The latest theses will be understood only by sufficiently deep and enlightened people, despite all their obviousness. But those people did not even think that on one hand I have Zadok. And I am the heir of Zadok—this is the lineage of Aaron. And only I can be the High Priest. The main hewn stone. And that this is also a direct lineage from David and Solomon. And that I am literally the son of Solomon. In the literal sense. And we are talking about my very own house. These people did not think about it.

At the demand of the Roman administration during the census, Mary and Joseph, as representatives of the lineage of David, set out for Bethlehem, the city of David, where Jesus was born—in a manger, because all the inns were occupied and the travelers had to stay in the stables. There they were found by the shepherds (see The Adoration of the Shepherds). On the eighth day, the child was circumcised, and on the fortieth day, he was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. There, Simeon the God-receiver prophesied, in particular, the sufferings of the Theotokos ('yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also'), which gave rise to the iconographic symbol of the heart of the Mother of God pierced by one or seven swords—known as the icon 'Softening of Evil Hearts'. Fleeing the Massacre of the Innocents ordered by Herod, the Holy Family left Israel. Later, Mary is mentioned in the description of the event when, at the age of twelve, during a journey to Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple of Jerusalem and conversed with the teachers and priests.In the Evangelists' accounts of the events of Jesus Christ's life, the Virgin Mary is mentioned as being present at the Wedding at Cana in Galilee. For some time, she remained with her son in Capernaum. At Golgotha, the Theotokos stood near the cross. The dying Christ entrusted his mother to the Apostle John. Only in these two Gospel episodes (John 2:4; John 19:26) is Jesus' personal address to Mary recorded, but he calls her not 'Mother,' but 'Woman' (Greek: γύναι [gúnai]). Jesus calls her 'Mother' only once, but not as his own, but rather as the mother of the disciple (John) in John 19:27: 'Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!"

Joseph the Betrothed (Joseph the Carpenter; Hebrew: יוֹסֵף, Yosef; Ancient Greek: Ιωσήφ ο Μνήστωρ)—according to the New Testament (Matt. 1:18 et seq.), was the betrothed husband of the Most Holy Theotokos. According to the Gospel narrative, Joseph was a direct descendant of the lineage of King David, yet he lived in poverty and, residing in the remote town of Nazareth, worked as a carpenter. Following the death of his first wife, Joseph, already advanced in years, became betrothed to the Virgin Mary, the future mother of Jesus. According to the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 1:18–24), after their betrothal, 'before they came together,' Joseph discovered that she was with child and sought to 'put her away secretly.' Afterward, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Joseph in a dream and reassured him, saying: 'Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' Following this, as the Evangelist narrates, 'Joseph took his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. 'The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. In fact, this is the genealogy of Joseph, 'the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ' (Matt. 1:16). The Gospel of Luke also contains a genealogy of Christ: 'Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli...' (Luke 3:23). These two genealogies do not match; in the generations between David and Joseph, there are almost no common names except for Zerubbabel. This contradiction was notably pointed out by Emperor Julian. Church Fathers, such as Jerome of Stridon, explain this contradiction through the law of levirate marriage. According to this version, Jacob, Joseph's father in Matthew's genealogy, and Heli, Joseph's father in Luke's genealogy, were born of the same mother (traditionally named Estha) but of different fathers. Heli died childless, and Jacob raised up offspring for his brother by marrying his widow.

