The
Nativity of the Theotokos, celebrating the birth of
MaryMary , usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary...
, is one of the
Twelve Great FeastsThe feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha , is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition, there are other days of great importance in the life of the Church - the Twelve Great Feasts.- The Twelve Great Feasts :...
of the Eastern Orthodox
liturgical yearThe liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear...
. It is celebrated on September 8 on the
liturgical calendarThe Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is also shared with minor variations by the Byzantine Catholic churches that recognize the Pope of Rome...
(for those churches which follow the traditional
Julian CalendarThe Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus...
, September 8 falls on September 21 of the modern
Gregorian CalendarThe Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas...
).
According to the
sacred traditionSacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a technical theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
of the Orthodox Church, Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of
JoachimSaint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and therefore is ascribed the title of "forebearer of God", in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The story of Sts...
and
AnnaSaint Anne of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. Her name Anne is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Hannah...
(now
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s), in answer to their prayers.
Orthodox Christianity does not accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of the
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
of Mary (according to which it is supposed that Mary, like her Son
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
himself, was preserved from that
original sinOriginal sin is, according to a doctrine proposed in Christian theology, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt,...
which befalls all other descendants of Adam and Eve, in anticipation of her giving birth to the sinless Christ).
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The
Nativity of the Theotokos, celebrating the birth of
MaryMary , usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary...
, is one of the
Twelve Great FeastsThe feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha , is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition, there are other days of great importance in the life of the Church - the Twelve Great Feasts.- The Twelve Great Feasts :...
of the Eastern Orthodox
liturgical yearThe liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear...
. It is celebrated on September 8 on the
liturgical calendarThe Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is also shared with minor variations by the Byzantine Catholic churches that recognize the Pope of Rome...
(for those churches which follow the traditional
Julian CalendarThe Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus...
, September 8 falls on September 21 of the modern
Gregorian CalendarThe Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas...
).
According to the
sacred traditionSacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a technical theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
of the Orthodox Church, Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of
JoachimSaint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and therefore is ascribed the title of "forebearer of God", in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The story of Sts...
and
AnnaSaint Anne of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. Her name Anne is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Hannah...
(now
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s), in answer to their prayers.
Orthodox Christianity does not accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of the
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
of Mary (according to which it is supposed that Mary, like her Son
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
himself, was preserved from that
original sinOriginal sin is, according to a doctrine proposed in Christian theology, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt,...
which befalls all other descendants of Adam and Eve, in anticipation of her giving birth to the sinless Christ). The Orthodox Church does not share the Western, Augustinian understanding of the transmission of original sin, so the question does not arise in Orthodox theology. All Orthodox are agreed that Mary was kept free from
actual sin by God's grace, but that she was cleansed from the stain of ancestral sin only at the time of the
AnnunciationThe Annunciation is, in Christianity, the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus by the angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God...
, when the
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
overshadowed her .
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