Holy Trinity CDs

Putting Christmas Back into Christ

A Workshop by Fr. Thomas Hopko

The ancient Christian Tradition preserved by the Orthodox Church understands the meaning of Christmas - in its full title, the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ - to be intimately connected with the Great Feast of Pascha, of Easter, which commemorates Christ's Resurrection and victory over death. In Winter Pascha, his book on the Nativity, Fr. Hopko writes:

"Jesus lay as an infant in the cavern in the reign of Caesar Augustus that He might lay in the tomb under Pontius Pilate...He was worshiped by wise men that the whole of creation might adore Him in His triumph over death...The Pascha of His Cross was prepared by the Pascha of His Coming. The Pascha of His Resurrection was begun by the Pascha of His Incarnation...This is the meaning of Christmas, which is the meaning of life itself: Christ in us and we in Christ, God with us and we with God."

Thomas Hopko is Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Seminary and a retired professor of dogmatic theology. He has authored numerous works on all aspects of the Orthodox Church's faith and practice and is a world renowned lecturer at various Orthodox and ecumenical forums. This teaching was recorded at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 2006.

 

Hopko 5 disk CD Package $20.00