When the Most Holy Virgin had spent 11 years in the temple in Jerusalem, or 14 years since her birth, the priests informed her that, according to the law, she could no longer stay there but was obliged to marry. But she replied that she had dedicated herself to God and wanted to remain a virgin until her death. Then the high priest Zechariah gathered 12 unmarried men from the tribe of David to give the Virgin Mary to one of them. And they gave her to the old man Joseph of Nazareth, who was her relative. In Joseph's house, the Most Holy Virgin continued to live as in the Temple of Solomon, in prayer and needlework. But when the time foretold by the prophet Daniel had come, the archangel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she would give birth to the Son of God.

Holy Martyrs Pelagia, Theodosia and Dula. Easter Lent.