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It was the night when the Lord deigned to be born. Not far from the Bethlehem cave, shepherds kept night watch over their flock in the field. Suddenly, in the darkness of the night, a heavenly light shone upon them and the Angel of the Lord appeared to them. The shepherds were afraid. “Do not be afraid,” the Angel said to them, “I proclaim to you great joy that will be to all people, for today a Savior has been born in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord, and this is a sign for you: you will find a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” At that moment, suddenly, along with the Angel of the Gospel, many heavenly armies appeared, rejoicing at the happiness of people and exclaiming: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” When the angelic armies disappeared and their voices fell silent, the shepherds found a familiar cave, saw the Baby lying in a manger, and worshiped Him. Then they told Joseph and Mary about the vision they had. All who heard were amazed at their speeches, and Mary composed all these words in her heart, i.e. I remembered them down to the slightest detail, but did not boast or be proud of My greatness, but only glorified and thanked the Lord in the depths of my soul. Adoration of the Shepherds. Painting by artist Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (1862 – 1942). The painting was painted as a sketch for the painting of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. Currently it is kept in the Mikhail Nesterov Art Gallery. Nesterov was awarded the titles of Academician of Painting (1898), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1942). He is a laureate of the Stalin Prize, first degree (1941). You might be interested in: