December

Synaxarion
This month has thirty-one days with nine hours of day and fifteen hours
of night.

December 1
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.

December 2
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.

December 3
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.

December 4
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.

December 5
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.

December 6
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.

December 7
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.

December 8
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.

December 9
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.

December 10
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.

December 11

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.

December 12
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.

December 13
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.

December 14
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.

December 15
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.

December 16
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.

December 17
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.

December 19
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 Godbearer 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.

December 20
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 Godbearer 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 Prefestive 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.

December 21
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).

December 22
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).

December 23
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 Prefestive Period of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord, God,
and Savior Jesus Christ (December 20).

December 24
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.

December 25
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.

December 26
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.

December 27
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.

December 28
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.

December 29
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.

December 30
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.

December 31
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.