Nativity of our Lord (Yeldo)

Deeper understanding through Scripture, Icons, and Liturgical prayers/hymns of the importance of the Feast and the Mystery of the Incarnation, Incarnation as salvation; Emphasizing that Jesus was fully man and fully God; Aims of Incarnation - The Athanasian legacy - Son of God became Son of Man so that sons of men become sons of God; Fulfillment of OT prophesy

Teacher Training and Resources

• TTC stuff

Reference Materials

A reference is a referral to another's text or information and can refer to written sources (books, reports, articles), videos, Internet sites, images, etc. It can also refer to personal communication in the form of letters, e-mails or interviews. A reference is synonymous with a literary citation or citing a source.

The following materials are offered as sources for information and ideas but please remember to properly give credit if material is used in your writing! If you forget to use references, or your references are incomplete, your work can seem like an empty postulation or create suspicions of plagiarism.

Articles

1. Christology, MOSC
2. What do we believe?, MOSC
3. Nativity of our Lord, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Videos

1. The Ladder Episode 7: Feast of the Nativity, Fr. Shawn Thomas (Northeast American Diocese)

Podcasts

1. Podcasts

Book Excerpts

1. From the "Orthodox Way" by Bishop Kallistos Ware [Ware, K., Ware, K., Kallistos, & Kallistos (Bishop of Diokleia). (1995). The Orthodox Way. Amsterdam University Press.]

Books

1. On the Incarnation, St. Athanasius

Scripture

In order to help our children grow in the Orthodox Faith in North America, a decision was made to standardize all materials to the Orthodox Study Bible (DSWA Kalpana DSWA/C/016/2010, October 28, 2010). Please continue to pray and support the development of a fully approved translation based on the Peshitta, and our textbooks will educate on the various translations and historic development of Scripture.

• [Scripture]

  Verse

Liturgical Resources

The Ministry of Liturgical Resource Development (LRD) was created in July of 2015 (DSWA Kalpana DSWA/C/10/2015, July 24,2015) to promote the translation, versification, and publication of vital English liturgical resources. Today most of our Sacramental offices are available and the "Service Book of the Holy Qurbono" and "Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer" are available in print. Wherever possible references will be made using LRD resources given the easy access to these materials to the faithful in North America.

Full Liturgical Service

Holy Qurbono

• Post-Gospel Hymn from the Sunday before the Feast of Nativity

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God"

God descended and of His own will took flesh from Mary

"In Him was life and the life was Light which shines in the darkness"

When Satan heard that the Son of God had been born, he wept for he knew that his kingdom would be demolished

The Word was in the world and the world was made through Him but did not know Him.

Other Hymns

• Other Hymns

Text

Other Prayers

• Other Prayers

Text

Promion and Sedro

• Oolo, Friday Ramsho (Evening) Shehimo

Mary and Elizabeth were wondrous ships who sailed into harbor – one brought the preacher and Mary bore the Savior of the world

Quotes

Patristic Quotes

• [St. Gregory Nazianzus] "It was, after all, for our sakes that He became man and assumed the form of a servant and for our transgressions that He was led off to die. This is the way the Savior brought salvation even though as the God Who created the entire universe at a word He could have done so also by the mere expression of His will. What he did give us was greater and more compelling: he embraced human feelings and the human condition."
• [St. Isaac the Syrian] "God the Lord surrendered his own Son to death on the cross for the fervent love of creation… Yet this was not because he could not redeem us in another way, but so that his surpassing love, manifested hereby, might be a teacher unto us. And by the death of his Only-begotten Son he made us near to himself. Yea, if he had had anything more precious, he would have given it to us, so that by it our race might be his own.”
• [St Ignatius of Antioch] "Both the Virginity of Mary and her giving birth escaped the notice of the prince of this age, as did the Lord’s death — three mysteries of a cry, wrought in the stillness of God. How then was he made manifest to the ages? A star shone forth in heaven brighter than all the stars, and its light was ineffable and its novelty produced astonishment; all the other stars, with sun and moon, gathered in chorus about this star, and it outshone them all. There was perplexity as to the origin of this novelty, so unlike the others. Thus all magic was dissolved and every bond of wickedness vanished; ignorance was abolished and the old kingdom was destroyed, since God was becoming manifest in human form for the newness of eternal life; what had been prepared by God had its beginning. Hence everything was shaken together, for the abolition of death was being planned."

Other Quotes

• [Church] Text

Syriac and Greek Words

• Word (Syriac) - text

Icons

These icons are either approved for publication or the Curriculum Committee is in the process of gaining approval. If you do not see the icon you'd like to use for your writing, please submit the image to the Committee so that we can do the necessary follow-up.

Nativity Icon explained