Christmas Archives - Page 23 of 25

Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: Beginning of Advent and the Forefeast

11/19/2014

BEGINNING OF ADVENT AND THE FOREFEAST Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. (Isaiah 40:3) EVERY GREAT FEAST of the Orthodox Church is preceded by a period of preparation. One of the longest and richest periods is Advent. But what does it mean to prepare? For many, the preparation for Christmas is hectic— shopping for presents, making decorations, mailing cards, attending Christmas parties, and so forth. But in the

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth

11/18/2014

ORTHODOX WORSHIP As with Great Lent, so too with the Nativity Fast, the approaching feast is prepared for not only by abstinence, but also through the profound meaning of the biblical readings and the hymns (contained in the hymnbooks known as the Menaia for November and December) that we hear in church during this season. Because the main focus of Advent is our preparation for the Nativity-the Incarnation of the Son of God-the hymns for

Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Nativity Fast

11/17/2014

ADVENT-DERIVED FROM the Latin adventus, meaning “coming”—is a word that is not often used by Orthodox Christians living in the Eastern parts of the world. It is used more frequently by Orthodox Christians living in the West, for the simple reason that when they say “Advent”, other Christians immediately understand they are referring to a period of preparation before the Great Feast of Christmas, the Nativity of Our Lord. However, there are three key differences

Why Fast for Dormition?

08/01/2014

By Daniel Manzuk It would be a gross understatement to say that much has been written about the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Yet very little has been written about the fast that precedes it. Every Orthodox Christian is aware and generally knows the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is

Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: Father Alexander’s Winter Pascha

12/11/2013

Father Alexander Schmemann was the dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, New York, and the spiritual father, teacher, pastor, and friend of countless people not only in America but around the world. He died on December 13, 1983, the same day of the year as Saint Herman of Alaska. Father Alexander learned that he had cancer in the fall of 1982. He greeted the disease as the opportunity for Christian witness. As a person

First Day of Christmas Advent: The Winter Pascha

11/15/2013

The Christmas-Epiphany season in the Orthodox Church begins with a forty-day fasting period….When winter begins to make its way into the northern hemisphere, the Church of Christ begins to celebrate the feast of Christ’s Nativity…called [Winter] Pascha. This emphasizes its close connection with the mystery of our salvation and deliverance from sin and death; the mystery which the holy Church proclaims in her dogmatic teachings and with which she brings us into direct spiritual contact

WHAT IS THE PIVOT POINT OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP? (Part I)

01/08/2013

We all find great joy in the coming of Christmas and, strangely, many exhibit even greater joy with the coming of the secular new year. Increasingly more and more the meaning of Christmas is becoming similarly secularized which is one very good reason for us to abandon that name and speak of it as the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We are also forgetful of the fact that the period of the Nativity is one

Theophany (or Epiphany) and Christmas (Part I)

01/03/2013

Theophany is one of the great Feasts of the Lord of the ecclesiastical year. It is also called Epiphany and the Day of Lights and is celebrated on the 6th of January. The names of this Feast indicate the understanding of the ancient Church concerning this Feast. This understanding is connected with the revelation of God, that is, the manifestation of the One God in Trinity through the Incarnation of the Son of God, our

Feast of Saint Stephen, Archdeacon and First Martyr

12/27/2012

WE OFTEN THINK THAT WHEN DECEMBER 25 IS PAST, Christmas is over. But no, this rich, extended feast is just beginning. The whole of Christmas—all twelve days of it—is about the Incarnation. This central mystery of Christian faith is brought home to us by the infant in the manger, the Child wrapped in swaddling-clothes. The cradle scene stays with us—or at least, it is supposed to remain set up—throughout the twelve days. Gazing on the

Christmas Advent: The Thirty-Seventh Day

12/21/2012

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” —Isaiah 52:7 (NRSV) OUR VIGIL ENDS WHEN, like the watchmen of ancient Israel, we sing for joy at our Savior’s coming. On Christmas day, the full dimension of our relationship with God is revealed and we become, through Christ, God’s children. Because God took on human flesh,

Tags

Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: Beginning of Advent and the Forefeast

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth

Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Nativity Fast

Why Fast for Dormition?

Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: Father Alexander’s Winter Pascha

First Day of Christmas Advent: The Winter Pascha

WHAT IS THE PIVOT POINT OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP? (Part I)

Theophany (or Epiphany) and Christmas (Part I)

Feast of Saint Stephen, Archdeacon and First Martyr

Christmas Advent: The Thirty-Seventh Day

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