December Synaxarion
Days: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
This month has thirty-one days with nine hours of day and fifteen hours of night.
Memory of the holy Prophet Nahum (Seventh century B.C.)
The Prophet Nahum was born in Elcos, Galilee. He predicted the ruin of Ninive, in the second half of the Seventh century B.C.
Fifth Class Feast.
Sunday of the Blind Man of Jericho: On the Sunday which falls between December 1-3, the Gospel of the Fourteenth Sunday after the Exaltation of the Venerable and Life-giving Cross (Luke 18:35-43) is read, where the healing of the blind man of Jericho named Bartimeus is mentioned.
Memory of the holy Prophet Habacuc (Seventh century B.C.).
This holy prophet prophesied the devastation of the Temple and of Jerusalem, as well as the destruction of Ninive, before the captivity of Juda (end of the Seventh century B.C.).
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Prophet Sophonia (Seventh century B.C.).
Saint Sophonia prophesied around the end of the Seventh century B.C., concerning Jerusalem, the end of Israel, the conversion and salvation of the Gentiles, the rejection of the ungodly, the glorification of the Just, and the general judgment of every creature.
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Great martyr Barbara (?).
Our venerable Father John Damascene (+749?)
According to the legend in the Greek Menaia, Saint Barbara lived under Emperor Maximian. Her father was a pagan named Dioscorus. Jealous of his daughter's remarkable beauty, Dioscorus kept her imprisoned in a tower, for he was not unaware that she was a virgin and already won over to Christianity. He was still further convinced of it, when, having arranged for two windows to be put into a bath which he was building, his daughter ordered three windows. Questioned concerning her reasons, she answered: "So that it be in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." At these words, Dioscorus wanted to immediately behead her with his own sword, but she escaped from falling into his hands. He lunged at her from behind a rock, but she fled to the mountains. Having been advised of it, her father followed her, found her, and delivered her over to the governor of the province, before whom she confessed Christ and scorned the idols. Then she was cruelly beaten, her body was torn open by pin punctures, her sides were burned, and her head was battered by large stones. Then she was stripped and led through the entire city. She was further overpowered by assaults. At last, she ended her martyrdom, beheaded by the hands of her own father. It is told that this wretched man was struck by lightning when he came down from the mountain where he had killed his daughter.
Saint John Damascene was born in Damascus, in an illustrious family, the son of Sergius, the son of Mansour, the general administrator of Caliph Abdalmalik (685-705). He received a complete education, thanks to his virtuous father, and he probed the depths of the Holy Scriptures. Impelled on by his faith, he abandoned his paternal riches and embraced monastic life in the laura of Saint Sabbas, in the company of Saint Cosmas, the future Bishop of Maiuma. Under divine inspiration, they both composed a considerable number of troparia and canons in praise of God, the Theotokos, and the Saints. Ordained a priest, without doubt by his teacher John, the Patriarch of Jerusalem (706-734), he courageously combatted the ungodly Iconoclast heresy by the vigor of his discourses and the irrefutable arguments which he knew how to pull out of Scripture. He left behind him a great number of works, comprising almost wholly and in perfect clarity the whole body of required knowledge. He died at the Laura, in old age. It is believed that this occurred on December 4, 749. His body still reposes in the holy monastery where he lived. In his life, which was written in the Tenth century by Patriarch John of Jerusalem, it is said that he was condemned by his adversaries, the Iconoclasts, to have his right hand cut off but that it was miraculously healed by the Virgin. This legend does not seem to be historically founded.
Fourth Class Feast. Typika and Beatitudes.
Troparia: of Saint Barbara, of Saint John Damascene, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle, Gospel, and Kinonikon of Saint Barbara.
In occurrence with a Sunday, see the rule for general occurrences.
Sunday of the Stooped Woman: On the Sunday which falls between December 4-10, the Gospel of the tenth Sunday after the Exaltation of the Venerable and Life-giving Cross, (Luke 13:10-17), is read, which mentions the healing of the stooped woman on the Sabbath day.
Memory of our venerable and God-bearing Father Sabbas the Sanctified (439-532).
