The Three Gifts of the Magi On Mount Athos

Among the various treasures and very precious relics which are preserved with much piety in the Holy Monastery of St. Paul on the Holy Mountain, without a doubt among the foremost are the Precious Gifts which the Three Magi from the East offered to the incarnate Lord as an infant. These gifts, as is known, were gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold is in the form of 28 pieces of carefully engraved coins, with various shapes (rectangular, trapezoidal, polygonal, etc.) and measuring about 5 X 7 centimeters. Each coin has a different design of different and complex artistry. The frankincense and myrrh take the form of mixtures in the form of 62 roughly spherical beads the size of a small olive.

Because the spiritual (foremost) and physical, historical and archaeological worth of the Precious Gifts is incalculable, they are preserved with extreme care in the treasury of the Holy Monastery of St. Paul. For security reasons they are distributed in various reliquaries; only a part of them are presented for veneration in the Holy Monastery and are brought outside of the Holy Mountain as a blessing to various Metropolises.

The Evangelist Like writes of the Panagia that she “kept all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:19, 51). It is believed from theological studies that a large part of these “words”, the words and happenings in other words of the life of the Lord, the Theotokos revealed to the Holy Apostle Luke, who included them in his Gospel. It’s without any doubt that among the holy “words” of the Lord, the Most-Holy Theotokos “kept” everything dealing with the earthly life of the Lord, but also naturally the Precious Gifts.

Along with our historical-religious tradition, before the Dormition of the All-Holy Mother of the Lord, she delivered them together with the Holy Swaddling Clothes of Christ and her Precious Robe and Holy Belt to the Church of Jerusalem, where they remained until 400 AD. In that year the emperor Arkadios brought them to Constantinople for sanctification of the faithful and protection and promotion of the Queen City. There they remained until the sack of the city by the Latins in 1204 AD. Then they were brought because of safety along with the other holy relics to Nicaea in Bithynias, the temporary capital of Byzantium, where they remained for about 60 years. With the departure of the Crusaders under Emperor Michael Paleologos they were returned to Constantinople until the enslavement by the Turks in 1453 AD.


After the Sack of Constantinople the most-pious Empress Maro [Kyra-Maro or Mara], the Christian wife of Sultan Murat II (1421-1451) and stepmother of Muhammad II of Porthetou, brought them in person to the Holy Monastery of St. Paul of the Holy Mountain. This Monastery was known to her father George Brankovic, prince of Serbia, who built the Katholikon of the Monastery in honor of the Holy Great Martyr George the Trophy-bearer.

According to Athonite tradition, as Empress Maro approached from the port of the Monastery, the Lady Theotokos prevented her in a supernatural way from reaching the Monastery and thus preserving the non-entrance of females on the Holy Mountain.1 This she obeyed and humbly delivered the Precious Gifts to the pious monks and fathers, who erected in that place where the Theotokos appeared a cross that remains to this day and is called the “Cross of the Queen”. The document from the Sultan with the relevant information surrounding the delivery of the Precious Gifts is preserved in the library of the Monastery of St. Paul.

The authenticity of the Precious Gifts is based in part on oral tradition and the rest on history. But what strongly confirms the authenticity of the Precious gifts is the indescribable aroma which is given off sometimes continuously and sometimes occasionally, and the rich healing and miraculous grace which pours forth even to our days.

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1. When she was halfway up the path, the Mother of God intervened. Straightway, there was an earthquake, and a feminine voice from heaven was heard, saying, "Do not proceed any further, for another Queen rules this place." In other words, the "other Queen" was the Theotokos herself. To this day a chapel may be seen that was built where this took place to commemorate the place. (Read more here)


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thrice-boasted Gifts the Magi, the rulers from Persia gave to You - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - upon seeing You as a babe O Christ, and they faithfully worshipped You and were sanctified. Venerating Your holy treasures, we all receive grace, and offer a hymn to Your Nativity, O Lord.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined the light of knowledge upon the world; for thereby they that worshipped the stars were instructed by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.

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A Byzantine Christmas Carol To Christ and the Theotokos

Sung By Mihalis Terlikkas


Another Version of the Same

Άναρχος Θεός καταβέβηκεν,
και εν τη Παρθένω κατώκησεν.
Έρουρεμ, έρουρεμ
έρου, έρου, έρουρεμ, Χαίρε Δέσποινα!

Βασιλεύς των όλων και Κύριος
ήρθε τον Αδάμ αναπλάσασθαι.
Έρουρεμ, έρουρεμ
έρου, έρου, έρουρεμ, Χαίρε Άχραντε!

Γηγενείς σκιρτάτε και χαίρεσθε,
τάξεις των αγγέλων ευφραίνεσθε.
Έρουρεμ, έρουρεμ
έρου έρου έρουρεμ, Χαίρε Δέσποινα!

Δέξου Βηθλεέμ τον Δεσπότην σου,
Βασιλέα πάντων και Κύριον
Έρουρεμ, έρουρεμ,
έρου, έρου, έρουρεμ, Χαίρε Άχραντε!

Εξ Ανατολών Μάγοι έρχονται,
δώρα προσκομίζοντες άξια.
Έρουρεμ, έρουρεμ
έρου, έρου, έρουρεμ, Χαίρε Άχραντε!

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St. Ephraim the Syrian's 100 Stanzas on the Nativity

1. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

2. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, today became reality.

3. He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number! The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfillment came today!

4. The word that Micah once spake, today was come indeed to pass! For there came from Ephratha a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls.

5. Lo! from Jacob shone the Star, and from Israel rose the Head. The prophecy that Balaam spake had its interpreting today!

6. Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty! The light that spake in Zacharias, today shined in Bethlehem!

7. Risen is the Light of the kingdom, in Ephratha the city of the King. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfillment came today!

8. That tree likewise, the tree of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon’??s hidden proverb had today its explanation!

9. Today was born the Child, and His name was called Wonder! For a wonder it is that God as a Babe should show Himself.

10. By the word Worm did the Spirit foreshow Him in parable, because His generation was without marriage. The type that the Holy Ghost figured today its meaning was explained.

11. He came up as a root before Him, as a root of parched ground. Aught that covertly was said, openly today was done!

12. The King that in Judah was hidden, Tamar stole Him from his thigh. Today arose His conquering beauty, which in hidden estate she loved.

13. Ruth at Boaz’ side lay down, because the Medicine of Life hidden in him she perceived. Today was fulfilled her vow, since from her seed arose the Quickener of all.

14. Travail Adam on the woman brought, that from him had come forth. She today her travail ransomed, who to her a Saviour bare!

15. To Eve our mother a man gave birth, who himself had had no birth. How much more should Eve’??s daughter be believed to have borne a Child without a man!

16. The virgin earth, she bare that Adam that was head over the earth! The Virgin bare today the Adam that was Head over the Heavens.

17. The staff of Aaron, it budded, and the dry wood yielded fruit! Its mystery is cleared up today, for the virgin womb a Child hath borne!

18. Shamed is that people which holds the prophets as true; for unless our Saviour has come, their words have been falsified!

19. Blessed be the True One Who came from the Father of the Truth and fulfilled the true seers’?? words, which were accomplished in their truth.

20. From thy treasure-house put forth, Lord, from the coffers of Thy Scriptures, names of righteous men of old, who looked to see Thy coming!

21. Seth who was in Abel’??s stead shadowed out the Son as slain, by Whose death was dulled the envy Cain had brought into the world!

22. Noah saw the sons of God, saints that sudden waxed wanton, and the Holy Son he looked for, by whom lewd men were turned to holiness.

23. The brothers twain, that covered Noah, saw the only Son of God who should come to hide the nakedness of Adam, who was drunk with pride.

24. Shem and Japhet, being gracious, looked for the gracious Son, Who should come and set free Canaan from the servitude of sin.

25. Melchizedek expected Him; as His vicegerent, looked that he might see the Priesthood’??s Lord whose hyssop purifies the world.

26. Lot beheld the Sodomites how they perverted nature: for nature’s Lord he looked who gave a holiness not natural.

27. Him Aaron looked for, for he saw that if his rod ate serpents up, His cross would eat the Serpent up that had eaten Adam and Eve.

28. Moses saw the uplifted serpent that had cured the bites of asps, and he looked to see Him who would heal the ancient Serpent’??s wound.

