The NATIVITY,
According to the Flesh,
of Our Lord, God and Savior
JESUS CHRIST,
the Memory of which the Holy Church
Celebrates on the
25th of December

In the kontakion of the Nativity Feast, composed by St. Romanos the Melodist (c.490-c.556), through the blessing and aid of the Virgin herself,¹ the Church chants, Today the Virgin giveth birth to Him Who is transcendent in essence; and the earth offereth a cave to Him Who is unapproachable. Angels with shepherds give glory; with a star, the magi do journey; for our sakes a young child is born, Who is preeternal God.²

What mysteries beyond mind and speech! God, in His compassion, is born on earth, putting on the form of a servant that He may snatch from servitude to the enemy them that with fervent love cry out: "Blessed art Thou, O Savior Who lovest mankind."³

The Preaching of the Prophets
has Reached its Fulfillment

Saint Andrew of Crete (c.660-740) comments, "Of thee, O Mary, all interpreters of the Spirit sang." Nowhere in the divinely inspired Scripture can one look without seeing some allusion to her. "Rejoice, Mediatress of the law and of grace, seal of the Old and New Testaments, clear fulfillment of the whole of prophecy, of the truth of Scriptures inspired by God, the living and most pure book of God and the Word in which, without voice or writing, the Writer Himself, God and Word, is everyday read."⁴

Saint Gregory Palamas (†1359) thought that "all divinely inspired Scripture was written because of the Virgin who brought forth God incarnate."⁵

Early Prophecies

Saint John of Damascus (c.676-c.750) interprets the burning bush [Ex. 3:1-8] as an image of the virgin birth when he chants, Plainly foreshadowed by the burning bush that was not consumed [Ex. 3:2], a hallowed womb has borne the Word. God is mingled with the form of mortal men, and so looses the unhappy womb of Eve from the bitter curse of old [Gen. 3:16].⁶ And, That which was revealed to Moses in the bush, we see accomplished here in strange manner. The Virgin bore Fire within her, yet was not consumed, when she gave birth to the Benefactor Who brings us light.⁷

Saint Andrew of Crete also chants elsewhere that As Thou art one of the Trinity, Thou wast seen to become flesh, not changing Thine essence, O Lord. Neither didst Thou burn the incorrupt womb of her that bore Thee, since Thou art wholly God and fire.⁸

The burning bush was traditionally interpreted as a type of the Virgin. Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-394) is insistent on the virginitas in partu. From the image of the burning bush seen by Moses in Sinai, "we also learn the mystery of the Virgin: the light of divinity, which through birth shone from her into human life, did not wither the flower of her virginity, just as the burning bush was not consumed."⁹

Saint Ildephonsus (607-667), Archbishop of Toledo, wrote that "The Holy Spirit heated, inflamed, and melted Mary with love, as fire does iron; so that the flame of the Holy Spirit was seen and nothing was felt by the fire of the love of God."¹⁰

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (c.816-886), borrowing from the book of Numbers chants, Now is Christ born of Jacob, so Balaam said [Num. 24:19]. And He shall rule over nations, and His Kingdom shall be exalted in grace and shall remain perpetually.¹¹

That Thou mightest fill all things with Thy glory, Thou hast come and bowed the heavens [Ps. 17:9] till they touched the earth. For as rain upon the fleece [Judg. 6:36-38], hast Thou descended into a virgin womb, from which Thou now camest forth to be born in two natures, O God-man.¹²

The poet and brother of St. John of Damascus, St. Cosmas, Bishop of Maiouma, writes: As dew upon the fleece hast Thou descended into the womb of the Virgin, O Christ, and as drops of rain that fall upon the earth. Ethiopia and Tarshish and the isles of Arabia, the kings of Saba, of the Medes and all the earth, fell down before Thee, O Savior."¹³

Saint Romanos in the matinal service writes: Bethlehem has opened Eden: come, let us behold. We have found joy in this hidden place: come, and let us take possession of the paradise that is within the cave. There the unwatered Root has appeared and flowers forth forgiveness: there is found the undug Well, when David of old yearned to drink [2 Kings 23:15]. There the Virgin has borne a babe, and caused the thirst of Adam and David to cease straightway. Therefore, let us hasten to this place where now a young child is born, the pre-eternal God.¹⁴

The Prophecy of Esaias

Esaias, as he watched by night, beheld the light that knows no evening, the light of Thy Theophany, O Christ, that came to pass from tender love for us; and he cries aloud: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive in the womb" [Is. 7:14], and shall bear the incarnate Word, and all those on earth shall rejoice exceedingly.¹⁵

Saint Cosmas the Poet also chants of this virgin: Lo, the Virgin, as it was said in days of old [Is. 7:14], has conceived in her womb and brought forth God made man; and she has remained a virgin. Reconciled to God through her, let us sinners sing her praises, for she is verily the Theotokos.¹⁶

Saint Basil the Great (c.330-379) defended the application of Esaias 7:14 to Mary.

He argued that if it did not apply to a "virgin", there really would be no sign. He was aware that in the translation, some proposed to read the Greek word neanis instead of parthenos for the Hebrew almah or galmah, but he appealed to Deut. 22:23-28 to justify his interpretation—which was that of all the Fathers.¹⁷ This same Hebrew word almah or, in Greek, parthenos, translated as "virgin", may also be seen in Gen. 24:23, when referring to Rebecca.

Saint Kyril of Jerusalem (318-c.386) also adds that though the Jews gainsay this by claiming the text says "the damsel" and not "the virgin", he finds truth and writes: "To learn more clearly that even a virgin is called a damsel in the Holy Scripture, hear the Book of Kings, saying of Abisag the Somanitess: `And the damsel (in Greek ee neanis, in Hebrew nah-garah) was extremely beautiful' [3 Kings 1:4]; that she was chosen as a virgin and brought to David is admitted…" And, "If Scripture says, `the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to help her' [Deut. 22:27], does it not speak of a virgin?"¹⁸

The word almah is used nine times in the Old Testament and never for a married woman. The massive patristic witness remains impressive that the verse in Esaias refers to a virgin and not a young woman. Saint Justin Martyr (†165) reminded his Jewish opponent in his Dialogue with Trypho that the Septuagint used virgin (parthenos). What value as a sign would an ordinary birth have provided?¹⁹ Since the plan of salvation, which God assured [Gen 3:16], comprised a woman in an important role, they who believe the prophet is speaking of a virgin also see an echo of the Virgin in "the seed of her" [Gen. 3:15]. This inference cannot be lightly dismissed.

Mary As Prophetess

Another prophecy of Esaias is: "And I went in to the prophetess and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, Call His name, `Spoil quickly, plunder speedily.' For before the child shall know his father or his mother, He shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians" [8:3-4].

The Persian sage, monk and bishop, Aphraates (4th c.) speaks of Mary as a "prophetess."²⁰ Saint Basil, too, considers Mary a "prophetess", because of the Magnificat [Lk. 1:46-55] that she had uttered.²¹

Saint Kyril of Alexandria says that "contemporaneously with the birth of Christ, the power of the devil was spoiled. The name `Spoil quickly, hastily plunder' or `Maher-shalal-hash-baz', refers to our Lord. The prophetess is the holy Virgin; and the name given to the child suiteth not man, but God; for, saith He, call His name `Spoil quickly: hastily plunder'. For at His birth, the heavenly and supernatural infant, while yet in swaddling bands and on His Mother's bosom, because of His human nature, stripped forthwith Satan of his goods by His ineffable might as God; for the magi came from the East to worship Him…"²²

Saint Justin Martyr (135-c.165] writes that Esaias' words, "`He shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria' meant that the power of the wicked demon that dwelt in Damascus would be crushed by Christ at His birth. This is shown to have taken place. For the magi, held in servitude (as spoils) for the commission of every wicked deed through the power of that demon, by coming and worshipping Christ, openly revolted against the power that had held them captive; and this dominion Scripture [1 Kings 11:23-25; 15:16-22; 22:31-35; 2 Kings 13:3] has shown us to reside in Damascus. Moreover, that sinful and unjust power is termed well in parable, `Samaria'. Now, even among you none can deny that Damascus was and is a part of the land of Arabia, although it now belongs to Syro-Phoenicia.²³

Saint Cosmas expounds upon this in his matinal hymn: Thou hast shone forth from the tribe of Judah, and Thou hast come to plunder the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria [Is. 8:4], turning their error into faith beautiful to God.²⁴

Saint Cosmas also incorporates other prophecies of Esaias into his inspired hymns. As Thou art the God of peace and Father of mercies, Thou hast sent unto us Thine Angel of great counsel [Is. 9:6], granting us peace. So are we guided towards the light of the knowledge of God, and watching by night we glorify Thee, O Lover of mankind.²⁵

Rod Of The Root Of Jesse

Here again, St. Cosmas composes hymns by weaving in Old Testament prophecies, showing the Virgin as the rod and the overshadowed mountain: Rod of the root of Jesse [Is. 11:1], and flower that blossomed from his stem, O Christ, Thou hast sprung from the Virgin. From the mountain overshadowed by the forest Thou hast come [Hab. 3:3], made flesh from her that knew not wedlock, O God, Who art not formed from matter.²⁶

Saint Andrew also speaks of the Virgin as the rod and Christ as the Flower: Let Jesse rejoice and let David dance, for behold, the Virgin, the rod planted by God, hath blossomed forth the Flower, even the everlasting Christ.²⁷

Saint Ambrose (339-397), Bishop of Milan, concurs with this image, writing: "The root is the household of the Jews, the rod is Mary, the Flower of Mary is Christ. She is rightly called a rod, for she is of royal lineage, of the house and family of David. Her Flower is Christ, Who destroyed the stench of worldly pollution and poured out the fragrance of eternal life. As He Himself said, `I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys'" [Song 2:1].²⁸

Saint Irenaeus (d. after 193) also speaks of Esaias' prophecy concerning the rod and Flower from the root of Jesse. "Thereby the prophet says that it is of her, who is descended from David and from Abraham, that He is born. For Jesse was a descendant of Abraham, and father of David; the descendant who conceived Christ, the Virgin, is thus become the `rod'. Moses too worked his miracles before Pharaoh with a rod; and among others too of mankind, the rod is a sign of empire. And the `Flower' refers to His body, for it was made to bud forth by the Spirit."²⁹

From the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, we chant, Rejoice, O mystical rod which blossomed the unfading Flower.³⁰ And, Rejoice, O Bride of God; thou art the mystical rod from whom the unfading Rose blossomed and budded forth.³¹

The Later Prophets

Let us also listen to the hymns as they recount the later prophecies: "And the Lord said to me (Prophet Ezekiel), `This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. For the Prince, He shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; He shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same'" [Ez. 44:2-3].