Saint Sabbas was born in 439 in Mutalascus in Cappadocia. While still very young, he embraced religious life in the monastery of Flvinia in Cappadocia. In 457, at the age of eighteen, he went to the monastery of Passarion in Jerusalem. Saint Euthymius, who had remarked about him for his eminent virtue and called him the "young old man," directed him to Saint Theoktistos in 458. After Saint Euthymius' unexpected death in 473, he spent five years in solitude. He then went to take up his abode in 478 in a grotto on the left bank of the Cedron River opposite the monastery which today bears his name. As several monks came to place themselves under his direction, he erected a tower on the right bank of the torrent and made the water gush forth over this arid land by his prayer. A vast grotto transformed into a church was blessed in 491 by Sallustos, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who conferred priestly ordination upon Saint Sabbas at the same time and named him the archimandrite of all the hermits of Palestine. The Saint undertook upon the request of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem two ambassadorships to Emperors Anastasius I, in 512, and Justinian, in 531. Reaching a great old age, he died on December 5, 532, at the age of ninety-three. The Typikon of Ecclesiastical Offices and the Typikon of Monastic Life which were preserved in his name still come from his famous laura. Pope Paul VI returned Saint Sabbas' relics to the monastery of Massaba in Jordan on October 24, 1965.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Nicholas the Wonderworker,
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. (Fourth century)This holy bishop lived in the time of Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. After having led the monastic life for a while, he was promoted to the episcopal dignity for his exceptional and eminent virtue. Because he defended the interests of Christians and courageously preached the true religion, he was seized by the city's magistrates and thrown into prison in company with other Christians, after he was overpowered by assaults and inflicted with all kinds of tortures. When the great and pious Constantine took possession of the Roman Empire by a Providential decree, all the prisoners in fetters were released. Thus set at liberty, Saint Nicholas returned to Myra and took part in the Council of Nicaea held sometime after by Emperor Constantine in 325.
He died at a very old age leaving his holy body to the faithful as a source of balm and healing. He remains as if living after his death, having received from heaven the gift of miracles. His relics are preserved in Bari, Italy. His power as a wonderworker gave birth to a marvelous legend which is the origin of traditional children's festivals in the East as well as the West.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Abrose, Bishop of Milan (333 or 340-397)
Saint Ambrose was born in 333 or 340, in a noble Christian family. His father was the Prefect of the Pretorium of the Gauls, in Treves. He received a solid education in Rome and was named consular governor of Emilia and Liguria by the pious Emperors Constantius and Constans, the sons of Constantine the Great. A simple catechumen, he had not yet received baptism when he was elected Bishop of Milan in 374 by the unanimous consent of the people, by choice of the bishops of Italy, and by the wish of Emperor Valentinian I. He then received holy baptism and passed successively through all the degrees of the ecclesiastical hierarchy up to the episcopate. He governed his Church wisely, fought the heresies of Arius, Sabellius, and Eunomius, and wrote numerous treatises in defense of the Orthodox faith. In 390, when Emperor Theodosius came to Milan after the massacre of Thessalonica, the Saint forbid him to enter the church, recalling to him the cruelties for which he was culpable. He died in 397.
Fifth Class Feast.
Pre-festive Day of the Conception of Saint Ann, Mother of the Theotokos.
Memory of our venerable Father Patapios (Seventh century).
Saint Patapios was born in Thebes, Egypt. He embraced monastic life and spent many years in the desert. He went to Constantinople and committed his soul to God in the course of the Seventh century.
Fifth Class Feast.
The Conception of Saint Ann, Mother of the Theotokos.
According to the teaching of many of the Church Fathers, Our Lord, wishing to prepare as His dwelling a living temple and a holy habitation, sent His angel to Saints Joachim and Ann to whom would be born, according to His design, His Mother according to the flesh. The angel announced to them that she who was sterile would conceive, wishing to signify to them in that way the birth of the Holy Virgin. Mary was then conceived more honorable than the Cherubim and more holy than any other creature, spiritual or corporeal.
Second Class Feast. Typika and Beatitudes. Troparion of the Feast (three times). Kondakion of the Feast. Epistle and Gospel of the Feast. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon: "Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. Alleluia."
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Feast (twice), and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Feast. Epistle of the Feast and Gospel of the Sunday. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the Sunday and of the Feast.
Memory of the holy Martyrs Menas, Hermogenes, and Eugraphos (?)
Saint Menas was an Athenian by birth, a cultured man, eloquent, and of high rank. Saint Eugraphos was his scribe. Both were from old families, which had been Christian for several generations. Saint Hermogenes held the position of Eparch. Born in paganism, he was converted to the Christian faith at the sight of Saint Menas' miracles. These three holy martyrs suffered at the same time for the faith in Alexandria under Maximin about 235.
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of our venerable Father Daniel the Stylite (409-493).