29. Moses saw that he himself alone retained the brightness from God, and he looked for Him who came and multiplied gods by His teaching.

30. Caleb the spy bore the cluster on the staff, and came and longed to see the Cluster, Whose wine should comfort the world.

31. Him did Jesus son of Nun long for, that he might conceive the force of his own surname: for if by His name he waxed so mighty, how much more would He by His Birth?

32. This Jesus that gathered and carried, and brought with him of the fruit, was longing for the Tree of Life to taste the Fruit that quickens all.

33. For Him Rahab too was looking; for when the scarlet thread in type redeemed her from wrath, in type she tasted of the Truth.

34. For Him Elijah longed, and when Him on earth he saw not, he, through faith most throughly cleansed, mounted up in heaven to see Him.

35. Moses saw Him and Elijah; the meek man from the depth ascended, the zealous from on high descended, and in the midst beheld the Son.

36. They figured the mystery of His Advent: Moses was a type of the dead, and Elijah a type of the living, that fly to meet Him at His coming.

37. For the dead that have tasted death, them He makes to be first: and the rest that are not buried, are last caught up to meet Him.

38. Who is there that can count me up the just that looked for the Son, whose number cannot be determined by the mouth of us weak creatures?

39. Pray ye for me, O beloved, that another time with strength endued, I in another legend may so set forth their foretaste, as I am able.

40. Who is adequate to the praising of the Son of the Truth that has risen to us? For it was for Him the righteous longed, that in their generation they might see Him.

41. Adam looked for Him, for He is the Cherub’s Lord, and could minister an entrance and a residence hard by the branches of the Tree of life.

42. Abel longed after Him, that in his days He might come; that instead of that lamb that he offered, the Lamb of God he might behold.

43. For Him Eve also looked; for woman’s nakedness was sore, and He capable to clothe them; not with leaves, but with that same glory that they had exchanged away.

44. The tower that the many builded, in mystery looked for One, who coming down would build on earth a tower that lifts up to Heaven.

45. Yea the ark of living creatures looked in a type for our Lord; for He should build the Holy Church, wherein souls find a refuge.

46. In Peleg’s days earth was divided into tongues, threescore and ten. For Him Who by the tongues, to His Apostles divided earth.

47. Earth which the flood had swallowed up, in silence cried to her Lord. He came down and opened Baptism, and men were drawn by it to Heaven.

48. Seth and Enos, Cainan too, were surnamed sons of God; for the Son of God they looked, that they by grace might be His brethren.

49. But little short of a thousand years did Methuselah live: He looked for the Son Who makes heirs of life that never ends!

50. Grace itself in hidden mystery was beseeching on their behalf that their Lord might come in their age and fill up their shortcomings.

51. For the Holy Spirit in them, in their stead, besought with meditation: He stirred them up, and in Him did they look on that Redeemer, after whom they longed.

52. The soul of just men perceive in the Son a Medicine of life; and so it felt desires that He might come in its own days, and then would it taste His sweetness.

53. Enoch was longing for Him, and since on earth the Son he saw not, he was justified by great faith, and mounted up in Heaven to see Him.

54. Who is there that will spurn at grace, when the Gift that they of old gained not by much labour, freely comes to men now?

55. For Him Lamech also looked who might come and lovingly give Him quiet from his labour and the toiling of his hands, and from the earth the Just One had cursed.

56. Lamech then beheld his son, Noah, him, in whom were figured types relating to the Son. In the stead of the Lord afar off, the type at hand afforded quiet.

57. Yea Noah also longed to see Him, the taste of whose assisting graces he had tasted. For if the type of Him preserved living things, Himself how sure to bestow life upon souls!

58. Noah longed for Him, by trial knowing Him, for through Him had the ark been established. For if the type of Him thus saved life, assuredly much more would He in person.

59. Abraham perceived in Spirit that the Son’s Birth was far off; instead of Him in person he rejoiced to see even His day.

60. To see Him Isaac longed, as having tasted the taste of His redemption; for if the sign of Him so gave life, much more would He by the reality.

61. Joyous were today the Watchers, that the Wakeful came to wake us! Who would pass this night in slumber, in which all the world was watching?

62. Since Adam brought into the world the sleep of death by sins, the Wakeful came down that He might awake us from the deep sleep of sin.

63. Watch not we as usurers, who thinking on money put to interest, watch at night so oft, to reckon up their capital, and interest.

64. Wakeful and cautious is the thief, who in the earth hath buried and concealed his sleep. His wakefulness all comes to this, that he may cause much wakefulness to them that be asleep.

65. Wakeful likewise is the glutton, who hath eaten much and is restless; his watching is to him his torment, because he was impatient of stint.

66. Wakeful likewise is the merchant; of a night he works his fingers telling over what pounds are coming, and if his wealth doubles or trebles.

67. Wakeful likewise is the rich man, whose sleep his riches chase away: his dogs sleep; he guards his treasures from the thieves.

68. Wakeful also is the careful, by his care his sleep is swallowed: though his end stands by his pillow, yet he wakes with cares for years to come.

69. Satan teaches, O my brethren, one watching instead of another; to good deeds to be sleepy, and to ill awake and watchful.

70. Even Judas Iscariot, for the whole night through was wakeful; and he sold the righteous Blood, that purchased the whole world.

71. The son of the dark one put on darkness, having stripped the Light from off him: and Him who created silver, for silver the thief sold.

72. Yea, Pharisees, the dark one’s sons, all the night through kept awake: the dark ones watched that they might veil the Light which is unlimited.

73. Ye then watch as heaven’s lights in this night of starry light. For though so dark be its colour yet in virtue it is clear.

74. For whoever is like this clear One, wakeful and prayerful in darkness, him in this darkness visible a light unseen surrounds!

75. The bad man that in daylight stands, yet as a son of darkness deals; though with light clad outwardly, inly is with darkness girt.

76. Be we not deceived, beloved, by the fact that we are watching! For whoso does not rightly watch, his watch is an unrighteous watch.

77. Whoso watches not cheerfully, his watching is but a sleeping: whoso also watches not innocently, even his waking is his foe.

78. This is the waking of the envious one! a solid mass, compact with harm. That watch is but a trafficking, with scorn and mockery compact.

79. The wrathful man if he wakes, fretful with wrath his wake will be, and his watching proves to him full of rage and of cursings.

80. If the babbler be waking, then his mouth becomes a passage which for sins is ready but for prayers shows hindrance.

81. The wise man, if so be he that watches, one of two things chooseth him; either takes sweet, moderate, sleep, or a holy vigil keeps.

82. That night is fair, wherein He Who is Fair rose to come and make us fair. Let not aught that may disturb it enter into our watch!

83. Fair be kept the ear’s approach, chaste the seeing of the eye! hallowed the musing of the heart! the speaking of the mouth be cleared.

84. Mary hid in us today leaven that came from Abraham. Let us then so pity beggars as did Abraham the needy. Today the rennet fell on us from the gentle David’??s house.

85. Let a man show mercy to his persecutors, as did Jesse’s son to Saul. The prophets’ sweet salt is today sprinkled among the Gentiles.

86. Let us gain a new savor by that whereby the ancient people lost their savor. Let us speak the speech of wisdom; speak we not of things outside it, lest we ourselves be outside it!

87. In this night of reconcilement let no man be wroth or gloomy! in this night that stills all, none that threatens or disturbs!

88. This night belongs to the sweet One; bitter or harsh be in it none! In this night that is the meek One’??s, high or haughty be in it none!

89. In this day of pardoning let us not exact trespasses! In this day of gladnesses let us not spread sadnesses!

90. In this day so sweet, let us not be harsh! In this day of peaceful rest, let us not be wrathful in it!

91. In this day when God came to sinners, let not the righteous be in his mind uplifted over sinner!

92. In this day in which there came the Lord of all unto the servants, let masters too condescend to their servants lovingly!

93. In this day in which the Rich became poor for our sakes, let the rich man make the poor man share with him at his table.

94. On this day to us came forth the Gift, although we asked it not! Let us therefore bestow alms on them that cry and beg of us.

95. This is the day that opened for us a gate on high to our prayers. Let us open also gates to supplicants that have transgressed, and of us have asked forgiveness.

