Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Christmas, the Most Moving Feast
Saint Kyriakos of Bisericani (+ 1660)
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St. Kyriakos of Bisericani (Feast Day - October 1 and December 31) |
Life of Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria
Monday, December 30, 2019
Saint Joseph the Betrothed Resource Page
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St. Joseph the Betrothed (Feast Day - Sunday After Christmas) |
As her sole elected guardian.
Synaxarion for Joseph the Betrothed, James the Brother of God and David the Prophet
Sunday After Christmas: Joseph the Betrothed, James the Adelphotheos and King David
The Sunday After the Nativity of Christ
A Homily on the Righteous Joseph
The Silence of Joseph
Saint Amphilochios Makris and the Kathisma of Saint Joseph the Betrothed on the Island of Patmos
The Church of Saint Joseph the Betrothed and Saint Photini in Evosmos of Thessaloniki
A Chapel in Cyprus Dedicated to Saint Joseph the Betrothed
A Church in Crete Dedicated to Saint Joseph the Betrothed
Sunday, December 29, 2019
A 14th Century Fresco from Mount Athos of Saint Joseph the Betrothed
King Herod's Slaughter of the Innocent Infants (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)
Sunday After Christmas: Epistle and Gospel Reading
Joseph the Betrothed, James the Brother of God
and David the Prophet and King
Psalm 67.35,26
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.
Exaposteilarion and Doxastikon of the Sixth Resurrection Eothinon Gospel for Sunday Matins
Saturday, December 28, 2019
The Symbolism of the Three Gifts of the Magi
The Distributed Gifts of the Three Magi in Mount Athos
The Relics of the Three Magi
Crowned Skulls of the Three Magi |
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Marble sarcophagus of St. Eustorgius in Milan |
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Shrine of the Three Kings |
Friday, December 27, 2019
The Divine Economy According to Saint Maximos the Confessor
The Post-Nativity Cappadocian Liturgical Calendar in 380 A.D.
Saint Stephen the Protomartyr: Epistle and Gospel Reading
December 27th
Psalm 18.4,1
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
The Manifestation of God’s Infinite Love
Synaxis of the Theotokos: Epistle and Gospel Reading
December 26th
Luke 1:46-48
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Verse: For he has regarded the humility of his servant.
Greek
Ἀδελφοί, ὁ ἁγιάζων καὶ οἱ ἁγιαζόμενοι, ἐξ ἑνὸς πάντες· διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοὺς καλεῖν, λέγων, Ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε. Καὶ πάλιν, Ἐγὼ ἔσομαι πεποιθὼς ἐπʼ αὐτῷ. Καὶ πάλιν, Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν σαρκός καὶ αἵματος, καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχεν τῶν αὐτῶν, ἵνα διὰ τοῦ θανάτου καταργήσῃ τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸν διάβολον, καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῇν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας. Οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται. Ὅθεν ὤφειλεν κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ. Ἐν ᾧ γὰρ πέπονθεν αὐτὸς πειρασθείς, δύναται τοῖς πειραζομένοις βοηθῆσαι.
The Early Christian Veneration of the Mother of God in Rome
The Orthodox Doctrine of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
On the Incarnation of the Word (St. Symeon the New Theologian)
The Incarnation of God: The Cause of Man's Deification (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)
The Incarnation and Redemption (Fr. George Florovsky)
Eighth Homily of Saint Leo the Great on the Nativity of Christ
Nativity of Christ: Epistle and Gospel Reading
Matins Gospel Reading
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Christmas Art and Iconography Resource Page
Origins of the Icon of the Nativity of Christ
The Veneration of the Magi in Iconography
Two Cypriot Icons of the Nativity of Christ
The Controversy Over the Bathing Scene in Nativity Icons of the Holy Mountain
A Byzantine Nativity Icon that Depicts a Belief in Witchcraft and the Evil Eye
Jesus Christ: The Reclining Lion of Judah
An Icon of Christ With an Earring
A Recent Appearance of the Theotokos in Bethlehem
The Miraculous Icon of the Most Holy Virgin of Bethlehem
The Heretical Icon of the "Holy Family"
Christmas Theological Reflections Resource Page
Patriarch Pavle of Serbia
Patriarch Pavle on the Holy Nativity of Christ
Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece
The Last Christmas Message of the Late Archbishop Christodoulos of Greece
Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments
Christmas - the Capital of Feasts
The Divine Kenosis
Christmas Christology: An Interview with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
Christ Was Born Not to Establish a New Religion
The Birth of Christ Celebrates the End of the Sickness of Religion
Christmas Despair and Hope
Archimandrite George Kapsanis
The Incarnation of God: The Cause of Man's Deification (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)
The Manifestation of God’s Infinite Love
Archimandrite Ephraim of Vatopaidi
The Incarnation of God as the Opposite to Today’s Sinfulness
Archimandrite Elisaios of Simonopetra
Christmas, the Most Moving Feast
Archimandrite Chrysostomos Papathanasiou
Christianity, the Light of Humanity
Archimandrite Iakovos Kanakis
"Undecorating" the Christmas Tree
Father George Florovsky
The Incarnation and Redemption (Fr. George Florovsky)
Father George Metallinos
The Truth About Christmas and the Myth-Making of Christmas
Father George Dragas
Lecture On the Incarnation (Fr. George Dragas)
Father Cherubim Veletza
Have You Prepared Your Manger?
Father Haralambos Papadopoulos
The Least Who Yearn To Become Mangers
Why Was Jesus Born In Bethlehem?