Saint Daniel was born in 409 in the small market-town of Maratha, in Upper Euphratensis, near Samosata. He embraced monastic life when he was twelve years old. He then went to Saint Simeon the Stylite and was blessed by him. In 451, he went to Anapla, near Constantinople, and shut himself up in a temple of idols, where he was submitted to multiple assaults by the demons. In 460, he became a stylite on a column; neither cold, nor heat, nor violent winds-nothing-could weaken his courage. Ordained a priest by Patriarch Gennadius (458-471), he won the general esteem and commanded the attention of everyone. Even Emperor Leo came in person to see him to ask for his prayers. He died in peace on Saturday, December 11, 493.
Fifth Class Feast.
Sunday of the Holy Ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the Sunday between December 11 and 17, we remember all the Ancestors of Christ according to the flesh.
On this day the Church commemorates the Holy Ancestors of Christ, and at the same time all the holy Patriarchs of the Old Testament who prefigured or foretold Christ: Adam the first Father, Enoch, Melchisedec, Abraham, the friend of God, Isaac, the fruit of the Promise, Jacob and the twelve patriarchs. Then those who lived under the Law: Moses Aaron, Josue, Samuel, David, and the Prophets: Isaia, Jeremia, Ezechiel, the twelve minor prophets, Elia, Eliseus, Zacharia, and John the Baptist, and finally the Virgin Mary, the intermediary between mankind and her divine Son.
Indeed, the Lord Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to redeem humanity which bemoaned the weight of evil since Adam, to realize the promise made to Abraham, to change the Law of fear into the Law of Love, to give resurrection and life to mankind. This feast is a preparation for the Nativity of Jesus. It places before us the sentiments of anticipation and hope for His coming among us.
Third Class Feast. Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Ancestors, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle and Gospel of the Ancestors. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Epistle of the Twenty-ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Colossians 3:4-11.
Gospel of the Eleventh Sunday after the Exaltation of the Venerable and Life-giving Cross: Luke 14:16-24.
Memory of our Father among the Saints Spiridon, Bishop of Tremithus in Cyprus, the Wonderworker (+ca. 348)
Saint Spiridon was a simple peasant, married and the father of several children, but in the things of God, he would not yield to anyone. This shepherd led such a simple life that he was judged worthy of becoming a shepherd of men, and so was named Bishop of Tremithus, a city of Cyprus. His great simplicity did not prevent him from continuing to feed his flocks, even though he was a bishop. He took part, according to some, in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and died around 348. Later his remains were transferred to Corcyra, whose patron he became.
Fourth Class Feast, follow the general order of a Fourth Class Feast.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Ancestors, of Saint Spiridon, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle of Saint Spiridon. Gospel of the Sunday of the Ancestors. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Memory of the holy Martyrs Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugene, Mardarios, and Orestes (beginning of the Fourth century).
The holy Martyr Lucy, virgin (Fourth century).
According to the evidence of tradition, the holy martyrs Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugene, Mardarios, and Orestes suffered for the faith under Diocletian, around the beginning of the Fourth century.
A native of Syracuse, Sicily, Saint Lucy likewise suffered martyrdom under Diocletian.
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Martyrs Thyrsos, Leucios, Callinicos, Philemon, and Apollonios (Fourth century).
These holy martyrs all suffered for the faith under Emperor Diocletian: Thyrsos, Leucios, and Callinicos in Nicomedia; Philemon and Apollonios in Antinoupolis, Egypt.
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Hieromartyr Eleutherios, Bishop of Illyricum (+under Hadrian, 117-138)
Saint Eleutherios was a Roman by birth. Having lost his father in his infancy, his mother Anthia presented him to Cletus, the Bishop of Rome, who taught him the Holy Scriptures. While still young, he was chosen for his eminent virtue and consecrated Bishop of Illyricum, where his preaching converted a great number of pagans to the Christian faith. Under the harsh persecution of Emperor Ailius Hadrian (117-138), he was seized and submitted to all kinds of tortures for Christ. He was finally executed by two soldiers. His pious mother, Anthia, having embraced the body of her son and covering it with motherly kisses, also was beheaded.
Fourth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Prophet Aggai (+516 B.C.)
The holy prophet Aggai was born in Babylon. Taken from Babylon to Jerusalem, he prophesied at the same time as Zacharia. He was able to see the construction of the Temple in part, which was accomplished in 516 B.C. under King Darius, and sang of its magnificence.
Fifth Class Feast.
