The Annunciation

“Let it be to me according to thy word”, the day salvation began, in a young woman's yes.

The Annunciation, kept on March 25, remembers the archangel Gabriel announcing to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, and her answer: "Be it unto me according to thy word." It falls nine months before Christmas, almost always within Great Lent, and on the Old Calendar it is kept on April 7.

In 2027 the Annunciation falls on Thursday, March 25, on the New Calendar, and on Wednesday, April 7, on the Old Calendar.

Reckoning the date…

Next in the calendar: New Calendar, March 25, 2027 · Old Calendar, April 7, 2027

On the Annunciation the archangel Gabriel comes to a young woman in Nazareth and announces that she will bear the Son of God. The Church counts this as the beginning of our salvation, for at her free consent, “be it unto me according to thy word”, the eternal Word takes flesh in her womb. God does not save humanity over its head; He waits for the assent of a human heart.

The Fathers see the Virgin as the bush that Moses saw burning yet not consumed: she bears the fire of the Godhead and is not destroyed. Her yes undoes the no of Eden; where the first woman's disobedience opened the door to death, this obedience opens it to life. The feast is therefore as much about human freedom as about divine mercy: heaven asks, and does not compel.

The Annunciation falls on March 25, nine months before the Nativity, and often within Great Lent, so that even in the season of repentance the Church keeps a feast of joy, the first word of the Gospel spoken into the fast.

The name, and where it is told

The word comes from the Latin annuntiatio, an announcement: here, the one the archangel Gabriel made to the Virgin Mary. In Greek the feast is called Evangelismos.

The account is told in Luke 1:26-38. It is a feast of the Theotokos and of the Incarnation, the day the Word took flesh.

The next day the Church keeps the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, who brought the announcement: on the New Calendar, Friday, March 26, 2027, and on the Old Calendar, Thursday, April 8, 2027.

Questions about the Annunciation

When is the Annunciation?

On March 25, nine months before the Nativity, or April 7 on the Old Calendar.

What happened at the Annunciation?

The archangel Gabriel was sent to Mary in Nazareth and told her she would bear a son, Jesus, the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:26-38). The Church sees in her free consent the beginning of the Incarnation.

Can you eat fish on the Annunciation?

Yes. Even in Great Lent, fish, wine, and oil are allowed on the feast.

Does the Annunciation always fall in Lent?

On the New Calendar, March 25 always falls in Great Lent or Holy Week. On the Old Calendar, April 7 can even fall after Pascha, in Bright Week.

When is the Annunciation in 2027?

In 2027 the Annunciation falls on Thursday, March 25, on the New Calendar, and on Wednesday, April 7, on the Old Calendar.

What are the readings for the Annunciation?

For the feast:

At the Liturgy, the Epistle is Hebrews 2.11-18 and the Gospel is Luke 1.24-38.
The Matins Gospel is Luke 1.39-49, 56.

On the day itself the calendar also lists that weekday's or Sunday's readings, and any other saint's.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

The saints of March

Name days on this feast: Evangelia and Evangelos

The saints of March, day by day ›

In Orthros

The feast, its hymns, and its place within Great Lent are kept in Orthros, free to read, with the calendar shading the day in its own light.