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Preface
Strictly speaking, the Orthodox Church lacks an Advent season. There are plenty
of spiritual preparations for ChristmasSt. Philips Fast, the use of katavasias from
the Nativity canon, liturgical additions to the feasts of St. Andrew and St. Nicholas,
and the two pre-Christmas Sundays of Forefathers and Genealogy. But there is
no coherent four- or six-Sunday prepartory season like Advent. Unlike in Western
tradition, the liturgical year does not start at this time, and it is not preceded by an
emphasis on the Second Advent, which gives the season its prophetic character. But
the family practice of the Advent wreath, still common in the West, is a beautiful
opportunity to set the proper tone of spiritual preparation; and many Orthodox
Christians nd it a very familiar element in their holiday celebration.
We should be clear that Advent is not equivalent to the Nativity fast. The
mostly defunct St. Martins fast in the West was also 40 days, and our own Ortho
dox calendar shows that the preparation for Christmas can come in stages. Probably
the closest liturgical equivalent to Advent is the shorter period of two pre-Christmas
Sundays, since they are the only Sundays in this period that are designated specif
ically by their relationship to Christmas. Indeed, one very easy adaptation would
be to reduce the traditional Advent wreath from ve candles to three and use the
abundant liturgical material from these two Sundays and the pre-feast. This booklet
could be used for such an endeavor, simply by skipping the rst two Sundays. But
three candles would not make a very satisfying wreath. On the other hand, there is
no obvious need to stretch the traditional Western wreath to encompass all six weeks
of the fast, so the approach here conforms with the Western practice of four Sundays.
This allows Advent to start at a suitable time after the Entrance of the Theotokos,
the last Great Feast preceding Christmas, and incorporates the pre-Christmas litur
gical elements of St. Andrew and St. Nicholas days. (In our household, we also use
the Western purple, even though Orthodox vestments during the Nativity fast are
dark red. It is a stylistic choice, but we prefer the distinctive Advent color to red,
which can get lost in the secular red-and-green theme of the season. We do not use
the rose candle, because there is no corresponding liturgical break in Orthdoox
practice.)
The main problem with adapting a Western Advent wreath for Orthodox use is
that we dont have well-dened services for the rst two Sundays. Again, there are
liturgical elements that can be drawn from the feasts of St. Andrew and St. Nicholas.
But this still leaves the problem of selecting Scripture passages. Given the character
of the season, it makes sense to emphasize Old Testament prophecies related to the
rst Advent of Christ. There are plenty to choose from, and the Orthodox service
books oer several options in the readings from Christmas Eve (royal hours and
vespers). A few are included here, but a more exible approach could rotate through
some favorites each year.
One distinctively Western element that we incorporate in our observance is
singing the well-known hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. It is based on the O
Antiphons, which are songs used during the last week of preparation in the Roman
Catholic liturgy. It is one of the few widely used Advent songs and expresses quite
well the themes of the season. Although it is most directly tied to the last week, we
spread it across the four weeks by singing two verses at a time. (You might notice
that we sneak in one repetition, since theyre an odd number.) If the song is not
familiar to you, you may choose to skip it, or replace it with a well-known troparion
or kontakion of the season. These are included in the liturgical readings for Sundays
Three and Four and Christmas Eve. In fact, those readings are probably too much
for most family observances, so you might pick your favorites or set up some kind of
rotation to cover dierent readings each year.
First Sunday
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
this.
Second Sunday
Liturgical Selections (from the Feast of St. Nicholas)
THEOTOKION (Tone 6) O cavern, make ready, for the Ewe doth
come bearing Christ in embryo. O manger, receive Him Who by His
word undid the bestial works of us earthly men. O shepherds, watch
and bear witness to the awesome wonder. And, O Magi who come from
Persia, bring forth to the King gold, frankincense and myrrh; for the
Lord hath appeared from a virgin Mother, whose Mother didst bow
to Him as a servant, addressing Him in her bosom, saying, How wast
Thou seeded in me, my God and my Deliverer?