96. Today the Lord of nature was against His nature changed; let it not to us be irksome to turn our evil wills.

97. Fixed in nature is the body; great or less it cannot become: but the will has such dominion, it can grow to any measure.

98. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

99. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Today Godhead sealed itself upon Manhood, that so with the Godhead’s stamp Manhood might be adorned.

100. Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, today became reality. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem.

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The Nativity Discourse of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus

Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, who lived from about 213 AD until about 270 AD, was the Bishop of Neo-Caesarea.

We behold now a great and wondrous mystery. Shepherds with cries of joy come forth as messengers to the sons of mankind, not on their hilly pastures with their flocks conversing and not in the field with their sheep frolicking, but rather in the city of David Bethlehem spiritual songs exclaiming. In the highest sing Angels, proclaiming hymns Archangelic; the heavenly Cherubim and Seraphim sing out praises to the glory of God: "Holy, Holy, Holy..." Together all do celebrate this joyous feast, beholding God upon the earth, and mankind of earth amidst the heavens. By Divine providence the far distant are uplifted to the highest, and the highest, through the love of God for mankind, have bent down to the far distant, wherefore the Most High, through His humility, "is exalted through humility." On this day of great festivity Bethlehem hath become like unto heaven, taking place amidst the glittering stars are Angels singing glory, and taking the place of the visible sun -- is the indefinable and immeasurable Sun of Truth, having made all things that do exist. But who would dare investigate so great a mystery? "Wherein God doth wish it, therein the order of nature is overturned", and laws cannot impede. And so, of that which was impossible for mankind to undertake, God did aspire and did descend, making for the salvation of mankind, since in the will of God this is life for all mankind.

On the present joyous day God hath come to be born; on this great day of arrival God is become That Which He was not: being God, He hath become Man, so to speak as though removed from Divinity (though His Divine Nature be not divested of); in being made Man, He hath remained God. Wherefore, though He grew and flourished, it however was not thus as it were by human power to attain to Divinity nor by any human ability to be made God; but rather as the Word, by miraculous sufferance, wherein He was incarnated and manifest not being transformed, not being made something other, not deprived of that Divine Nature which He possessed previously. In Judea the new King is born; but this new and wondrous nativity which pagan Gentiles have come to believe, the Jew have eschewed. The Pharisees comprehended incorrectly the Law and the prophets. That which therein was contradictory for them, they explained away mistakenly. Herod too strove to learn of this new birth, full of mystery, yet Herod did this not to reverence the new-born King, but to kill Him.

That One, Who did forsake the Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, and all the constant and luminous spirits -- He alone having come a new path, does issue forth from an inviolate of seed virginal womb. The Creator of all comes to enlighten the world, indeed not leaving His angels orphaned, and He appears also as Man, come forth from God.

And I, though I see by the NewBorn neither trumpets (nor other musical instruments), nor sword, nor bodily adornments, neither lampadas nor way-lamps, and seeing the choir of Christ composed of those humble of birth and without influence -- it doth persuade me to praise of Him. I see speechless animals and choirs of youth, as though some sort of trumpet, resonant with song, as though taking the place of lampadas and as it were shining upon the Lord. But what shall I say about what the lampadas do light? He -- is the very most Hope and Life Itself, He is Salvation Itself, Blessedness Itself, the focal point of the Kingdom of Heaven. He is Himself borne as offering, so that there would in power transpire the proclamation of the heavenly Angels: "Glory to God in the Highest," and with the shepherds of Bethlehem be pronounced the joyous song: "And on earth peace, good-will to mankind!" Born of the Father, in His Person and in His Being passionless, now in a manner dispassionate and incomprehensible He is born for us. The pre-eternal birth, He alone Who was born dispassionately doth know of; the present birth, is supernaturally known only by the grace of the Holy Spirit; but in both the first birth truly, and in the present birth in kenotic humbling, actually and immutably God was born from God, but He -- is also Man, having received flesh of the Virgin. In the highest of the One Father -- He is One, the Only-Begotten Son of the One Father; in kenotic humbling Unique of the unique Virgin, the Only-Begotten Son of the one Virgin... God suffereth not passions, in being born God of God; and the Virgin did not suffer corruption, since in a manner spiritual was born the Spiritual. The first birth -- is inexplicable and the second -- is insurmisable; the first birth was without travail and the second was without impurity ... We know, Who now is born of the Virgin, and we believe, that it is He, born of the Father before all eternity. But what manner of birth it was we would not hope to explain. Neither with words would I attempt to speak of this, nor in thought would I dare to approach it, since the Divine Nature is not subject to observation, nor approachable by thought, nor containable by the hapless reasoning. Needful only is to believe in the power of His works. The laws of corporeal nature are evident: a married woman conceives and gives birth to a son in accord with the purpose of marriage; but when the Unwedded Virgin gives birth to the son miraculously, and after birth remaineth a Virgin, -- then is manifest and higher corporeal nature. We can comprehend what exists according to the laws of corporeal nature, but concerning that which is beyond the laws of nature, we fall silent, not through fear, but moreso through sin-wrought fallibility. We fall silent, in silent stillness to reverence virtue with a worthy reverence and, not going beyond the far limits (of word), to be vouchsafed the heavenly gifts.

What to say and what shalt I proclaim? To speak more concerning the Virgin Birth-Giver? To deliberate more on the miraculously new birth? It is possible only to be astonished, in contemplating the miraculous birth, since it overturns the ordinary laws and order of nature and of things. About the wondrous works (of God) one might say in brief, that they are more wondrous than the works of nature, since in nature nothing begets itself by its own will, though there be the freedom thereof: wondrous therefore are all the works of the Lord, Who hath caused them to be. O, immaculate and inexplicable mystery! That One, Who before the very creation of the world was the Only-Begotten, Without-Compare, Simple, Incorporeal, is incarnated and descends (into the world), clothed in a perishable body, so that He be visible to all. For if He were not visible, then by what manner would He teach us to keep His precepts and how would He lead us to the invisible reality? It was for this therefore that He became openly visible, to lead forth those of the visible world to the invisible. Far more so do people reckon their eyesight as more credible a witness than mere hearsay; they trust that which they see, and doubt that which they see not. God willed to be visible in body, to resolve and dispel the doubts. He willed to be born of the Virgin, not to initiate of Her something unneeded and wherein the Virgin knew not the reasons of the matter, but rather the mystery of His birth is an immaculate act of goodness, wherein the Virgin Herself asked of Gabriel: "How can this be, in that I know not a man" -- to which She received in reply: "The Holy Spirit shalt come upon Thee, and the power of the Most High shalt overshadow Thee" (Luke 1:34-35). But in what manner did the Word, Who was God, therefore issue forth from the Virgin? This -- is an inexplicable wonder. Just as a goldsmith, having obtained the metal, makes of it a thing suitable for use, thus did Christ also: finding the Virgin immaculate both in spirit and in body, He assumed of Her a spirit-fashioned body conformable to His intents, and was arrayed in it, as in clothing. On this wondrous day of the Nativity the Word was neither afraid nor ashamed to issue forth from the virginal womb, nor did He consider it unworthy of Himself to assume flesh from His creation -- so that the creation, made the attire of the Creator, should be esteemed worthy of glory, and so that mercy should be made known when revealed, from whence God through His goodness hath descended. Just as it would be impossible for an earthen vessel to appear before it be clay in the hands of the potter, so likewise would it be impossible for the perishable vessel (of human nature) to be renewed otherwise, to make it the attire of the Creator, Who is garbed in it.

What more to say, what shall I expound on? The new wonders do strike me with awe. The Ancient of Days is become a Child, to make people children of God. Sitting in glory in the Heavens, because of His love for mankind, He now lays in a manger of dumb beasts. The Impassionate, Incorporeal, Incomprehensible One is taken by human hands, in order to atone the violence of sinners and the iniquitous and free them of their slavery, to be wrapped in swaddling cloths and be nourished on the knees of Woman, so that shame be transformed into honor, the impious to be led to glory, and in place of thorns a crown. He hath taken on my body, so that I be made capable to have within myself His Spirit -- He hath appropriated unto Himself (my nature), being garbed in my body, and doth give unto me His Spirit, so that I, giving and in turn receiving, might discover the treasure of life.