Saint Amphilochios of Iconium (†after 394) gives his opinion saying, "In what concerns the virginal nature, the virginal doors are in no way opened; as regards the power of the Lord Who was born, nothing is closed to the Lord, but all things are open to Him."³²

Of old Abbakum the Prophet was counted worthy to behold ineffably the figure and symbol of Christ's birth, and he foretold in song the renewal of mankind. For as a young babe, even the Word, has now come forth from the mountain that is the Virgin [Dan. 2:45], unto the renewal of the peoples.³³

When the prophet [Hab. 3:1, 3] foresaw Thy birth from a Virgin, he proclaimed, crying, "I have heard Thy report and was afraid"...for from Theman and the holy mountain overshadowed art Thou come, O Christ.³⁴

Saint John of Damascus speaks of Shedrach, Misach and Abdenago, the three children in the Babylonian furnace [Dan. 3], saying, The children of the Old Covenant who walked in the fire, yet were not burnt, prefigured the womb of the Maiden that remained sealed, when she gave birth in fashion past nature. It was the same grace of God that brought both these wonders to pass in a miracle.³⁵

Saint Cosmas the Poet also speaks of this image, chanting, The furnace moist with dew was the image and figure of a wonder past nature. For it burnt not the children whom it had consumed, even as the fire of the Godhead consumed not the Virgin's womb into which it had descended.³⁶

Saint Cosmas then speaks of the Prophet Jonas [1:17-2:10], saying, The sea monster spat forth Jonas as it had received him, like a babe from the womb: while the Word, having dwelt in the Virgin and taken flesh, came forth from her and kept her incorrupt. For being Himself not subject to decay, He preserved His Mother free from harm.³⁷

The person of Jonas and his ordeal within the belly of the sea monster also is a type of Christ in the belly of the earth for three days. Jonah was compassed but not held fast in the belly of the whale; for serving as a figure of Thy birth and Thine appearing in the flesh, he came forth from the sea-mammal as from a chamber. For, born now in the flesh, Thou shalt in the flesh undergo burial and death, and Thou shalt rise again on the third day.³⁸

With all these prophecies in mind, St. Romanos exhorts the Hebrew nation, saying, Come, O hard-hearted Israel, cast from thee the mist that lies upon thy soul; recognize the Creator Who is born in the cave. He is the expectation of the nations [Gen. 49:10]; He shall abolish thy feasts.³⁹

The prophecy of Baruch clearly declares that God would come unto His own in the world and dwell with them [Jn. 1:10-11,14], "This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Afterward did He shew Himself upon earth, and conversed with men" [Bar. 3:35-37].

Creation is Renewed and
Restored to its Former Beauty

Saint Kyril of Alexandria (†444) writes that "she bore Emmanuel, Who is truly God. `And the Word was made flesh' [Jn. 1:14] and was born according to the flesh so that we might be found to be brothers of Him Who is above all creation."⁴⁰ He also writes in another letter that He Who was ineffably begotten of the Father before all ages and finally born as man from a woman, that He is one person and not two.⁴¹

Orthodox theology of the incarnation is clear in the Church's hymnology. Saint Joseph the Hymnographer chants, The Son of the Father...has appeared to us...to give light to those in darkness and to gather the dispersed. Therefore, the far-famed Theotokos do we magnify.⁴² This hymnographer also writes that Mary Theotokos ushered in our renewal, saying, Like a lily, like a fragrant rose, like a divine scent did the All-Divine Word find thee, O all-pure Bride of God; and He made His abode within thy womb, making fragrant our nature which had been full of foetor through sin.⁴³ Thus, in the fullness of time, He raised up man who of old had grievously fallen, leading him up to his pristine beauty.⁴⁴

Saint Germanos writes: The express image of the Father [Heb. 1:3], the imprint of His eternity, takes the form of a servant and, without undergoing change, He comes forth from a mother who knew not wedlock. For what He was, He has remained, true God: and what He was not, He has taken upon Himself, becoming man through love for mankind.⁴⁵

Saint John of Damascus chants of our renewal, though Christ did not depart from His own nature yet He shared in our substance. A most glorious mystery is accomplished today: nature is renewed, and God becomes Man. What He was, He has remained; and what He was not, He has taken on Himself without suffering commingling or division.⁴⁶

The Only-Begotten of the Father, even after His Nativity in the flesh, has remained one in Godhead with the Father and the Spirit. From the Canon of the Forefeast, we chant, In the strength of Thy Godhead Thou hast been joined with mortal men, through a union without confusion, O Savior, in the likeness of the flesh of Adam; and in thus assuming human nature Thou dost bestow upon it immortality and salvation.⁴⁷

Saint Romanos rejoices, chanting, The Creator is come, raising up mankind from the earth, making His royal image new again! Rejoice together, ye hosts on high and chant! The middle-wall of enmity is broken down! He is come Who accomplished this! For God becometh man, the King of Israel!⁴⁸

For St. Joseph the Hymnographer, the role of Mary is clear when he chants, Through thine incorrupt birthgiving, O august one, thou hast clothed with the garment of incorruption all those denuded through corruption.⁴⁹ He then says that she is the heavenly ladder by which God the Word communicated with men; she is the wound inflicted on demons, the salvation of men, and the ornament of angels.

The Appellation `Theotokos'
or `God-birthgiver'

Christ, Who was born of the Virgin, is true God become Man. There are not two sons: a Son of God and a son of the Virgin. He is one Son: from above, motherless out of the Father; from below, fatherless out of a mother. It is proper to call the Virgin Mother `Theotokos', on the ground that she truly gave birth in the flesh to God.⁵⁰

Saint John of Damascus says, "We hold that God was born of her, not implying that the divinity of the Word received from her the beginning of its being, but meaning that God the Word Himself, Who was begotten of the Father timelessly before the ages, and was with the Father and the Spirit without beginning and through eternity, took up His abode in these last days for the sake of our salvation in the Virgin's womb, and was without change made flesh and born of her. For the holy Virgin did not bear mere man but true God: and not only God but God incarnate, Who did not bring down a body from heaven, nor simply passed through the Virgin as a channel, but received from her flesh of like essence to our own and subsisting in Himself. For if a body had come down from heaven and had not partaken of our nature, what would have been the use of His becoming man? For the purpose of God the Word becoming man was that the very same nature, which had sinned and fallen and become corrupted, should triumph over the deceiving tyrant and so be freed from corruption. Hence, it is with justice and truth that we call the holy Mary the `Mother of God'. For this name, `Theotokos', embraces the whole mystery of the dispensation."⁵¹

Saint John continues, saying, "We never say that the holy Virgin is the Mother of Christ (Christotokos), because this appellation came about in order to do away with the title Mother of God (Theotokos), and to bring dishonor on the Mother of God, who alone is in truth worthy of honor above all creation. It was the impure and abominable judaizing Nestorius, that vessel of dishonor, who invented this name for an insult. For David the king and Aaron the high priest are also called `christ' or `anointed one', for it is customary to make kings and priests by anointing. Moreover, every God-inspired man may be called `christ', though he is not by nature God. Yea, the accursed Nestorius insulted Him Who was born of the Virgin by calling Him (Jesus) God-bearer (Theophoros), Who is in truth God incarnate. God the Word deified the nature that He assumed. He was not first made like us and only later became higher than us, but even from the first moment of incarnation, He existed with the double nature, because He is God the Word Himself…"⁵²

Saint Andrew of Crete, in his hymns, also declares that she brought forth God in the flesh: O Mother of God, past speech is thy conceiving and beyond nature is thy childbearing. Thou hast conceived from the Spirit, not from human seed; and thy childbearing has escaped nature's laws, since it was without corruption and above the nature of all birthgiving. For He Whom thou hast born is God.⁵³ And, Thou alone art revealed as the heavenly bridal chamber and ever-virgin bride. Thou hast carried in thy womb and given birth to Him; and He took flesh from thee yet underwent no change. Therefore, as bride and Mother of God, with true veneration all generations magnify thee.⁵⁴

Two generations before the Council of Ephesus, St. Gregory the Theologian (329-391), Patriarch of Constantinople, was using the term `Theotokos'. He is very strong when he succinctly states, "If anyone does not consider holy Mary to be the Theotokos, then he does not accept the divinity of Christ."⁵⁵ In another epistle he writes: "If anyone does not believe the holy Mary to be Theotokos, he is without the Godhead. If anyone should say that Christ passed through the Virgin as through a channel, and was not formed in her at once in a divine and human way, divine because it was without the work of man, human becomes it was subject to the law of human gestation, he is equally atheistic."⁵⁶

He continues: "For the whole Adam fell by the fatal taste. Accordingly, in a human manner and beyond the human manner, in the venerable womb of the Virgin, He was shown as God and Man, uniting the two natures in one, one hidden, the other manifest to men."⁵⁷

Saint Ambrose also writes: "You should know that Christ is not two, but One, being both begotten of the Father before the worlds, and in the last times [Gal. 4:4] created of the Virgin. And thus the meaning is: `I, Who am begotten before the worlds, am He Who was created of mortal woman, created for a set purpose.'"⁵⁸ He also correctly writes that Jesus was "without a mother according to divinity, because He was begotten of God the Father, of one essence with the Father, but without a father according to the incarnation, because He was born of the Virgin, having neither beginning nor end, for He Himself is the beginning and the end of all things, the first and the last."⁵⁹

Augustus Taxes All the Roman Empire

"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 first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city [Lk. 2:1-3].

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 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" [Lk. 2:4-5].

The expression of Luke 2:5, "to register with himself Mary who was betrothed to him as wife", must be read in connection with Matthew's expression that Joseph "took to him his wife" [Mt. 1:24], since Jewish custom would not have otherwise allowed Mary to travel in company with Joseph to Bethlehem.

There are reliable historical records that indicate that a census was taken every fourteen years, and that one was taken about the time of 7-6 B.C.⁶⁰ This census, to be taken throughout the Roman Empire, included Egypt, Syria and Palestine. As regards the Roman province of Syria, Cyrenius, the governor, was the well-known Roman senator Publius Sulpicius Quirinius.⁶¹

Before the era of Christ, years were generally reckoned from the foundation of the city of Rome or from the election of the emperor (Anno Urbis Conditae, A.U.C. or Roman Era). With the establishment of Christianity, recording of time was reckoned from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini, A.D.). However, an error in the calculation of Dionysios the Younger who, in 526 A.D. introduced the present method of dating, made the birth of Christ to coincide with the Roman year 754. However, further studies since have ascertained that Christ was actually born in 747 or 748 according to the Roman era, that is six or seven years earlier than Dionysios had supposed! From this results the curious fact that the Christian calendar which we now use, instead of dating from the actual Nativity of our Savior, actually commenced some six or seven years later. Hence, the birth of Jesus is reckoned to be 6 or 7 B.C., concurrent with the time of the Roman taxation.⁶² Furthermore, according to all historical accounts, Herod the Great, the slayer of the children of Bethlehem, died in 4 B.C. We know that Christ and His Mother with the venerable Joseph fled Herod and his minions. Thus it is evident that the Christ child could not have been born after 4 B.C.

There is a mystical significance that the world was being enrolled in a secular census and the coming of our Lord, because He then appeared in the flesh Who would enroll His elect for eternity.

