Ελληνική Επανάσταση kai Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου
eh-lee-nee-key eh-pa-nah-sta-see kay ev-an-geh-lee-smos tees thay-oh-toh-koou
(Greek Revolution and the Annunciation of Christ)
It’s a double Greek holiday today!!
Today, March 25th, Greece celebrates it’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was a long and bloody war, preceded by more than one failed attempt, that eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople in 1832 which granted the land rights to what we now consider Greece.
Coincidentally, today also marks on the Orthodox calendar the day that the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would carry the Son of God (which means Christmas is in nine months!)
Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου is an interesting phrase because of the first word ‘ev-an-geh-lee-smos’. Say that a few times and you can hear exactly where the word evangelism comes from. We call Mary the ‘Theotokos’ (thay-oh-toh-kohs), which means “God bearer.”