Visitation (Christian)
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(Staatliche Museen, Berlin.)
The Visitation is the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke 1:39-56. It is also the term for a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on May 31 or July 2 in the West and March 30 in the East.
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[edit] Event
Mary, having heard at the Annunciation that Elizabeth was six months pregnant, left her home to visit her. Elizabeth and John the Baptist were inspired by the Holy Spirit at her arrival, and Elizabeth prophesied. Mary pronounced the "Magnificat" and remained with Elizabeth for about three months.[1]
In art it is a regular component of cycles of scenes from the Life of the Virgin. It is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, with the theme of "Spiritual Fruit and Love of Neighbor".
[edit] Feast
[edit] Western Christianity
This feast is of medieval origin. It was kept by the Franciscan Order before 1263 when St. Bonaventure recommended it, and the Francisian chapter adopted it. The Franciscan breviary spread it to many churches, but it was only universally adopted in 1389, when Pope Urban VI extended it for the whole Church, to be celebrated on 2 July, a date that was kept in the Tridentine Calendar. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration to 31 May, between the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord and that of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, "so that it would harmonize better with the Gospel story".[2] In some modern Anglican liturgies such as Common Worship, the date of 31 May is adopted, although the 1662 Book of Common Prayer has the 2 July date.
[edit] Eastern Christianity
The celebration of a feast day commemorating this event in the Eastern Orthodox Church is of relatively recent origin, dating only to the 19th century. The impetus to estabish a feast day in the Liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church, and the composition of a service to be included in the Menaion were the work of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin (†1894), head of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. The Gorneye Convent in Jerusalem, which was built on the traditional site of the Meeting of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) and St. Elizabeth, celebrates this Feast on March 30 (for those churches which use the traditional Julian Calendar, March 30 currently falls on April 12 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). If March 30 should fall between Lazarus Saturday and Pascha (Easter), however, the Feast is transferred to Bright Friday. The celebration of the Feast of the Visitation has not yet been accepted by all Orthodox jurisdictions.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia "Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary"
- The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth Orthodox icon and synaxarion
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Life of Jesus: The Nativity |
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Gabriel announces Mary's motherhood to Jesus |
Events |
Birth of Jesus: The Nativity |