Saint Ephraim the Syrian comments, In the days of the king who enrolled men in the book of the dead, our Redeemer came down and enrolled men in the book of the living. He enrolled, and they also: on high He enrolled us, on earth they enrolled Him. Glory to His name!⁶³

The ninth century hymnographer and nun, St. Cassiane, wrote the famous Nativity hymn: When Augustus reigned alone upon the earth, the many kingdoms of men came to end: and when Thou wast made man of the pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were destroyed. The cities of the world passed under one rule; and the nations came to believe in one sovereign Godhead. The peoples were enrolled by the decree of Caesar; and we, the faithful, were enrolled in the name of the Godhead, when Thou, our God, wast made man.⁶⁴

Saint Germanos writes that For this cause Caesar published such a decree, since Thy timeless and eternal Kingdom was presently made manifest. Therefore, as we pay our earthly tribute money, at the same time we offer Thee the wealth of our Orthodox Faith, O God and Savior of our souls.⁶⁵

The Genealogies of the Gospels

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give the genealogies of Joseph: Matthew, in the opening passage of the Gospel, and Luke, after the story of the baptism. The two lists differ, and various explanations have been given for the discrepancies. Writing in Aramaic to the Jewish community, Matthew's list descends from Abraham, "father of believers," at the origin of the Old Covenant, to Jesus, Author of the New Covenant. The Jews desired to see a glorious king in the person of the Messiah, therefore, St. Matthew cites David the king into His genealogy. King David fathered Solomon, and then a whole line of royal descendants. The Evangelist also introduces women, something that the Evangelist Luke does not do. And what sort of women? Women who could neither be saved by descent from Abraham (Rahab of Jericho and Ruth the Moabitess), nor by true integrity of character and righteousness (Tamar the daughter-in-law of Judah and Bathsheba the wife of Uriah). According to Jewish tradition, the holy Evangelist did not lose sight either that all the rights and privileges of a family passed on to the oldest of each generation. In Matthew's listing from Abraham and David, it was precisely the elder line that he had to choose everywhere (with the exception of Solomon). David's family line wends its way through Solomon the king and reaches Zorobabel, in whom both lines, Solomon's and Nathan's join together, either through adoption or in accordance with the law of Levirate marriages [Deut. 25:5-6]. Further, David's family runs along the line of Abiud (the elder) and reaches Joseph, the putative father of Jesus. Despite the fact that Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, but only his legal one, he could still pass on rights of inheritance and all the privileges of his family to his "adopted Son". For a Jew, it was the legal relationship of a son to his father that was important, not the natural one.⁶⁶ The sense of the word "begat" which is used in Hebrew genealogies was not exact: it indicated immediate or remote descent, and adoptive relationship, or legal heirship, as well as procreation. The Evangelist Matthew's Gospel was intended for the Jews living in Judea and Galilee. He also follows at once with the story of the virgin birth, the work of the Spirit, sign of a wholly new world.

On the other hand, writing in Greek, the glorious Evangelist Luke's longer list ascends to Adam, reflecting the "universalism" which is the feature of his Gospel. The sacred author was writing for both Jews and Greek pagans. Nevertheless, both genealogies contain the name of David, essential to Christ's place among His people. While St. Matthew traces the genealogy of Christ through the kings, and makes Christ appear as a king, St. Luke puts the regal dignity of Christ in second place. Luke lists the descendants of Nathan [2 Sam. 5:14; 1 Chron. 14:4] and not of Solomon the king.⁶⁷

While Joseph is called the husband (ton andra) of Mary [Mt. 2:19], he is not represented as the father of Jesus. The word "begat" (egeneese) is not used in his case with relation to Jesus. Joseph is only the legal father.

We note that Matthew records that "Jacob begat Joseph" [Mt. 1:16], but Luke records, "Joseph, which was the son of Heli" [Lk. 3:23]. Different solutions have been proposed to explain Joseph's "double fatherhood." One theory appeals to the "levirate marriage" prescribed in Deuteronomy [25:5-7]. If brothers live together and one of them dies without seed, the surviving brother should marry the widow, lest she marry out of the family. The issue of that union shall be named to the deceased brother, that his name not be blotted out of Israel. If this were so in Joseph's case, he would have only one paternal grandfather. He is given Matthan by the Evangelist Matthew and Matthat by the Evangelist Luke, with a different ancestral line to David in each case. The Evangelists were making allowances for the different spelling of names in transliteration from Hebrew or Greek.

To solve this difficulty, Julianus Africanus (c.160-240), known as the "Father of Christian Chronology", suggests a solution that should be considered. "Matthan, Solomon's descendant, begot Jacob. On Matthan's death, Melchi,⁶⁸ Nathan's descendent, begot Heli by Matthan's widow Estha. Thus Heli and Jacob had the same mother Estha. Now when Heli died childless, Jacob took Heli's widow and "raised up" offspring to him, begetting Joseph. Therefore, Joseph was by nature Jacob's son, by law Heli's. Thus, Joseph was the son of both."⁶⁹

Scholars and pagan critics have wrestled with the problems of the two genealogies for centuries. Many explanations have been more ingenious than convincing, involving complicated and uncertain inferences. One relatively simple solution was that the genealogy listed by Luke was the physical descent of Jesus through Mary. This view, however, is generally unaccepted. Moreover, it was not customary that female lineage was given, though there are exceptions to be found in the Old Testament [see Num. 26:33; 1 Chr. 2:16-17; Judg. 8:1].

Saint John of Damascus not only asserts that Mary too was of the house and lineage of David, but recites the same solution as that propounded by Julius Africanus.⁷⁰ "She who was foreordained before the ages in the plan of God's foreknowledge, foreshadowed and foretold by the Holy Spirit in diverse images and words of the prophets, was in the fullness of time, born of the race of David, as had been promised to him."⁷¹

Also, St. John Chrysostom (354-407) affirms that "the Virgin was of the race of David…[but] it was not the law among the Jews that the genealogy of women should be traced...for if he (St. Matthew) had done this with respect to the Virgin, he would have seemed to be introducing novelties."⁷²

Saint John of Damascus also points this out, commenting, "it was neither the custom of the Hebrews, nor of the Scriptures, to note the genealogy of women. It was also the law that betrothals were not to take place between individuals of different tribes."⁷³ The latter is most especially true in the case of Mary, who was the only surviving child of her father's house which could not be transferred to another tribe.

Saint Justin Martyr states that Mary traces her family descent from David and Jacob and Isaac and Abraham. And he adds, "it is clear that the fathers of girls are also considered the fathers of the children born to their daughters."⁷⁴

Saint Irenaeus also affirmed that the Virgin Mary was of the seed of David and of Abraham. "Besides," he says, "if indeed He had been the son of Joseph, He could not, according to Jeremias the prophet, be either king or heir. For Joseph is shown to be descended from Jehoiakim and Jechonias (also known as Conias or Jehoiachin), as Matthew sets forth in his pedigree [Mt. 1:11-12]. This is because Jechonias, and all his posterity, were disinherited from the kingdom. Jeremias thus declares, `As I live, saith the Lord, though Jechonias son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were indeed the seal upon my right hand, thence would I pluck thee; and I will deliver thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, before whom thou art afraid...I will cast thee forth, and thy mother that bore thee, into a land where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die. But they shall by no means return to the land which they long for in their souls. Jechonias is dishonored as a good-for-nothing vessel; for he is thrown out and cast forth into a land which he knew not'" [Jer. 22:21-28, LXX].

The prophet then continues speaking, `Land, land, hear the word of the Lord. Write ye this man an outcast: for there shall be none of his seed at all grow up to sit on the throne of David, or as a prince yet in Juda' [Jer. 22:29, LXX]. And again, God speaks of Jehoiakim, Jechonias' father (whom Matthew [1:11] has omitted, listing the grandfather Josias and then Jechonias the grandson), saying, `Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out...I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity'" [Jer. 36:30-31, KJV].⁷⁵

What were the sins of Jekoiakim told by Jeremias the prophet? He had "built his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by wrong;…and used his neighbor's service without wages…" [Jer. 22:13, KJV].

Saint Irenaeus then writes that "Those, therefore, who say that Jesus was begotten of Joseph, and that they have hope in Him, do cause themselves to be disinherited from the kingdom, falling under the curse and rebuke directed against Jechonias and his seed. Thus, learn that not from Joseph's seed is He to be born, but that according to the promise of God, from David's belly, the King eternal is raised up…"⁷⁶

The Journey to Bethlehem

Christ comes to be born of a maiden who knew not wedlock. Saint Ephraim chants of the humble Maiden and city of His birth. Blessed art thou, Bethlehem, that the towns envy thee—and the fortified cities! As they envy thee, so the women and the virginal daughters of princes envy Mary. Blessed be the Maiden in whom He deigned to abide, and the city wherein He deigned to sojourn. A poor maiden and a small city is where He chose to humble Himself.⁷⁷

The apocryphal account of the Protoevangelium recounts this episode of Joseph preparing to depart Nazareth for Bethlehem: Joseph thought to himself, "I shall enroll my sons, but what shall I do with this maiden? How shall I enroll her? As my wife? I am ashamed. As my daughter then? But all the sons of Israel know that she is not my daughter. When the time of the Lord's appointment shall come, let Him do as seems good to Him." Joseph then saddled the ass, and put Mary upon it. And his son led it, while Joseph and his other sons, followed after her.⁷⁸

Travel was slow, for both men and animals trod. The length of the day's march depended upon the urgency of the trip. Average travel time for people would be about fifteen miles a day. Donkey caravans tried to make twenty miles a day.

In the icon at the Monastery in Chora, Joseph is depicted with a slight stoop and the mincing gait characteristic of elderly men. His gaze is towards Mary, who turns her head towards him. One of Joseph's sons is seen with a billowing mantle and a bundle of provisions for the journey slung from the end of a staff across his shoulder.⁷⁹

Within three miles of Bethlehem, they rested at a well. One apocryphal account relates that Joseph turned around and saw that Mary was sorrowful. He thought within himself, "Perhaps she is in pain on account of what is in her." But he turned about again and this time he saw her joyful, and remarked, "Mary, how is it that at times I see thee sad of countenance and sometimes I see thee joyful and bright?" Mary replied, "I see two people before me: one is sad and mourning, the other one is glad and rejoicing." That is, one rejoicing in the birth of the Messiah, the other refusing to accept Him.⁸⁰

In a hymn from the Ninth Hour on the eve of the Nativity, we may also hear the Virgin speaking with Joseph, who is still overwhelmed with awe at the mystery. O Virgin, when Joseph went up to Bethlehem wounded by sorrow, thou didst cry to him: "Why art thou downcast and troubled, seeing me great with child? Why art thou wholly ignorant of the fearful mystery that comes to pass in me? Henceforth, cast every fear aside and understand this strange marvel: for in my womb God now descends upon earth for mercy's sake, and He has taken flesh. Thou shalt see Him according to His good pleasure, when He is born; and filled with joy thou shalt worship Him as Thy Creator, Whom the angels praise without ceasing in song and glorify with the Father and the Holy Spirit.⁸¹

Saint Justin Martyr writes that God made identical promises to Isaac and Jacob that in their seed all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed [Gen. 26:4; 28:14]. In St. Justin's Dialogue with Trypho he tells Trypho that "[God] does not address this blessing to Esau, nor to Reuben, nor to any other, but only to them from whom Christ was to come through the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the divine plan of our redemption. If thou would think over the blessing of Judah, thou would see what I mean. For the seed is divided after Jacob, and comes down through Judah and Phares and Jesse and David. Now, this was a sign, that some of the Jews would certainly be children of Abraham, and at the same time would share in the lot of Christ; but that others, also children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the beach, which, though vast and extensive, is barren and fruitless, not bearing any fruit at all, but only drinking up the water of the sea. Of this is a great part of the people guilty, drinking in bitter and godless doctrines, while spurning the word of God."⁸²

Our God Shall be Born
in a Fashion Past Words

Bringing with them the few necessaries of a poor Eastern household, the holy travelers neared their journey's end on that short winter's day. Jesus the Messiah was to be born in surroundings of outward poverty. But so far from detracting, they seem most congruous to the divine character. Earthly splendor would here seem like tawdry tinsel, and the utmost simplicity like that clothing of the lilies, which far surpassed all the glory of Solomon's court. Now the way had been long and weary—at least three days' journey. The season of the year also increased the difficulties of the journey. Finally, they reached the rich fields that surrounded the ancient "House of Bread" that is, Bethlehem.

