Announcements

Κακά Χριστούγεννα καί Εὐλογήμένο τό Νέο Ἔτος!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Service Schedule

24 December 2021

8:30am Royal Hours
6pm Vespers & Divine Liturgy

25 December 2021 Christmas

8:30 am Orthros & Divine Liturgy

26 December 2021

8:30 am Orthros & Divine Liturgy

27 December 2021 Saint Stephan

8:30 am Orthros & Divine Liturgy

1 January 2022 Saint Basil

8:30 am Orthros & Divine Liturgy

2 January 2022

8:30 am Orthros & Divine Liturgy

Πρόγραμμα Ἀκολουθιῶν

24 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

8:30 πμ. Βασικιλαὶ Ὧραι
6μμ Ἑσπερινὸς καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

25 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

8:30 πμ. Ὄρθρος καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

26 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

8:30 πμ. Ὄρθρος καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

27 Δεκεμβρίου 2021 Ἁγίου Στεφάνου

8:30 πμ. Ὄρθρος καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

1 Ἰανουαγίου 2022 Ἁγίου Βασιλείου

8:30 πμ. Ὄρθρος καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

2 Ἰανουαγίου 2022

8:30 πμ. Ὄρθρος καὶ Θ. Λειτουργία

GOYA Announcement

Our parish GOYA is looking for supplies and other items to use for their weekly sessions as well as to help spruce up the GOYA room! Click here to donate.

Metropolitan Methodios' Christmas Homily 2021

This Christmas, we celebrate that blessed day that changed the course of human history. It was the day “the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Christmas is that day when “God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) to quote Saint John the Evangelist. It was the day “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared” (Titus 3:4) as Saint Paul teaches.

On Christmas, humanity encountered the Almighty as a newborn baby lying in a humble manger. The Incarnate Logos was born in a manger to impress upon us that to understand who God is, we must look at the humility of the birth of Jesus. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords came not as a powerful ruler, but as an innocent child. He came in simplicity and humility. He was born not in a palatial environment, but in the humble surroundings of a stable. The Savior of the world was born in humility. He would live His life on earth in humility. He would humble Himself even unto death for the salvation of the world as we read in Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians. “Though he was in the form of God (he)…emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). God lowered Himself to the point of being born in the poverty of a stable. He became the poorest of the poor and the neediest of the needy to teach us that our journey in life must follow the road of humility and simplicity. It was He who (again quoting Saint Paul) “though he was rich, yet for your (our) sake became poor, so that by his poverty you (we) might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

Christmas has always disturbed the conscience of the material world. A world characterized by narcissism and arrogance. A world in which man is so preoccupied with himself and his urgent need to satisfy his every insatiable desire, that he has no time for God or for his fellow human beings. Just as there was no space in the inn to welcome the newborn Savior, in the same way it seems that there is no space in our lives for the Incarnate Logos or His church. We have removed God and placed ourselves on our altar of worship. We feel we are self-sufficient masters of our own destiny. Living in an age of unbridled consumerism, we have become spiritually bankrupt, bereft of hope, mislead by prophets of instant pleasure and happiness, trapped in a tunnel of loneliness and despair, enslaved in the dungeons of our overinflated egos. It is to this world that the innocent child of Bethlehem comes again this Christmas.

Christmas comes once again to attest to the fact that God and He alone has the power to transform sadness into joy, despair into exaltation, pain into prayer, darkness into light, poverty into abundance, sin into the beginning of a new life.

Christmas is about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is about love - eternal, unselfish and self-sacrificing. It is about sharing and caring. It is about forgiving and reconciling. It is about respect for other people’s human rights and dignity. It is about all those who live around us whom we have forgotten, the homeless and the hungry, the rejected, the battered and the abused.

Christmas comes again to invite us to grasp its message and to accept its invitation to meet God, to break the chains that bind us with our secular and material pre-occupations, to reach for the redeeming truth and for one another in a reborn spirit of brotherly love.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us reflect how—and if at all—the birth of the newborn Savior has affected our lives. Have we learned to emulate His example and live in simplicity and humility? As we listen to the beautiful hymns and carols of the season, will we hear the lamentations of our suffering brothers and sisters both here in America and throughout the world who suffer in homelessness, hunger and despair? As we celebrate this joyous feast of Christianity, do we have room in the inn of our lives for anyone but ourselves?

