The Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ
Troparion — Tone 4
Your Nativity, O Christ our God, / has shone to the world the Light of knowledge; / for by it, those who worshipped the stars / were taught by a star to adore You, / the Sun of Righteousness,1 / and to know You, the Dayspring2 from on High. / O Lord, glory to You!
Kontakion — Tone 3
(Original Melody)
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, / and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! / Angels with shepherds glorify Him. / The wise men journey with a star, / since for our sake the Pre-Eternal God was born as a young Child.3
1 Malachi 4:2.
2 The beginning of day, dawn.
3 Literally: Since for our sake, God before the ages was born as a young Child.
Priestmonk Jonah the Martyr of Pechenga
Troparion — Tone 4
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, / you became a successor to their throne. / Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, / O inspired one of God; / by teaching the word of truth without error, / you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood. / Hieromartyr Jonah entreat Christ God to save our souls.