Thursday, January 01, 2015

The Feast of the Circumcision 2015

God, who is all-good, was not ashamed to undergo the circumcision of the flesh, but gave us Himself as a type and example to all unto salvation. For the Maker of the Law fulfils the requirements of the Law and the proclamations of the Prophets concerning Him. Thou who holdest all things in the palm of Thy hand, and were wrapped in swaddling clothes, o Lord, glory to you! (Idiomel at Vespers of the feast of the Circumcision in the Byzantine Rite.)

The Circumcision of Christ, as represented in the Menologion of Basil II, ca. 1000 A.D.
Οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη ὁ πανάγαθος Θεός, τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν περιτομὴν ἀποτμηθῆναι, ἀλλ’ ἔδωκεν ἑαυτόν, τύπον καὶ ὑπογραμμόν, πᾶσι πρὸς σωτηρίαν. ὁ γὰρ τοῦ Νόμου Ποιητής, τὰ τοῦ Νόμου ἐκπληροῖ, καὶ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ κηρυχθέντα περὶ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ πάντα περιέχων δρακί, καὶ ἐν σπαργάνοις εἱληθείς, Κύριε, δόξα σοι.

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