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Your birth, O Christ our God, has shed upon the world the light of knowledge; for through it those who worshipped the stars have learned from a star to worship You, the Sun of Justice, and to recognize You as the Orient From On High. Glory be to You, O Lord! (Troparion of Christmas) What does "Orient From On High" mean? also the phrase "those who worshipped the stars have learned from a star", what does the "from a star" at the end mean? Thank you. BradM
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Originally posted by BradM:
also the phrase "those who worshipped the stars have learned from a star", what does the "from a star" at the end mean? Brad, Those wjo worshipped the stars are the Magi and the star from which they learned is the Star of Bethlehem, which foretold His Birth to them and which they followed to bting gifts to Him. It is commonly believed that the Magi were astrologers. Many years, Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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I assume "Orient from on high " is another way of saying "Dawn from on high", "orient" meaning "east" and east being the direction of the dawn.
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Christ is born! Glorify Him!
In the Canticle of Zechariah (St. Luke 1: 68-79),
the coming Messiah is referred to by the father of the Forerunner in that way:
"In the tender compassion of our God, the dayspring from on high (also "the Orient from on high" or "the dawn from on high") shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
It is this phrase that is quoted in the Troparion for the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
In that same troparion, the Magi are refered to as "those who worshipped the stars." By following the star which led them westward, they were led to worship Christ, who is called the "Sun of Justice" (an image which is taken from the book of the prophet Micah, ch. 4, vs. 2--"but for you who revere my name, the Sun of Righteoushess shall rise, with healing in his wings").
In the joy of the Nativity,
(Prof.) J. Michael Thompson
Byzatine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA
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Incidentally, since Christ is identified with "the East," the Church, both east and west, has oriented her churches and altars to face east. That's the theological reason for it.
in Christ,
Marshall
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Please excuse me.
There is a typographical error in my post on this thread. The image "Sun of Justice/Righteousness" is NOT from the book of the Prophet Micah; it is from the book of the Prophet Malachi. The chapter and verse numbers listed above are correct.
I sincerely apologize for misleading anyone.
(Prof.) J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA
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