Nativity of the Theotokos

JEFFREY B. PETTIS

The Orthodox ecclesiastical year is marked by the Twelve Great Feasts which commem­orate the saving events of the life of Jesus Christ. Most of these are fixed calendar days. The Nativity of the Theotokos is the first of the Twelve Great Feasts. In this way the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated as being that event in human history which makes possible all of the other Great Feasts of the year. The Nativity of the Theotokos is attested in two sermons by the theologian and hymn writer St. Andrew of Crete (ca. 660–740). In Byzantine and Latin liturgical tradition it is celebrated on September 8, the reason for the selection of this date being uncertain (the feast falls on May 1 for some Oriental Orthodox traditions). The liturgical title of the feast always associates the birth of Mary with her role as Theotokos, “Birthgiver of God,” to show the theological significance of the event as the turning point of salvation history in the coming in the flesh of the Divine Word, the Son of God, through Mary the Virgin. The liturgical troparion of the Nativity of the Theotokos proclaims: “Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God, announces the joy of the whole world, for from you has come forth and shines out the Sun of Justice, Christ our God.” The icon of the nativity of the Mother of God shows Anna the mother of Mary sitting upright in an inclined bed, as Joachim her husband looks down upon her from inside the window of his house. In the bottom right of the icon a midwife reposes with the infant Mary resting in her lap.

SEE ALSO: Nativity of the Lord; Theotokos, the Blessed Virgin