Summary “The Birth of the World”
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born from the Blessed Virgin Mary in the reign of Emperor Augustus (Octavius) in the city of Bethlehem. Augustus ordered the nationwide census to be carried out in all of its empire, to which Palestine belonged at the time. The Jews had the custom of leading people’s censuses by tribes, tribes and clans, every tribe and clan had their own specific cities and patriotic places, because the Blessed Virgin and the righteous Joseph, as descended from the family of David, were to go to Bethlehem (the city of David) make their names in the list of subjects of Caesar.
In Bethlehem, they did not find any free space in the city hotels. In the limestone cave intended for the stall among hay and straw scattered for forage and litter to cattle, far from permanent residence, among strangers, on a cold winter night, in an atmosphere devoid of not only earthly greatness, but even ordinary comfort, a God-man was born, The Savior of the
But among the midnight silence, when all of humanity was embraced as the deepest sinful dream, the news of the Nativity of the Savior of the world was heard by the shepherds who were on guard at night with their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and said: “Do not be afraid: behold, I bring glad tidings of you to the gospel, I will be all the people, for the Savior is born to you today, Christ the Lord is in the city of David”, and the humble pastors were the first to bow to save people, “Rabiah of the Phantom.” In addition to the angelic gospel to the Bethlehem pastors, the Nativity of Christ was announced by the miraculous star to the sorcerers
In the memory of Christmas in the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church established a holiday. Its beginning dates back to the time of the Apostles. The Apostolic Resolutions say: “Keep the days of the feast, brethren, and in the first place the day of the Nativity of Christ, which is celebrated by you on the 25th day of the tenth month” (from March). In the same place, in another place it is said: “The day of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated, and the unchallenged grace is given to men by the birth of God’s Word from Mary Virgin to save the world.” In the II century on the day of Christmas Christ on December 25 indicates the saint Clement of Alexandria. In the III century, St. Hippolytus of Rome mentions the holiday of the Nativity of Christ, as it was about the former, appointing the reading of the Gospel on this day from the first chapter of Matthew. It is known that during the persecution of Christians by Maximian, in 302, the Nicomedian Christians were burnt in the temple at the time of the Nativity of Christ in the number of 20,000. In the same century, when the Church after the persecution received freedom of religion and became dominant in the Roman Empire, the Nativity of Christ is found throughout the Universal Church, as can be seen from the teachings of the saint Ephraim the Syrian, the saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, St. Gregory of Nyssa, the saints Ambrose, John Chrysostom and other fathers of the Church of the IV century for the feast of the Nativity of Christ. St. John Chrysostom in his speech, which he spoke in 385, calls the holiday of the Nativity of Christ ancient and very ancient. In the same century, at the site of the cave of Bethlehem, celebrated by the birth of Jesus Christ, the Equal-to-the-Apostles queen Yelena built a temple, whose splendor her son tried hard to achieve. In the Code of Theodosius, issued in 438, and Justinian – in 535, sets forth the law on the universal celebration of the Nativity of Christ. In this sense, probably, Nicephorus Callistus, a writer of the fourteenth century, in his history says that the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century established the celebration of the Nativity of Christ throughout the earth. In the fifth century Anatoly, Patriarch of Constantinople, in VII – Sofroniy and Andrew of Jerusalem, in VIII – the saints John of Damascus, Cosma Maiumsky and Herman, Patriarch of Tzaregrad, in IX – the Monk Cassius and others, whose names are unknown, wrote many sacred for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ the hymns used by the Church today for the glorification of a lightly celebrated event. that the Emperor Justinian in the VI century established to celebrate the Nativity of Christ throughout the earth. In the fifth century Anatoly, Patriarch of Constantinople, in VII – Sofroniy and Andrew of Jerusalem, in VIII – the saints John of Damascus, Cosma Maiumsky and Herman, Patriarch of Tzaregrad, in IX – the Monk Cassius and others, whose names are unknown, wrote many sacred for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ the hymns used by the Church today for the glorification of a lightly celebrated event. that the Emperor Justinian in the VI century established to celebrate the Nativity of Christ throughout the earth. In the fifth century Anatoly, Patriarch of Constantinople, in VII – Sofroniy and Andrew of Jerusalem, in VIII – the saints John of Damascus, Cosma Maiumsky and Herman, Patriarch of Tzaregrad, in IX – the Monk Cassius and others, whose names are unknown, wrote many sacred for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ the hymns used by the Church today for the glorification of a lightly celebrated event.
However, in the first three centuries, when persecutions hampered the freedom of Christian worship, in some places in the East – the churches of Jerusalem. Antioch, Alexandria and Cyprus – the holiday of the Nativity of Christ was connected with the feast of Epiphany on January 6, under the common name of the Epiphany. The reason for this probably was the view that Christ was baptized on the day of His birth, as one can conclude about it from the words of St. John Chrysostom, who in one of his conversations on Christmas says: “not the day in which Christ was born is called the Epiphany, but the one into which He was baptized. ” Such an opinion could be given the pretext of the words of the Evangelist Luke, who, speaking of the baptism of Jesus Christ, testifies that then “Jesus is about three years old” (Luke 3, 23). The celebration of the Nativity of Christ together with the Epiphany in some Eastern churches continued until the end of the IV century, in others – until the V or even before the VI century. Monument to the ancient conjunction of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany until now in the Orthodox Church is a perfect similarity in the dispatch of these holidays. Both are preceded by Christmas Eve, with the same folk tradition, that on Christmas Eve should fast to the star. The service of the Divine Service in the evening of both holidays and on the very holidays is completely the same. that on Christmas Eve should fast to the star. The service of the Divine Service in the evening of both holidays and on the very holidays is completely the same. that on Christmas Eve should fast to the star. The service of the Divine Service in the evening of both holidays and on the very holidays is completely the same.
The Day of the Nativity of Christ from ancient times is listed by the Church on the great feasts of the twelve, according to the Divine testimony of the Gospel, which depicts the celebrated event as the greatest, most joyful and wonderful. “This tidings to you,” said the Angel to the Bethlehem shepherds, “I bring joy to all the people, Yako was born to you, Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.” And a sign to you: you will find a baby who is lying in a nursery. there was a multitude of heavenly things with the Angel, praising God and saying: glory to God in the highest, and peace to the earth, goodwill in people. “All hearing the divine about the past from the pastors about the Savior born, and the shepherds return, glorifying and praising God for everyone, hearing and vidisha “(Luke 2, 10 – 20). So the Nativity of Christ, as an event of the highest and most extraordinary, was accompanied by a wonderful news to pastors and magi about the universal joy for all people, “as the Savior was born,” the angelic glorification of the born Savior, the worship of the pastors and the wise men. with the reverential astonishment of many who heard the words of the pastors about the child born, the glory and praise of Him from the shepherds.
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