As noted in the previous issue, there is a sweeping motion through the wing of the archangel to his hand in the sign of a blessing. This movement is contrasted with the very vertical, “diptych” composition. The figures evenly divide the composition in two: The Archangel and the Virgin; Heaven and Earth. The heavenly movement indicates the divine initiation, and the reception of the Virgin with the earth indicates the beginning of salvation.
This movement is emphasized further through the posture of the Archangel, who is moving toward Mary. Mary, in contrast, is in a posture of “withdrawal-unto-reception”. I’m not sure I know what word for this noetic movement of the Theotokos would be best. The basic idea is that she first withdraws to discern the spirit, but then moves back toward a posture of reception of the message of God. Perhaps the best word would simply be faith. The Virgin withdrew because she refused to be deceived by the satan, but then gives of herself entirely when she discerns that God has visited her and chosen her to be the heavenly ladder, the temple of God, the door of Paradise.
I discuss further in the article how the Theotokos is the Gate of Heaven. Christ our God is received by Mary, enters her womb, and is born in the fullness of time. The Theotokos is the Gate by which Heaven—Christ, our Paradise, our God, the Great Lover of Mankind—comes to earth. I also further explain the symbolism of the red thread in her hand and how it relates to the incarnation and the symbol of the gateway.
Most of you are probably familiar with the symbolism of the lily, which sprouts in the center of the composition. The lily both mirrors the posture of the Virgin while also moving from earth toward heaven. Notice with this how the Theotokos is slightly elevated by the mountain so that her stature is greater than the archangel. A staple hymn in Orthodox Christian liturgy confesses of Mary: “More honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, Thee who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word: The Very Theotokos, Thee do we magnify.” There is also, of course, the Biblical “Hail, Mary, full of grace…” which generally communicates the same.