The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the house of Joseph, Mary was working on the purple yarn for the temple curtain (a symbol of the forthcoming 'spinning' of the infant body of Jesus from the 'purple' of the maternal blood in Mary's womb). According to another version, the Virgin Mary was reading the sacred book of the prophet Isaiah at that time and, upon reaching the words ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son...’, exclaimed how happy she would be if she could see this chosen one of God and be at least a servant to her. It was then that the Annunciation took place—the Archangel Gabriel, sent from heaven by God, informed Mary of the future birth of the Savior from her. According to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26), Mary was living in Nazareth at this time. This is the first mention of Mary in the Gospels. In the view of Orthodox theologians, the Incarnation took place at the moment of the Annunciation—God clothed Himself in flesh (the phrasing 'to clothe oneself in flesh' is already known from the writings of Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria). John Cassian, speaking of the Incarnation, explicitly points out that ‘the beginning of our Lord and Savior occurs exactly when the conception does. The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth. Joseph the Betrothed, seeing that the Virgin Mary was expecting a child, was grieved and, out of pity for her, did not want to disgrace her with a public accusation, so he decided to put her away secretly. But the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Joseph and reassured him, saying: ‘Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ After this, as the Evangelist narrates, ‘Joseph took his wife, and did not know her.’ However, the apocryphal version reports that after the angel's visit, Mary was publicly subjected to the ordeal of the ‘bitter water that brings a curse’ upon unfaithful wives. This method is prescribed in the biblical Book of Numbers (Num. 5:11–31) and even in the Talmudic tractate 'Sotah.' Mary successfully passed the ordeal, which confirmed her chastity. Awaiting the miracle of virginal motherhood, Mary went to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth, her relative, who had already been expecting the birth of John the Baptist for six months. Upon meeting her, Mary recited the beautiful hymn ‘My soul magnifies the Lord’ (the Magnificat). She lived there for three months, after which she returned to the house of Joseph.

The Childhood of Mary. Until the age of three, Mary lived with her parents. The Protoevangelium of James states that when the Child was six months old, Anna set her on the ground to see if she could stand. Mary walked seven steps and returned to her mother’s arms. Therefore, Anna decided that her daughter should not walk upon the earth until she was led into the temple of the Lord. 'And she made a sanctuary in her bed-chamber, and allowed nothing common or unclean to pass through it; and she called the undefiled daughters of the Hebrews, and they led her along.'The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Protoevangelium of James tells of Mary’s upbringing in an environment of special ritual purity and of her 'Presentation in the Temple' when Mary was three years old: 'And the Child became three years old, and Joachim said: Invite the undefiled daughters of the Hebrews, and let them take each a lamp, and let them stand with the lamps burning, that the Child may not turn back, and that her heart may not be enticed away from the temple of the Lord. 'At the temple, Mary was met by the high priest (according to the apocrypha, this was Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist) along with many priests. Her parents placed Mary on the first step of the staircase leading to the entrance of the temple. According to the apocrypha... when she was set before the temple of the Lord, she ran up the fifteen steps without turning back or calling for her parents, as children usually do. And everyone was filled with wonder at the sight of this, and the priests of the temple were amazed. Then, according to tradition, the high priest, by divine inspiration, led the Virgin Mary into the Holy of Holies, where into all people only the high priest entered once a year with the cleansing sacrificial blood. During her stay at the Temple of Jerusalem, Mary was brought up alongside other pious virgins, studied the Holy Scriptures, engaged in needlework, and prayed constantly. The Betrothal to Joseph. However, upon reaching maturity, Mary could not remain at the temple, and according to the traditional rite, a spouse was chosen for her to protect her and respect her vow—the elderly Joseph the Betrothed, chosen from the tribe of David. According to another version, this occurred when Mary was fourteen years old, on the initiative of the high priest. Joseph was selected from among the other suitors because his staff miraculously blossomed.

After three months, Mary returned home (Luke 1:56–57). By decree of Emperor Augustus, a census was conducted throughout the land. Joseph and his relatives set out for their ancestral town of Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no room for them in the inn, so they had to stay in a cave used for cattle, where Jesus was born and laid in a manger (Luke 2:1–7). Eight days later, the infant was circumcised and given the name Jesus, as the angel had named him before Mary's conception. When the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought the infant to the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with the requirements for firstborns prescribed in the Law of Moses (Luke 2:21–38). Assuming that the Gospel of Matthew supplements the narrative of Luke, rather than presenting a different version of Jesus' birth, then after these events the family returned to Bethlehem and fled to Egypt following the visit of the Magi. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus returned to Nazareth after the death of King Herod (Matt. 2:1–19).