THEOTOKION (Tone 6) O groomless Virgin, whence comest
thou? Who gave thee birth, and who is thy mother? How was thy
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will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath
brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the
children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the
Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall
abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Third Sunday
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and compel them to come in, that my house may be lled. For I say
unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my
supper.
Fourth Sunday
brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high
God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most
high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most
high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he
gave him tithes of all.
Deut 1:8-11, 15-17b Behold, I have set the land before you: go in
and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. And
I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself
alone: The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are
this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your
fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless
you, as he hath promised you!) So I took the chief of your tribes,
wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over
thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fties, and
captains over tens, and ocers among your tribes. And I charged your
judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren,
and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the
stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment;
but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid
of the face of man; for the judgment is Gods:
Deut 10:14-21 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the
Lords thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the Lord
had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after
them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore
the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stinecked. For the Lord
your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty,
and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He
doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth
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the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the
stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear
the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave,
and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath
done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have
seen.
Heb 11:9-10, 32-40 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And what shall I
more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak,
and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the
prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous
ness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the
violence of re, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were
made strong, waxed valiant in ght, turned to ight the armies of the
aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings,
yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they
were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, aicted,
tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And
these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they
without us should not be made perfect.
Matthew 1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac be
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gat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat
Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom be
gat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson;
and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and
Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat
David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had
been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam be
gat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat
begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and
Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat
Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; And
Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were
carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon, Je
chonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel
begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; And
Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan
begat Jacob; And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from
Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the
carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the
carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now
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. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her
away privily. But 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. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from
their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fullled which was
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Christmas Eve
come and grant liberty, life, and safety to Thy thankless servants, who
adore Thy saving Nativity, O Thou Who comest to save our souls.
The all-holy and blameless one, when she apprehended the incom
prehensible Nativity which reneweth the orders of nature, shouted unto
the Son, saying, My greatly beloved Son, I am dazzled by this great
mystery: that by Thy might I shall still be a Virgin after Thy Birth,
O Thou Who doest all things by Thy will.
THEOTOKION (Tone 2) Behold, the time of our salvation ap
proacheth; make thou ready, O cave, for it is time for the Virgin to
give birth. And thou, Bethlehem of Judah, rejoice and be glad; for
from thee shall shine forth our Lord. Hearken, O mountains and hills
and the regions about Judah: for Christ cometh to save man whom
He did create, since He is the Lover of mankind.
APOLYTIKION (Tone 4) Be thou ready, O Bethlehem; for Eden
hath been opened for all. Prepare, O Ephratha; for the Tree of life hath
blossomed forth in the cave from the Virgin; for her belly did appear as
a noetic paradise in which is planted the divine Plant, whereof eating
we shall live and not die as Adam. Verily, Christ shall be born, raising
the likeness that fell of old.
DOXASTICON (Tone 1) Hearken, O Heaven, and give ear, O
earth: for behold, the Son, the Word of the Father, cometh to be born
of a Maiden that hath not known man. Wherefore, by the pleasure
of Him Who gave Him birth without passion, and by the assistance
of the Holy Spirit, O Bethlehem, make ready, and O Eden, open thou
thy gates; for He Who is shall be that which hath not been; and the
Maker of the entire creation shall become the Granter of Great Mercy
to the world.
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Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but
thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a
vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Luke 2:1-20 And it came to pass in those days, that there went
out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was rst made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also
went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house
and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being
great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days
were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth
her rstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him
in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the eld, keeping watch
over their ock 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 nd 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. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go
even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which
the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and
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found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when
they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept
all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had
heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
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darkness.
the Virgin, taking from her a body, He was born, preserving her with
out corruption, and without transubstantiation, preserving His Mother
without harm.
the command of the indel, were not dismayed by the threat of re;
but were singing as they stood in the midst of the ames: Blessed art
Verily, the dewy furnace did shadow the sign of the supernatural won
der; for it burned not the youths whom it received, as the re of divinity
also burned not the womb of the Virgin in which it dwelt. Wherefore,
let us oer praise with song, saying: Let all creation praise the Lord,
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