Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Nativity

27 bytes added, 19:32, October 13, 2006
m
Christmas vigil
On the eve of the Nativity, the [[Royal Hours]] are read and the [[Divine Liturgy]] of St. [[Basil the Great]] is served with [[Vespers]]. At these services the [[Old Testament]] prophecies of Christ's birth are chanted.
===Christmas vigil===
The Vigil of Christmas begins with Great Compline because Vespers was already served. At Compline there is the singing of the [[Troparion]] and [[Kontakion]] of the feast with special hymns glorifying the Saviour's birth. There are also the special long litanies of intercession and the solemn blessing of the five loaves of bread together with the wheat , wine, and oil . The faithful partake of the bread soaked in the wine and the faithful are also anointed with the oil. This part of the festal vigil, which is done on all great feasts, is called in Slavonic the ''litya'', in Greek, it is called the ''artoklasia '' or the breaking of the bread.
The order of [[Matins]] is that of a great feast. Here, for the first time, the full Canon "Christ is born," , is sung while the faithful venerate the [[Nativity icon]].
===Christmas Liturgy ===

Navigation menu