Memory of the holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths:
Anania, Azaria, and Misael (Fourth century B.C.)The Book of Daniel tells of a holy prophet who belonged to the tribe of Juda and descended from the royal line. When still young, he was led away with his three young companions to Babylon at the time of the captivity of King Joakim in 605 B.C. Chosen for service to the King of the Assyrians, they received new names: Daniel was named Baltassar; Anania, Sidrach; Misael, Misach; and Azaria, Abdenago. They were raised in the royal palace and taught the wisdom of the Chaldeans. Three years later, Daniel, after having interpreted the mysterious dream of King Nabuchodonosor, and vindicated Susanna from the unjust accusations of the two elders, was made governor by the King of the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect of the Satraps, the Persian major governors, over all the wise men of Babylon. Under the reign of Belsassar, Nabuchodonosor's son, Daniel explained the handwriting on the palace wall to the King. When Darius the Mede, also called Cyrus, beseiged and occupied Babylon in 538 B.C., Daniel was named one of the three great ministers that Cyrus had established to head the one hundred and twenty satraps of his kingdom. Falsely denounced by his enemies, he was thrown into a lions' den, but, sustained by assistance from on high, he closed the lions mouths. Among the lions, he was like a shepherd among his ewes.
As for his three young companions, having refused to prostrate themselves before a statue of Nabuchodonosor, they were thrown into the white-hot furnace. Remaining intact in the middle of the flames, they glorified God by the beautiful hymn that the liturgy has inserted into the Seventh and Eighth Odes of the stichologia.
Fifth Class Feast.
Saturday Before the Nativity According to the Flesh of His Companions (end of the Third century)
Saint Sebastian was a native of Milan, of senatorial rank, and very zealous for the Christian faith to which he had converted many pagans. He was seized during the persecution of Maximian and Diocletian. After having been pierced through by a shower of arrows, his body was broken by bludgeons and torn to shreds. He thus ended his martyrdom around 288. With him and also submitted to martyrdom, after various tortures, were Marcellinus and Marcus, his brothers; Tranquilinus and Marcia, their parents; Nicostratos and Zoe, his wife, as well as Tiburtios, Claudius, Castulus, and Castor.
Fifth Class Feast.
Sunday Before the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ: Memory of all the Fathers who were agreeable to God, from Adam to Joseph, the spouse of the Most Holy Theotokos
(Sunday of the Fathers or of the Genealogy)
On Sunday, December 18, or on the Sunday which immediately follows it, memory is made of all the Saints of the Old Testament, from Abraham to Joseph, the spouse of the Most Holy Theotokos. This feast is a prolongation of that of the Holy Ancestors of Our Lord Jesus Christ (on December 11 or the following Sunday). The Church honors at this time all those who, before Christ, "were agreeable to God." This feast also directly prepares us for the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Third Class Feast. Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Fathers, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Epistle: Hebrews 11:9-10 and 32-40.
Gospel: Matthew 1:1-25.
Memory of the holy Martyr Boniface (Fourth century)
The slave of a Roman matron of senatorial rank named Aglais, Saint Boniface lived under Diocletian around 290. Sent by his mistress to the Orient to procure some martyr's relics, in jest he promised her that he would soon bring back his own body to her. Accompanied by several of his fellow-servants, he went to Cilicia where the holy martyrs were then suffering. Seized by the President, he courageously confessed his faith and submitted to martyrdom. His companions brought back his holy body. The holy martyr had kept his word.
Fifth Class Feast.
If December 20 falls on a Sunday, the feast of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch is anticipated on December 19, which is normally fixed on December 20. After the Troparion of Saint Boniface, then the Troparion of Saint Ignatius will be sung.
The Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (+107)
Saint Ignatius was the successor of the Apostles in the see of Antioch, and the second bishop of this city after Evodios. Sent to Rome, laden with chains, he confirmed in the faith the Churches of the cities which he passed through and wrote seven admirable letters to them. In his letter to the Romans, he gives himself the name of Theophorus to signify that he carried God in his soul. He was torn apart by the teeth of wild beasts in the ampitheater of Rome, under Emperor Trajan, on December 20, 107.
Fifth Class Feast.
Typika and Beatitudes. Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of the Saint, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
On the Sunday between December 20 and 23: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of the Fathers (see the Sunday before the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ), and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Kinonikon of the Sunday. The memory of Saint Ignatius was anticipated on December 19.
Second Pre-festive Day of the nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Martyr Juliana of Nicomedia (beginning of the Fourth century)
The daughter of wealthy parents of Nicomedia, Saint Juliana lived under Emperor Maximian. Married to a pagan, named Eleusios, a senator then an eparch, she refused to live with him because he refused to embrace the Christian faith. Being furious, hr husband delivered her over to the judges. She was beheaded around 299 after many tortures.
Fifth Class Feast.
Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of Saint Juliana, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (proper to this day).
Third Pre-festive Day of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Memory of the holy Great martyr Anastasia the Healer (end of the Third century).