What shall I say and what proclaim? "Behold, a Virgin in womb shalt conceive and She shalt give birth a Son, and they will call Him the name Emmanuel, in interpretation: God is with us (Matthew 1:23). The saying here deals not with something for future whereof we might learn to hope, but rather it tells us about something that already has occurred and it awes us with something that already has been fulfilled. What formerly was said to the Jews and fulfilled amidst them, is now thus amidst us realised as an occurrence, whereof we have received (this prophecy), and adopted it, and believed in it. The prophet says to the Jews: "Behold, a Virgin shalt conceive" (Isaiah 7:14); for Christians however, the saying devolves upon the fulfilling of the actual deed, the full treasure-trove of the actual event. In Judea a Virgin gave birth, but all the lands of the world accepted Her Son. There -- was the root of the vine; here -- the vine of truth. The Jews squeezed the wine-press, and the Gentiles have tasted of the sacramental Blood; those others planted the kernel of wheat, and these thrive by the grain harvest of faith. The Jews were pricked to death by the thorns, the Gentiles are filled by the harvest; those others sat beneathe the tree of desolation, and these -- beneathe the tree of life; those expounded the precepts of the Law, but the Gentiles reap the spiritual fruits. The Virgin gave birth not Herself of Herself, but as willed He needing to be born. Not in corporeal manner did God act, not to the law of the flesh did God subordinate Himself, but the Lord of corporeal nature manifested Himself to appear in the world by a miraculous birth, in order to reveal His power and to show, that in having been made Man, He is born not as a mere man, -- that God is made Man, since for His will nothing be difficult.

On the present great day He is born of the Virgin, having overcome the natural order of things. He is higher than wedlock and free from defilement. It sufficed that He the preceptor of purity should shine forth gloriously, to emerge from a pure and undefiled womb. For He -- is That Same, Who in the beginning did create Adam from the virgin soil, and from Adam without wedlock did bring forth for him his wife Eve. And as Adam was without wife before that he had a wife, and the first woman then was brought into the world, so likewise on the present day the Virgin without man giveth birth to That One, about Whom spake the prophet: "He -- is Man, who is he that doth know Him?" The Man Christ, clearly seen by mankind, born of God, is such that womankind was needed to perfect that of mankind, so that perfectly would be born man for woman. And just as from Adam was taken woman, without impairment and without diminishing of his masculine nature, so also from woman without man was needed to bring forth a man, similar to the bringing forth of Eve, so that Adam be not extolled in that without his means woman should bring forth woman. Therefore the Virgin without cohabitation with man gave birth to God the Word, made Man, so that in equal measure it was by the same miracle to bestow equal honor to both the one and the other half -- man and woman. And just as from Adam was taken woman without his diminishing, so likewise from the Virgin was taken the body (Born of Her), wherein also the Virgin did not undergo diminishing, and Her virginity did not suffer harm. Adam dwelt well and unharmed, when the rib was taken from him: and so without defilement dwelt the Virgin, when from Her was brought forth God the Word. For this sort of reason particularly the word assumed of the Virgin Her flesh and Her (corporeal) garb, so that He be not accounted innocent of the sin of Adam. Since man stung by sin had become a vessel and instrument of evil, Christ took upon Himself this receptacle of sin into His Own flesh so that, the Creator having been co-united with the body, it should thus be freed from the foulness of the enemy, and man thus be clothed in an eternal body, which be neither perished nor destroyed for all eternity. Moreover, He that is become the God-Man is born, not as ordinarily man is born -- He is born as God made Man, manifest of this by His Own Divine power, since if He were born according to the general laws of nature, the Word would seem something imperfect. Therefore, He was born of the Virgin and shone forth; therefore, having been born, He preserved unharmed the virginal womb, so that the hitherto unheard of manner of the Nativity should be for us a sign of great mystery.

Is Christ God? Christ is God by nature, but not by the order of nature did He become Man. Thus we declare and in truth believe, calling to witness the seal of intact virginity: as Almighty Creator of the womb and virginity, He chose an unshameful manner of birth and was made Man, as He did will.

On this great day, now being celebrated, God hath appeared as Man, as Pastor of the nation of Israel, Who hath enlivened all the universe with His goodness. O dear warriors, glorious champions for mankind, who did preach Bethlehem as a place of Theophany and the Nativity of the Son of God, who have made known to all the world the Lord of all, lying in a manger, and did point out God contained within a narrow cave!

And so, we now glorify joyfully a feast of the years. Just as hence the laws of feasts be new, so now also the laws of birth be wondrous. On this great day now celebrated, of shattered chains, of Satan shamed, of all demons to flight, the all-destroying death is replaced by life, paradise is opened to the thief, curses be transformed into blessings, all sins forgiven and evil banished, truth is come, and they have proclaimed tidings filled with reverence and love for God, traits pure and immaculate are implanted, virtue is exalted upon the earth, Angels are come together with people, and people make bold to converse with Angels. Whence and why hath all this happened? From this, that God hath descended into the world and exalted mankind unto Heaven. There is accomplished a certain transposition of everything: God Who is perfect hath descended to earth, though by Nature He remaineth entirely in the Heavens, even at that time when in His wholeness He be situated upon the earth. He was God and was made Man, not negating His Divinity: He was not made God, since He was always such by His very Nature, but He was made flesh, so that He be visible to everything corporeal. That One, upon Whom even the Heaven-dwellers cannot look, chose as His habitation a manger, and when He came, all around Him became still. And for naught else did He lay in the manger, than for this, that in giving nourishment to all, He should for Himself extract the nourishment of infants from maternal breasts and by this to bless wedlock.

On this great day people, leaving off from their arduous and serious affairs, do come forth for the glory of Heaven, and they learn through the gleaming of the stars, that the Lord hath descended to the earth to save His creation. The Lord, sitting upon a swift cloud, in the flesh wilt enter into Egypt (Isaiah 19:1), visible fleeing from Herod, on that very deed which inspires the saying by Isaiah: "On that day Israel wilt be third amidst the Egyptians" (Isaiah 19:24).

People entered into the cave, thinking not at all about this beforehand, and it became for them an holy temple. God entered into Egypt, in the place of the ancient sadness there to bring joy, and in the place of dark gloom to shed forth the light of salvation. The waters of the Nile had become defiled and harmful after infants perished in it with untimely death. There appeared in Egypt That One, Who upon a time turned the water into blood and Who thereafter transformed these waters into well-springs of the water of rebirth, by the grace of the Holy Spirit cleansing away sins and transgressions. Chastisement once befell the Egyptians, since in their errors they defied God. But Jesus now is come into Egypt and hath sown in it reverence for God, so that in casting off from the Egyptian soul its errors, they are made amicable unto God. The river waters concurred worthily to encompass His head, like a crown.

In order not to stretch out in length our discourse and briefly to conclude what is said, we shall ask: in what manner was the passionless Word made flesh and become visible, while dwelling immutably in His Divine Nature? But what shall I say and what declare? I see the carpenter and the manger, the Infant and the Virgin Birth-Giver, forsaken by all, weighed down by hardship and want. Behold, to what a degree of humiliation the great God hath descended. For our sakes "impoverished, Who was rich" (2 Cor 8:9): He was put into but sorry swaddling cloths -- not on a soft bed. O poverty, source of all exaltation! O destitution, revealing all treasures! He doth appear to the poor -- and the poor He maketh rich; He doth lay in an animal manger -- and by His word He sets in motion all the world. He is wrapped in tattered swaddling cloths -- and shatters the bonds of sinners having called the entire world into being by His Word alone.

