Friday, 25 December 2026

Nativity of Christ

Friday of the 30th week after Pentecost

257 days after Pascha · Tone 4 · Major feast Lord · No Fast (Fast Free)

Saints commemorated

★ The Nativity according to the flesh of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Feast of the Nativity is one of the great Twelve Feasts of the Orthodox Church, and stands with Pascha as one of the two pillars of the Christian year. On this day the Church celebrates the unutterable mystery that the eternal Son and Word of God, consubstantial with the Father, took flesh of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was born in Bethlehem of Judea, the City of David. He whom the heavens cannot contain was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, in fulfilment of the prophecies of Isaiah, Micah and the patriarchs.

The historical setting is given by the evangelists Matthew and Luke. In the days of the emperor Augustus, when Quirinius governed Syria and a decree of enrolment went out over the empire, Joseph and Mary went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and there the Mother of God brought forth her Son. The shepherds keeping watch over their flocks were the first to be called by an angel and a host of the heavenly powers singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Wise men from the East, guided by a star, came afterwards bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The choice of 25 December for the celebration is bound up with the early Church's response to the Roman feast of the Unconquered Sun, the Sol Invictus. Christ is proclaimed in the troparion as the true Sun of Righteousness, before whom the worshippers of the stars are taught to bow down to the Lord, the Dayspring from on high. The feast emphasises the wonder of the Incarnation: the One who is "one of the Holy Trinity" has entered into time and space, becoming a true human being while remaining unchangeably God, that we might be made partakers of the divine nature.

The feast is preceded by a forty-day fast and by two preparatory Sundays commemorating the Forefathers and the Fathers of Christ according to the flesh. The Royal Hours, the Vesperal Liturgy of Saint Basil and the Vigil are celebrated on the eve, and on the day itself the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is served. The festal period continues until 31 December, the Apodosis of the feast, with a forefeast and afterfeast that bind together the Synaxis of the Theotokos, the protomartyr Stephen and the Holy Innocents in the single mystery of God-with-us, Emmanuel.

The Adoration of the Magi at the Nativity

On the day of the Nativity the Orthodox Church also commemorates the worship offered to the new-born Christ by the Magi from the East. Guided by a wondrous star that rose at the time of Christ's birth, three wise men, traditionally named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, came from Persia to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him." After being directed by King Herod and the chief priests to Bethlehem on the strength of the prophecy of Micah, they followed the star until it stood over the place where the Child lay. Falling down before Him, they offered gifts of gold, as to a king, frankincense, as to God, and myrrh, as to one who would die for the salvation of the world. Warned by God in a dream, they returned to their own country by another way, becoming the first-fruits of the Gentiles to confess the new-born King. In the iconography of the Nativity their offering, together with the song of the angels and the wonder of the shepherds, gathers all creation, both Jew and Gentile, into the worship of the incarnate God.

The Shepherds of Bethlehem who beheld the Lord

On the night of Christ's Nativity there were shepherds in the same country, abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night. To these poor and humble men, before any of the great ones of the earth, the angel of the Lord first proclaimed the good news, saying, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." When the angels had departed, the shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger. Beholding Him, they made known what the angel had told them concerning this Child, and they returned to their flocks glorifying and praising God. The Church remembers them as the first heralds of the Incarnation, and their figures appear in every icon of the Nativity, joined with the angels and the Magi in the chorus of praise around the Mother of God and her Son.

The Shepherds who saw the Lord

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:8- 14)

The Veneration of the Magi

See Matthew ch. 2. According to the verses of the Feast and most of the Holy Fathers, the Magi were astrologers from Persia or Babylonia (The Scripture says only that they came “from the east.”) The star which they followed was no inanimate object, but one of the Angelic Powers of heaven, appointed to lead them to the Savior. From the very beginning, the Good News of Christ was proclaimed to the nations.

Daily readings

Epistle

— Nativity weekly cycle

Galatians — Galatians 4.4-7

⁴But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ⁶And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Gospel

— Nativity weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 2.1-12

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. ⁷Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. ⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

¹¹And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Matins Gospel

Matthew — Matthew 1.18-25

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. ¹⁹Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. ²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. ²²Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ²³Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. ²⁴Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: ²⁵And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.