The Orthodox 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 does not mean the environment at the time of His birth, but the process itself. How did the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary happen? Let's talk about this in an article.
What is conception?
Before we get to the topic of the Immaculate Conception, let's recall what conception is ordinary.
Connection of sperm and oocyte. We will not describe further details here, for our main topic is different. Why is the question of the "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 birth of the virgin come? Just think: conception of the Virgin. That is, the Virgin was a damsel. She did not 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. Nevertheless, for any Christian, the conception of the Virgin is one of the most important aspects in faith.
There is a wonderful poem on the subject by the nun Maria (Mernova). Here is an excerpt:
A wonderful image, unnatural for us.
In the womb of an honest, bright and virgin.
He was born - the Divine Son,
Peace Lord. All of us Master.
That is, conception occurred miraculously. It is enough that Maria remained innocent after him. How so? How did it all happen?
Nobody will tell us that. The Immaculate Conception is a mystery. Perhaps, in the next world everything will open 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 that which 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. Recall the history of the holiday.
Mother of God was sinless from a young age. But, because of her humility, she could not have imagined that it was Her who would have the honor of giving birth to the Savior.
The fact that Jesus Christ will be incarnated from pure virgin blood, Mary knew. And she wanted to be able to become a servant of the One who would become His Mother.
At that time, Mary was engaged to Joseph. That shore Her virginity. And now, 4 months after the betrothal, the Mother of God read the Scriptures. When the archangel Gabriel appeared to Her with news. Why the Feast of the Annunciation is called - the good news.
Gabriel told Mary that she was chosen to become the Mother of God. The Savior will be embodied in Her. The Virgin was surprised: 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 descend on Her. And the Virgin Mary accepted obediently the will of God.
Here is another point. God didn’t just take it and descended on the young woman (the Virgin was 14 years old). No, He humbly asked Her for consent. And only when Mary gave a positive answer, Life was born in Her womb.
The secret of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is hidden from us. Until a certain point.
Prisnodeva
Why is Mary the Subnode? After all, the birth of a child involves deprivation of 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 Holy Mother. How so? God is able to pass through barriers; let us not forget this fact.
That is why the Mother of God is called the Virgin. She preserved her virginity, despite the birth of the Son.
Joseph's attitude to what happened
It is known that the husband of the Virgin Mary was many years old. He was very old, and She is very young. And the old lady was entrusted to the Mother of God, so that he would preserve Her in purity and innocence.
What was Joseph’s horror 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 let go 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 Infant whom the Virgin, the Son of God, will give birth to.
The wise old man accepted the will of God humbly, and began to take even more care of 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. This is not a church, this is a huge Catholic cathedral in the Gothic style.
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.
The humility of the Virgin
The Immaculate Conception is that which is incomprehensible to the human mind. And here we see the complete humility of the Virgin Mary. She betrays herself to the will of God. She is a servant of God. Not in the sense in which the word "slavery" is known now: a person who does not have the right to express his opinion. Not at all, the Virgin Mary loves God. And gives Himself to His will not out of fear and lack of opportunity to object. She does it just for love.
If appropriate, we give an example from life. When we love someone very much, it would never occur to us to disobey or object. We know that if we are told to do so, then it is necessary. The one we love does not wish us harm. He knows best how to do it right.
So it is here. The Virgin Mary had a firm belief that God knew best what was good for her. And she agreed to become the Chosen One. Become the Mother of the Savior.
This marvelous color, ce Chado
Savior will give birth.
From the clutches of cruel hell
The whole world will free.
These lines are from the poem of the 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 Virgin is called the Virgin.