COPTIC FEASTS

The Annunciation is one of the seven major feasts in the Coptic church. It commemorates the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she should conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. According to the Coptic Synaxarium, this festival, which has been observed since the early centuries of Christianity, falls on 29 Paremhotep, nine months before the nativity of Jesus on 29 Koiahk. As this occurs during the Holy Great Fast preceding the Feast of the Resurrection, it is celebrated with due rejoicing but without breaking the fast, though it is a major feast. The account of the Annunciation as related in Luke 1:26-38 reflects the humility and willing submission of the Virgin Mary to God's will, in clear contrast to Zecharias’ skepticism in reaction to the angel's identical message concerning his wife, Elizabeth, and the birth of John the Baptist.

 

The Late Archbishop Basillious