On January 7 the Russian Orthodox Church observes feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, also known as Christmas. Most of our parishioners, as well as some visitors came to St. George Church for the celebration of this great holy day. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the Gospel lesson he proclaimed Christmas Sermon of Venerable Father Isaac the Syrian.

During the preparation for Holy Communion the choir beautifully performed different liturgical hymns of the Nativity.

After the Liturgy dismissal the Rector and altar servers performed the rite of glorification singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the Nativity before the festal icon in the middle of the church.

Following the Liturgy the Rector greeted the faithful on the occasion of the great holy day of the birth of the Son of God. He preached a short sermon about the significance of God’s Incarnation. As the Ukrainian Christmas carol says, “Heaven and the earth exalt today”. This is true because in the Nativity of Christ heaven and the earth rejoiced in the beginning of salvation. Heaven and earth united, divinity and humanity came together in this holy event. Therefore, we also need to rejoice and to seek what is divine to sanctify our lives.

Our celebration continued at the trapeza table where the Rector and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company.