The Conception of Mary

On the ninth of December the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the conception of the Virgin Mary by her parents Joachim and Anna. [Note: This feast is officially called The Conception of the Theotokos. Mary’s nativity is celebrated on September 8. A popular tradition among the Orthodox says that the nine-month period is purposely off by one day to illustrate the “mere humanity” of Mary, unlike the “divine humanity” of her Son, whose conception on the feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before His Nativity.] On this major festival which finds its place in the Church’s preparation for Christmas, the faithful rejoice in the event by which Mary is conceived in fulfillment of her parents’ prayers in order to be formed in the womb, born on the earth, dedicated to the Lord, and nurtured in holiness to become by God’s grace the mother of His Son the Messiah.

In addition to the songs of the services, there are icons and frescoes of the feast which the faithful venerate and kiss, depicting the holy couple in a loving embrace within their conjugal chamber.

Matins of the Feast of the Conception of the Theotokos

O Adam and Eve, lay aside your sorrow,

Behold, a barren womb today wondrously bears fruit:

The Mother of our Joy!

O Father Abraham and all the patriarchs,

Rejoice greatly, seeing your seed blossom:

The Mother of our God!

Rejoice, O Anna! O Joachim, rejoice!

Today in wondrous manner you bear to the world

The fruit of grace and salvation!

O choir of prophets, rejoice exceedingly!

For behold, today Anna bears the holy fruit

You foretold us.

Rejoice, all nations!

The barren Anna conceives the fruit of her womb;

By persevering in hope, she bears our life!

Rejoice, O ends of the earth!

Behold the barren mother conceives her

Who without human seed will bear the Creator of all!

Today a royal robe of purple and fine linen

Is woven from the loins of David.

The mystical flower of Jesse is blossoming

From which comes Christ our God, the Savior of our souls.

The Orthodox Church, particularly in the present time, does not call the feast of Mary’s beginning the “immaculate conception,” although perhaps in ancient times this title would have been fully acceptable. This is not because the Orthodox consider Mary’s conception to have been somehow “maculate” or “stained” (macula means “stain” in Latin). It simply means that the Orthodox do not want to support the conviction that God had somehow to intervene at the moment of Mary’s conception with a special action to remove the “stain” of the original sin transmitted by the act of human reproduction because, simply put, the Orthodox do not hold that such a “stain” exists.

The Orthodox Church affirms original sin. Orthodox theology teaches that all human beings, including the Virgin Mary who is a “mere human” like the rest of us—unlike her Son Jesus who is a “real human” but not a “mere human” because He is the incarnate Son and Word of God—are born into a fallen, death-bound, demon-riddled world whose “form is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). We are all born mortal and tending toward sin. But we are not born guilty of any personal sin, certainly not one allegedly committed “in Adam.” Nor are we born stained because of the manner in which we are conceived by the sexual union of our parents. If sexual union in marriage is in any sense sinful, or the cause in itself of any sinfulness or stain, even in the conditions of the “fallen world,” then, as even the rigorous Saint John Chrysostom has taught, God is the sinner because He made us this way, male and female, from the very beginning (cf. On Titus, Homily 2).

The Orthodox Church teaches that it is possible by. the grace of God, with whom all things are possible, for sexual union in marriage, even in the present condition of things, to be good, holy, beautiful, loving, and pure. The proof of this is the feast of Joachim and Anna’s conception of Mary (and Zacharias and Elizabeth’s conception of John the Baptist), with no mention whatsoever of any “stain” having to be removed by a special action of God, certainly not one connected with the manner in which the conception occurs. [Note: The Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Conception of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John on September 23. His nativity is celebrated on June 24; again the nine-month period is off by one day. A movement existed among some Roman Catholics at the beginning of the twentieth century which unsuccessfully argued that the Church should teach the “immaculate conception” of Saint John.]

Mary is conceived by her parents as we are all conceived. But in her case it is a pure act of faith and love, in obedience to God’s will, as an answer to prayer. In this sense her conception is truly “immaculate.” And its fruit is the woman who remains forever the most pure Virgin and Mother of God.

Vespers for the Prefeast of the Conception of the Theotokos

Come, let us dance in the Spirit!

Let us sing worthy praises to Christ!

Let us celebrate the joy of Joachim and Anna,

The conception of the Mother of our God,

For she is the fruit of the grace of God.

Vespers for the Feast of the Conception of the Theotokos

Anna besought the Lord in fervent prayer for a child.

The voice of the angel proclaimed to her:

God has granted you the desire of your prayer.

Do not weep, for you shall be a fruitful vine,

Bearing the wondrous branch of the Virgin

Who will bring forth in the flesh the blossom of Christ,

Who grants great mercy to the world.

Today the great mystery of all eternity,

Whose depths angels and men cannot perceive,

Appears in the barren womb of Anna.

Mary, the Maiden of God, is prepared to be the dwelling place of the eternal King

Who will renew human nature.

Let us entreat her with a pure heart and say:

Intercede for us with your Son and god

That our souls may be saved.

*From Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997), 41-44. Available for purchase at Eighth Day Books.