Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Great Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ - Preparation - Second Sunday before the Nativity - Sunday of the Forefathers of Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ

Preparation
Day	Commemorate	Date	Apostolos	Gospel
2d Sun. before Nativity 11th Week after Great Feast Holy Cross 29th Sun. after Great Feast Pente- cost	Sunday Forefathers	Sunday during 11 and 17 Dec.	Col. 3:4-11	Lk. 14:16-24

The Second Sunday before the Nativity - Sunday of the Forefathers of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ commemorates the Ancestors of Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. All the great Fathers and Mothers and Prophets of the Old Testament, starting with Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, including Holy Prophet Elias the Thesbite and Daniel, and concluding with Holy Prophet Zechariah (Zachary), Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist and The Theotokos.

(The Sunday of the) Eleventh Week after the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross and the Twentyninth Sunday after the Great Feast of Pentecost

The Second Sunday before the Nativity - Sunday of the Forefathers of Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ is always the (Sunday of the) Eleventh Week of The Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross and Twentyninth Sunday after Great Feast of Pentecost.
The Sunday of the Eleventh Week after the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross is theoretically the twelfth Sunday following the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross.
From the Monday after the Great Feast of Pentecost to Great and Holy Saturday, Sunday is the last day of the Liturgical week.

Archbishop Joseph Raya writes, "The Church celebrates the the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, together with all the Patriarchs of the Old Testament who were related to Him in any way. Before the Law: Adam, Enoch, Melchisedech, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his 12 sons the founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. After the Law: Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, David; the four Major Prophets--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the Three Holy Youths; the 12 Minor Prophets; also Elias, Elisha, Zachariah, John the Baptist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christ did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them by perfecting the work of all those who had preceded Him and announced His coming. This celebration is a preparation for the birth of Christ, to create in the faithfuls' hearts an atmosphere of expectation, hope, and anxious eagerness for the coming of Christ."

Kontakion, Troparion, Exapostilarion, and Vespers Sticheron or Doxastikon

26 Nov. - 24 Dec., at every Sunday and feast-day liturgy.

Kontakion of the Preparation (Tone 3)
Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the Eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner. Rejoice, therefore, O universe, when you hear this news, and glorify with the angels and the shepherds Him who shall appear as a newborn Babe, being God from all eternity.

Second Sunday before the Nativity - Sunday of the Forefathers

KONTAKION (TONE 2)
Armed with God's invisible power, you shunned the adoration of man-made idols, O thrice-holy children. Strengthened with this power beyond words, you stood in the midst of a devouring fire and called upon God, saying, "Hasten, O Merciful One, and speed to our help, for You are good and have might to accomplish your will."

TROPARION (TONE 2)
Through faith You have justified Your Ancestors, O Christ our God, and through them You have espoused in advance the Church set apart from the Gentiles. The saints rejoice in glory because from the seed of these Ancestors has come forth the glorious fruit who gave You birth without seed. Through their intercessions, O Christ God, save our souls.

MATINS HYMN (TONE 1)
0 faithful, let us sing of all the ancestors of Christ who arose on earth for our sake. With hymns, let us celebrate Him who worked wonders through them, for they prefigured His coming and His birth from the Virgin in an ineffable way, announcing it to the whole world.

Date

The Second Sunday before the Nativity - Sunday of the Forefathers of Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ / (Sunday of the) Eleventh Week after the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross / The Twentyninth Sunday after the Great Feast of Pentecost occurs on the Sunday during the period of 11 to 17 Dec.

Fasting and Feasting Period
Action	Name	Time
Fast	Pre-Nativity Fast Great Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ	40-days Traditional Begins at the beginning of the Vespers of 15 November on 14 November evening Ends just before Vespers on 24 December evening Shorter number of days Modern Begins at the beginning of the Vespers of 10 December on 9 December evening Ends just before Vespers on 24 December evening
Feast	Great Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ	40-days Begins at the beginning of Vespers of Great Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ on 24 December evening Ends just before Vespers on the Great Feast of Holy Hypapanty of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ and the Great Feast of the Purification of The Theotokos, 2 February evening 1-day of fasting in this period The Paramony of The Great Feast of Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Preparation
Day	Commemorate	Date	Day of Prepar- ation	Apostolos	Gospel
Feast St. Philip Apostle	St. Philip Apostle	14 Nov.		Acts 8:26-39	Jn. 1:43-51
Pre-Nativity Fast Ancient Begins	Philip Fast	Begins 15 Nov.	1	1 Tim. 4:4-8, 16	Lk. 16:15-18 17:1-4
Conception Anne	Maternity Anne	9 Dec.	25	Gal. 4:22-27	Lk.8:16-21
Pre-Nativity Fast Modern Begins	Philip Fast	Begins 10 Dec.	26 or 1	Heb. 9:8-23	Mk. 8:22-26
Sunday before Nativity	Sunday Genealogy	Between 18 and 24		Heb. 11:9-10 32-40	Mt. 1:1-25
Preparation Nativity	Holy Hieromartyr Ignatios, God-Bearer	20	36 or 11	James 2:1-13	Mk. 10:23b-32a
Second Day Preparation	Holy Martyr Juliana Nicomedia	21	37 or 12	Gal. 3:8-11	Lk. 13:19-29
Third Day Preparation	Holy Great Martyr Anastasia	22	38 or 13	Gal. 3:8-11	Lk. 13:19-29
Fourth Day Preparation	Ten Holy Great Martyrs Crete	23	39 or 14	James 2:14-26	Mk. 10:46-52
Paramony Royal Hours		24	40 or 15	Many	Many
Paramony Nativity	Holy Woman Martyr Eugenia	24	40 or 15	Heb. 1:1-12	Lk. 2:1-20
Pre-Nativity Fast Ends	Philip Fast	Ends just before Vespers on 24 December evening	40 or 15

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center
Martha Liles
Web URL address: Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center or https://www.mliles.com/melkite/
E-mail: mliles@mliles.com or mliles@mliles.com

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is an unofficial Melkite Greek Catholic Web site and has not been reviewed or approved by any Melkite clergy person.
Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center contains a range of World Wide Web sites on Melkite faith, belief, practice, history, etc. Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center does not endorse any World Wide Web site nor takes any responsibility for the contents of any World Wide Web site. Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center offers these links with the understanding that Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center can not vouch for any of the contents on each site. Listing a site does not indicate acceptance nor endorsement of the doctrines / ideas / theology of the World Wide Web site. Please remember that Web sites will change their content and their location. It is the user's responsibility to decide whether or not the content on a particular World Wide Web site is appropriate.

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

This site copyright©2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 Martha Liles. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: [an error occurred while processing this directive]