15 Days for Panagia {day 2}

icon found here

Panagia remained in the Holy of Holies until she reached the age of approximately 13-14 years old. She lived in constant prayer and would only eat one meal a day. However, it wasn't the meal served to her by the high priest. She would give that food away to others and instead would eat heavenly food that an angel would bring to her every day at the same hour.When the time came for all the virgins who were of age to marry and the high priests were discussing which virgins would go to which men, the Panagia, who spoke very rarely, spoke up and told them she would not marry anyone. She told them that she promised her life and virginity to God. The high priests were shocked, yet they knew her to be a very holy young girl. They did not want to make a hasty decision regarding her future, so they prayed for a solution.Finally, they called all the widowers to the temple. They did this because they knew if she was betrothed to someone advanced in age her virginity would be protected. The widowers were instructed to bring a rod (or staff) with them. The rods were placed on the holy table overnight. The next morning they called the widowers back and everyone was asked to retrieve their rod. St. Joseph, who was 80 years old and a father of 7 children, could not find his rod.Then the high priest noticed that his rod had fallen behind the table and when it was retrieved, there were 3 blooms on the end. That is how he was chosen to be the All-holy Virgin Mary's betrothed.**note: A betrothal is not a marriage. This is the reason why in Orthodox wedding ceremonies there are separate prayers for the betrothal and the marriage itself. This is also why in the Akathist to the Theotokos we chant, "Rejoice, O Bride unwedded."**I also want to mention something about the icon used in this post. If you'll notice, St. Joseph's hair is gray. Many iconographers depict him with brown hair which gives the impression that he was close in age to the Theotokos. This is inaccurate as he was 80 years of age before they were even betrothed. This perception also contributes to the blasphemous accusations of a romantic relationship between them or that Panagia had more children, which is completely false. We in the Orthodox church know her to be the EVER-Virgin Mary.