Theotokos- Icon Of The Day

[سليمان]

Annunciation Of The Theotokos
March 25

Description of Annunciation of the Theotokos

Six months after John the Forerunner's conception, the
Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a town
of Galilee, unto Mary the Virgin, who had come forth
from the Temple a mature maiden- see Icon Of The Day File for Nov. 21
According to the tradition handed down by the Fathers, she had been betrothed to Joseph four months. On
coming to Joseph's house, the Archangel declared: Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women

After some consideration, and turmoil of soul, and fear
because of this greeting, the Virgin, when she had finally
obtained full assurance concerning God's unsearchable
condescension and the ineffable dispensation that was to
take place through her, and believing that all things are
possible to the Most High, answered in humility
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word And at this, the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most high overshadowed her all-blameless womb, and the Son and Word of God, Who existed before the ages, was conceived past speech and understanding, and became flesh in her immaculate body
Luke 1:26-38

Bearing in her womb the Uncontainable One, the blessed
Virgin went with haste from Nazareth to the hill country
of Judea, where Zacharias had his dwelling; for she
desired to find Elizabeth her kinswoman and rejoice together with her, because, as she had learned from the
Archangel, Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. Furthermore, she wished to tell her of the great things
that the Mighty One had been well-pleased to bring to pass in her, and she greeted Elizabeth and drew nigh to her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she felt her
six-month-old babe, Saint John the Baptist, prophesied of the dawning of the spiritual Sun. Immediately, the aged
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized her as the Mother of her Lord, and with a great voice
blessed her and the Fruit that she held within herself
The Virgin also, moved by a supernatural rejoicing in the spirit, glorified her God and Savior, saying: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour
and the rest, as the divine Luke hath recorded1:39-55

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[سليمان]

Conception Of The Theotokos
December 8










Description of The Conception by St. Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos According to the ancient tradition of the Church, since Saint Anna, the Ancestor of God, was barren, she and her husband Joachim remained without children until old age. Therefore, sorrowing over their childlessness, they besought God with a promise that, if He were to grant them the fruit of the womb, they would offer their offspring to Him as a gift. And God, hearkening to their supplication, informed them through an Angel concerning the birth of the Virgin. And thus, through God's promise, Anna conceived according to the laws of nature, and was deemed worthy to become the mother of the Mother of our Lord

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[سليمان]

Renewal Fri
May 2







Description of Renewal Friday: Theotokos of the Lifegiving Font

Outside of Constantinople, towards the district of the Seven Towers, there was in ancient times a very large and most beautiful church named in honour of the Theotokos; it had been built about the middle of the fifth century by the Emperor Leo the Great (also called "Leo of Thrace," he is commemorated on Jan. 20). Before he became Emperor, he had encountered there a blind man, who being tormented with thirst asked him to help him find water. Leo felt compassion for him and went in search of a source of water but found none. As he became downcast, he heard a voice telling him there was water nearby. He looked again, and found none. Then he heard the voice again, this time calling him "Emperor" and telling him that he would find muddy water in the densely wooded place nearby; he was to take some water and anoint the blind man's eyes with it. When he had done this, the blind man received his sight. After Leo became Emperor as the most holy Theotokos had prophesied, he raised up a church over the spring, whose waters worked many healings and cured maladies by the grace of the Theotokos; from this, it came to be called the "Life-giving Spring." The Church of Christ celebrates the censecration of this church on this day.
After the fall of the imperial city, this church was razed to the ground and the materials from it were used for building the mosque of Sultan Bayezid. Nothing remained of that church's ancient beauty, except for a small and paltry chapel, almost completely buried in the ruins. This chapel had twenty-five steps going down into it, and a transom window on the roof, wherefrom it received a little light. Toward the western side of the chapel was the aforementioned holy Spring, fenced about with a railing, and with fish swimming in it. Such was the condition of the Spring until 1821. Then even that little remnant was destroyed, occasioned by the uprising of the Greek nation against the Ottoman Empire; the sacred Spring was buried with it and disappeared altogether. But in the days of Sultan Mahmud, when those subject to him were rejoicing in their freedom to practice their religion, permission was sought by the Orthodox Christian community to rebuild at least part of the chapel. Thus the work was begun on July 26, 1833. When the excavation had been made, and the foundations of the ancient church were found, there was rebuilt -- by a later writ of permission from the Sultan -- not merely a chapel of the holy Spring, but another new church, constructed upon the foundations of the ancient one. The building of this spacious, beautiful, and most majestic temple began on September 14, 1833, and the work was completed on December 30, 1834. On February 2, 1835, the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine II, serving the Liturgy together with twelve hierarchs and a great company of clergy, as well as a boundless multitude of Christians, performed the consecration of this sacred church and dedicated it to the glory of the Mother of God. On September 6, 1955, however, it was desecrated and destroyed again by the Muslem Turks; it has been restored again, but not to the former magnificence

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[Dimah]

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أيتها الفائق قدسها والدة الاله خلصينا
يسكن الجلال في المقلتين من بريق عينيك المشعتين أنت المنارة وتحقيق البشارة ونورك يفوق ضياءالفرقدين

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الرب يباركك ويقدس روحك أخي الحبيب سليمان
ولتمسك ام النور السيدة العذراء مريم بيدك ولتحفظك دائماً من كل شر ولتهتم بكً دائماً.
وشفاعة القديسة حنة وجميع القديسين وقوة الصليب الكريم لتكن معك دائماً
آمـــين

[glint]

الرب يقدسك
طوبى لكَ

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[Muna]

Great Topic
Thank you
May the Lord bless you
Muna