John Chrysostom, On the Annunciation of God-bearer

the good proclaimed by the prophets. The Holy Spirit pointed to you, saying through the tongue of Isaiah: Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bring forth a son. You are that virgin. Hail, therefore, full of grace; you have pleased the Demiurge, you have pleased the Maker, you have pleased the Creator, you have pleased the one who delights in the beauties of souls; you have found a bridegroom who guards your virginity, not one who violates it; you have found a bridegroom who, out of great love for mankind, willed to become your son. The Lord is with you, and he who is everywhere is in you, and with you and from you; the Master in heaven, the Most High in the deep, the Demiurge in all creation; the Creator upon the Cherubim, the Charioteer upon the Seraphim, the Son in the bosom of the Father, the Only-begotten in your womb, the Lord, as he himself knows, wholly everywhere, wholly in you. Blessed are you among women, for you have now been chosen before all virgins together; for you were deemed worthy to receive such a Master; for you have contained the uncontainable one who willed it; for you have received him who fills all things; for you have become a most pure workshop of the divine economy; for you have appeared a worthy chariot for the entrance of our king into life; for you have been shown to be a treasury of the spiritual pearl. Blessed are you among women.

Having heard these words, the all-holy virgin, and having seen the angelic form and voice, considered within herself [saying], What manner of greeting might this be? What does this salutation mean? What do these words portend for me? An angel has addressed me first, being who I am, or possessing what worth? I, full of grace? From where, or why? The Lord is with me? For with which of those who fear him is the Lord not? I, blessed among women? For what reason, or why, and how? What gift does this word proclaim? What wonder does this utterance foretell? And the angel, seeing her so troubled, says to her: Fear not, Mary; for I did not greet you so that you would be disturbed; I speak kindly to you so that you may rejoice. Therefore do not have trouble in your soul, you who possess with yourself the peace of the world. Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You have been beautified beyond creation, you have been made brighter than the heavens, you have shone more than the sun, you have been exalted above the angels; you were not taken up into the heavens, but standing upon the earth, you drew to yourself the heavenly Master and king of all. And behold, you will conceive in your womb. The deed has preceded my word; the mystical conception has occurred swifter than my voice; you have within you, in your belly, the very Lord and creator of all things, who without toil is building the temple of his holy flesh from your holy and undefiled flesh; you have within you the painter of nature, repainting with grace his own ancient image. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and you will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus; he will be great. For he is great in his divinity, and he will be great also in his humanity. And he will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of David his father. For he swore an oath of truth to David, and he will not break it.

And what truth did he swear to him? Of the fruit of your loins, he says, I will set upon your throne. That oath receives its fulfillment at the present time. And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. No one is higher than this king, and no other is more blessed than you who bear him. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be for me, since I know not a man? Joseph is my betrothed, not my husband; for the agreements concerning the marriage have proceeded only as far as the betrothal; how then shall the conception be for me without marriage? how shall I bring forth fruit without a husbandman? Is the course of nature altered for me first? Is the law of conception rewritten for me first? for me

τῶν προφητῶν κηρυττόμενον ἀγαθόν. Σὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑπεδείκνυε λέγον διὰ τῆς Ἡσαΐου γλώττης· Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται, καὶ τέξεται υἱόν. Ἡ παρθένος ἐκείνη σὺ εἶ. Χαῖρε τοίνυν κεχαριτωμένη· ἤρεσας τῷ ∆ημιουργῷ, ἤρεσας τῷ Ποιητῇ, ἤρεσας τῷ Κτίστῃ, ἤρεσας τῷ τερπομένῳ τοῖς κάλλεσι τῶν ψυχῶν· εὗρες νυμφίον φυλάττοντά σου τὴν παρθενίαν, οὐ φθείροντα· εὗρες νυμφίον ἐκ πολλῆς φιλανθρωπίας υἱόν σου γενέσθαι βουλόμενον. Ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ ἐν σοὶ ὁ πανταχοῦ, καὶ μετὰ σοῦ καὶ ἐκ σοῦ· ἐν οὐρανῷ ὁ ∆εσπότης, ἐν βυθῷ ὁ Ὕψιστος, ἐν πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει ὁ ∆ημιουργός· ὁ Κτίστης ἐπὶ τῶν Χερουβὶμ, ὁ ἡνίοχος ἐπὶ τῶν Σεραφὶμ, ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὁ Μονογενὴς ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῖς σοῖς, ὁ Κύριος, ὡς οἶδεν αὐτὸς, ὅλος πανταχοῦ, ὅλος ἐν σοί. Εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξὶν, ὅτι πασῶν ὁμοῦ τῶν παρθένων νῦν προκέκρισαι· ὅτι κατηξιώθης ξενοδοχῆσαι τοιοῦτον ∆εσπότην· ὅτι τὸν ἀχώρητον βουληθέντα κεχώρηκας· ὅτι τὸν πάντα πληροῦντα προσδέδεξαι· ὅτι τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας γέγονας ἐργαστήριον καθαρώτατον· ὅτι τῆς εἰς τὸν βίον εἰσόδου τοῦ βασιλέως ἡμῶν πέφηνας ἄξιον ὄχημα· ὅτι τοῦ πνευματικοῦ μαργαρίτου θησαυρὸς ἀναδέδειξαι. Εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξί.