A virgin of Roman extraction, with remarkable beauty, rich and virtuous, Saint Anastasia was the daughter of Pretexastus and Phaustia who instructed her in the Christian faith. She was married to a profligate and ungodly young man, named Publius Patricius. Becoming a widow soon after, she went in secret to the dwellings of the poor and the prisons of the martyrs, and procured requisites for all, cleaning their wounds, loosening their chains, and caring for their infirmities. She was also surnamed Pharmacolytria-the Healer. Upon being discovered, the Saint was seized by the servants of Diocletian, and after many tortures, her martyrdom was ended by fire around 290.
Fifth Class Feast.
Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of Saint Anastasia, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20).
Fourth Pre-festive Day of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete (+under Decius, 249-251)
These holy martyrs belonged to different localities and cities on the island of Crete. They suffered martyrdom under Decius in 250. Their names are Theodulos, Saturninus, Euporos, Gelasios, Eunician, Zoticos, Agathopos, Basilidos, Evarestos, and Pompios.
Fifth Class Feast.
Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of the Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20).
Fifth Pre-festive Day of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Hosiomartyr Eugenia (end of the Third or beginning of the Fourth century)
Paramony of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Concession for the usage of wine, but not of oil. Strict fast day.
If we must believe the account in the Menaia, Saint Eugenia was a native of Rome, the daughter of noble and very rich parents, named Philip and Eugenia. Without her parent's knowledge and accompanied only by two servants, Protas and Hyacinth, she left her paternal home by night and disguised as a man, lived with them in a monastery of monks, under the name of Eugene. All three suffered martyrdom under Emperor Commodus (180-192). Saint Eugenia was buried in the catacombs of Apronian, on the Latin Way.
Fifth Class Feast.
Abstinence and fast until Noon, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
The Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is celebrated today, united to Vespers.
The word Paramony (literally: permanence) is reserved to the vigils of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ and Theophany: the faithful, instead of leaving the church, once the Vespers and Liturgy ended, remained there waiting for the beginning of the office of the next day's feast.
In principle, this Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great united to Vespers should be celebrated shortly before sunset. However, in our day, in many churches it is advanced, sometimes even to early in the morning.
The Liturgy begins by the initial Doxology, immediately followed by Psalm 103. After which, the deacon recites the Great Synapte. Then the evening Psalms 140, 141, 129, and 116 are sung; Glory be to the Father...Now and always...Then the procession is made with the Gospel Book. Singing of the Vesper hymn: "O Gladsome Light..." Reading of the prophecies. Trisagion. Epistle and Gospel of the Paramony, and the rest from the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
In occurrence with a Saturday: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Typika and Beatitudes, or Antiphons of the Week. Ordinary Isodikon. Troparia: of the Paramony, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle and Gospel of the Saturday before the feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Kinonikon of the Saturday.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Paramony, of the Fathers (see the Sunday before the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ), and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20). Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
The Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Easter. Abstention from work for three days
The birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ was first liturgically commemorated in Egypt where it was celebrated during the night of January 5 to the 6. It took the place, among the Christians, of the nativity Ayon, the god of Alexandria, that the pagans celebrated during the winter solstice, established on January 6 according to the Egyptian calendar established by Amenemhet I, around 1991 before Jesus Christ. In the process of time, the date of the solstice was transferred to December 25, and it is upon this day that the Romans celebrated the "Natalis solis invicti", a feast instituted in 274 after Jesus Christ by Emperor Aurelian. In other regions of the empire, similar feasts were celebrated on the same date. For example, in Petra the Arab Nebataeans had the nativity of their god Dusara. The Hebrews celebrated the new dedication of the Temple on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, which also corresponded to the winter solstice.
The Nativity of Jesus was in fact commemorated in the East as at Rome from the beginning of the Fourth century, but not an historic commemoration but above all a feast of notions; the Theophanies, that is the diverse "manifestations" of Christ: His birth, manifestation to the Magi, baptism. It remains thus today in the Coptic Church.
It is then in Rome that it first was made a separate feast apart from January 6, and established on December 25, without any doubt to "baptize" the Feast of the Sun which we spoke of above. At what date is this institution placed? It was certainly established in 354, perhaps even from the conclusion of the Council of Ephesus (431). But if Rome was the first to separate the Nativity from the Theophanies, it is from the liturgy of Jerusalem that she borrows the outline of its ceremonies as well as a great number of prayers. Jerusalem celebrated Theophany like Easter, by two Eucharistic sacrifices: one after the vigil, in the middle of the night, in the Basilica of Bethlehem; the other, on the day, in the Martyrion of the Holy Resurrection. In Rome also the Eucharist was celebrated first in the middle of the night, at Saint Mary Major, then on the day, at the tomb of Saint Peter. Later, a third Divine Liturgy was added to it. Other borrowings by Rome from the original Theophany are evident enough.
