The biblical story of the Feast of the Annunciation is found in the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke (1:26-39). The Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, who was living in Nazareth, and said to her, “Hail (Rejoice), O favored one, the Lord is with you.” Mary was perplexed and wondered what kind of greeting this was.
The Angel told her not to be afraid, for she had found favor with God. He said, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary responded to the Angel by asking how this could happen since she had no husband. The Angel told her that the Holy Spirit and the power of God would come upon her, and that the Child to be born of her would be called Holy, the “Son of God.”
The Angel then proceeded to tell the Virgin Mary that her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a son in her old age (St. John the Baptist), and affirmed that with God nothing is impossible.
In faith and obedience to the will of God, Mary replied to the Angel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be according to your word.” Upon her response, the Angel departed.
St Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church 