The Nativity icon, like most festal icons, does not merely depict an event that happened two thousand years ago, but rather by its form and the hierarchy of its elements, shows us the inner workings of how the Divine Logos is Him by whom all things were made. The icon also shows us how His […]
Hierodeacon Herman (Majkrzak), Chapel Music Director and Lecturer in Liturgical Music at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, has started a small ministry during this Nativity fast – a series of Facebook posts highlighting lesser-known hymns and carols from the Western tradition. You can enjoy his posts here: Fr. Herman’s Choral Advent Calendar. We thought this a good […]
Just as the Ass and the Ox, the cave portrayed in the nativity icon is not specifically mentioned in Scripture as being the birthplace of Christ. In fact, St-Luke’s account does not say exactly where Christ was born, only that The Holy Virgin lay him in a manger. So why a cave? Why not a little […]
There is no ass or ox in the Biblical narratives of the birth of Christ. Yet, besides the Christ Child himself, the ass and the ox are the most ancient and stable elements in the iconography of the nativity. In fact the earliest example of a nativity known to us contains only the swaddled Christ in the manger flanked by the ox […]