Orthodox people know that Christ is the Son of God. He was incarnated from the Heavenly Father, and the Virgin Mary became His Mother.
But few people know how the Savior was born. This refers not to the environment at the moment of His birth, but to the process itself. How did the virgin birth of the Virgin Mary happen? Let's talk about it in the article.
What is conception?
Before we move on to the topic of the virgin birth, let's remember what a normal conception is.
Connection of sperm and oocyte. We will not go into further details here, because our main theme is different. Why is the question of "classical" conception raised? To remind readers: for the birth of a new life, the "participation" of two parties is necessary: father and mother. Dad has something that mom doesn't have. And, accordingly, vice versa.
Immaculate Conception
How did the Virgin's Immaculate Conception happen? Just think:conception in the virgin. I mean, the Mother of God was a girl. She didn't know her husband.
Someone will say that all this is fiction and this cannot be. It is difficult to take something on faith, especially in our time, when there is practically no trust and faith left. However, for any Christian, the conception of the Mother of God is one of the most important aspects in the faith.
There is a wonderful poem by nun Maria (Mernova) on this subject. Here is an excerpt:
In a wonderful way, unnatural for us.
In the womb of the most honest, brightest and virgin.
He was born - Divine Son, World Lord. All of us Lord.
That is, the conception happened miraculously. The fact that after him Mary remained innocent is enough. How so? How did it happen?
Nobody will tell us that. The virgin birth is a mystery. Perhaps in the next world everything will open up and become clear. There is a version that the Holy Spirit descended on the Virgin Mary while she was sleeping. Whether this was so is unknown.
Annunciation
The Immaculate Conception is something that is hidden from the human mind. We cannot comprehend this miracle with our minds.
How is the feast of the Annunciation connected with the conception and birth of the Savior? In the most direct way. Let's remember the history of the holiday.
The Mother of God was sinless from an early age. But, due to her humility, she could not imagine that it would be She who would have the honor of giving birth to the Savior.
The fact that Jesus Christ would be incarnated from pure virgin blood, Mary knew. And she wanted to becomeservant of the One Who will be His Mother.
At that time, Mary was engaged to Joseph. He kept her virginity. And now, 4 months after the betrothal, the Mother of God read the Scriptures. When the archangel Gabriel appeared to her with the news. Why is the holiday called the Annunciation - the good news.
Gabriel told Mary that She was chosen to be the Mother of God. The Savior will become incarnate in her. The Virgin was surprised: after all, She was innocent. And she asked the archangel how this would happen if She did not know her husband.
To which Gabriel replied that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. And the Virgin Mary humbly accepted the will of God.
Here's another point. God did not just take and descend on the maiden (the Mother of God was 14 years old). No, He humbly asked for Her consent. And only when Mary gave a positive answer, Life was born in Her womb.
The mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is hidden from us. Until a certain point.
Eternal Virgin
Why is Mary the Ever-Virgin? After all, the birth of a child implies the deprivation of the hymen. More precisely, its final destruction. How did the Savior enter the world?
Here is another wonderful moment. It is known that Jesus Christ came out of the side of his Most Pure Mother. How so? God is able to pass through obstacles, let's not forget this fact.
That's why the Mother of God is called the Ever-Virgin. She retained her virginity despite the birth of her Son.
Joseph's attitude to what happened
It is known that the husband of the Virgin Mary wasmany years. He was very old, and She was very young. And the elder was entrusted with the Mother of God, so that he would keep Her pure and innocence.
What was the horror of Joseph when he realized that the Virgin was carrying a child? Fear of being blamed for it. Fear of not keeping the Maiden clean.
But the elder did not make excuses and did not betray Mary. On the contrary, he told her that he would release her secretly, without telling anyone. Then an angel appeared to Joseph, telling that Mary was not guilty before her husband. Her conception is the will of God, and the Child to be born by the Virgin, the Son of God.
The wise old man accepted the will of God humbly, began to care even more about the Virgin Mary. And what happened next, we know. Departure for the census and the Nativity of the Savior.
Are there churches dedicated to the conception of the Savior?
The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is in Moscow. It's not a church, it's a huge gothic-style Catholic cathedral.
In general, Catholics have many cathedrals built in honor of the Immaculate Conception around the world. The largest of them, as mentioned above, is located in Moscow.
Humility of the Mother of God
The Immaculate Conception is something beyond the comprehension of the human mind. And here the full humility of the Virgin Mary is revealed to us. She surrenders herself to the will of God. She is a servant of God. Not in the sense in which the word "slavery" is now known: a person who does not have the right to express his opinion. Not at all, the Mother of God loves God. And gives Himself to His will not because of fear and lack of opportunity to object. She does it liketimes for love.
If appropriate, here's a real-life example. When we love someone very much, it never crosses our minds to disobey or object. We know that if we are told to do so, then so be it. The one we love does not wish us harm. He knows best how to do it right.
Same here. The Mother of God had a firm conviction that God knows best what is good for her. And she agreed to become the Chosen One. Become the Mother of the Savior.
This wondrous color, this Child
The Savior will give birth.
From the clutches of cruel hell
The whole world will be set free.
These lines are from a poem by nun Maria (Mernova) dedicated to the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Conclusion
The reader now knows that the virgin birth is a mystery. A mystery unknown to the human mind. It is impossible to understand it, you can only take it on faith.
We also talked about how the feast of the Annunciation is connected with conception, and why the Mother of God is called the Ever-Virgin.