What Does "Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men" Mean?
Comparing the First and Second Coming of Christ
The Birth of John the Baptist and the Summer Solstice
Basil Skiadas
God Upon the Earth
Alexis Alexadrou
Finding Christmas
Jeremy Lott
The Case Against the Case Against the Virgin Birth
Evangelia
Christmas... What is Missing?
Stephen Beale
The Incarnation: God’s Covert Strike Against Satan
Michael Hansen
Incarnation & New Creation
Lori Harfenist
Does Christmas Have Anything To Do With Jesus?
Other
No Room In The Inn? Born In A Manger?
A Resource Page on the Nativity of Christ in the Church Fathers, Saints and Teachers
General
Orthodox Christmas Reflection (1)
Orthodox Christmas Reflection (2)
Orthodox Christmas Reflection (3)
Why Jesus Came Into the World
The Patristic Understanding of the Virgin Birth of Christ
Did Christ Have A Fallen Human Nature?
The Erythraean Sibyl and Her Prophetic Acrostic Concerning the Coming of Christ
All The Saints Gather To Worship The Incarnate God
Forefeast of the Nativity of the Lord Resource Page
Monday, December 23, 2019
Seventh Homily of Saint Leo the Great on the Nativity of Christ
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Sixth Homily of Saint Leo the Great on the Nativity of Christ
The Significance of Christ’s Nativity for Us
Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ: Epistle and Gospel Reading
Daniel 3.26,27
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
Verse: For you are just in all you have done.
Greek
Ἀδελφοί, πίστει παρῴκησεν Ἀβραὰμ εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν, ἐν σκηναῖς κατοικήσας μετὰ ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ ᾿Ιακὼβ τῶν συγκληρονόμων τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς αὐτῆς· ἐξεδέχετο γὰρ τὴν τοὺς θεμελίους ἔχουσαν πόλιν, ἧς τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ Θεός. Καὶ τί ἔτι λέγω; Ἐπιλείψει γάρ με διηγούμενον ὁ χρόνος περὶ Γεδεών, Βαράκ τε καὶ Σαμψὼν καὶ ᾿Ιεφθάε, Δαυΐδ τε καὶ Σαμουὴλ καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, οἳ διὰ πίστεως κατηγωνίσαντο βασιλείας, εἰργάσαντο δικαιοσύνην, ἐπέτυχον ἐπαγγελιῶν, ἔφραξαν στόματα λεόντων, ἔσβεσαν δύναμιν πυρός, ἔφυγον στόματα μαχαίρας, ἐνεδυναμώθησαν ἀπὸ ἀσθενείας, ἐγενήθησαν ἰσχυροὶ ἐν πολέμῳ, παρεμβολὰς ἔκλιναν ἀλλοτρίων· ἔλαβον γυναῖκες ἐξ ἀναστάσεως τοὺς νεκροὺς αὐτῶν· ἄλλοι δὲ ἐτυμπανίσθησαν, οὐ προσδεξάμενοι τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, ἵνα κρείττονος ἀναστάσεως τύχωσιν· ἕτεροι δὲ ἐμπαιγμῶν καὶ μαστίγων πεῖραν ἔλαβον, ἔτι δὲ δεσμῶν καὶ φυλακῆς· ἐλιθάσθησαν, ἐπρίσθησαν, ἐπειράσθησαν, ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας ἀπέθανον, περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, κακουχούμενοι, ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος, ἐν ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς. Καὶ οὗτοι πάντες μαρτυρηθέντες διὰ τῆς πίστεως οὐκ ἐκομίσαντο τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ ἡμῶν κρεῖττόν τι προβλεψαμένου, ἵνα μὴ χωρὶς ἡμῶν τελειωθῶσι.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
Μετὰ δὲ τὴν μετοικεσίαν Βαβυλῶνος ᾿Ιεχονίας ἐγέννησε τὸν Σαλαθιήλ, Σαλαθιὴλ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ζοροβάβελ, Ζοροβάβελ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Αβιούδ, ᾿Αβιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Ελιακείμ, ᾿Ελιακεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Αζώρ, ᾿Αζὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Σαδώκ, Σαδὼκ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Αχείμ, ᾿Αχεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Ελιούδ, ᾿Ελιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Ελεάζαρ, ᾿Ελεάζαρ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ματθάν, Ματθὰν δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Ιακώβ, ᾿Ιακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν ᾿Ιωσὴφ τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας, ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη ᾿Ιησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός. Πᾶσαι οὖν αἱ γενεαὶ ἀπὸ ᾿Αβραὰμ ἕως Δαυῒδ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ Δαυῒδ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες.
Τοῦ δὲ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γέννησις οὕτως ἦν. μνηστευθείσης γὰρ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ ᾿Ιωσήφ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ Πνεύματος ῾Αγίου. ᾿Ιωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, δίκαιος ὢν καὶ μὴ θέλων αὐτὴν παραδειγματίσαι, ἐβουλήθη λάθρα ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν. ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κατ᾿ ὄναρ ἐφάνη αὐτῷ λέγων· ᾿Ιωσὴφ υἱὸς Δαυΐδ, μὴ φοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν Μαριὰμ τὴν γυναῖκά σου· τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ῾Αγίου. τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦν· αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾿Εμμανουήλ, ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός. Διεγερθεὶς δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιωσὴφ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἐποίησεν ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος Κυρίου καὶ παρέλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦν.
