And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus."

...Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. ~Luke 1:28-31;38

Many people naturally think that because the angel says "Do not be afraid," simply because the appearance of an angel would invoke fear in most people. But we mentioned yesterday that Panagia had been visited by angels daily in the Holy of Holies. So then, why did he say "Do not be afraid"?The reason he says this is because she hears the manner of his greeting, his calling her blessed, and fears that she is in danger of being deceived as our mother Eve was deceived in the Garden.To prove that he is truly an angel of God, he shows her the heavenly scepter that he holds in his hand. This happens many times in Church History; it happened in the lives of St. Euphrosynos the Cook, St. Irene Chrysovalantou and again at the Dormition of the Theotokos--symbols are brought from Heaven.