What still should I say and proclaim? I see the Infant, in swaddling cloths and lying in the manger; Mary, the Virgin Mother, stands before it together with Joseph, called Her husband. He is called Her husband, and She -- his wife, in name but so and seemingly wedded, though in fact they were not spouses. she was betrothed to Joseph, but the Holy Spirit came upon Her, as about this the holy evangelist doth speak: "The Holy Spirit shalt come upon Thee, and the power of the MostHigh wilt overshadow Thee: and He to be born is Holy" (Lk 1:35) and is of the seed of Heaven. Joseph did not dare to speak in opposition, and the righteous man did not wish to reprove the Holy Virgin; he did not want to believe any suspicion of sin nor pronounce against the Holy Virgin words of slander; but the Son to be born he did not wish to acknowledge as his, since he knew, that He -- was not of him. And although he was perplexed and had doubts, Who such an Infant should be, and pondered it over -- he then had an heavenly vision, an Angel appeared to him and encouraged him with the words: Fear not, Joseph, son of David; He That shalt be born of Mary is called Holy and the Son of God; that is: the Holy Spirit shalt come upon the Immaculate Virgin, and the power of the Most High wilt overshadow Her (Matthew 1:20-21; Luke 1:35). Truly He was to be born of the Virgin, preserving unharmed Her virginity. Just as the first virgin had fallen, enticed by Satan, so now Gabriel bears new tidings to the Virgin Mary, so that a virgin would give assent to be the Virgin, and to the Nativity -- by birth. Allured by temptations, Eve did once utter words of ruination; Mary, in turn, in accepting the tidings gave birth to the Incorporeal and Life-Creating Word. For the words of Eve, Adam was cast out of paradise; the Word, born of the Virgin, revealed the Cross, by which the thief entered into the paradise of Adam. Though neither the pagan Gentiles, nor the Jews, nor the high-priests would believe, that from God could be born a Son without travail and without man, this now is so and He is born in the body, capable to endure suffering, while preserving inviolate the body of the Virgin.

Thus did He manifest His Omnipotence, born of the Virgin, preserving the virginity of the Virgin intact, and He was born of God with neither complication, travail, evil nor a separation of forsaking the immutable Divine Essence, born God from God. Since mankind abandoned God, in place of Him worshipping graven images of humans, God the Word thus assumed the image of man, so that in banishing error and restoring truth, He should consign to oblivion the worshipping of idols and for Himself to be accorded divine honor, since to Him becometh all glory and honor unto ages of ages.

Amen!

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Celebrating Christmas In The Shepherds' Fields Of Beit Sahour

Paul Calvert
December 25, 2010
CrossRhythms

Beit Sahour lies to the east of Bethlehem and south-east of Jerusalem. The area is full of historical and biblical sites of significance. Ruins from Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader times can be found throughout the area, including the Shepherds' Fields, the fields identified since ancient times with the shepherds who saw the Star of Nativity. Today, Beit Sahour is home to 14,500 residents, 80% Christian and 20% Muslim. Father Ignatius is the priest from the shepherd's monastery in Beit Sahour and Paul Calvert chatted with him to find out more of the area's significance.

Paul: What is Beit Sahour famous for?

Father Ignatius: The city of Beit Sahour is famous for the land; for the fields. This is where the shepherds were the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the message was given by the Arch Angel Gabriel. It is very famous because of the message that the angels gave to the shepherds and this message was spread all around the world from this simple place.

Nowadays it is famous because of the money and the pilgrims that it attracts. They come to visit this holy site, the old cave, where the shepherds got the message and where the shepherds are buried. They also come for the ruins of the old monastery from the time of Queen St Helena.

This place dates back to the time of Jesus. There is a history of about 5,000 years here; when Jacob the patriarch came with Rachel and then Boaz and Ruth and of course their son. Then Jessie who was the father of David was here and later David as a shepherd also. This area was the property of the parents of the Virgin Mary.

Paul: If I was to walk down the streets of Beit Sahour would I see sheep and shepherds today?

Father Ignatius: Not today, because it is a populated area. It used to be part of the Judean desert but today it is a big city. The population of Beit Sahour is about 16,000 people, so today you will only see houses and hotels and restaurants; there are no sheep today.

Paul: The Angel Gabriel came here to visit the shepherds and the shepherds came from Beit Sahour to Bethlehem. How far is Bethlehem from Beit Sahour?

Father Ignatius: It is about 2-3 kilometres from here to the Nativity Church. Walking it would take 20 minutes to get to Bethlehem.

Paul: You have a very beautiful monastery here on the property. How long has the church been here?

Father Ignatius: The new church where we are now was built in 1985 but the older church inside the cave of the shepherds was built in the year 326 by Queen St Helena.

Paul: What sort of archaeological things can you see down there?

Father Ignatius: For the visitor and the tourist he will first of all visit the new church here and then we go down there to the cave, which was converted into a church by St Helena in the 4th Century. After that a very big monastery was built and it had about 200 nuns, but it was destroyed by the Persians. In the year 614 it was rebuilt again and renovated and became a monastery for monks. It was again destroyed and burned by the Arab invasion in the 7th Century and then it was rebuilt again, but destroyed completely by the Crusaders. From the 12th Century to the year 1971 the only church that existed was the old church of St Helena, but it was used for prayers by the local Arab Greek Orthodox people.

Paul: Have you had any archaeological finds?

Father Ignatius: Yes in the year 1980 - 82 we had someone from the Rockefeller museum in Jerusalem who started excavation for five years. They found ruins from all these monasteries, from the 4th-7th Centuries and a huge church that was built by Justinian the emperor. They also found ruins from another church, which was built by the patriarch of Jerusalem. They found mosaics and signs written in the old Greek language from the 5th Century and the 7th Century; ruins from the tower of flocks referred to in the book of Genesis and ruins from the rooms from all these monasteries and all these century's. It's a great history.


Paul: You also have a garden here with many olive trees in it. Do many of these olive trees date back a long time?

Father Ignatius: We have about 200 olive trees; some of them are about 2100 years old, which means that they were planted before the birth of Jesus. We take care of them so that they will live longer. Even now they give oil and olives. We have a great garden. Most of the trees are new, but yes those olive trees they are so old.

Paul: What's it like for you being here and ministering to the people of Beit Sahour?

Father Ignatius: It's a great blessing to be in this holy place and to every day explain to the tourists the history of this place, which is a place of peace and the place where the message of peace was given. Even though many centuries have passed, the people can understand that it is a holy place and it gives the message of peace and love to the world.

Paul: How do people celebrate Christmas in Beit Sahour?

Father Ignatius: Like everywhere; like in Europe. We celebrate Christmas here with the old calendar, which means we have Christmas on 6th January. I believe here it is brighter; people understand and they feel more joy and happiness because they celebrate Christmas so near to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

I believe the pilgrims that come during Christmas time feel the message of Christmas and they live every moment and every prayer and they enjoy visiting any place around the Bethlehem area. They also like visiting Beit Sahour and the city of Beit Jala.

There is a monastery near by, which is the place the three wise men stayed when they left Bethlehem to return back to Persia. There is a cave they stayed in one day and one night and they returned back to their country, so all the area here is considered holy. It's very important and very unique, but for someone to understand he has to visit and come and see.

Paul: In the West we eat turkey at Christmas. Do they have the same here?

Father Ignatius: They have turkey here. They decorate Christmas trees and also the streets are decorated with Christmas trees and I see that the Arab Christian people they also celebrate like everywhere in America and Europe. They follow the same customs in the area of celebration.

Paul: Does it snow here in Beit Sahour?

Father Ignatius: Very rarely. We had snow here about 10 years ago and a few Christmases ago, but not so much, because the weather here is so warm and the winters are so mild.

Paul: What's your prayer for the people of Beit Sahour this Christmas time?

Father Ignatius: Our prayer is that the people will be happy. We struggle for peace, but even though it is difficult, we never lose hope. Our work is always to pray and to give the message of peace and hope to people and we hope that one day all of us will live in harmony. That will happen in heaven, but we also want life here on earth to be peaceful too. It is so difficult; the unemployment, no work, so we at the monastery try to help people to understand and feel the message, not only the message of Christmas but in any celebration, even when we celebrate Easter, we try to give the message of happiness and joy to all the people.

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Christmas Carols Sung At the Archdiocese of Athens

Christmas Carols were sung this morning, Friday 24 December 2010, to Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece at the Archdiocese in Athens by children from various organizations. Traditional Cretan dances also took place.

The Archbishop heartily thanked everyone and wished them all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

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Dora Bakoyannis: "The Statements of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus Are Unacceptable"

December 24, 2010
Romfea.gr

The statements of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus were deemed unacceptable in a statement made by the chairman of the Democratic Alliance, Dora Bakoyannis.

The entire statement of Ms. Bakoyannis:

"With astonishment I was informed of the unacceptable statements of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, which are already doing their rounds around the world through the international media, which worked, more or less, the dire economic crisis plaguing our country into a Jewish conspiracy, and essentially denying the Holocaust both of the Jewish people and of our fellow Jews in particular, making further derogatory remarks of other crises'.

