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- Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
- Each of the Great Feasts of the Church is followed by a
commemoration of some holy one who figures in the events of the Feast.
So, today we commemorate the Holy Archangel Gabriel, who brought the
glad news of the conception of Christ to Mary, the Theotokos. The Prologue gives the following teaching:
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"The herald of the incarnation of the Son of God, he is one of the
seven great angels who stand before the throne of God. He revealed to
Zacharias the birth of the Forerunner, and said of himself: 'I am
Gabriel that stand in the presence of God' (Lk. 1:19). His name,
Gabriel, signifies 'man of God'. Speaking about the Annunciation, the
holy Fathers comment that an angel with such a name was sent to signify
who He was,and of what nature He was, who would be born of the most pure
Virgin. He would be the Man of God, the Man-God, the strong and mighty
God. Others have found that it was this same Gabriel who announced the
conception of the Virgin Mary to Joachim and Anna, and that it was he
who taught Moses in the wilderness to write the Book of Genesis. The
holy Fathers consider that Gabriel belongs to the foremost and highest
order of the heavenly powers, the seraphim, since the seraphim stand
closest to God. And so he is one of the seven seraphim closest to God.
The names of these seven are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel,
Selathiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel. Some would add Jeremiel to this
number. Each has his own particular service, but all are equal in
honour. Why did God not send Michael? For the reason that Michael's
service is the suppression of the enemies of God's truth, while
Gabriel's is the annunciation of the salvation of the human race."
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
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