At Antioch, the feast of Christmas was introduced for the first time in the East by Saint John Chrysostom himself, as he attests in his homily for the day of the Savior's Nativity. It was from the beginning, much more than at Rome, a solemnity commemorative of an historic fact. Above all the marvel of the Virgin birth was insisted upon. This idea inspired a considerable part of the hymns of the Office, without doubt in repercussion of the Council of Ephesus. It did not take long to establish a special concomitant feast of the Theotokos, on December 26, a common synaxis feast in the Byzantine and Syrian Churches.
It is only later that the popular and poetic character of the oriental feast passed into the West where it was to take, above all by the influence of Saint Francis of Assisi, a very important place in the folklore of the Latin countries. It was of such importance that the feast of Christmas there, in fact, became the greatest one after Easter, and which on this point has supplanted Theophany, which remains only the feast of the adoration of the Magi is tied to the Savior's birth and is commemorated on December 25).
First Class Feast which, in occurrence with a Sunday, suppresses the whole proper of the Resurrection. Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Antiphons of the Feast. Isodikon of the Feast. Troparion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (three times), the Hypakoi and the Kondakion of the Feast. Instead of the Trisagion: "All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. "Alleluia." Epistle and Gospel of the Feast. Hirmos (from the first Canon of the Feast). Kinonikon and, after Communion, Troparion of the Feast.
In occurrence with a Sunday or a Monday: Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. All is from the Feast, as above, but the Hirmos is that of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.
Second Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Memory of the holy Hieromartyr Euthymius, Metropolitan of Sardes (+824)
The Holy Virgin Mary is called the Theotokos (Mother of God), and she really is, for she begot the Divine Word according to the flesh. Yesterday's feast celebrated an historic fact. That of today is a notion of a feast, the feast of the divine maternity of the Virgin.
Our Lord Jesus is true God and true man, and in His Unique Person have been united the Divine Nature without change, and the human nature created in its perfect state and marvelously begotten by the action of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This why Mary is the Mother of Jesus, by the same right that other mothers are for their children, and yet more perfectly. Moreover, Jesus is truly the Word of God, God Himself; Mary is truly the Theotokos. It is a dogma defined solemnly by the Council of Ephesus in 431, but which Elizabeth had already uttered on the day of the Visitation: "How is it given to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43).
Saint Euthymius was born in Ouzara in Asia. After being renowned in the monastic life for some time, he was elevated to the see of Sardes, and confounded the heretics at the general council of 787, the Second of Nicaea. He was noticed by Empress Irene and Emperor Constantine VI who conferred diverse official ambassadorships upon him. But under Emperor Nicephoros, the Saint was exiled to Pantellaria of Esteria around 805 at the same time as other Orthodox bishops for having conferred monastic tonsure on a young girl. Leo the Armenian recalled him from exile in 815 and asked him if he rendered veneration to icons. The Saint answered proudly, as he had the custom of doing, and struck the Emperor with an anathema. Furious, he immediately decreed his exile to Assos in Mysia, where he remained from 815 to 821. When Leo was assassinated by Michael the Stammerer, the Saint was recalled from Assos and summoned to renounce the cult of the Icons. He struck the Emperor with his retorts and was exiled again to Acritas. He was shut up in a dark prison, where four executioners stretched him out on the ground and beat him so cruelly with ox ligaments that he died eight days after, on the day after the feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ in 824.
Second Class Feast.
Antiphons of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Isodikon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Troparia: of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Instead of the Trisagion, the verse is sung: "All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia." Epistle and Gospel of the Synaxis. Hirmos from the Second Canon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ and, after Communion, Troparion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the same order is followed, but the Epistle and Gospel are of the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Sunday, the proper of the Synaxis is united with that of the Sunday after the nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Typika and Beatitudes, or Antiphons of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ with, as a response to the Second Antiphon: "...who was born of a Virgin." Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of Saint Joseph, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Trisagion or the verse: "All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia." Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Kinonikon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and after Communion, Troparion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Saturday After the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Epistle of the Saturday of the week of the prodigal Son: I Timothy 6:11b-16.
Gospel: Matthew 12:15a-21.
Sunday After the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ: Memory of Saint Joseph, the Spouse and the Guardian of the Virgin, of the holy apostle James, brother of the Lord, and of David, the Prophet and King (Tenth century B.C.)