History is not rewritten on the basis of any bias. Therefore I appeal to the hierarchy of the Church of Greece to take up the matter immediately, because the statements of Metropolitan Seraphim not only puts himself outside the society of love which is the hallmark of Christians, especially Orthodox, but also tarnish the long and glorious history of tolerance for diversity and protection of all by the Orthodox Church.

Simultaneously, he brutally undermines the memory of great hierarchs, such as Damaskinos of Athens, who made every effort to rescue the Jews of Athens, and Chrysostomos of Zakynthos, who managed during the Second World War to save 275 Jews of the island.

In his statements, however, Seraphim of Piraeus, ignoring therefore that the Church is directly linked to the State, infringed the penal law of Greece, which strictly prohibits and punishes those who incite racial hatred and passions. But in this regard, Greek Justice has the power to rule."

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Metr. Ignatios: "Racism and Anti-Semitism Does Not Reflect the Faith of the Church"

December 24, 2010
Romfea.gr

"Racism and Anti-Semitism, from wherever and from whomsoever derived, can not express the faith and the consciousness of the Church. Especially in these days, Orthodox Christians do not forget that our Lord Jesus Christ was born a Jew, and nobody is entitled to insult the memory of 6,000,000 innocent victims of the Holocaust. From the manger of the God-man in Bethlehem where He was humbly born has dawned hope and light, not fear and connotations against anybody," said the Metropolitan of Dimitriados Mr. Ignatios in a statement in connection with the statements of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus on Israel.

He also said that "The timeless conscience of the Church is expressed by the example of major prelates, including Archbishop Damaskinos, Chrysostomos of Zakynthos and our late predecessor Joachim, who each in their own way, and motivated by genuine Christian feeling, helped save thousands of Greek Jews. This is the tradition of the Greek Orthodox Church; follow this."

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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The Victory of Saint Nicholas the Commander

St. Nicholas the Commander (Feast Day - December 24); Picture is a scene from the Battle of Pliska

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Some think this great saint was a Slav of Balkan ancestry. At the time of Emperor Nikephoros, Nicholas was a commander and had authority over a division of the army that went to war against the Bulgarians. Along the way, Nicholas spent the night in an inn, where he experienced a great temptation and had a strange dream. This dream fully came to pass in the war, where the Greeks were utterly defeated by the Bulgarians in the year 811. Nicholas was spared, and out of gratitude for God's providence he left his military rank and became a monk. He lived a long life of asceticism and became so perfect that he became a great clairvoyant and God-pleaser. He died peacefully in the ninth century and took up his habitation in the Blessed Kingdom of Christ the Lord.

A Reflection From His Life

Victory over temptation is victory over death. This is shown by a wondrous experience of St. Nicholas the Commander.

When this commander went off with King Nikephoros's army against the Bulgarians [Battle of Pliska], it happened that he spent the night in a wayside inn. The innkeeper had a daughter, a young girl, who, attracted by the imperial commander's outward beauty, began to entice him into sin. Nicholas refused her once, saying to her that this was enticing him into a satanic act. Nevertheless, the shameless girl came a second and a third time to the commander's room and again tempted him to an impure act. The commander refused both the second and third propositions even more decisively, counseling her to preserve her virginity and not to give her body and soul over to the devil. Finally, he said to her that he was a soldier and was going to war, and that it was unworthy and dangerous for a soldier to soil himself with such a misdeed, which would anger God and lead him to certain death. Thus, this God-loving man conquered temptation.

The following day, he moved farther on with the army. The next night, he saw the following vision: He was standing in a spacious field and saw near him a powerful man sitting with his right leg crossed over his left. Before them stood two armies in the field, one facing the other, the Greeks and the Bulgarians. This powerful man told him to watch carefully what was about to happen. Nicholas looked and saw the following: As long as the powerful man kept his right leg crossed over the left, the Greek army overcame the Bulgarian army, and when he changed his position and placed his left leg over the right leg, the Bulgarians charged and ferociously cut down the Greeks. Then this powerful man brought the commander closer to the slaughtered Greek army. The entire field was covered with corpses, body beside body. Only in the middle of these corpses was there an empty space, large enough for the body of a man. Then the man said to Nicholas: "This place was appointed for your body, but since you defeated the devil's temptations three times last night, you saved your body and soul from death."

That which Nicholas saw in his dream, he saw precisely in reality at the time of the battle. The entire Greek army perished on the battlefield, but Nicholas returned home alive, not to the barracks anymore, but to a monastery.

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Verdict Reached In Vatopaidi Case

December 23, 2010
Kathimerini

Two senior monks from the Vatopaidi Monastery, which has been implicated in an allegedly corrupt land-swap deal with the state, were yesterday given 10-month suspended jail sentences by an appeals court in Thrace for being moral accomplices to a breach of duty. Ephraim, the monastery’s former chief monk, and Arsenios, its ex-financial manager, were accused of colluding with Maria Psalti, the former judge of a first instance court in Rhodope, northern Greece, where tracts of land involved in the swap are located. Psalti also received a 10-month suspended sentence for delaying making public a ruling on the ownership of the land.

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Christmas in Bethlehem: The Cross Banished From Souvenirs

December 22, 2010
AsiaNews

For fear of Islamic fundamentalism, textile workshops in Hebron and Jerusalem, produce and sell T-shirts and other items depicting the Church of the Nativity without the cross. Discrimination and economic crisis are forcing Christians to flee from the Palestinian territories and Israel. The risk is to see a future without Christians in the Holy Land. Interview with Samir Qumsieh, director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem.

This Christmas in Bethlehem, the cross has been banned from souvenirs for tourists and pilgrims in the Holy Land. Some textile workshops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell T-shirts depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross. Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams. Interviewed by AsiaNews, Samir Qumsieh, journalist and director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, said: "I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products - he says - because the removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified. "

Like every year, thousands including authorities, faithful and tourists from all over the world crowd, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for midnight mass on the night of 24 December. It will be celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and will be attended by the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority.

Qumsieh says that the population is living these days with joy, but the situation for Christians is still dramatic. According to the journalist, the dialogue of recent years between Muslims, Christians and Jews has not changed the situation.

"In the Holy Land - said Qumsieh - the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism you can not plan anything.

According to the journalist, "people leave because there is no work and movement is restricted under Israeli control." Other factors are the internal problems of Palestine, such as the clash between Hamas and Fatah, which has repercussions on the economic situation. Qumsieh points out that from 2002 to 2010 the Christian population of Bethlehem has dropped from over 18 thousand to 11 thousand people. In Gaza, after Hamas came to power in 2006, Christians have fallen by about 3,200 units, from 5 thousand to less than 1800 in 2010. Only 15,400 Christians (2% of the population) live in Jerusalem, as reported in a study by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. They are 50% less than the 31 thousand registered residents in 1948, when Christians accounted for 20% of the population of the city.

The reporter says that if this exodus continues there will be no more Catholics in the Holy Land and that one day the Church of the Nativity could be turned into a museum. "If there are no more Christians in the Holy Land - he says – then there will no longer be Christians anywhere."

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the celebrations for Christmas, the Israeli military has ordered troops deployed in the occupied Palestinian territories to facilitate the passage of Christian pilgrims at checkpoints. The military has also distributed a brochure explaining the importance of Christmas for Christians and is urging soldiers to avoid unnecessary discussions and obstacles at the borders with the West Bank.

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Atheists and Christmas

Stephanie Samuel
December 24, 2010
Christian Post

In a newly released Christmas guide, atheists recount stories of traditional Christmas celebrations despite secular leaders’ belief that non-believers should steer clear of the Dec. 25th holiday.

The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas features 42 celebrity freethinkers in the United States and Europe who open up and discuss a topic seldom associated to their ilk – celebrating Christmas.

The book, a compilation of several essays and short stories, reveals that atheists maintain traditions and fond memories linked to the holiday commonly associated with Christian beliefs.

Simon Le Bon, front man of pop band Duran Duran, states, “I love Christmas. I always have.”

Le Bon attended a Christian school as child and once considered himself a Christian. Although he’s now an atheist, he continues to celebrate Christmas in traditional ways, Le Bon shares.

