The Orthodox Church prepares its faithful to welcome
the Nativity of Christ in a worthy manner by means of a 40-day Nativity
fast, which lasts from November 28th to January 6th (by the new
calendar).
Besides generally known reasons, the Nativity fast is
also undertaken by Orthodox Christians in order to venerate the
suffering and sorrow undergone by the Holy Mother of God at the hands of
the scribes and the Pharisees just prior to the sacred event of
Christ’s Nativity.
Holy Tradition tells us that shortly before the
righteous Joseph and the Holy Virgin set off for Bethlehem, they were
subjected to the following tribulation. A certain scribe by the name
of Ananias, entering their home and seeing the Virgin pregnant, was
severely distressed and went to the High Priest and the entire Jewish
council, saying: “Joseph the carpenter, who has been regarded as a
righteous man, has committed an iniquity. He has secretly violated the
Virgin Who was given to him from the temple of God for safekeeping. And
now She is with child.” Then the High Priest’s servants went to
Joseph’s house, took Mary and Joseph, and brought them to the High
Priest, who began to denounce and shame the Most-blessed Virgin Mary.
But the Holy Virgin, crying in deep sorrow, replied:
“The Lord God is My witness that I am innocent and have known no man.”
Then the High Priest accused the righteous Joseph, but the latter swore
on oath that he was not guilty of this sin. Yet the High Priest did
not believe them and subjected them to the trial that was customary in
those times, (when a woman suspected of violation was given to drink
bitter water that had been cursed by the High Priest). However, the
trial just served to confirm the innocence of the Holy Virgin and the
righteous Joseph. All those present were amazed at this, unable to
understand how a Virgin could simultaneously be with child and yet
remain inviolate.
After that the High Priest allowed the holy couple to
go home in peace. The righteous Joseph took the Virgin Mary and went
to his house, joyously glorifying God. But this was not the end of the
Holy Theotokos’ trials. It is well known that afterwards she shared
with Joseph the toil of a three-day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
And in Bethlehem there was no place for the Holy Virgin either in an
inn, or in some home, and since night was already approaching, She was
forced to seek shelter in a cave which served as a resting place for
cattle. In this humblest of shelters the Most-blessed Virgin remained
in prayer and divine contemplation. It is here that She painlessly gave
birth to our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world.
We can see from all of the above that the days
immediately preceding the Nativity were not days of rest and comfort for
the Holy Mother of God. In those days She suffered various sorrows and
trials, but did not leave off her prayers and contemplation. The Holy
Church appeals to the faithful to participate, at least to some small
degree, in the Holy Theotokos’ spiritual labor, constraining one’s flesh
during the Nativity fast and nourishing one’s soul with prayer.
However, the Church warns us that external fasting only is not enough.
We must also apply ourselves to internal fasting, which consists of
shunning malice, deceit, wrath, worldly bustle, and other vices. During
this fast, as at all times, we must show works of love and mercy to our
fellow beings, doing all we can to help those in need and in sorrow.
Only then will our fasting be genuine and not hypocritical, only then
will it be God-pleasing, and only then will we know the true joy of the
bright feast of Christ’s Nativity.
Reprinted from “Orthodox Russia”, No. 21, 1999.
