My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRISTOUGENNA – THE BIRTH OF CHRIST REVEALED THROUGH
THE SACRED HYMNS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.
O Bethlehem, prepare, Eden is opened unto all. And
be ready, Ephrata, for the Tree of Life has in the grotto
blossomed forth from the Virgin.
Indeed her womb is shown to be spiritually a
Paradise, in which is found the God-planted Tree.
And if we eat from it we shall live, and shall not die,
as did Adam of old.
Christ is born, so that He might raise up the formerly
fallen image. (Matins. Forefeast. Mode 4.)
CHRIST IS BORN!
Glorify Him!
CHRIST IS COME from
heaven! Go and meet Him!
CHRIST IS ON EARTH!
Arise to Him!
Sing to the Lord, all you
inhabitants of earth, and all you
peoples, praise Him, and with
merriment extol Him who is
glorified! [Katavasias of Christmas.
Ode i. Mode 1.]
TO the Son,
begotten from the Father
unchangingly before the ages,
and now becoming
incarnate from the Virgin without
seed;
to Christ God let us cry aloud,
You have exalted the horn of our
strength. Only You are Holy, O
Lord!" (Ode iii.)
A ROD has come forth from Jesse’s
root, and You its flower grew fro it,
praiseworthy Christ, now born of the
Virgin, whom Habakkuk called Paran,
shady, thickly wooded mountain.
From her who knew not man You
came incarnate, O immaterial God.
Glory to Your strength, O Lord!
(Ode IV.
O GOD of peace and Father of mercies,
You have sent to us the Wonderful
Counselor, the Angel of Your Great
Counsel, granting us peace.
And now to light of knowledge of God
we have been guided, and we rise from
night to dawn and glorify You, O
Benevolent Lord. (Ode V.)
JONAH long ago
was hurled from the belly of the whale
as he went in, like a newborn babe. With
the Virgin now, when the Logos/Word
had dwelt in His Mother’s womb, taking
flesh, He then emerged, preserving her
intact. Yielding not changeability, He
preserved her unaltered in
childbirth. (Ode VI.)
CHRIST IS BORN IN THE CITY
OF DAVID
"And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius
was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage
of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be
delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,
and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" [Luke
2:1-7).
THE HOLY NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING
TO OUR ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND HOLY TRADITION.
The Feast of the Birth of Christ as a man is the capital of feasts, as Saint John Chrysostom says. All the other feasts of the Lord – Epiphany, the Transfiguration, the Passions, the Cross, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ – follow from the Nativity. Without the Nativity there would have been no Resurrection, but also without the Resurrection the purpose of the Divine Incarnation would not have been fulfilled. All these holy feasts of the Lord ARE UNIFIED. We separate them in order to celebrate them and to look more closely into their content. In every Divine Liturgy WE LIVE THROUGH ALL THE EVENTS OF THE DIVINE INCARNATION. Therefore, according to the Holy Fathers of the Church, IT IS ALWAYS CHRISTMAS, ALWAYS PASCHA (EASTER), ALWAYS PENTECOST.
What happened at the Annunciation began to be revealed at the Nativity of Christ. When we call it A REVELATION, we mean that there several persons, such as the Panagia (All-Holy Mother of God), Joseph, etc., to whom it was revealed that the Christ for Whom all the ages were waiting had come into the world. To be sure, Christ when revealed is hidden, and when hidden is revealed. We see this in His whole life as well as in His revelation to the saints.
THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST IS A HISTORICAL EVENT, because it took place at a specific moment in history, when 'Caesar Augustus was the Emperor of Rome and Herod was ruler of Judaea. The Evangelists insist on emphasizing THE HISTORICITY OF THE EVENT, because they want to say that Christ IS A HISTORICAL PERSON. This means that Christ ASSUMED REAL HUMAN FLESH, and the Incarnation was not merely seeming or imagined.
In spite of its historicity, this event remains A MYSTERY. We know that the Godman, PERFECT GOD AND PERFECT MAN, EXISTS, BUT IT REMAINS A MYSTERY HOW THE DIVINE NATURE UNITED WITH HUMAN NATURE IN THE PERSON OF THE LOGOS/WORD. Moreover, what happened hypostatically with human nature, happened just once. Therefore, Saint John of Damaskos said that Christ is "THE ONLY NEW THING UNDER THE SUN." This means that since the creation of the world and man, nothing new has happened in the world. Everything is repeated. Thebirthof man is a consequence and result of God's words: "LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE AND LIKENESS", and "BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY; FILL THE EARTH AND SUBDUE IT" (Genesis 1:26-28). The ONLY NEW THING IS THE GODMAN CHRIST.
AT CHRISTMAS WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE EXPERIENCE MYSTERIOUSLY IN OUR HEARTS ALL THE EVENTS CONNECTED WITH IT, FOR WHEN WE ARE ALIVE IN THE CHURCH, WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN AND EXPERIENCING ALL THE STAGES OF THE DIVINE INCARNATION. [Resources: The Feasts of the Lord. An Introduction to the Twelve Feasts and Orthodox Christology by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos HIEROTHEOS]
(To be continued)
______________
"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 