“Despite having lost my faith, I still celebrate Christmas and I love church music. I go to church to listen to the music,” he wrote.

Jenny Colgan, an atheist and bestselling author in the Chic Lit genre, shares, “I’ve always been enthralled by Christmas.” Colgan, who was raised Catholic, describes attending mass with her children on Christmas.

“I take the boys to Christmas morning mass – where my mother is playing the organ – but they don’t know when to sit or stand or what to do, and I am unaccountably nostalgic for a life I never wanted,” she describes.

Robin Harvie, the book’s co-editor, explained that the book is not a “theological tract” but rather “a bit of fun to show how atheists and agnostics can take part [in Christmas] and enjoy themselves too.”

This seems to run contradictory to assertions by atheist group leaders who claim non-believers are closeted by the celebration of Christmas and recommend nonparticipation.

American Atheists President David Silverman has asserted that Christmas is forced on freethinkers, and they in turn, “Go along to get along.”

However, The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas underscores statistics that show many enjoy and celebrate Christmas despite religious and, or in this case non-religious, affiliations.

According to a Monday poll by Christian group LifeWay Research, over half of all atheists celebrate Christmas. Nearly 90 percent of all agnostics and 62 percent of individuals claiming other religions also choose to observe Christmas.

Tom Flynn, executive director of the Council for Secular Humanists, expressed his displeasure in the numbers in The Washington Post’s On Faith column.

“I'm intensely conscious of how many of my fellow atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and freethinkers keep the Christian holiday in some form,” Flynn wrote. “I think they're all shooting themselves in the foot.”

He also asserted that celebrating the holiday will make non-believers disappear in the shadows. Non-Christians should “steer clear” of Christmas, he urged.

Yet atheists such as U.K. standup comic Ed Byrne admit, “I’ve always been a big Christmas mush, enjoying the sentimentality of the season.”

Perhaps the draw of Christmas to so many non-believers lies in its cultural roots. Spirituality blogger Frank Lockwood describes Christmas as a “smorgasbord” of Christianity, paganism and consumerism. Lockwood says the holiday is fueled by a belief in Jesus as well as beliefs in Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman.

So it is no surprise then that some atheists in the book celebrate Christmas much like Christians: decorating a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts, caroling and attending church.

LifeWay Research Director Ed Stetzer acknowledged that Christmas has become a cultural holiday. “People participate in holidays or activities all the time without knowing [why],” he stated in an email. He conceded that the celebration of Christmas in modern times has nothing to do with faith.

The book’s featured atheists make it absolutely clear that they do not espouse religious beliefs. Despite frequenting church for church music, Le Bon clarifies, “I’m liberal; I’m just not religious.”

Colgan also describes how she tells her children, and how she herself believes, that Christ’s birth is simply a story people tell to justify winter celebration, no different from the pagan holiday Winter Solstice or the Persian god Mithras.

Also, many atheists do not celebrate Christmas in any form. In the book, BBC journalist Simon Singh describes his logic for celebrating the Big Bang theory on Christmas.

Still, Stetzer believes more people consider Christ this time of year, leaving an opening for Christians to share their faith. “Christians should be intentional about sharing Christ at Christmas,” declared Stetzer.

He insisted that Christians should also share the Christ message to staunch atheists who are rebelling against Christianity, not persuaded or simply do not have the faith to believe.

“As long as there is a fallen world, there will be atheists and Christians who take the message of Jesus to them,” Stetzer said.

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Orthodoxy and Western Christmas Carols

By Fr. Geoffrey Korz

For Orthodox Christians in the western world, Christmas can create something of an identity crisis. While it is difficult enough to extricate a personal schedule from multiple pilgrimages to the shopping mall (a distinctly un-Christian aspect of modern Christmas), it is sometimes far more difficult to know what to make of Christmas carols and songs, and their appropriate place in the life of an Orthodox Christian.

None of us live in a vacuum. As such, the varied music of our culture almost inevitably finds its way into our lives, our memory, and our heart. Orthodox liturgical music represents the central place of music in the life of any faithful Orthodox Christian: it is music suited for the right worship of God, and comes to us through the life and experience of the countless holy ones that make up the communion of saints.

For this reason, Christmas carols and songs certainly do not have a place in the liturgical life of the Church: most are not dogmatically helpful or clear, and they have never formed a part of the hymnody used by the saints of the Church, as it has been given to the faithful.

The question for Orthodox Christians is, what is the place of Christmas music in life outside liturgical services? Since most people – including most Orthodox Christians – listen to, sing, or play some type of music beyond liturgical music, this becomes a question of which carols are appropriate.

Most of the Christmas carols that have come to us in the English language date from the 1700s and 1800s, and offer narratives of the Gospel accounts of the Nativity of Christ. While these usually use archaic English in a creative way, they are certainly faithful witnesses to the Gospel. We can think of favourites such as Angels We Have Heard on High, Away in a Manger, or God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, which raise little question in their suitability for an after-supper carol sing in an Orthodox home. Other traditional carols convey the story of events close to the Nativity of the Lord: the traditional Advent Latin melody O Come, O Come, Emmanuel dates to near pre-Schism times (the early 12th century, in this case), and can almost be described as a song from an Orthodox culture. The Coventry Carol tells the tragic tale of the massacre of the innocents described in the second chapter of Saint Matthew. The Twelve Days of Christmas provides a catechism of Roman Catholic origin that counters iconoclasm during the Protestant era in England. The symbolism of the carol is still useful today to teach Orthodox children (and adults) about the four "calling birds" of the Evangelists, and the three "golden rings" of the Holy Trinity.

Some carols offer poetic allusions to Gospel or other Scriptures. Songs such as Ding Dong Merrily on High, We Three Kings, Joy to the World, and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night, are artistic folk songs of their time, and warmly tell parts of the Nativity story. Although not written by an Orthodox Christian, The Holly and the Ivy offers a Christian understanding of pagan symbols that would be familiar to many Slavic Orthodox. Even the famous carol, Hark The Herald Angels Sing by the Protestant preacher Charles Wesley, provides poetry relating to the Gospel in a way that does not contradict an Orthodox understanding.

Historical fiction such as The Little Drummer Boy offers a creative expression of a simple encounter with Christ. Similarly, Christmastime tales of the life of an Orthodox saint like Good King Wenceslas (who died as a martyr at the hands of his pagan brother Boleslaus) provide a small sample of the lives of the saints which faithful Orthodox Christians should read each day.

Some carols have become popular because of a certain sentimentality they elicit, rather than their doctrinal helpfulness. Songs such as O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, and "What Child Is This?" may not have much content that could be questioned by Orthodox Christians, yet their sentimental tone seems to lack something of an Orthodox spirit. The enjoyment of Christmas carols certainly must go beyond mere musical critique, however, carols like these were clearly born out a very emotional world quite foreign to the world of the Orthodox Church.

Some "carols" are actually openly heretical. The 19th century song, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, is a case in point. Written by a Unitarian minister, the song explicitly sets out to popularize the idea that one can celebrate Christmas without the reality that God took on human flesh, expunging any supernatural references, and making a "miracle" out of the birth of a "great man." The lesser known Seven Joys of Mary articulates a Roman Catholic teaching that includes the "crowning" of the Mother of God in Heaven, a teaching that emerged in the Latin west long after her departure from the Orthodox Church.

There are other, particular cases. The 1962 song, Do You Hear What I Hear?, was allegedly written as an appeal for the de-escalation of the Cuban Missile Crisis, using the imagery of the Nativity story being proclaimed by people of high and low estate. Secular wintertime folk songs, such as Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells, really cannot be called Christmas carols, since they are made up of pure Victorian nostalgia, and have no Christian content. Silly, modern secular songs such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Rocking Around the Christmas Tree have little at all to do with Christmas, and even less to do with aspiring to emulate the best offerings of western civilization.

In his letter to the Philippians (4:8), Saint Paul tells us to hold to everything that is good. A wonderful variety of Christmas carols that affirm the truth of the Gospel, and the Nativity of Christ, have come down to us in the English language, and are entirely suitable for use in the homes of Orthodox Christians. At the same time, silly songs or those that teach false things, should not really be confused with Christmas, a feast that celebrates God’s great gift to the world, in the incarnation of His Son.