Certain Churches of the East rather soon acquired the habit to commemorate certain personages of the New Testament with the feast of Theophany (and later with the Nativity). In Syria, on December 26 and 28, Saint Stephen, the sons of Zebedee, and the two princes of the Apostles, were commemorated. Likewise in Cappadocia, in the epoch of Saint Gregory of Nyssa. In Jerusalem, these same feasts were combined with a feast that the Jews celebrated in Hebron on December 25 or 26 in honor of the patriarch Jacob for whom the Christians substituted Apostle James, the Lord's brother. Then the memory of this relative of Jesus was tied to that of his ancestor, King David.
Third Class Feast.
At the Liturgy, all is said as on December 25, except the following: at the Second Antiphon, is said: "...who is risen from the dead..." Troparia: of the Resurrection according to the occurring tone, then that of Saint Joseph, of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Church Patron; Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Third Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen (+37)
Our venerable Father Theodore the Scarred, the Confessor (775-844)
One of the seven deacons chosen to aid the Apostles in the material work of the nascent Christian community, Saint Stephen was stoned to death, as it is reported in the Acts of the Apostles around the year 37. He committed his soul in pardoning his executioners. Buried by some pious men, his holy body was rediscovered in 415 at Kaphargamala, following an apparition made to Lucian the priest, and transferred to Jerusalem into the church built by Empress Eudocia, the wife of Theodosius the Younger. Destroyed by the Persians in 614, the Church of the Protomartyr Stephen was rebuilt in 1898 by the Dominicans. His name signifies, in Greek, a crown: the Troparion makes an allusion to this etymological sense of his name.
As for Saint Theodore the Scarred (775-844), he was the brother of Saint Theophanes, whose feast is on October 11, where his life is given.
Fifth Class Feast.
Antiphons and Isodikon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Troparia: of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of Saint Stephen, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ according to the Flesh. Epistle and Gospel of Saint Stephen. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of Saint Stephen.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the same order is followed, but the Epistle is of Saint Stephen and the Gospel is from the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, of Saint Joseph, of Saint Stephen, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle of Saint Stephen. Gospel of the Sunday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Fourth Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the Holy Martyrs Burned in Nicomedia under Diocletian (303)
In the nineteenth year of the reign of Diocletian, in the month of March, 303, imperial edicts were posted everywhere ordering the churches to be destroyed, the Scriptures to be burned, and proclaiming those who were in public office forfeited of their duties if they remained in the profession of Christianity. Shortly afterwards, under the instigation of Maximian Galerius and Diocletian, new decrees were promulgated ordering all the heads of the Church imprisoned in whatever country they be, and that they be compelled, by all means, to sacrifice. In Nicomedia, the great church was destroyed, and Anthimos, who then presided over this church, was beheaded because of the witness he rendered to Christ. A crowd of martyrs followed him. A fire, hypocritically ordered by Maximian, broke out in the imperial palace of Nicomedia at that time. On a lying suspicion, the rumor spread that it had been set on fire by the Christians. Also, on an imperial order, they were put to death without distinction; some were slaughtered by the sword, others were burned, and it is told that carried away by a divine and indescribable zeal, some men and women leaped onto the funeral-pyress. The executioners bound a crowd of others on ships and threw them to the bottom of the sea.
Fifth Class Feast.
Antiphons and Isodikon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Troparia: of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of the Holy Martyrs burned in Nicomedia; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our, Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle and Gospel of the period. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the weekday.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the same order is followed, but the Epistle and Gospel are from the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection; of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of Saint Joseph; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Fifth Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the Holy Infants Killed by Herod in Bethlehem
Our venerable Father Markellos, Hegumen of the Monastery of the Acemetes (+470)
Seeing a rival in the small child born in Bethlehem, Herod massacred all the male children in this important village under two years of age. Warned in a dream, Joseph fled to Egypt with the Virgin and the child Jesus. Thus was realized the prophecy of Jeremia: "A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no more." (Matthew 2:18)
Saint Markellos was born in Apamea, in Second Syria, of a noble and wealthy family which permitted him to receive a complete literary education. Abandoning his position and paternal home, to Ephesus to ask for the hospitality of some pious persons in that city. He withdrew for some time to practice asceticism in one of the monasteries of this city. He then applied to Alexander, the hegumen of the monastery of the Acemetes. He entered the monastery. Upon the death of Alexander and his successor John, he became, in his turn, hegumen of the monastery around 435. He died in peace in his monastery around 470.
Fifth Class Feast.
Antiphons and Isodikon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Troparia: of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of the Holy Infants Killed by Herod in Bethlehem; of Saint Markellos; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle and Gospel of the period. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the weekday.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the same order is followed, but the Epistle and Gospel are from the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection; of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of Saint Joseph; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Sunday Before the Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Epistle: I Timothy 3:13-4:5.
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-6.
Sunday Before the Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Epistle: II Timothy 4:5-8.
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8.
If there are two Saturdays or two Sundays between the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and Theophany, on the first Saturday and on the first Sunday is read the Epistle and Gospel of the Saturday or of the Sunday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; on the second Saturday and on the second Sunday is read the Epistle and Gospel of the Saturday or of the Sunday before Theophany.
If there is only one Saturday or one Sunday, on Saturday is read the Epistle and Gospel of the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; and, on Sunday, the Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before Theophany are read.
Sixth Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the holy Hosiomartyr Anysia of Thessalonica (beginning of the Fourth century)
The venerable Priest Zoticos, the Educator of Orphans (Fourth century)
Saint Anysia suffered for the faith in Thessalonica under Emperor Maximian, around the beginning of the Fourth century.
In the time of Emperor Constantius, the son of Constantine, Saint Zoticos constructed a hospital for lepers who were then by custom thrown into the sea, and procured food and necessary clothing for them. Unpretentious in its beginnings, Saint Zoticos' leper hospital was enlarged by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) in the first years of his reign. In his time, Emperor John I Tzimisces added new buildings to it and endowed it with real estate which assured half of its maintenance. Destroyed by an earthquake, it was rebuilt from its ruins by Romanus III Argyrus (1028-1034).
Fifth Class Feast.
The Closing Day of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, falling on the following day, December 31, the memory of Saint Melania the Roman is anticipated today.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the Epistle and Gospel are from the Saturday after the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection; of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of Saint Joseph; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. The Epistle and Gospel are from the Sunday before Theophany. Ordinary Hirmos. Kinonikon of the Sunday.
Closing Day of the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of the Venerable Melania the Roman (There were two to bear this name: Melania the Elder who died in 410, and her daughter, Melania the Younger, who died in 439)
Two patricians in Rome bore the name of Melania. The first, called Melania the Elder, the granddaughter of Markellin the Consular and spouse of Valerius Maximus, the Prefect of Rome under Julian the Apostate, was born in Spain. A widow at twenty-two years of age, she conceived the lively desire to consecrate herself to God. She entrusted her son Publicola to a tutor, sold the greater part of her immense properties and she embarked for Alexandria, where she distributed her riches to the poor and to the monasteries. She went to visit the Desert Fathers in Nitria, conversed with them at great length for six months, visited all the holy anchorites of the desert and educated herself from them. She built a monastery in Jerusalem around 375, where she withdrew for twenty-seven years in the company of about fifty consecrated virgins. Nearby her was the famous writer Rufin, a native of Aquileia, Italy, who, honored later by priestly ordination, had at the same time as Saint Melania, the pious thought to construct a hospice in Jerusalem to receive bishops, priests, monks, and virgins who came on pilgrimage to the Holy Places. Adorned with high education and very well mannered, her son Publicola attained high dignities in the Empire, not to speak of the happy marriage which he had contracted.
Saint Melania the Younger whom we commemorate today was the daughter of Publicola. She was born in Rome around 383. With her husband Pinian, she embarked for Africa around 409, where the two spouses spent seven years. Then in 416, in company with Albina, the mother of Pinian, they went to Jerusalem. Albina having died in 431, Saint Melania shut herself up in a small cell on the Mount of Olives. She erected there a monastery which contained about ninety virgins whom the Saint directed, but so humbly that she was like the servant of all. She approached the Holy Mysteries daily. After the death of Pinian, she founded a monastery for men, to assure the liturgical offices according to the Roman rite in the Church of the Ascension. She died in peace on December 31, 439.
Far from Rome at the time these holy persons survived the barbarian invasion of 410 which sacked and devastated the whole city, not even sparing the bronze statues of the forum. While the unhappy inhabitants of Rome were all captives, they alone, being consecrated to God on the exhortations of Melania, escaped the frightful catastrophe.
All is said as on the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, itself. However, the Epistle and Gospel are from the present period. Hirmos from the Second Canon of the Feast (see it on December 26).
In occurrence with a Saturday, the Epistle and Gospel are from the Saturday before Theophany.
In occurrence with a Sunday: Typika and Beatitudes or Antiphons of the Feast with, at the Second Antiphon, the response of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Isodikon of the Feast, but the response is from the Resurrection. Troparia: of the Resurrection; of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ; of Saint Joseph; and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Trisagion. Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before Theophany. Hirmos from the Second Canon of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. After Communion, the Troparion of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.