Today a maiden great with child comes to Bethlehem to give birth to the Lord: and choirs of angels go before her. Seeing these things, Joseph, her betrothed, cried out: "What is this strange mystery in thee, O Virgin? And how shalt thou bring forth child, O calf upon whom the yoke has never come? [Num. 19:2].⁸³

The Cave

The little town of Bethlehem was crowded with those who had come from all the outlying districts to register their names. Even if the strangers from far-off Galilee had been personally acquainted with any one in Bethlehem who could have offered them hospitality, they would have found every house fully occupied. The inn too was filled.⁸⁴ The Protoevangelium then relates that when coming to the middle of the road, Mary said to Joseph, "Take me down from off the ass, for that which is in me presses to come forth." But Joseph replied, "Whither shall I take thee, there is no room in the inn and this place is desert?" Then Mary asked Joseph again to take her down. And he took her down. He found a shepherd's cave and led her into it. Then, leaving his sons beside her, he went out to seek a midwife in the district of Bethlehem. This took place at sunset.⁸⁵

In the icons we see the Virgin-Mother reclining on a type of bedroll of a kind such as the Jews were wont to carry when journeying away from home.

There is no Place for Thy Handmaiden,
Save the Cave that Belongs to Another⁸⁶

We learn from the one of the main hymns of this feast the identities of them that ministered at the nativity from times past up to the hour of the virgin birth. Let us hymn David, the forefather of God, and divine Joseph, the betrothed of the Theotokos, with James, the glorious brother of God, for, with the angels, the magi and the shepherds, they ministered in godly manner at the divine nativity in the city of Bethlehem.⁸⁷

Listen to the marvelous things that we learn from the Dismissal hymn of the Forefeast: Mary once, with aged Joseph, went to be taxed in Bethlehem, for they were of the lineage of David; and she bore in her womb the Fruit that had not been sown. The time of the birth was at hand and there was no room in the inn; but the cave proved a fair palace for the Queen. Christ is born, that He may raise again the image that before was fallen.⁸⁸

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer marvels at how the great God will enter a small cave as a small child. How shall a small cave receive Thee, for Whom the world cannot find room, O Thou Whom none can comprehend! O Thou, Who with the Father art without beginning, how shalt Thou appear as a small child?⁸⁹ And, The great King comes in haste to enter a small cave, that He may make me great who had grown small. And, so that by His poverty without measure, He, the transcendent God, may enrich me who had grown poor [2 Cor. 8:9].⁹⁰

Saint Justin Martyr, born in Sichem (Nablus) spoke of the "cave" near Bethlehem. He provides us with one of the earliest testimonies on the subject. "When Joseph could find no lodging place in the village, he went to a cave nearby, and there Mary gave birth to the child and laid Him in a manger."⁹¹

In icons, the dark background in the cave can be explained by a homily attributed to St. Gregory of Nyssa, where he compares the birth of Christ in a cave and the spiritual light shining forth in the shadow of death that encompasses mankind. Thus, the black mouth of the cave symbolically means the world, stricken with sin through man's fault, in which the "Sun of righteousness" shone forth.⁹²

The place where Mary brought forth virginally and painlessly was an empty and uninhabited place. It could be compared to the wilderness, as depicted in the Nativity icon. The world did not accept Him, but the wilderness offered refuge. This, too, is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prefiguration when the Hebrew nation departed Egypt for the wilderness of Sinai. It was there, in Bethlehem, the "House of Bread", that the symbol of the Eucharist was given—manna. Now He Who rained manna upon His people Israel would Himself become the bread of the Eucharist. The wilderness will also offer the manger where He chose to lie, thereby symbolizing the Lamb upon the altar. The cave, the manger, the swaddling clothes are indications of the emptying or kenosis of the Godhead, His utter abasement and humility. Also we see foreshadowed here His future death, burial, sepulchre and burial clothes.⁹³

In some icons, we see the Virgin-Mother half-sitting or we may see her looking away from her child, as though pondering His miraculous appearance.⁹⁴ Her gesture and attitude also bespeak her perplexity at the virgin birth, yet she kept these things in her heart. Later depictions, of western origin, show her kneeling over her Son; thus also indicating a painless delivery and the unneeded service of a midwife to effect delivery.⁹⁵

Joseph Seeks a Hebrew Midwife

The Protoevangelium speaks of Joseph lacking perfect knowledge with regard to the virginal birthgiving of Mary. However, his actions confirm the reality of the God-Man's appearing in the flesh and not as some phantom.

After leaving his sons, the holy old man, Joseph, went into the district of Bethlehem to seek a midwife. Then suddenly a woman was coming down from the hill-country when she said to Joseph, "O man, whither art thou going? He replied, "I seek a Hebrew midwife." And she gestured that she was, and then said, "Art thou an Israelite?" Joseph replied, "Yes." The midwife, named Zelomi, then continued, "Who is it that is to bring forth in the cave?" Joseph answered, "A woman betrothed to me." She remarked, "She is not thy wife?" And Joseph said, "It is Mary who had been reared in the temple of the Lord. By lot, I had obtained her as my wife, yet, she is not my wife, but has conceived of the Holy Spirit." The midwife then said, "Is this true?" And Joseph answered, "Come and see." Zelomi then went away with him and they stood in the place of the cave and, behold, a luminous cloud overshadowed the cave. Zelomi remarked, "My soul has been magnified this day, because my eyes have seen strange things, because salvation has been brought forth to Israel.⁹⁶

Where God Wills,
the Order of Nature is Overruled

"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered" [Lk. 2:6].

Concerning His birth, the Prophet Esaias spoke thus, "Before she that travailed brought forth, before the travail-pain came on, she escaped it and brought forth a male" [Is. 66:7]. Saint John of Damascus adds to this saying that "After the normal nine-month gestational period, Christ was born at the beginning of the tenth, in accordance with the law of gestation. It was a birth that surpassed the established order of birthgiving, as it was without pain; for, where pleasure had not preceded, pain did not follow. And just as at His conception He had kept her who conceived Him virgin, so also at His birth did He maintain her virginity intact, because He alone passed through her and kept her shut.

"While the conception was by `hearing', the birth was by the usual orifice through which children are born, even though there are some who concoct an idle tale of His being born from the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to pass through the gate without breaking its seals. Hence, the Ever-Virgin remained virgin even after giving birth and never had converse with a husband as long as she lived."⁹⁷

Saint Ambrose in his Synodal Letter 44 writes: "Why is it hard to believe that Mary gave birth in a way contrary to the law of natural birth and remained a virgin, when contrary to the law of nature the sea looked at Him and fled, and the waters of the Jordan returned to their source [Ps. 113:3]? Is it past belief that a virgin gave birth when we read that a rock issued water [Ex. 17:6], and the waves of the sea were made solid as a wall [Ex. 14:22]? Is it past belief that a Man came from a virgin when a rock bubbled forth a flowing stream [Ex. 20:11], iron floated on water [4 Kings 6:6], a Man walked upon the waters [Mt. 14:26]? If the waters bore a Man, could not a virgin give birth to a man? What Man? Him of Whom we read, `...the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay them.' [Is. 19:20].

"In the Old Testament a Hebrew virgin (Miriam) led an army through the sea [Ex. 15:21]; in the New Testament a king's daughter (the Virgin Mary) was chosen to be the heavenly entrance to salvation."⁹⁸

Then, the deep was trodden dry-shod by Israel, now, Christ is born seedlessly of the Virgin. The sea, after the passage of Israel, remained untrodden: the blameless one, after the birth of Emmanuel, remained undefiled.⁹⁹

Saint Ambrose also writes in another letter that "A virgin carried Him Whom this world cannot contain or support. And when He was born of Mary's womb, He yet preserved the enclosure of her modesty, and the inviolate seal of her virginity."¹⁰⁰

Where God so wills the order of nature is overcome. Is anything too hard for Him Who called heaven, earth and the sea into being by His word alone? Nature and the elements are creations of the Creator. Their laws and properties are immediately subject to their Lord Fashioner. Adam and Eve were given dominion over the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of heaven, and over the reptiles and cattle and all the earth [Gen. 1:26]; all were subject to them before the fall. Saint Gregory Palamas comments that when the Logos of God took on human nature, He bestowed on it the fullness of grace and delivered it from the bonds of corruption and death. The consequence of the hypostatic union in Christ of the two natures was the deification of the human nature He assumed.¹⁰¹ The regeneration of man in Christ was the restoration of Adam and Eve.

The saints, having put on Christ, have often resumed the authority and dominion that our first parents had. Thus, the Prophet Abbakum instantly traversed vast expanses of land, with no effort, and brought food to Daniel in the lion's den. The holy Apostles, too, were transported on clouds to be at the Theotokos' repose in Jerusalem, and their bodily weight proved not to hamper their flight, in defiance to gravity. Our Savior and the saints performed those things outside the created laws of physics and medicine.

By a word, straightway, long and terminal illnesses vanished, limbs that were palsied became sound, those without orbs received the power of vision, and many were raised from the dead. Some of the saints could go long periods without food, water or changes of clothing as St. Paisios the Great of Egypt or St. Mary Golinduc the Persian. Others, by their mere grace-filled presence, tamed wild and ferocious animals. Thus, why should it be difficult to imagine that the Christ infant could not pass through that virginal orifice through which children are delivered without incurring damage or the slightest discomfort to His Mother, despite his newborn height and weight? Later, in life, He would pass through the midst of the mob unscathed as though bodiless and, after His Resurrection, His body would pass through solid and shut doors to meet and greet His anxious disciples [Jn. 20:19].

