Liturgical Texts
Here you will find the links to texts for various liturgical services.
December 28th, 2025
After-feast of & Sunday after the Nativity of Christ
Commemoration of Joseph the Betrothed, David the Prophet and King, and James the brother of God
SYNAXARION
On December 28 in the Holy Orthodox Church, we commemorate the twenty thousand martyrs burned in Nicomedia; and Venerable Simon the myrrh-streaming, founder of Simonopetra monastery on Athos.
On the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, we commemorate the holy and just Ancestors of God: Joseph the Betrothed of the Holy Virgin, our Lady the Theotokos; James the Brother of God and the First Bishop of Jerusalem; and David the Prophet and King.
Verses
I honor Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin, who to be her protector was alone chosen.
Thou art a carpenter’s son, but also the brother of the Lord that built all with a word, O blest James.
What shall I say, seeing that the Lord testifieth, as a man after Mine own heart, I have found David. David committed adultery and murder, yet God forgave him and glorified him above all the kings of Israel. He gave him the great grace to compose the most beautiful penitential prayers (the Psalms) and to prophesy the coming of Christ. Thus, God was not ashamed to take upon Himself flesh from David’s seed. God designated Joseph to protect the Most-holy Virgin, and 21 imparted to him great honor in the plan of the salvation of mankind. Although Joseph was of the royal lineage of David, he was a humble carpenter in Nazareth. At the age of 80, Joseph took the Most-holy Virgin from the Temple in Jerusalem and into his home. He entered into rest at the age of 110. The Apostle James is called the “Brother of the Lord” because he was the son of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed. James greatly loved Jesus and, according to tradition, he traveled to Egypt with the Most-holy Virgin and Joseph, when Herod sought to slay the newborn King. By their intercessions, O Christ God, have mercy upon us and save us. Amen.
Please visit the Antiochian Archdiocese Website for Up-To-Date Texts of Services, and Choose the Specific Date on the Calendar.