May the Incarnate Logos of God choose our hearts as His manger this Christmas. May each day of the new year 2022 be blessed with opportunities for us to recognize our Savior in the persons of those whom He identified as “the least of my (His) brethren” (Mt. 25:40). In simplicity and humility, let us experience the joy of Christmas and feel the presence of the newborn Savior in our hearts.

M e r r y C h r i s t m a s!

+ Metropolitan Methodios of Boston

Χριστουγεννιάτικο Μήνυμα τοῦ
Σεβ. Μητροπολίτου Βοστώνης κ.κ.Μεθοδίου

Ανάμεσα από όλες τις γιορτές του Εκκλησιαστικού ημερολογίου, μόνο τα Χριστούγεννα έχουν κερδίσει τις καρδιές όχι μόνο των Χριστιανών, αλλά και ανθρώπων όλων των θρησκειών, ακόμη και εκείνων που δεν έχουν καμία θρησκεία. Είτε είναι πιστοί είτε όχι, πολίτες όλου του κόσμου ετοιμάζονται για να γιορτάζουν κάποια εκδοχή των Χριστουγέννων. Μπορούμε να καταλάβουμε την καθολική απήχηση των Χριστουγέννων αν σταματήσουμε για να σκεφτούμε πως στην καρδιά τους βρίσκεται το αναμφισβήτητο θαύμα της ίδιας της ζωής: η γέννηση ενός ανθρώπου. Η γέννηση ενός παιδιού είναι πάντα ένα γεγονός που φέρνει χαρά. Το να κρατάμε ένα νεογέννητο μωρό στην αγκαλιά μας δεν μπορεί παρά να μας εμπνεύσει όχι μόνο ευγενικά συναισθήματα τρυφερότητας και φροντίδας αλλά και μια αίσθηση θαυμασμού. Φέτος τα Χριστούγεννα, καθώς ατενίζουμε το νεογέννητο βρέφος ξαπλωμένο σε ένα ταπεινό σπήλαιο, ας συλλογιστούμε τούτο το μυστήριο που είναι η γέννηση ενός νέου, μοναδικού ανθρώπου που ανοίγει τα aμάτια του στο φως του κόσμου για πρώτη φορά. Πώς μπορούμε, όμως, να μην θυμηθούμε τούτη την ώρα και όλα εκείνα τα παιδιά που συνεχίζουν να γεννιούνται σήμερα σε μεγάλη φτώχεια; Πώς μπορούμε να μην σκεφτούμε εκείνα τα παιδιά που, ελλείψει ενός στοργικού γονέα που θα τους παρέχει τη φροντίδα και την προσοχή που χρειάζονται, δεν καταφέρνουν να επιβιώσουν; Πώς μπορούμε να μην σκεφτούμε όλα εκείνα τα μωρά που απορρίπτονται ακόμη και πριν γεννηθούν, εκείνα στα οποία τους αρνηθήκαμε αυτό το δώρο της ζωής; Πώς μπορούμε να μην σκεφτούμε τις οικογένειες που λαχταρούν για πολύ καιρό τη χαρά ενός παιδιού αλλά δεν βλέπουν την ελπίδα τους να εκπληρώνεται;