Concerning the mystery of the incarnation, St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following: "When God became known to us in the flesh, He neither received the passions of human nature, nor did the Virgin Mary suffer pain, nor was the Holy Spirit diminished in any way, nor was the power of the Most High set aside in any manner, and all this was because all was accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Thus the power of the Most High was not abased, and the child was born with no damage whatsoever to the mother's virginity."¹⁰²

Saint Hesychios (c.451), a learned priest-monk of Jerusalem, expressed the same truth, writing that "The Theotokos was a woman, yet she did not suffer the pangs of childbirth because the field of marriage had not experienced the plow; the virginal vineyard was not tilled."¹⁰³

God Made Man

He Who is equal in honor with the Father and the Spirit, out of compassion, has clothed Himself in our substance…¹⁰⁴ and He Who before the morning star was begotten without mother of the Father, is today without father made flesh upon earth of thee.¹⁰⁵

He was true God and true Man, or, more specifically, the Person and nature of God the Son united with the nature of man from His Mother, a daughter of Adam and Eve. As St. Paul confirms His manhood, saying, "when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law" [Gal. 4:4].

Saint Athanasios (296-373) comments, "Therefore what came forth from Mary, according to the divine Scriptures, was human and the Lord's body was real; real I say, since it was the same as ours. For Mary is our sister, in that we are all sprung from Adam."¹⁰⁶

The two natures would be united without confusion or loss of identity as God or man. The humanity of Jesus was the same as our own and, according to His Divinity, He was of one Essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Saint Kyril of Alexandria writes that "an ordinary man was not born of the holy Virgin and then the Word descended into Him. United with flesh in her womb, the Word is said to have endured birth according to the flesh, so as to claim as His own the birth of His own flesh…For our sake and for our salvation, He united a human nature to Himself hypostatically and was born from a woman; in this manner, He is said to have been born according to the flesh…We do not hesitate to call the holy Virgin the Mother of God. The holy Fathers do not say that the nature of the Word or His divinity took the beginning of being from the holy Virgin, but that His holy body, animated by a rational soul, was born of her…Thus, the Word's being made flesh is nothing else than that He partook of flesh and blood in like manner with us, and made our body His own, and proceeded man of a woman, without having cast away His divinity…This is what the expression of the exact Faith everywhere preaches; this is the mind we shall find in the holy Fathers."¹⁰⁷

Saint Kyril goes on to say that "...the flesh was neither turned into the nature of Divinity, nor, indeed, that the ineffable nature of the Word of God was altered into the nature of the flesh, for He is immutable and absolutely unchangeable, always being the same, according to the Scriptures. But when He was visible, and still remained an infant in swaddling clothes, and in the bosom of the Virgin who bore Him, He filled the whole of creation as God, and was Co-Ruler with the One Who begot Him. For the divine is both without quantity and without magnitude, and does not admit of limitation." And in the same letter, he points out that Christ "was born in order that He might bless the very beginning of our existence and, in order that, the curse against the whole race might be stopped. This was sending our bodies from the earth to death, and by abolishing it, He abolished the saying, `in pain thou shalt bring forth children'" [Gen. 3:17].¹⁰⁸

Patriarch Germanos of Constantinople (c.635-733) chants, No more shall women bear children in sorrow: for joy has put forth its flower, and the Life of men has come to dwell in the world.¹⁰⁹

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer writes: Eve hath been delivered from pain, O all-immaculate one; for thou gavest birth without pain unto Christ our God Who hath manifestly healed the sufferings and pain of all.¹¹⁰

Before the coming of Christ, women would bear children in sorrow with the knowledge that their offspring would be subject to sin, death and Hades. Although the physical discomfort of pregnancy and labor still exist to the present day, the hymnographers speak of deliverance from the grief of death and sin to the offspring of those mothers who would be regenerated in Christ through baptism.

Saint Ephraim then speaks of what Mary gained by carrying in her womb the Christ child. "The Son of the Most High came and dwelt in me, and I became His Mother; and as by a second birth I brought Him forth, so did He bring me forth by the second birth," because He put His Mother's garments on, she clothed her body with His glory.¹¹¹

In the classic passage of St. John of Damascus, he writes: "Hence it is with justice and truth that we call the holy Mary the Mother of God. For this name embraces the whole mystery of the dispensation…Moreover, we proclaim the holy Virgin to be in strict truth the Mother of God. For inasmuch as He Who was born of her was true God, she who bore the true God incarnate is the true Mother of God."¹¹²

Saint Kyril of Jerusalem also comments that "He did not pass through the Virgin as through a channel, but was truly made flesh from her, and truly nourished with her milk."¹¹³

In his sermon on the Feast of the Nativity, St. Leo the Great (†461) writes: "The bodily nativity therefore of the Son of God took nothing from and added nothing to His majesty because His unchangeable substance could neither be diminished nor increased. For that `the Word became flesh' does not signify that the nature of God was changed into flesh, but that the Word took the flesh into the unity of His Person: and therein undoubtedly the whole man was received, with which within the Virgin's womb was made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, whose virginity was destined never to be lost. Thus, the Son of God...Who was born without time of the Father's essence was Himself in time born of the Virgin's womb. We could not otherwise be released from the chains of eternal death but by Him becoming humble in our nature. Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ, being at birth true Man, though He never ceased to be true God, made in Himself the beginning of a new creation, and in the `form' of His birth started the spiritual life of mankind afresh."¹¹⁴

The New Adam

The false theory that our ancestors' transgression was the author of an "original sin", by which the human race became guilty of their disobedience, is not what the Orthodox Church teaches. The Church teaches that the human race inherited death, becoming enslaved to the devil through the passions. Concurrently, nature, which was subject to our first parents' rule, was now also subject to the same curse: "the bondage of corruption" [Rom. 8:21]. We are not guilty of our first parents' sin, nor are we being punished for it. We sin on account of our mortality. On account of our inheriting death, the "infection", all men "have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" [Rom. 3:23].

Saint Leo the Great wrote that, "sin could have no origin where the transmission of paternal seed had not reached."¹¹⁵ And, "Christ was generated in a new nativity, because inviolate virginity, that did not know concupiscence, furnished the material of His body."¹¹⁶

Saint Gregory Palamas, concurring with the Church Fathers, taught that mortality was transmitted by natural generation [Ps. 50:5] and led our first parents' progeny to commit sin. In Rom. 5:12, we read: "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed upon all men, since all have sinned." The consequence of our first parents' sin is death, a death which became the heritage of all their children. However, the guilt of the actual sin of Adam and Eve is not transmitted by natural generation.

Saint Gregory Palamas, having learned from Greek patristics, thought the concept of "original sin" was above all a hereditary mortality, leading humans to commit sins, but not implying any guilt for the actual sin of Adam and Eve. This mortality was transmitted by natural generation [Ps. 50:5]. That was the essential reason why Christ alone had no human father: "He alone was not conceived in iniquity nor engendered in sin…For the urge of the flesh...brings the original condemnation; it is corruption and, as such, must engender corruption."¹¹⁷ Elsewhere speaking of Christ, he writes: "If He had come from sperm, He could not have become a new man; belonging to the old race and heir to the error of Adam, He could not have received within Himself the plenitude of the divinity."¹¹⁸

The manifold graces which God lavished upon the Virgin Mary, before and after her childbearing, do not alter the fact that death, which came from Adam, could not be vanquished except in the deified body put on by the hypostasis of the Son of God; therefore, Christ our Savior alone will be blessed by an immaculate conception in the womb of our Virgin Mary.¹¹⁹ How else could Jesus have died, save by a violent death? He had no need to suffer a natural death; such death is a result of the fall. Saint Gregory Palamas amplified this by bringing forward the example of St. John the Baptist, the greatest among the children of women. "He had no need to suffer a natural death...he who performed the commandments and who obeyed God in his mother's womb, was not subject thereto; the saints must always give their life for virtue and religion according to our Lord's command, and for that reason a violent death for the sake of the Good suits them best; that is also why the Lord Himself tasted death in this fashion. It was necessary that the death of John should be the forerunner of the death of Christ…"¹²⁰

Fruit of the Womb

Saint Irenaeus writes that "God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (feminine in Hebrew, behten, and in Greek, keelea), or more correctly `womb', an eternal King [Ps. 131:11]. He is the same Who was born of the Virgin who was of the lineage of David. On this account also, He promised David that the King would be `of the fruit of his belly,' which was the appropriate term to use with respect to a virgin conceiving. He did not say `of the fruit of his loins,' nor `of the fruit of his reins' which is an expression to a generating man and/or a woman conceiving by a man. In this promise, however, Scripture has excluded all virile influence…This promise had fixed and established `the fruit of the belly,' that it might declare the generation of Him Who should be born of the Virgin. "Elizabeth also testifies to this when, filled with the Holy Spirit, she said to Mary, `Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy belly' [Lk. 1:42]. Those who are willing to hear, the Holy Spirit points out that the promise which God had made of raising up a King from the fruit of David's belly, was fulfilled in the birth from the Virgin, that is, from Mary."¹²¹ Although the psalmist does not openly say that the fruit itself is proper to a virgin birth, but only that the choice of his words points to it; the phrase itself being proper to birth of a woman.¹²²

In icons depicting the prophets prophesying of the Mother of God, Solomon is shown holding a scroll, saying, `I foretold thee as a royal couch, O young Virgin, proclaiming thy miracle.'"¹²³

King Solomon was aware of what the Lord had sworn to his father David that "of the fruit of thy belly will I set a king upon thy throne" [Ps. 131:11]. And, "When thou (David) shall sleep with thy fathers,...I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy belly (ek tees keeleas su), and I will establish His kingdom..." [1 Chron. 17:11]. In another place, the Prophet Nathan spoke to David, saying, "I will establish Him in My house and in His Kingdom forever; and His throne shall be set up forever" [1 Chr. 17:14]. We know from many hymns that the Virgin, of the seed of David, is spoken of as the "throne of the Lord". Rejoice, O throne of the great King, known to Solomon;¹²⁴ Behold, the divine couch of Solomon,¹²⁵ and Rejoice, fiery throne of the Lord God.¹²⁶ Glorious are thy mysteries, O pure Lady, thou wast made the throne of the Most High.¹²⁷ "Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father" [1 Chron. 29:23 KJV]. This is the only time in Scripture that the term, "throne of the Lord (in Hebrew, Y'hoh-vah)" is used, and Solomon understood that the "throne of the Lord" is the Virgin-Mother, of the everlasting King Whose Kingdom would be set up forever. What was spoken of was not Solomon's kingdom, for his kingdom certainly did not last forever and, in fact, for his serious breach of loyalty, God rebuked him, saying that in his son's day the kingdom would be torn apart [3 Kings 11:9-13].

Blessed Jerome asks, "Do you wish to know what sort of a throne our true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, has, and what His attendants are like?" They who are about Solomon have their sword on their thigh and cut short their pleasures, those who have mortified their bodies, the pure virgins. Then the Bridegroom will say to His Bride, "Thou art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee." Who is this Bride? She is the Virgin, She is the Church. Thus the Apostle writes that He might present the Church to Himself, glorious, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing [Eph. 5:27].¹²⁸

Saint Ambrose, commenting on this verse, writes that for "holy virgins, there is a special guardianship for them who, with unspotted chastity, keep the couch of the Lord holy. No wonder if the angels fight for you who war with the mode of life of angels. Virginal chastity merits their guardianship whose life it attains to. Hence, she is a virgin who is the bride of God."¹²⁹

The Midwives Enter

Returning to the story in the Protoevangelium, the cloud then disappeared and a great light shone in the cave, so that the eyes could not bear it. Little by little, the light gradually decreased. They then beheld the infant at the breast of the Virgin. The old woman then asked the Virgin Mary, "Art thou the mother of this child?" When the Virgin gave her assent, Zelomi said, "Thou art not at all like the daughters of Eve." The Virgin then said, "As my Son has no equal among children, so His Mother has no equal among women."

