ALL ORTHODOX RUSSIANS CELEBRATE THE NATIVITY ON JANUARY 7
MOSCOW, January 6. /RIA Novosti corr. Olga Lipich/. - On January 7 the
Russian Orthodox Church marks Christmas - the second most significant
holiday after Easter.
According to the Orthodox Church regulations, the festivity is preceded by
a long Advent that starts on November 28 and lasts for 40 days, up to
January 6 inclusive.
On January 6, on Christmas Eve (Sochelnik in Russian), pious believers do
not eat at all; by 10 p.m. they go to church to attend the evening and
early morning services, as well as the Divine Liturgy. Only when the first
star, symbolizing the Bethlehem Star, rises, is it allowed to eat some
sochivo (a lenten dish made of a wheat or rice decoction with honey and
fruit). The word "sochelnik" derives from the word "sochivo".
On January 7 the Orthodox believers congratulate each other on the bright
holiday of Christmas and break their fast. Festival divine services take
place in churches. At 4 p.m. the Great Christmas Evening Service starts at
the heart of Moscow, in the Christ the Savior Church.
Rus (the ancient name for Russia) has traditionally had luxurious feasts on
this day. Children visited homes with a vertep (a small box covered with
colored paper, inside of which, by means of specially axis-fixed puppets,
scenes from the Evangelists' stories about the Nativity of Christ were
staged. Children got gifts for their performances and singing.
Christmastide follows Christmas. From January 8 to 17 one-day fasts on
Wednesdays and Fridays are canceled. This is a time of a particular joy and
a continuation of celebrating Christmas.
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Patriarch Alexy extends greetings to Russians on Orthodox Christmas
MOSCOW. Jan 6 (Interfax) - Patriarch Alexy II has sent a traditional
Christmas greeting to Russians who celebrate the Orthodox holiday on
January 7.
Alexy said he hopes that the third year of the 21st century will be
peaceful, fruitful, and good for all disciples of the Russian Orthodox
Church.
The patriarch said he is concerned about the hardships that millions of
Russians are bearing today, about abandoned children and young people "who
are being trapped by various foreign teachings and corrupted spiritually
and physically," and about alcoholism and drug addiction.
Noting that "the Church is making every effort to help people acquire a
spiritual core," Alexy called on every person, "wherever God assigned them,
to do their work with faith, hope, and charity as if they are laboring for
Lord Himself, without expecting rewards or glory."
"In doing so, each of us will also serve our earthly Homeland," the
patriarch said. "For as long as Russia prayed and painstakingly created
God's temples, it prospered and expanded. But once the light of Christian
faith and real love began to fade among the people, our Motherland lost its
might and strength and fell under the yoke of theomachists, who tried to
turn it into a spiritual desert," he said.
He said he believes that the new century will bring Russia "a new
heyday," and Alexy also recalled that the year 2003 will be special for the
Russian Church, as it will mark the hundredth anniversary of glorifying
Rev. Serafim of Sarov among the saints. The patriarch said he hopes that,
thanks to Serafim's prayers, Russia will always remain devoted to the
Orthodox faith.
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