This story brings to life the early years of the Virgin Mary. Createad from church traditions and apocryphal texts, the illustrations were inspired by the famous mosaics in the Monastry of Chora in Istanbul, Turkey. The story of Mary is not found in the Bible. It comes from a 2nd-century Christian document called the "Protoevangelium of James." Though not historical in the modern sense of the word, the story of Mary is of greatest significance for Christians. It presents Christ's mother to us as the last and greatest fruit of God's chosen people Israel. It describes how she was conceived and born from Joachim and Anna, how she personally replaces the temple in Jerusalem by becoming herself God's living temple as the Mother of His divine Son and Word, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.