I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will make all Thy wonders known. (The First Antiphon #2 from the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.)

In the company of the upright, in the congregation, great are the works of the Lord! . (The First Antiphon #2 from the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.)

Eve of St. Nicholas - "O Who Loves, Nicholas the Saintly, O Who Serves, Nicholas the Saintly, Him Will Nicholas Receive, and Give Help in Time of Need, Holy Father Nicholas."

"O Kto Kto, Nikolaja L’ubit, O Kto Kto, Nikolaja Sluzhit, Tomu Svjatij Nikolaj, Na Vsjaki Chas Promahaj, Nikolaj, Nikolaj."

"Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shown to the world the light of wisdom!"   (The Third Antiphon #4 from the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.)

"All the Universe rejoices, singing with Angelic voices. Christ the Savior comes to His people, Let the bells ring out from every steeple, Come and worship Christ the King."

Akathist to the Mother of God.  This will be a healing service in front of the icon "Queen of All."   Parish Confessions will follow the service.

Vespers-  Eve of St. Herman - St. Herman, the wonderworker, a humble monk who was one of the first missionaries to Alaska. He brought the good news of Christ to the Aluet people and showed them how to live a Christian life. He is the first saint of America.

"O blessed Father Herman of Alaska, north star of Christ’s Holy Church, the light of your holy life and great deeds guides those who follow the Orthodox way. Together we lift high the Holy Cross you planted firmly in America. Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, singing His Holy Resurrection."

The Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths (Shadrach, Meshach, and Aabednego) are commemorated on December 17. Daniel is one of the four great prophets. Among other things, he recorded the story of the three youths who were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to be unfaithful to God by worshipping an idol.

“I behold a strange and most glorious mystery,” the Church sings with awe, “Heaven, a Cave; the Virgin the Throne of the Cherubim; the Manger a room, in which Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain is laid.” (Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Nativirty Canon).

Every Year on the Sunday before Christmas we hear the gospel lesson of the genealogies – the list of the generations of the earthly ancestors of Jesus Christ. One of the ancestors of Jesus is Jesse. Isaiah the prophet had prophesied that a “shoot” shall come forth from the “root” of Jesse, meaning that one day, a new kind of man shall be born from one of Jesse’s Descendants. He would rule forever as the “Prince of Peace”.

On Christmas mornings long ago, the church bell’s joyous sound, awakened all the countryside for miles and miles around. And families came from far and near despite the wintry weather, to fill the little country church and worship there together. How wonderful it was to be among that congregation, as friends and neighbors joined their hearts in humble adoration; to feel the warmth and unity of souls in true accord, and hear the lovely story of the birth of Christ the Lord. (Eleanor Leah Woods)

[The Nativity] is “not a festival of creation, but a festival of re-creation” of a renewal that sanctifies. (St. Gregory the Theologian)

Having given birth to the divine infant without travail, the Most Holy Virgin “wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). In the stillness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15), the proclamation of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by three shepherds watching their flocks by night.

CHRIST IS BORN!      GLORIFY HIM! Having given birth to the divine infant without travail, the Most Holy Virgin “wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). In the stillness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15), the proclamation of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by three shepherds watching their flocks by night.

CHRIST IS BORN!   GLORIFY HIM!

CHRIST IS BORN!    GLORIFY HIM!

CHRIST IS BORN!    GLORIFY HIM!

Great Vespers with Litiya on Thursday for the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, Feast of St. Basil the Great, and Civil New Year, January 1, 2021.  Divine Liturgy Friday at   9:30 AM.