My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE
On the 15th of November the Nativity Fast begins
for Orthodox Christians.
Troparion Hymn of the Feast. Tone Four
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone upon the world
with the light of knowledge: for thereby they who adored
the stars though a star were taught to worship Thee, the
Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee the Dayspring
from on high, O Lord, glory to Thee.
(Irmos) As Thou art God of peace and Father of mercies,
Thou has sent unto us Thine Angel of Great Counsel,
granting to us peace. So are we guided towards the light
of the knowledge of God, and watching by night we glorify
Thee, O Lover of mankind. [Matins, Canticle Five, First Canon)
Ikos
Bethlehem has opened Eden: come, and let us see. We have
found joy in secret: come, and let us take possession of the
Paradise that is within the cave. There the unwatered Root
has appeared, from which forgiveness flowers forth: there is
found the undug Well, whence David longed to drink of old.
There the Virgin has borned a Babe, and made the thirst of
Adam and David to cease straightway. Therefore let us hasten
to this place where now is born a young Child, the Pre-eternal
God.
Every year, on November 15th a, a 40-day fast period begins in preparation for our Lord’s Holy Nativity. As one of the FOUR ANNUAL FASTING PERIODS, the Holy Nativity Fast is more lenient than Holy and Great Lent. Fasting is an essential element along with prayer and repentance. Our Lord God Christ Himself observed fasting and recommended it by teaching (Matthew 6:16; Mark 2:20; and 9:29). The Holy Apostles also observed fasting. (Acts 13:2, 14:23; 2 Corinthians 2:27). In the early Church, regular fast days were soon established, two of them–Wednesdays and Fridays–being mentioned in the very ancient document Didache. In the Orthodox Church there are other periods of fasting: the Christmas (Nativity) fasting beginning on November 15-December 24, The fast called Great Lent, associated with with the 40-day preparation for the celebration of Holy Pascha; the fast proceeding the feast day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul–of variable duration depending on the movable feast of the Holy Trinity–and fifteen days before the feast of the Koimisis (Dormition) of the Mother of God, August 15th.
FASTING originally meant complete abstinence from food for the entire day. Coupled with SELF-REFLECTION and PRAYER, fasting can prove a powerful ally to a believer in his/her struggle to raise himself/herself above GLUTTONY and other carnal and material passions. However, fasting is not of the nature of banking credits in heaven, as some seem to believe. Saint John Chrysostomos, in an eruption against fasting taken by some to be the embodiment of Christian living, said the famous, "MORE ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO THINGS FHAT COME OUT OF ONE’S MOUTH RATHER THAN THE THINGS THAT GO IN IT." Still, fasting may prove invaluable to those who take it seriously and not merely as an expression of outer piety which they feel they should observe.
Until the last two weeks before Christmas, fish, wine and oil are on the menu for weekends and weekdays–except Wednesdays and Fridays. With two weeks until Christmas, the fast intensifies, and fish is off the menu. At that point, wine, and oil are still on the menu on the two weekends preceding Christmas. The Holy Gospel teaches us to fast joyfully and in such a way that no one knows we are fasting.
This Holy Nativity period is a joyous occasion that prepares our whole being to experience the true meaning of Christmas–Our Lord’s INCARNATION—His taking on human flesh from the Ever-virgin Mary. Christ opened the way to our salvation by UNITING HIM DIVINITY TO OUR HUMANITY. As Saint Athanasios the Great says, "God became man so that man can become God." The Holy Fathers of the Church all this process of becoming God by grace theosis (Greek Θέωσις).
"Christ was not a mere human, neither was He simply God. He was God and man simultaneously. He was Theanthropos; God in the flesh! Even though He lived as a simple human. He also lived as God in the flesh. Let us assume that we are hungry and that it is a day of fasting. On the table we see foods that we are forbidden to eat. What do we do? We are tempted. We fight the urge to eat and inthe end we choose to abstain. This is how believers function."
Asceticism-prayer, fasting, and almsgiving–and participating in the Holy Mysteria (Sacraments) TRANSFORMS US TO BECOME LIKE GOD. Our Holy Orthodox Church encourages us to increase our prayer, and almsgiving (Philanthropy) and decrease what comes between us and God.
The 12 fast-free days of Christmas (Greek Δωδεκαήμερον) following the Lord’s Nativity (until the Eve of Theophany on January 5th, which is a strict fast) reminds us to glorify God for the Greatest Gift He has given us: HIMSELF!
__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 