В декабре же месяце

I. Memory (week) of St. Forefather Approaching the remembrance of the great and saving event of the Nativity of Christ, the Church reverently remembers the ancestors of the Savior according to the flesh, from whom He came as the God-man. Two weeks before this holiday, the Church commemorates St. The forefather also calls their day of remembrance the week of St. Forefather (Acts 3:25). Celebration of St. Forefathers happens on different dates from the 11th to the 17th day of December, and often happens on the 28th week after Pentecost. On the week of St. The Forefather Church remembers all the Old Testament saints. patriarchs, that is, the ancestors of the people of God, who lived before the law given at Sinai, and under the law - from Adam to Joseph, the betrothed of the Most Holy. Virgin, also remembers the prophets and all the Old Testament Saints who were justified by faith in the coming Messiah. Glorifying St. Forefather, the Church says: “Come, let us praise the assembly of the forefathers: Adam the forefather, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: according to the law - Moses and Aaron, Joshua, Samuel and David: with them - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and the twelve prophets, together - Elijah, Elisha, Zechariah and the Baptist and others, who foresaw and preached that Christ is the life and resurrection of our race.” Gospel and Apostle on St. Sunday The Forefather has decreed by the Church to read the same words that are said on the week of Pentecost, which indicates that the remembrance of St. The forefather often visits this week. If the Forefather week occurs in weeks 27 or 29, then the Gospel and Apostolic readings also occur on the 28th week. II. Memory of St. Father or the week before Christmas In the last week before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Church reverently commemorates St. Father, calling this week the week of St. Father or the week before Christmas. Like on St. Sunday The Forefather Church glorifies all the Old Testament righteous from Adam to the Nativity of Christ; so on St. week Father, she glorifies those Old Testament Saints, from whose tribe Jesus Christ actually came, according to His humanity; from them, according to the flesh, Christ, who is God above all, is blessed forever (Rom. 9:5). This week the Church cries out: “let us honor the first-fruits fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for from those seeds Christ rose incarnate from the Virgin.” In the Gospel at the liturgy on the week of St. The father reads the genealogy of Jesus Christ according to humanity, described by the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 1:1–25, Part 1); and in the Apostle the Old Testament Saints are numbered, who walked by faith in the coming Messiah (Heb. 11:9–10,17–40. Ch. 328). St. Chrysostom, in a conversation on the Gospel of Matthew, says: “Matthew, writing the Gospel for the Jews, in the Hebrew language, tried to show nothing more than the origin of Jesus Christ from Abraham and David. Nothing could be more pleasant for a Jew than to tell him that Jesus Christ was a descendant of Abraham and David. Why did the Evangelist place the genealogy not of the Virgin Mary, but of Joseph? The Jews did not have the habit of conducting genealogy according to the female tribe; therefore, in order, on the one hand, to preserve the custom and not to be a violator of it at the very beginning, and on the other hand, to show us the origin of the Virgin, the Evangelist, keeping silent about her ancestors, presents the genealogy of Joseph. If he had presented the genealogy of the Virgin, they would have considered him a new introducer; and if I had kept silent about Joseph, we would not have known the ancestors of the Virgin.” In addition, “the Evangelist did not want the Jews to know at the very beginning that Christ was born of a Virgin. I speak here not my own words, but the words of our fathers, wonderful and famous men. The Lord initially hid many things in darkness, calling Himself the Son of Man. If He did not clearly reveal to us His equality with His Father everywhere, then why should we be surprised if He also hid this for a time, creating something wonderful and great? What's so wonderful about this? The fact that Virgo is preserved and freed from evil suspicion. If this had first become known to the Jews, they, having interpreted the words for the worse, would have stoned Her. The Evangelist compiled a genealogy and placed some wives in it in order to shame the Jews with such examples and teach them not to be arrogant. For they, not caring about spiritual virtue, in any case extolled themselves only in Abraham, and thought to be justified by the virtue of their ancestors. Therefore, the Lord shows from the very beginning that one should not boast about one’s birth, but about one’s own deeds. Even if you were a slave, even if you were free, there is no benefit or harm from this to you: only one thing is needed - will and spiritual disposition. since it is impossible, absolutely impossible, through the virtues or vices of one's ancestors to be honest or pious, famous or unknown. Some wives are mentioned, e.g. about Ruth and Rahab, also in order to teach that the Savior came to destroy all our sins, came as a doctor, and not as a judge, and that everyone, even the patriarchs themselves, are guilty of sins.” III. Memory of St. Godfather or the week of the Nativity of Christ Ending the feast of the Nativity of Christ, in the week following it, if it happens before the new year, or on the next day after the feast of the Nativity of Christ, i.e., the 26th of December, the Church commemorates the Holy Father of God, that is, glorifies and thanks the Most Holy One. The Mother of God, the saints and righteous Joseph the betrothed, David the king and Jacob - the brother of the Lord according to the flesh, and calls this week the week after the Nativity of Christ. In the Gospel of this week, the Church preaches about the removal of Joseph, at the command of an Angel, with the Infant Jesus Christ and Mary His mother to Egypt - from Herod, who sought to destroy the eternally corrupted Child (Matthew 2:13-23, Part 4).