Τούτων ἀκούσασα τῶν λόγων ἡ παναγία παρθένος, καὶ θεασαμένη μορφὴν ἀγγελικὴν καὶ φωνὴν, ἐλογίσατο καθ' ἑαυτὴν [λέγουσα], Ποταπὸς εἴη ὁ ἀσπασμὸς οὗτος; ἆρα τί βούλεται τοῦτο τὸ πρόσφθεγμα; ἆρα τί μοι προσημαίνει ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα; Ἐμὲ ἐν πρώτοις προσηγόρευσεν ἄγγελος, τίνα οὖσαν, ἢ ποίας ἀξίας τυγχάνουσαν; ἐγὼ κεχαριτωμένη; πόθεν, ἢ διὰ τί; ὁ Κύριος μετ' ἐμοῦ; μετὰ τίνος γὰρ τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Κύριος; ἐγὼ εὐλογημένη ἐν γυναιξίν; ἆρα τίνος χάριν, ἢ διὰ τί, καὶ πῶς; ἆρα ποῖον προκηρύττει δῶρον οὗτος ὁ λόγος; ἆρα ποῖον προμηνύει θαῦμα τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα; Οὕτω δὲ ταραττομένην αὐτὴν ὁ ἄγγελος θεασάμενος λέγει πρὸς αὐτήν· Μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ· μὴ γὰρ, ἵνα θορυβηθῇς, ἠσπασάμην σε· ἵνα πανηγυρίσῃς, προσηνῶς σοι διαλέγομαι. Μὴ τοίνυν ἔχε κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν τάραχον, τὴν εἰρήνην τῆς οἰκουμένης κεκτημένη μεθ' ἑαυτῆς. Μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ· εὗρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὑπὲρ τὴν κτίσιν ἐκαλλωπίσθης, ὑπὲρ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἐφαιδρύνθης, ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον ἔλαμψας, ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ὑψώθης· οὐκ ἀνελήφθης εἰς οὐρανοὺς, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἱσταμένη, τὸν οὐράνιον ∆εσπότην καὶ βασιλέα τῶν ἁπάντων ἐπεσπάσω πρὸς ἑαυτήν. Καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήψῃ ἐν γαστρί. Προέφθασε τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον τὸ ἔργον· ὀξυτέρα τῆς ἐμῆς φωνῆς ἡ μυστικὴ σύλληψις γέγονεν· αὐτὸν ἔνδον ἔχεις ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸν Κύριον, ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας σου καὶ ἀχράντου σαρκὸς ἀπόνως οἰκοδομοῦντα τῆς ἁγίας αὐτοῦ σαρκὸς τὸν ναόν· αὐτὸν ἔνδον ἔχεις τὸν ζωγράφον τῆς φύσεως, τὴν οἰκείαν εἰκόνα παλαιωθεῖσαν ἀναζωγραφοῦντα τῇ χάριτι. Ἰδοὺ συλλήψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ, καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν· οὗτος ἔσται μέγας. Μέγας μὲν γάρ ἐστι τῇ θεότητι, ἔσται δὲ μέγας καὶ τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι. Καὶ Υἱὸς Ὑψίστου κληθήσεται· καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν θρόνον ∆αυῒδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. Ὤμοσε γὰρ ἀλήθειαν τῷ ∆αυῒδ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀθετήσει αὐτήν.

Ποίαν δὲ αὐτῷ ἀλήθειαν ὤμοσεν; Ἐκ καρποῦ τῆς ὀσφύος σου, φησὶ, θήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου σου. Ἐκεῖνο, ὁ ὅρκος λαμβάνει πέρας ἐν τῷ παρόντι καιρῷ. Καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος. Οὐδεὶς τούτου τοῦ βασιλέως ἀνώτερος, καὶ οὐδεμία τις ἄλλη μακαριωτέρα σοῦ τῆς τικτούσης αὐτόν. Εἶπε δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· Πῶς ἔσται μοι τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; Ἰωσὴφ μνηστήρ ἐστιν ἐμὸς, οὐκ ἀνήρ· μέχρι γὰρ τῶν ἀῤῥαβώνων αἱ περὶ τοῦ γάμου συνθῆκαι προέβησαν· πῶς οὖν χωρὶς γάμου ἔσται μοι ἡ σύλληψις; πῶς χωρὶς φυτουργοῦ βλαστήσω καρπόν; ἐπ' ἐμοῦ πρώτης ὁ δρόμος τῆς φύσεως ἐναλλάττεται; ἐπ' ἐμοῦ πρώτης ὁ νόμος τῆς κυήσεως μεταγράφεται; ἐπ' ἐμοῦ