The principal Old Testament prophecy concerning Mary, the mother of Jesus, is considered to be the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel’ (Isa. 7:14). In addition, Church tradition relates the following biblical narratives to the Old Testament types and images of the Mother of God: Jacob's Ladder — as a symbol that through the birth of Jesus Christ from the Theotokos, heaven was united with earth (Gen. 28:12–17). The Burning Bush — as a symbol of her immaculate conception (Exod. 3:2–5). To this is also related the pot of manna, granted by God to the Hebrews during their wanderings in the wilderness (Exod. 16:32–34). The words about the Daughter of Zion — from the prophecy of Zephaniah concerning the birth of Christ (Zeph. 3:14).The Gate of the Temple — as a symbol of the virginity of the Mother of God, found in the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezek. 44:1–4).The symbolic Wisdom — in the Book of Proverbs (Prov. 9:1–11). The King's Bride (symbolically: the Queen beside the Messiah) — in Ps. 45:9–17 (Ps. 44:10–18 in the Septuagint/Russian Bible). She lived in Nazareth of Galilee, presumably with her parents. At the time when Mary was betrothed—the preliminary stage of a Jewish marriage—the angel Gabriel announced to her that she would become the mother of the promised Messiah, conceiving by the Holy Spirit. When Joseph learned of the conception, he was astonished; however, an angel said to him: ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home, because she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ Joseph awoke and did as the angel had commanded him. He took Mary into his home, completing the wedding rite, but had no physical intimacy with her. When she gave birth to a son, Joseph named him Jesus (Matt. 1:18–24).When the angel Gabriel informed Mary (Luke 1:19) that Elizabeth, who was previously barren, had now miraculously conceived, Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth, who lived with her husband Zechariah in the hill country, in a city of Judah (Luke 1:39).When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out with a loud voice and said: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ (Luke 1:41–45). Then Mary spoke the words known today among Catholics and Protestants as the ‘Magnificat’ (Luke 1:46–55).

The Mother of God (Greek: Θεοτόκος, Theotokos), the Virgin Mary, the Most Holy Virgin, the Madonna (Aramaic, Hebrew: מרים, Maryam—usually translated as strong, beautiful, and also as Lady)—in Christianity, she is the mother of Jesus Christ, one of the most revered figures, and the greatest of the saints. In the historical churches and a number of others, she is venerated as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven (Latin: Regina Caeli). The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the mother of Jesus Christ, was not an accidental or ordinary event, as she was assigned a vital role in the fulfillment of the divine plan for the salvation of mankind. The ancient tradition of the Christian Church views many Old Testament prophecies and archetypes as indications of the birth of the Mother of God. We find such references in the proverbs (paroemias) of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos: Jacob's Ladder (Gen. 28:10–17); The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezek. 43:27, Ezek. 44:1–4); The Words of the Book of Proverbs (Prov. 9:1–11). All of this can be read again. And quite attentively. The event is known from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James. According to this account, a pious married couple from Jerusalem—Joachim and Anna—had no children for a long time. When Joachim came to the temple to offer a sacrifice to God, the high priest refused him because he had 'not begotten offspring for Israel.' Then Joachim, in deep sorrow, withdrew into the wilderness to pray, while his wife remained at home in solitude and also prayed. At that time, they both had a vision of an angel who announced, 'The Lord has heard your prayer, you shall conceive and give birth, and your offspring shall be spoken of in all the world.' Following this annunciation, Joachim and Anna met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem: 'And behold, Joachim came with his flocks, and Anna stood by the gate and saw Joachim coming, and she ran and hung upon his neck, saying: Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me exceedingly; for behold, the widow is no longer a widow, and she that was barren shall conceive!' And Joachim found rest in his house that day. — Protoevangelium of James (4:7–8)After this, Anna conceived. As stated in the Protoevangelium, 'her months were fulfilled, and in the ninth month Anna gave birth.' The spouses made a vow to dedicate their child to God and, as was the custom at the time, to bring her to the Temple of Jerusalem to serve until she reached maturity.