For the past couple of weeks we have been comparing the hymns before Christmas with another set of hymns which inspired them, those of Holy Week. Let’s continue that exploration with the canon of Holy Saturday, ode 1, verse 2. Beholding Thee upon the throne on high and in the grave below, the things of heaven and the things beneath the earth trembled at Thy death; for in a manner past understanding wast Thou, the very Source of Life, seen dead. A sense of amazement and wonder

Last week we noted that the hymnographers who composed some of the hymns for the forefeast of Nativity deliberately modeled them on the hymns of Holy Week, in several instances borrowing directly from those hymns of the Passion but setting them in the context of the birth of our Lord. This week we will continue our examination by looking at another example, a hymn from Holy Friday and its corresponding hymn from the canon for the forefeast of Nativity sung on December 23 (ode

One of the ways that we can prepare for the upcoming feast of our Lord’s Nativity is through pondering the hymns of the feast. When we look at these hymns, particularly those of the forefeast (the days leading up to the Nativity), we discover something very interesting: the hymnographers who composed these hymns took their inspiration from the hymns of Holy Week, the services of our Lord’s Passion. In fact, in many instances they modeled their compositions directly on those o

Having begun the Nativity Fast and survived Thanksgiving, we begin in earnest to prepare for the Nativity of Christ. I would like to ask you to consider this season, for a moment, in light of the icon of the Nativity. It is a very “busy” icon, meaning that there is a lot going on in it: angels proclaiming, shepherds searching, magi traveling, midwives washing, Joseph and the devil debating. It is bustling with activity. But in the midst of all of that activity, at the center