Saint Ephraim, in his Hymns on the Nativity, puts these words on Mary's lips: Of a sudden the handmaid became the King's daughter in Thee, Thou Son of the King. Lo, the meanest in the house of David, by reason of Thee, Thou Son of David, lo, a daughter of earth hath attained unto heaven by the Heavenly One!¹³⁰ Also, in the same homily, he has Mary speak of herself, saying, The day that Gabriel came in unto my low estate, he, in an instant, made me free instead of a handmaid: for I was the handmaid of Thy Divine Nature, yet am I also the Mother of Thy human nature, O Lord and Son!¹³¹

The midwife then went forth out of the cave and met Salome, another midwife, to whom Zelomi exclaimed, "Salome, I have a strange sight to relate to thee: a virgin hath brought forth, a thing which nature does not admit!"¹³²

The aged Salome was a kinswoman of Mary. Salome was Mary's mother's sister's daughter; hence she was Mary's first cousin. When she beheld the most holy Virgin in the shepherd's cave, she did not believe that a virgin brought forth, to which she remarked, "As the Lord my God liveth, unless I receive proof of this matter, I will not believe that a virgin hath brought forth." When Salome stretched forth her hand to the most holy Virgin's body to examine it, after the manner of a midwife, Salome then believed. However, her hand was withered and she groaned bitterly, for she was punished for her impudence and unbelief.

In like manner was Uzzah fatally smitten when he violated the sacred character of the Ark, for he reached out his hand and took hold of it [2 Sam. 6:6-7]. Greatly lamenting, Salome made a supplication unto the Lord, until an angel stood by her and instructed her to reach forth her hand to the child and to carry Him. Straightway, her hand was restored and Salome was filled with joy. And, behold, she heard a voice, saying, "Salome, Salome, tell not the strange things thou hast seen, until the child comes into Jerusalem."¹³³

Blessed Jerome writes that on the precise moment of birth, "No midwife assisted at His birth; no women's officiousness intervened. With her (Mary's) own hands she wrapped Him in the swaddling clothes—herself both mother and midwife."¹³⁴

Bearing Emmanuel on thine arm as a babe, O pure and divinely joyous one, thou didst cry out, "O my sweetest child, how can I nourish Thee at my breast Who dost sustain all things? How can I wrap in swaddling clothes Thee Who wrappest the sea in midst?"¹³⁵

Saint Ephraim then speaks of the grace given to the Virgin-Mother: The bosom of Mary amazes me, that it sufficed for Thee, Lord, and embraced Thee. All creation was too small to conceal Thy Majesty. Heaven and earth too narrow to cover Thy Godhead. Too small for Thee was the bosom of the earth; great enough for Thee was the bosom of Mary.¹³⁶ And, Who else lulled a Son in her bosom as Mary did?...In fear and love it is meet for Thy Mother to stand before Thee!¹³⁷ Then, the hymnographer puts these words on Mary's lips: As the Son of Man should I sing unto Thee a common lullaby? For Thy conception is new and Thy birth marvelous. Without the Spirit who shall sing to Thee?¹³⁸

Perpetual Virginity

The virginal conception is affirmed by sacred Scripture—virginitas ante partum. At the moment of childbirth she did not lose the physical signs of virginity, virginitas in partu, and virginitas post partum, meaning she remained a virgin after birth perpetually is supported by the Fathers from the beginning of Christianity.

In a few brief passages on the Virgin Mary, Clement of Alexandria (†before 215), expressed ideas not then as yet prominent among the Fathers. He speaks of the virginity in partu thus, "For certain people say that Mary, examined by the midwife after she had given birth, was found to be virgin."¹³⁹

The title Ever-Virgin (a-ee-parthenos) was first used by St. Peter of Alexandria (†311), and which St. Athanasios continued to use and was one of the first to argue the perpetual virginity of Mary.¹⁴⁰

Saint John of Damascus also speaks of her perpetual virginity, saying, The Lord deigned to enter into her, preserving her virginity inviolate after childbirth.¹⁴¹

Saint Ambrose wrote: "Mary had kept the seals of her virginity."¹⁴² Saint Leo the Great (440-461) wrote: "Mary brought Him forth, with her virginity untouched, as with her virginity untouched she had conceived Him."¹⁴³ He also writes: "The Prophet Ezekiel [44:2] says that he saw the building of a city upon a very high mountain. The city had many gates; of these one is described as shut. What is this gate but Mary? It is shut because she is a virgin. Mary, then, is the gate through which Christ came into the world, born virginally, without loosing the bars of virginity. The enclosure of her purity remained unbreached...and the seals of her integrity kept inviolate, as He went forth from the Virgin…A good gate is Mary, that was closed and was not opened; by her Christ passed, but He opened it not."¹⁴⁴

Saint Hesychios of Jerusalem insists on the virginitas in partu, writing: "Christ did not open but left closed the door of the Virgin; He did not violate nature's seal, did not harm the one giving birth; for her, in reality, He left the sign of virginity."¹⁴⁵

Bathing of the Holy Child

Apart from assisting a mother—though quite unnecessary in the present case—the midwife's duties included washing the baby, rubbing it with salt, water and oil, and then wrapping it in swaddling bands [Ez. 16:4]. The procedure of applying salt was not only used as a disinfectant but, the Jews, at that time, believed that salt rubbed over the skin would harden it.¹⁴⁶ Also they believed that the soft bones would grow straight and firm if they were bound tightly. The infant would be wrapped in these bands for seven days, then the process was continued, until the child was forty days old. The bandages were 4- to 5-inches wide and 5- to 6-yards long.¹⁴⁷ This was typical postnatal care during the time of Christ.

Byzantine iconographers have often presented the scene of the bathing of the Christ child by two women. Apocryphal accounts identify them as the midwives Zelomi and Salome, the latter being Mary's cousin from Bethlehem. They are shown in the act of bathing Christ with rolled up sleeves. This scene is not taken from the canonical Gospels but from the Apocrypha, namely from the Protoevangelium and the Apocrypha of Matthew. A sixth century Byzantine hymn mentions that the midwife took up the child with joy.¹⁴⁸ These references led iconographers to portray this scene of the bathing. It may be found in both Byzantine monuments as well as in western art.¹⁴⁹

All complete icons of the Nativity include the bathing scene, as was in the case of the great fresco monuments of the Holy Mountain. This included Theophanes' work at the Great Lavra (1535); and Zorzis' work in the main church (katholikon) of the Monastery of Dionysiou (1547); the Protaton, the main church of the Monastery of Stavronikita, and the main churches of the Monasteries of St. Paul, Dochiariou and Chilandari. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding of the scene, the monks have erased this graphic incident from many of the frescoes and replaced it with trees or rocks. In fact, these erasures took place at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries.¹⁵⁰

As we indicated, the incident was received into early Christian art from the Apocrypha, as were many other icons were also based on apocryphal writings: St. Joachim praying on the mountain and St. Anna in the garden, the "Entrance of the Virgin into the Temple", the Virgin receiving bread from the Archangel Gabriel, Joseph receiving the Virgin from the temple and several other events. From a dogmatic point of view, there is nothing out of order in the bathing scene. The fact that the Mother of God gave birth painlessly and required no assistance of a midwife, and that our Lord was entirely pure and undefiled, do not constitute reasons for not admitting the scene.¹⁵¹ As we mentioned earlier, His being bathed and then wrapped in swaddling bands was normal postnatal care in biblical times. The midwives were doing what they habitually performed on numerous newborn infants. Thus, His kinswoman, Salome, proceeded spontaneously to do what she believed had been the accepted standard of care.

The bathing does not signify that Christ was unclean and was enjoined to submit to an act of purification; but He did so out of condescension towards the human race, submitting Himself to human conditions. Thus, we will see that He will submit in a little while to the circumcision of the flesh and, much later, to baptism at the hand of the Forerunner John. Indeed, even the most pure Virgin-Mother had no need to submit to the ritual of purification after childbirth and to be excluded from the temple as being "ceremonially unclean." Nonetheless, she, too, conformed to these practices out of respect for the existing law. In any event, the bathing scene surely emphasizes the incarnation of the Savior through its very realism. It certainly stresses His true humanity which counters the heresy that He only appeared to be human. In closing, we inform you that no Synod, on any occasion, has opposed or rejected the representation of the bathing. Thus, the erasure from Athonite monuments is the result of misunderstanding.¹⁵²

The New Eve

In this festival of re-creation, Mary is the renewal of all born on earth. She is the new Eve. As the first Eve became the mother of all living people, so the new Eve became the Mother of all renewed mankind, deified through the incarnation of the Son of God. The Virgin Mary is the highest thanksgiving to God, which man, from among all created beings, brings to the Creator.¹⁵³

Saint Andrew, in the Lauds of the Feast, chants, O Virgin Theotokos who hast born the Savior, thou hast overthrown the ancient curse of Eve.¹⁵⁴ Saint Ephraim the Syrian also speaks of the mystery concerning the two virgins, Eve and Mary. Today Adam has been recalled from error and from the dark deceiving of the adversary, for Christ is made flesh as man from the Virgin; and renewing Adam, He has removed the curse that came from the virgin Eve.¹⁵⁵ And, Let women praise her, the pure Mary: that as in Eve their mother, great was their reproach; lo! in Mary their sister, greatly magnified was their honor. Blessed is He Who sprang from women!¹⁵⁶

Saint Hesychios of Jerusalem succinctly states that "The Only-begotten Son of God, Creator of the world, was born by her as an infant, He Who refashioned Adam, sanctified Eve, destroyed the dragon and opened paradise, keeping firm the virginal seal."¹⁵⁷

Saint Gregory the Theologian comments in his work, In Praise of Virginity: "When Christ came through a pure, virginal, unwedded, God-fearing and undefiled Mother, without wedlock and without father, and inasmuch as it befitted Him to be born, He purified the female nature, rejected the bitter Eve and overthrew the laws of the flesh."

Saint Gregory Palamas writes that "after dwelling in the Theotokos in an inexpressible manner, He proceeded from her bearing flesh. Then appearing on earth and living among men, He deified our nature and granted us `things which angels desire to look into'" [1 Pet. 1:12].¹⁵⁸

Saint John of Damascus sums it up this way: Today the ancient bond of the condemnation of Adam is loosed. Paradise is opened to us: the serpent is laid low. Of old, he deceived the woman in Paradise, but now he sees a woman become Mother of the Creator. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! The agent that brought death upon all flesh, the organ that failed in its purpose has, through the Theotokos, become the first-fruits of salvation for the whole world. For God, the All-Perfect, is born a babe of her and, by His birth, He sets the seal upon her virginity. Through His swaddling clothes He looses the bands of sin, and by becoming a child He heals Eve's pangs in travail.¹⁵⁹

Joseph's Trial

We see in icons that Joseph is not depicted in the immediate group of the Christ child and His Mother. He is not the father and thus is emphatically separated from them. At times he is depicted as though pondering the wonder of the event which is beyond the natural order of things. In many icons, the devil, in the guise of an old and bent shepherd, is seen standing before Joseph trying to tempt him. This scene bespeaks Joseph's doubts and troubled state of soul, which is expressed by his dejected attitude. The devil is telling him that a virgin birth is not possible, being opposed to the laws of nature and beyond words or reason.

However, in a hymn from the Third Hour on the eve of the Nativity, let us learn how Joseph answered these thoughts: Tell us, Joseph, how is it that thou bringest to Bethlehem, great with child, the Maiden whom thou hast received from the sanctuary? "I have searched the prophets," he said, "and have been warned by an angel: and I am persuaded that Mary shall give birth to God, in ways surpassing all interpretation. And Magi from the east shall come to worship Him with precious gifts."¹⁶⁰

By a Strange Self-emptying He Passed
Through Thy Womb, Vaster than the Heavens

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks. The angels offer Thee a hymn; the heavens a star; the Magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, its cave; the wilderness, the manger: and we offer Thee a Virgin Mother, O pre-eternal God, have mercy upon us.¹⁶¹

On this occasion of the divine birthgiving, St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908) comments upon the unsurpassing affection of the Mother to her Son. "The Mother of God is one flesh and blood, and one spirit with the Savior, as His Mother. So infinitely great was her virtue by the grace of God that she became the Mother of God. She gave Him her most pure and most sacred flesh, nourishing Him with her milk, carrying Him in her arms, clothing Him, caring in every way for Him in His infancy, kissing Him over and over again and caressing Him. O Lord, who can describe the greatness of the God-bearing Virgin?…She is one with God…"¹⁶²

The Shepherds

"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 Savior, 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'" [Lk. 2:8-14].

The shepherds watched the flocks destined for sacrificial services, in the very place consecrated by tradition as where the Messiah would first be revealed.

Not only the earthborn were amazed, but even the heavenly hosts were filled with wonder at the divine condescension. Before Thy Nativity, O Lord, beholding with trembling Thy mystery, the noetic hosts were struck with wonder: for Thou Who hast adorned the heavens with stars wast well-pleased to be born as a babe, and Thou Who holdest all the ends of the earth in the hollow of Thy hand art laid in a manger of dumb beasts.¹⁶³

Saint Cosmas the Poet writes that The shepherds abiding in the fields received a vision of light that filled them with terror. For the glory of the Lord shone around them and an angel cried aloud: "Sing praises, for Christ is born."¹⁶⁴ Then at the announcement of the one angel, he was joined by myriads of others. At the word of the angel, the hosts of heaven suddenly cried aloud: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men; Christ hast shone forth."¹⁶⁵

Another hymn makes mention that the angels exhort the shepherds to put aside worldly occupations: As shepherds were piping songs a host of angels stopped them and called out, saying: "Cease now, ye who abide in the field at the head of your flocks; cry out and sing that Christ the Lord is born, Whose pleasure it is, as God, to save mankind."¹⁶⁶

"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'" [Lk. 2:15].

"And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger" [Lk. 2:16].

Saint John of Damascus attempts to describe the thoughts of the shepherds. The choir of shepherds abiding in the fields was overwhelmed by the strange sight they were counted worthy to behold: For they looked upon the All-Blessed Offspring of an all-pure bride; and they saw also the ranks of bodiless angels, who sang in praise of Christ the King, incarnate without seed.¹⁶⁷

Saint Ephraim puts the following words into the shepherds' mouths: The shepherds came near and worshipped Him with their staves. They saluted Him with peace, prophesying the while, "Peace, O Prince of the shepherds!" The rod of Moses [Ex. 4:2] praised Thy rod, O Shepherd of all.¹⁶⁸

Saint Cosmas adds that the shepherds, coming to Bethlehem, worshipped with her who had given Him birth.¹⁶⁹ St. Ephraim poetically chants, Thee then the shepherds praise, because Thou hast reconciled the wolves and the lambs within the fold.¹⁷⁰

The very animals that were present therein, the ox and the ass, having Him in their midst, tirelessly attended Him. Then that was fulfilled which was said by Esaias the prophet, "The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel does not know Me, and the people has not regarded Me" [Is. 1:3].

Saint Ephraim then mentions the gifts brought by the shepherds. The shepherds came laden with the best gifts of their flock: sweet milk, clean flesh, befitting praise! They brought and presented a suckling lamb to the Paschal Lamb, a firstborn to the Firstborn, a sacrifice to the Sacrifice, a lamb of time to the Lamb of truth. Fair sight to see the lamb offered to the Lamb!¹⁷¹ And, The lamb bleated as it was offered to the Firstborn. It praised the Lamb, that had come to set free the flocks and the oxen from sacrifices [Ps. 49:9]: yea that Paschal Lamb, Who handed down and brought in the Passover of the Son.¹⁷²

And when the shepherds had beheld Christ, "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 [Lk. 2:18].

"And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them" [Lk. 2:20].

Mary Ponders These Things in Her Heart

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" [Lk. 2:19].

Some hymns attempt to present the hidden thoughts of Mary on this occasion. Hence, the hymnographer asks, Why art thou filled with wonder, O Mary? Why art thou amazed at that which is come to pass in thee? "Because I have given birth in time to the timeless Son, yet understand not how I have conceived Him. I have not known man: how then shall I bear a child? Who has ever seen a birth without seed? But as it is written, `Where God so wills, the order of nature is overcome.'"¹⁷³

Saint Romanos depicts Mary pondering the seedless conception, as she speaks to her Son. Tell me, my Child, how the seed was planted in me and how it grew in me? I behold Thee, merciful One, and I am amazed that I, who am unwed, nurse Thee; and though I see Thee in swaddling clothes, still I behold my virginity untouched, for Thou hast preserved it, and yet consented to be born a young Child, Who is pre-eternal God.¹⁷⁴

Saint Joseph the Hymnographer, in the Canon of the Forefeast, also presents the thoughts of Mary, saying, The all-pure one, fearfully holding Christ in her arms, spake: "What is this great and strange wonder? How do I uphold Thee Who upholdest all the world by Thy word? O my Son Who art without beginning, Thy birth is beyond all speech!"¹⁷⁵ And, The blameless Lady was amazed at the height of the mystery, in truth past speech, and said: "The heavenly throne is consumed in flames as it holds Thee: how is it, then, that I carry Thee, my Son?"¹⁷⁶ Then, the hymnographer has the Virgin-Mother saying, Thou dost bear the likeness of Thy Father, O my Son. How then hast Thou become poor and taken upon Thyself the likeness of a servant? How shall I lay Thee in a manger of beasts without reason, Who dost deliver all men from irrationalness? I sing the praises of Thy compassion.¹⁷⁷

We conclude this chapter with an extract from a poem of St. Romanos who depicts the Virgin-Mother as the mystical vine who put forth the bunch of grapes that were never husbanded and, who with her arms as branches, carried Him and said, Thou art my fruit, Thou art my life: from Thee have I learned that I remain what I was. Thou art my God: for seeing the seal of my virginity unbroken, I proclaim Thee to be the unchangeable Word, now made incarnate. I have known no seed, and I know that Thou art the destroyer of corruption: for I am pure, yet Thou hast gone forth from me. As Thou hast found my womb, so Thou hast left it. Therefore, all creation shares in my joy and cries to me: "Rejoice, thou who art full of grace."¹⁷⁸

End Notes:

1. Before the commencement of the services on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, the deacon, St. Romanos, was in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople, and, as was his custom, he was praying before the famous Kyriotissa icon of the Theotokos. He always prayed for help in his chanting, and especially tonight since it would be his turn that evening. He knew that he could not sing as well as the other chanters, nor could he compose beautiful poetry to glorify God. After praying very long, he slumbered from exhaustion and, in a vision, the holy Virgin appeared to him. She spoke to him, and said, "Open thy mouth wide so that I may place this kontak inside." The deacon quickly obeyed and she placed a scroll on his tongue and told him to eat it. Trusting in his patroness and spiritual Mother, he obeyed and ate the scroll. Immediately, he was roused from sleep, but beheld no one. He only sensed a pleasant sweetness on his tongue and recalled the wonderful vision. That evening, he went and took his place among the chanters. He then went forward to receive his vestment and the blessing of the patriarch. Then, in the midst of the church, he opened his mouth to chant. Then a most miraculous thing occurred! His voice had became strong and clear, and he began to chant the glorious kontakion of the Feast in the Third Tone. All were amazed at the beauty of the hymn. Thus, from the Virgin's marvelous intercession and blessing, the deacon received the gift of chanting and the ability to compose kontakia.

2. Kontakion of Feast, Tone Three by St. Romanos the Melodist with the aid of the Virgin.

Unless otherwise specified, hymns in this section are taken from the Feast on the 25th of December.

3. Matinal Lauds of Forefeast, Tone Plagal Second.

4. Hom. IV in Dorm., PG 97, 865A.

5. Michael O'Carroll, C.S.Sp., comp. and ed., Theotokos 3rd ed. (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1988), 162.

6. Matins Canon of Nativity, Ode One, Tone One.

7. Matins Canon of Theophany, Ode Nine, Tone Two.

8. Matins Canon of Wednesday of Mid-Pentecost, Ode Three, Tone Plagal Fourth.

9. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses, trans. by Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson (NY: Paulist Press, 1978), p. 59; PG 46, 1136B.

10. The Wisdom of the Saints, compiled by Jill Haak Adels (NY: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 20.

11. Canon of Forefeast, Ode Five, Tone Two.

12. Canon of Forefeast, Ode One, Tone Plagal Second.

13. Matins Canon of Nativity, Ode Four, Tone One.

14. Matins Ikos of Nativity.

15. Irmos of Canon of Forefeast, Ode Five, Tone Plagal Second.

16. Matins Canon of Nativity, Ode Five, Tone One.

17. O'Carroll, Theotokos, p. 71.

18. Saint Kyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis XII, On the Incarnation, Vol. 1, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 61, trans. by Leo P. McCauley, S.J. and Anthony A. Stephenson (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1969), p. 240.

19. PG 6, 673.

20. O'Carroll, Theotokos, p. 37.

21. PG, 30, 464A-465B, 477B.

22. Saint Kyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, Paschal Homily 17, trans. by R. Payne Smith (NY: Studion Publishers, Inc., 1983), p. 53, f.n.2.

23. Saint Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, The Fathers of the Church Series, vol. 6, trans. and ed. by Thomas B. Falls, D.D., Ph.D. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press, 1977), ch. 78, p. 273.

24. Matins Canon of Nativity, Ode Four, Tone One.

25. Matins Irmos of Nativity, Ode Five, Tone One.

26. Matins Irmos of Nativity, Ode Four, Tone One.

27. Matins Canon for the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, Ode Nine, Tone Two.

28. Saint Ambrose, The Patriarchs, Exegetical Work, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 65, trans. by Michael P. McHugh (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University Press, 1985; repr.), pp. 252-253.

29. Saint Irenaeus, Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, Part C: Christ in the Old Law, Ancient Christian Writers, trans. and annot. by Joseph P. Smith, S.J. (NY: Newman Press, n.d.), sect. 59, p. 87.

30. Canon of the Akathist Hymn, Ode Seven, Tone Four.

31. Ibid.

32. PG 39, 49.

33. Matins Irmos of Nativity, Ode Four, Tone One by St. John of Damascus.

34. Hiermos of Matins Canon on Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, Ode Four, Tone Two.

35. Matins Hiermos of Nativity Ode Eight, Tone One.

36. Matins Irmos of Nativity, Ode Eight, Tone One.

37. Matins Irmos of Nativity, Ode Six, Tone One.

38. Irmos of Canon of Forefeast, Ode Six, Tone Plagal Second.

39. Matinal Lauds of Forefeast, Tone Plagal Second.

40. Saint Kyril of Alexandria, Letter 18, To the Priests, Deacons and People of Constantinople, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 76, trans. by John I. McEnerney (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1987), p. 94.

41. Letter 42, To Bishop Rufus of Thessalonica, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 76, op. cit., p. 183.

42. Canon of Forefeast, Ode Nine, Tone Two.

43. Matins Canon, 3 Feb., Ode Eight, Tone Four.

44. Sedalen of Forefeast, 20 Dec., Tone Plagal Fourth.

45. Nativity Vespers Sticheron, Tone Two.

46. Aposticha, 26 Dec., Tone Plagal Fourth.

47. Canon of Forefeast, Ode Four, Tone Plagal Second.

48. Matinal Lauds of Forefeast, 20 Dec., Tone Plagal Second.

49. Canon 4, In depositione pretiosai vestis SS. Deiparae in Vlachernis, in PG 105, 1005B.

50. D. Cummings, trans., "Concerning the Holy and Third Ecumenical Council" in The Rudder (Pedalion), (Chicago: The Orthodox Christian Educational Society, 1957), p. 221.

51. Saint John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book III, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. IX, trans. by Rev. S.F.D. Dalmond, D.D., F.E.I.S. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1976), ch. xii, p. 56.

52. Ibid., p. 56.

53. Canon at Small Compline in Wednesday of Holy Week, Ode Four, Tone Plagal Second.

54. Canon at Small Compline in Wednesday of Holy Week, Ode Nine, Tone Plagal Second.

55. Letter 91, PG 37, 177.

56. Ep. 101, in PG 37, 177C.

57. Poemata dogmatica, 9, in PG 37, 460A.

58. Saint Ambrose, Of the Christian Faith, Book III, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. X, Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. and Henry Wace, D.D., eds. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1979), ch. ix(60), p. 251; cf. Ep. 63, 49.

59. Saint Ambrose, The Mysteries, Theological and Dogmatic Works, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 44, trans. by Roy J. Deferrari, Ph.D. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University Press, 1987; repr.), ch. 8(46), p. 22.

60. Merrill C. Tenny and Steven Barabas, eds., Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Regency Reference Library and Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), p. 772.

61. Dr. Otto F.A. Meinardus, The Holy Family in Egypt (Cairo, Egypt: The American University In Cairo Press, 1986), p. 15.

62. The Gospel of Jesus, MIMET [Pessano] Milano, (Vincenza, Italy: Edizioni Istituto S.Gaetano, 1969), 31.

63. Saint Ephraim Syrus, Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn XIII Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. XIII, trans. by Rev. J.B. Morris, M.A. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1976), p. 247.

64. Doxastikon of Nativity Vespers, Tone Two.

65. Matins Doxastikon of Nativity, Tone Plagal Second.

66. "The Genealogy of Christ", Orthodox Life 24, no. 6 (Nov-Dec 1974); 10-14. (trans. from The Russian Pilgrim, 1895, Nos. 51, 51).

67. Ibid.

68. Melchi, who is here given as the third from the end, is in our present texts of Luke the fifth. Matthat and Levi standing between Melchi and Eli. It is highly probable that the text which Africanus followed omitted the two names Matthat and Levi [see Westcott and Hort's, Greek Testament, Appendix, p. 57]. It is impossible to suppose that Africanus in such an investigation as this could have overlooked two names by mistake if they had stood in his text of the Gospels. Cited in Eusebius, Church History, Book I, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series, vol. I, trans. by Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1961), ch. 7, pg. 91. f.n.6.

69. Ibid.

70. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, loc. cit., ch. xiv, p. 85.

71. Ibid. See also, PG 94, 1156A. Cf. Hom. 1 in Nativ. B.V.M., 7, in PG 96, 672C.

72. Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily I, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series, vol. X, Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1975), p. 12.

73. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, op. cit. See also, PG 94, 1156.

74. Dialogue with Trypho, op. cit., ch. 100, p. 304.

75. Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book III, Ante-Nicene Fathers, The Writings of the Father down to A.D. 326, vol. I, Rev. Alexander Roberts, D.D. and James Donaldson, eds, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. co., 1987; repr.), ch. 21(9), p. 453.

76. Ibid., p. 454.

77. Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn XVIII, op. cit., p. 260.

78. Rev. Alexander Roberts, D.D. and James Donaldson, LL.D., eds., Apocrypha of the New Testament: The Protoevangelium of James, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, The Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1986), 365; Alpha House, The Protoevangelium, The Lost Books of the Bible (NY: Meridian Books, 1974), 32.

79. Paul A. Underwood, The Kariye Djami, Vol. 1, Historical Introduction and Description of the Mosaics and Frescoes, Bollingen Series LXX (NY: Pantheon Books, 1966), p. 88.

80. Rev. Alexander Roberts, D.D. and James Donaldson, LL.D., eds., Apocrypha of the New Testament: The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, The Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1986), p. 374.

81. Nativity Eve, Ninth Hour, Tone Two.

82. Dialogue with Trypho, op. cit., ch. 120, p. 333.

83. Nativity Eve, Sixth Hour, Tone Plagal First.

84. Alfred Edersheim, M.A. Oxon., DD., Ph.D., The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (McLean, Va: MacDonald Publishing Co.), pp. 184-85.

85. Roberts and Donaldson, The Protoevangelium of James, p. 365.

86. Saint Romanos the Melodist, On the Nativity (Mary and the Magi), Kontakia of Romanos, Byzantine Melodist, vol. I, trans. and annot. by Marjorie Carpenter (MO: University of Missouri Press, 1970), strophe 3, Tone Three, p. 5.

87. Exapostilarion of Sunday After Nativity, Tone Two.

88. Apolytikion of Forefeast, Tone Four.

89. Canon of Forefeast, Ode Six, Tone Two.

90. Canon of Forefeast, Ode Five, Tone Two.

91. Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 78; see also PG 6, 657-660.

92. Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky, The Meaning of Icons, trans. by G.E.H. Palmer and E. Kadloubovsky (Crestwood: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1983, repr.), p. 157.

93. Ibid.

94. Ibid. p. 159.

95. Constantine D. Kalokyris, Athos, Themes of Archaeology and Art [in Greek and English] (Athens: Astir Publishing, Al. & E. Papademetriou, 1963), p. 323.

96. Roberts and Donaldson, The Protoevangelium of James, loc. cit.

97. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, ch. xiv.

98. Saint Ambrose, Letter 44, To Pope Siricius, et. al., (dated c.389), The Fathers of the Church, vol. 26, trans. by Sister Mary Melchior Beyenka, O.P. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University Press, 1987; repr.), 227-228.

99. Resurrection Theotokion of Saturday Vespers, Tone Plagal First.

100. Letter 59, To the Church at Vercelli, (dated 396), Fathers of the Church, op. cit., pp. 332-333.

101. Georgios L. Mantzaridis, The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition, trans. by Liadain Sherrard Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984), 29.

102. Against Eunomius, Hom. II, PG 45, 492.

103. Sermon on the Presentation, PG 93, 1469.

104. Vespers Sticheron of Forefeast, Tone Four.

105. Kontakion 26 Dec., Tone Plagal Second.

Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn IV, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 236.

106. PG 26, 1061B.

107. Letter 4 to Bishop Nestorios, The Fathers of the Church, op. cit., pp. 40-41.

108. Letter 17 to Bishop Nestorios, The Fathers of the Church, op. cit., p. 83.

109. Vespers Aposticha, 9 Sept., Tone Four.

110. Matins Canon, 20 Aug., Ode Six, Tone Four.

111. Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn XI, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 245.

112. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II, op. cit., ch. xii, pp. 55-56.

113. Catechesis IV, On the Ten Doctrines, Vol. 1, The Fathers of the Church, op. cit., p. 123.

114. Saint Leo the Great, Sermon 27(ii), The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. XII, Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. and Henry Wace, D.D., eds. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1979), pp. 139-140.

115. Serm. 22, 3, in PL 54, 196C.

116. Tome of Leo, 4, in PL 54, 768A.

117. Homily 16, PG 151, 192C.

118. PG 151, 192C; Hom 58, Homilies of St. Gregory Palamas, comp. by S. Oikonomos (Athens, 1861), p. 230 (note: This rare edition may be found in Migne, PG 151). also cited in John Meyendorff, A Study of Gregory Palamas, trans. from French by George Lawrence (London: Faith Press, 1964), p. 235.

119. Meyendorff, A Study of Gregory Palamas, p.236.

120. Homily 40, PG 151, col. 513C, cited in Meyendorff, A Study of Gregory Palamas, p. 236.

121. Against Heresies, Book III, Ante-Nicene Fathers, op. cit., ch. 21 (5), 453.

122. Saint Irenaeus, Proof of the Apostolic Preaching: Christ in the Old Law, Ancient Christian Writers, op. cit., end note 180, p. 175.

123. Dionysius of Fourna, The Painter's Manual, trans. by Paul Hetherington (London: Sagittarius Press, 1974), 176.\

124. "Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in Honor of Her Dormition" Orthodox Life 34, No. 4 (July-August, 1984): 19-29.

125. Matins Canon, 31 August (Deposition of the Virgin's Cincture) Ode Nine, Tone Plagal Fourth, by St. Joseph the Hymnographer.

126. The Great Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos, Ode Eight, Tone Plagal Fourth.

127. Vespers Sticheron, Tone One.

128. Saint Jerome, Against Jovianus, Book I, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. VI, Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. and Henry Wace, D.D., eds, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1983), 369.

129. Saint Ambrose, Concerning Virgins, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, vol. Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. and Henry Wace, D.D., eds. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1979), ch. IX, p. 371.

130. Saint Ephraim Syrus, Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn IV, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 235.

131. Ibid.

132. Roberts and Donaldson, The Protoevangelium of James, op. cit., p. 365.

133. Bishop Nichoai Velimirovich, The Prologue from Orchid, Pt. 4, trans. by Mother Maria (Birmingham: Lazarica Press, 1986), pp. 385-386; Alpha House, The Protoevangelium, op. cit. 34; Roberts and Donaldson, The Protoevangelium of James, p. 366.

134. The Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin Mary, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, p. 339; PL 23, 192A.

135. Theotokion, 4 March, Ode Nine, Tone Plagal Fourth.

136. Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn XVI, op. cit., p. 256.

137. Hymns on the Nativity, Hymn VI, op. cit., pp. 239-240.