Apart from the Resurrection, this is the single greatest event in human history, and it gives us our very identity as Christians – and identity which solves any identity crisis we might ever face in our lives. We should celebrate it at every opportunity.

For other perspectives on this topic, read here.

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Istanbul City Hall To Restore Bulgarian Iron Church

December 24, 2010
Novinite

The Istanbul City Hall is to restore the Bulgarian "St. Stefan" church, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports Friday, citing Turkish media.

The works are to being as soon as possible while 60% of the funds will come from Turkey's Regions Directorate and the rest will be financed by the City Hall.

The Bulgarian "Saint Stephen" Church, also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Istanbul, Turkey, famous for being made of cast iron. The parts were manufactured in Vienna and then transported via the Danube River to Bulgaria and through the Black Sea to Istanbul. The Church was inaugurated in 1898 by Exarch Joseph and marks the beginning of the Bulgarian exarchate.

According to a legend, Sultan Abdul Azis, was not inclined to let Bulgarians have their own church, but yielded to the pressure under one condition – for the church to be built only in a month. Bulgarians found the solution by making the church from cast iron.

In the last few years, the Bulgarian State and the Istanbul City Hall have made significant efforts to raise funds for the church's renovation and maintenance, but those funds are still insufficient. The 110th anniversary of the iron church was celebrated at the end of 2008.

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Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

I behold a new and wondrous mystery! My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.

The Angels sing!

The Archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of Justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, He had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged…

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead.

And behold kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory;

soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;

women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child-birth into joy;

virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy;

infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings, He might perfect praise;

children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod;

men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants;

shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep;

priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech;

servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom;

fisherman, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men;

publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist;

sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant; and that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.

Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of the pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ. For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing: Glory to God in the Highest; and with the shepherds, and on earth peace to men of good will.

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25 Worthwhile Quotes From Charles Dickens

1. "A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self."

2. "A loving heart is the truest wisdom."

3. "Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door."

4. "Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay."

5. "Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true."

6. "Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."

7. "I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time."

8. "It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations."

9. "It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper; so cry away."

10. "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else."

11. "Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

12. "Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature."

13. "There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart."

14. "Vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!"

15. "Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers, and are fatuous preservers of youthful looks."

16. "'Tis love that makes the world go round, my baby."

17. "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."

18. "The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life."

19. "The American elite is almost beyond redemption. . . . Moral relativism has set in so deeply that the gilded classes have become incapable of discerning right from wrong. Everything can be explained away, especially by journalists. Life is one great moral mush--sophistry washed down with Chardonnay. The ordinary citizens, thank goodness, still adhere to absolutes. . . . It is they who have saved the republic from creeping degradation while their 'betters' were derelict."

20. "There is nothing good or evil save in the will."

21. "Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort."

22. "We forge the chains we wear in life."

23. "Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"

24. "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

25. "God bless us every one."

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A Statement of Clarification By Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus

Due to public outcry regarding the recent remarks of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus blaming the current financial crisis on a Zionist conspiracy and making statements that Adolph Hitler was controlled by these same Zionists (see here), the Metropolitan felt the need to clarify his remarks today in his own words below.

December 23, 2010
Romfea.gr

On the occasion of the concerns raised by the European Jewish Congress with regard to my interview with the MEGA television channel on the 20th of December, I have to say the following:

1. The things I said during my television appearance on the show "Society Hour Mega" are strictly my personal views and opinions of which I have repeatedly expressed my position verbally and in writing.

2. I respect, revere and love the Jewish people like any other people of our world according to the teaching of the incarnated Son of God and the true Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ the Savior and Redeemer, who was heralded by all the Prophets and was incarnated through the Jewish nation.

3. My public vehement opposition against International Zionism refers to the organ that is the successor of the "Sanhedrin" which altered the faith of the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Righteous of the Jewish nation through the Talmud, the Rabbinical writings and the Kabbalah into Satanism, and always strives vigorously towards an economic empire set up throughout the world with headquarters in the great land beyond the Atlantic for the prevalence of world government and pan-religion.

4. I consider like any sane person on the planet the Nazi regime and the paranoid dictator Adolf Hitler as horrible criminals against humanity and take a stand with all honor and respect against the Jewish Holocaust and any other heinous genocide such as that of the Pontic Greek and Armenian people. Besides, the Greek nation mourns thousands of martyrs from the criminal Nazi atrocities.

+ The Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has publicly condemned such rhetoric also in a statment made today.

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE DECRIES ANTI-SEMITIC RHETORIC

NEW YORK – In response to the recent anti-Semitic rhetoric that has been unfortunately used publicly by a Hierarch of the Church of Greece, the Holy Archdiocese of America condemns any such language, and expresses its sadness that these hurtful words should have been spoken at all. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America considers the remarks to be gravely offensive and totally unacceptable.

As a leader in Interfaith Dialogue, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese affirms its longstanding and positive relations with the Jewish Community here and abroad, and grieves with them at this incident, which is not expressive of the feelings and attitude of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and worldwide, and the Greek Nation. In this Holy Season that celebrates peace and good will among all peoples, we pray that, with God’s grace and help, mutual respect, understanding and love will prevail.

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The Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete

The Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete (Feast Day - December 23)

Saints Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, Zoticus, Pompius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evaristus suffered for Christ during the third century under the emperor Decius (249-251). The prefect of Crete, also named Decius, fiercely persecuted the Church, and arrested anyone who believed in Christ. Once, ten Christians were brought before him from various cities of Crete, who at the trial steadfastly confessed their faith in Christ and refused to worship idols.

For thirty days they were subjected to cruel tortures, and with the help of God they all persevered, glorifying God. Before their death they prayed that the Lord would enlighten their torturers with the light of the true Faith. Since pain did not influence them, the saints were beheaded.

St Paul of Constantinople (November 6) visited Crete about a hundred years later. He took the relics of the holy martyrs to Constantinople to serve as a protection for the city, and a source of blessings for the faithful.

Source

The Miracle of 1898

In the south-west end of the village Holy Ten, in the location known as Alonia (the threshing floor), the residents of the village created a small lake which was fed by the nearby river "Litheos tis Keras". At this lake the villagers watered their animals. Because the waters of the lake were standing, most of the time they looked dark. As the time passed, the villagers noticed that the waters had therapeutic qualities. The story of the young shepherd in 1898 and the miracle which is associated with him confirm the above belief.

A young shepherd who used to take his flock to graze in the area where the ten martyrs were, at one time, got very sick. He was so sick and had such a high fever that he was unable even to walk. He had no one to help him and so he started praying to the Holy Ten to help him. And behold, the miracle happened. The Holy Ten appeared to him and advised him to go to the lake and drink from its water and he would be healed. The young shepherd obeyed the order of the Saints, went to the lake, drank from its water and his fever disappeared immediately. Very happy for his healing he went to the village and announced to the villagers his miraculous healing. Since that time the lake became a healing place. Many Cretans from all over Crete, as well as people from other areas went there and after they bathed in the lake they were healed. The elders of the village mentioned all the miracles that were associated with the lake to the Spiritual Father of the Monastery of Koudoumas. He, in turn, informed the local Bishop, Vassilios Markakis, who decided to go to the location in 1902 and after he studied the area he decided to dry the Holy Lake with the firm belief that under the lake there must have been a Holy Place. The intuition of the Bishop proved true. At the bottom of the lake the tombs of the Holy Ten were discovered. Immediately Bishop Vassilios built on the spot a small Byzantine Church dedicated to the memory of the Holy Ten. Since then that holy and blessed place is known as the " Holy Lake".

Source

Read more about the Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete here.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Let us now honour Crete, that land most marvellous, which sprouted forth the ten flowers revered by all, those goodly pearls of Christ our God, those verdant boughs of the Martyrs; for although they were but ten, the most blessed men put to shame the ten thousand armoured host of the wicked demonic ranks. And hence, they have received crowns of glory as stout-hearted Martyrs of Christ Saviour.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Shining like a morning star, the Martyrs' contest, worthy of all reverence, hath shown beforehand unto us Him that was born in a lowly cave, and Whom the Virgin conceived without seed of man.

Megalynarion
Let all the faithful honor with hymns and praise Crete's Ten Martyrs of Christ, who valiantly endured the tortures of the tyrants and shed their blood at the hands of the lawless.

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