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NATIVITY GREETINGS FROM ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY

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By on OCL News, Orthodox Christian Laity

The Board of Orthodox Christian Laity wishes you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and New Year! Christ is born! Glorify Him! Read the Nativity Pastoral Letter of His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel HERE or below: The Birth of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ “And I will make my home among them and live with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16 (Lev. 26:11-19) May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace, and from us, hierarchal blessings! Christ is born! Let us glorify Him!…

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Members of Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church attend a Christmas Eve service in Washington. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)

Churchgoers, cut the ‘Chreasters’ some slack

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The Washington Post By E.J. Dionne Jr. Christmas remains wondrous, but it arrives at a difficult moment for Christianity in the United States. We still see Christmas trees strapped to the tops of cars, neighbors lighting up their homes, and children getting as excited as ever. And the churches will be unusually full. This last point is revealing: A relative decline of religious observance has brought forth the “Chreasters,” Christians who attend services only on Christmas and Easter. Regular worshipers can be disdainful of the Chreasters. They make it hard for the loyalists to find seats in the pews and…

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A visitor prays in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the nation's largest Catholic church, in Washington, D.C.CreditCreditJim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock

Staying Catholic at Christmas

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: The New York Times A Gospel reading for the scandal in the church. By Ross Douthat At Mass this Christmas Eve, many Catholics who have spent a year reading headlines about abusive priests, indifferent bishops, predatory cardinals and Vatican corruption will sit and hear the long roll of Jesus’s ancestors with which the Gospel of Matthew begins. “Unless you like stats / just skip the begats,” wrote Jeanne and William Steig in their “Old Testament Made Easy.” But before he gets to the angels and the wise men Matthew gives us 39 of them, from the famous names (“Abraham begat…

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Christmas Wishes from Frankly Speaking

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Oinos Educational Consulting by Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP Merry Christmas Click Bells to View Video Bells are used to tell time, sound an alarm, call to worship, toll the passing of loved ones, commemorate historical events, and express joy. By recalling God’s Gift of the Incarnation of His Son, Christmas bells also encourage philanthropic generosity. Bells are only mentioned once in Holy Scripture. Attached to Aaron’s vestments and “heard when he went into the Holy Place before the Lord” (Exodus 28:33-35), the sound of the High Priest’s bells indicated the condition of Israel’s relationship with God. While the sound…

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Christmas Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Nathaniel

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America PASTORAL LETTER 2016 The Birth of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ  “And I will make my home among them; and live with them; ‘I will be their God and they shall be my people’.” (2 Cor. 6:16; Lev. 26:11-19) Beloved Spiritual Children in Christ: Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and Devout Faithful of our God-protected Episcopate: Dearly Beloved, Once again, after a long year, we are today celebrat­ing the birth of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world! The burden of the weeks and months, the cares and…

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MAKE CHRISTMAS GREAT AGAIN!

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Frankly Speaking – Oinos Educational Consulting By Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D. “I believe with all my heart that those who will direct Japan – and all other Nations – in the decades to come must not ignore the message of Jesus Christ. He is the only hope for this troubled world.” – Captain Mitsuo Fuchida Christmas was once America’s preeminent national holiday. First celebrated in the year 98, it was forty years later before the early Church officially adopted Christmas as an annual Christian festival. It was not until the fifth century that the day of its celebration became permanently…

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Was Christ Really Born on December 25? A Reflection by ARCHPRIEST PANAYIOTIS PAPAGEORGIOU, PH.D

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Pravmir.com ARCHPRIEST PANAYIOTIS PAPAGEORGIOU, PH.D. The issue of the time of the birth of Christ has been addressed by many people in the past, both scholars and theologians, so what I intend to do here is present an overview trying to bring some clarity to the topic for those who are really concerned that the 25th of December may not be the correct time to celebrate Christmas. Let me start by saying that there are two pieces of evidence, which people present in support of the position that Christ was not born in December: The first one is the…

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Remembering the Russian Priest Who Fought the Orthodox Church: Father Gleb Yakunin

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The Daily Beast He defied the atheism of communism and the empty religious practices of Putinism. With Father Gleb Yakunin’s death on Christmas, Russia has lost a liberal voice of conscience. On Christmas Day, the world lost an extraordinary man of faith who once went to prison for his Christian beliefs under an atheist state and later challenged both his church and the repressive entanglement of church and state under a regime that claims to celebrate religious values. When the Russian dissident and priest Father Gleb Yakunin died, outside the small circle of the liberal opposition and its sympathizers,…

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Nativity and Theophany Message from the Assembly of Bishops’ Chairman

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By on Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America Be glad, you just, heavens rejoice, mountains leap for joy; Christ is born and the Virgin sits like the Cherubim throne carrying in her bosom God the Word made flesh. Shepherds glorify the one that is born; Magi offer gifts to the Master; Angels sing praises, saying: Lord beyond understanding, glory to you! (Lauds of Christmas Matins) To the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Members of Philanthropic Organizations, the Youth and Youth Workers, and…

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A Christmas Festival in Ethiopia

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christian Network By Seraphim Danckaert in The Sounding David Adams is an Australian explorer and documentarian who travels the world. In a series called “Journeys to the Ends of the Earth” he spends one episode in Ethiopia, investigating its ancient Christian culture and liturgical practices. In the segment embedded above, he has made his way to Lalibela, one of Ethiopia’s most distinctive holy sites, during the celebration of Christmas. [subscribe2]

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Arabs betting on a very merry Christmas in Jesus’ hometown

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Haaretz Nazareth is dreaming of a bright Christmas, with hotels and restaurants booked up ahead of the big day on December 25. Locals are thankful that most Israelis have short memories. By Judy Maltz NAZARETH – Behind the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, workers are putting the finishing touches on the man-made Christmas tree that will be lit up on Wednesday evening, at an official ceremony to mark the start of the holiday season. Standing 26-meters tall, this metal-based structure is so massive it will have to be dragged down to the main plaza below in three separate…

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A sad Christmas for the Christians in the Holy Land

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Aid to the Church in Need Despite visit from the Pope: Christians in the Holy Land are not looking back on a good year By Oliver Maksan Musa is over seventy. Wistfully he looks out over the tranquil valley with its ancient olive trees. It is a place where fruit and a well-known wine are also grown. Over the course of his long life, the Orthodox Christian from Beit Jala near Bethlehem has seen much suffering in the Holy Land, wars, intifadas, flight and expulsion. However, nothing has touched him as deeply as the impending expropriation of his land.…

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