For use by the Laity at home
Sunday 28th December 2025
Sunday After the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Twenty Thousand Holy Martyrs of Nicomedia
Afterfeast of The Nativity of Christ
The whole service may be prayed by an individual. If more than one person is present, one of them is designated ‘Reader’ and says or chants the text in normal type. The others respond with the text in bold. Or the rôle of Reader could be shared.
The mark + indicates that the Sign of the Cross is made here.
All stand
+ Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. (x3)
+ Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; both now and for ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for your name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (x3)
+ Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
+ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
+ Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, and save us. Amen.
The Typical Psalms and The Beatitudes
Psalm 102 Bless the Lord, my soul. Blessed are you, Lord. Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget none of his benefits. He forgives all your iniquities; he heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from corruption and crowns you with mercy and compassion. He satisfies your desire with good things; your youth will be renewed like an eagle’s. The Lord performs deeds of mercy and judgement for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his wishes to the children of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and full of mercy. He will not always be wrathful, nor will he be enraged for ever. He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor rewarded us according to our sins. For, like the height of heaven above the earth, the Lord has made his mercy prevail over those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he taken our sins from us. As a father takes pity on his children the Lord has taken pity on those who fear him. For he knows of what we are made; has remembered that we are but dust. As for man, his days are but as grass, he will blossom like a flower of the field. For when a wind has passed over it, it will be no more and will know its place no longer. But the mercy of the Lord is for ever and ever upon those who fear him. And his justice is upon their children’s children, Upon those who keep his covenant, who remember his commandments and do them. The Lord has prepared his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, all you his Angels, powerful in strength, who perform his word and listen to the voice of his words. Bless the Lord, all you his Powers, his Ministers who do his will. Bless the Lord, all you his works. In every place of his dominion, bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, have mercy. (x12)
+ Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, and save us. Amen.
+ Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit …
Psalm 145 Praise the Lord, my soul. I shall praise the Lord while I live; I shall sing to my God as long as I exist. Do not trust in rulers and in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. His breath shall go out of him, and he shall return to his earth; On that day all his thoughts shall perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob; His hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, Who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the wronged, who provides food for the hungry. The Lord frees those bound. The Lord restores those broken down. The Lord gives wisdom to the blind. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord keeps watch over strangers. He shall adopt the orphan and the widow, but he shall destroy the way of sinners. The Lord shall reign for ever: your God, Zion, to all generations.
… both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Only begotten Son and Word of God, being immortal, you condescended for our salvation to take flesh from the holy Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary and, without change, became man. Christ, our God, you were crucified and conquered death by death. Being one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit: save us.
Lord, have mercy. (x12)
+ Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, and save us. Amen.
The Beatitudes In your kingdom remember us, Lord, when you come in your kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
The Epistle and Gospel are said, not chanted. The Prokeimenon and Alleluias are omitted.
The Epistle
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians.
Brothers and sisters, I declare to you that the Gospel proclaimed by me is not of human origin, for that is not how I received it or was taught it, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You heard of my former behaviour in Judaism, that more than others I persecuted the Church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in the Jewish religion beyond many of my own age and generation and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia and returned once again to Damascus. Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to consult with Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. Apart from James, the Lord’s brother, I did not see the other apostles.
Galatians 1:11-19
The Gospel
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew.
When the magi had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘When you wake, take the young child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, because Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.’ When Joseph awoke, he took the young child and his mother, and he left by night for Egypt. He was there until the death of Herod so that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled; he said, ‘Out of Egypt I called my Son.’ When Herod realised that he had been duped by the magi he was extremely angry, and he sent and put to death all the male children of two years and under in Bethlehem and in all its surroundings, corresponding to the time that he had discovered from the magi. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled; he said, ‘A cry was heard in Ramah, lamentation and wailing and great mourning of Rachel weeping for her children, but she would not be comforted because they were no more.’ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. He said, ‘When you wake, take the young child and his mother and set off for the land of Israel, because those plotting against the child’s life are dead.’ When he awoke, he took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel, but when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned by God in a dream, he turned away towards the region of Galilee. When he arrived, he settled in a town called Nazareth so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’
Matthew 2:13-23
The heavenly choir praises you saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of your glory. Come to him and be enlightened and your faces shall not be ashamed. The heavenly choir praises you saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of your glory.
+ Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit …
The choir of holy Angels and Archangels with all the Heavenly Powers praises you saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of your glory.
… both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
The Creed I believe in one God, Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one essence with the Father; through him all things were made; for our sake and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man; he was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; he rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; he is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and his kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with Father and Son is together worshipped and glorified; who spoke through the Prophets. And in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins; I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Penitential Prayer Forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our sins, both voluntary and involuntary, in deed and word, in knowledge and ignorance, committed by night and by day, in mind and thought. Forgive us them all, for you are good and the lover of mankind.
The Lord’s Prayer + Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
+ Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us, and save us. Amen.
Kontakion
For the Nativity in Tone 3
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave for the Unapproachable One. Angels with shepherds give glory, and Magi journey with a star. For us a Child is newborn, who before the ages is God.
Lord, have mercy. (x40)
The Prayer of the Hours At every time and at every hour, in heaven and on earth worshipped and glorified, Christ God, long-suffering, great in mercy, great in compassion, loving the just and merciful to sinners, calling all to salvation by the promise of the good things to come; do you, Lord, yourself accept our entreaties at this hour, and direct our lives to your commandments. Sanctify our souls, purify our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our ideas and deliver us from every distress, evil, and pain. Wall us about with your holy Angels, that protected and guided by their host we may reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of your unapproachable glory; for you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (x3)
+ Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
More honourable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, truly the Mother of God, we magnify you.
+ Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save us. Amen.
Psalm 33 I will bless the Lord continually; his praise will always be in my mouth. My soul will be praised in the Lord; let the meek hear it and rejoice. Magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my afflictions. Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, and saved him from all his afflictions. The angel of the Lord will encamp round those who fear him, and deliver them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed the one who hopes in him! Fear the Lord, all you his holy ones, for those who fear him never want. The rich have become poor and gone hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not be deprived of any good. Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is there who wants life, loves to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the just, and his ears towards their supplication. The Lord’s face is set against those who do evil, to destroy their memory from the earth. The just cried and the Lord heard them, and delivered them from all their afflictions. The Lord is close to those who are broken-hearted, and will save the humble in spirit. The afflictions of the just are many, but the Lord will deliver them from them all. The Lord guards all their bones; not one of them will be broken. The death of sinners is evil, and those who hate the just will go astray. The Lord will rescue the souls of his servants, and no one of those who hope in him will go astray.
The Apolytikia
For the Resurrection in Tone 4When the women disciples of the Lord heard the Angel joyously proclaim the resurrection, they cast aside the ancestral verdict, and boasting in glory they said to the Apostles, ‘Death has been despoiled, Christ God has risen, granting the great mercy to the world.’
For the Nativity in Tone 4
By your Nativity, Christ our God, the light of knowledge has dawned upon the world; for in it the worshippers of the stars were taught by a star to worship you, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know you, the Dawn from on high. Glory to you, O Lord.
For the Sunday after the Nativity in Tone 2
Proclaim the wonders to David the Ancestor of God, O Joseph: you saw a Virgin with child; with the Magi you worshipped; with the shepherds you gave glory; by an angel you were enlightened. Plead with Christ God to save our souls.
For Saint Constantine the Patron of the Parish in Tone 8
Constantine, who is your Apostle among kings, O Lord, having witnessed with his own eyes the sign of your Cross in heaven, and like Paul having accepted your call without human intervention, entrusted the royal city to your hands, delivering it with safety for all time by the intercessions of the Theotokos; you who alone are the lover of us all.
The Theotokion It is truly fitting to bless you, Theotokos, ever-blessed and all-blameless, and Mother of our God. + More honourable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim; you who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, very Mother of God, we magnify you.
The Dismissal + Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy and save us. Amen.