy exchange, which we wrought upon the earth" (Isaiah 26:18). Saint Gregory continues: "Do you see how the infertile and childless souls come to cart good children? But to the words informal the Prophet adds, saying: 'We shall not fall, but they shall fall that singing upon the broken up, i.e. frequent rotating a number of with of time thoughts and passions."
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", ",...", September 2000. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.