Τα Χριστούγεννα, όμως, δεν γιορτάζουμε τη ιδέα της ανθρώπινης Ύπαρξης εν γένει, ούτε το μυστήριο της Ζωής σαν αυτή να ήταν κάποια φιλοσοφική, αφηρημένη ιδέα. Τα Χριστούγεννα γιορτάζουμε κάτι πολύ απτό και σημαντικό για όλη την ανθρωπότητα, κάτι ουσιαστικό για τον Χριστιανισμό, μια αλήθεια που το Ευαγγέλιο συνοψίζει σε αυτές τις λίγες λέξεις: «Ο Λόγος σαρξ εγένετο» (Ιωάννης 1:14). Πρόκειται για ένα ιστορικό γεγονός που οι ευαγγελιστές ήθελαν να τοποθετήσουν μέσα σε σαφώς καθορισμένες ιστορικές και γεωγραφικές συντεταγμένες: όταν ο Καίσαρας Αύγουστος βασίλευε στον κόσμο και ο Κυρήνιος ήταν ο ηγεμών της Συρίας (Λκ. 2:1-3). Ήταν, λοιπόν, μια συγκεκριμένη νύχτα της ιστορίας που έλαβε χώρα το γεγονός της σωτηρίας, όπως προαναγγέλθηκε από τους προφήτες και αναμενόταν από τον Ισραήλ: ο Δημιουργός του σύμπαντος έγινε δημιούργημα! Ένωσε τον εαυτό Του αδιάσπαστα με την ανθρώπινη σάρκα μας, ώστε Αυτός που είναι «Φως εκ Φωτός και Θεός αληθινός εκ Θεού αληθινού» να γίνει ταυτόχρονα αληθινός Άνθρωπος, ο άνθρωπος Εκείνος που κουβαλά στους ώμους Του την ιστορία μας, που σηκώνει τις αμαρτίες μας, και ο Οποίος ανύψωσε την αδύναμη ανθρώπινη φύση μας και όλα τα δεινά μας στον θρόνο του Θεού. Αυτός ο Λόγος που έγινε σάρκα δεν είναι, επομένως, μια αφηρημένη ιδέα, ένας παγκόσμιος νόμος ή κάποια απρόσωπη δύναμη, αλλά είναι ένα Πρόσωπο που μας γνωρίζει, μας καλεί και μας καθοδηγεί. Είναι ο Υιός του Θεού του ζώντος που έγινε άνθρωπος στη Βηθλεέμ. Χριστός γεννάται, δοξάσατε! Ας ζήσουμε τη χαρά των Χριστουγέννων και ας νιώσουμε την παρουσία του Νεογέννητου Σωτήρα στις καρδιές μας.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 1:11-19.

Brethren, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not 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 again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.

Προκείμενον. Fourth Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 67.35,26.
Θαυμαστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τοῖς Ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ.
Στίχ. Ἐν Ἐκκλησίαις εὐλογεῖτε τὸν Θεὸν.

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Γαλάτας 1:11-19.

Ἀδελφοί, γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ παρὰ ἀνθρώπου παρέλαβον αὐτό, οὔτε ἐδιδάχθην, ἀλλὰ διʼ ἀποκαλύψεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἠκούσατε γὰρ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀναστροφήν ποτε ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ, ὅτι καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν ἐδίωκον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπόρθουν αὐτήν· καὶ προέκοπτον ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ ὑπὲρ πολλοὺς συνηλικιώτας ἐν τῷ γένει μου, περισσοτέρως ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων τῶν πατρικῶν μου παραδόσεων. Ὅτε δὲ εὐδόκησεν ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἀφορίσας με ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου καὶ καλέσας διὰ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ, ἀποκαλύψαι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ ἵνα εὐαγγελίζωμαι αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, εὐθέως οὐ προσανεθέμην σαρκὶ καὶ αἵματι· οὐδὲ ἀνῆλθον εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα πρὸς τοὺς πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἀποστόλους, ἀλλὰ ἀπῆλθον εἰς Ἀραβίαν, καὶ πάλιν ὑπέστρεψα εἰς Δαμασκόν. Ἔπειτα μετὰ ἔτη τρία ἀνῆλθον εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἱστορῆσαι Πέτρον, καὶ ἐπέμεινα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡμέρας δεκαπέντε. Ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου.

Gospel Reading

Sunday after Nativity
The Reading is from Matthew 2:13-23

When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

Sunday after Nativity
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 2:13-23

᾿Αναχωρησάντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος Κυρίου φαίνεται κατ᾿ ὄναρ τῷ ᾿Ιωσὴφ λέγων· ἐγερθεὶς παράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ φεῦγε εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἴσθι ἐκεῖ ἕως ἂν εἴπω σοι· μέλλει γὰρ ῾Ηρῴδης ζητεῖν τὸ παιδίον τοῦ ἀπολέσαι αὐτό. ῾Ο δὲ ἐγερθεὶς παρέλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς ῾Ηρῴδου, ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου. Τότε ῾Ηρῴδης ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων, ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλε πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλεὲμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσε παρὰ τῶν μάγων. τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ ῾Ιερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· φωνὴ ἐν ῾Ραμᾷ ἠκούσθη, θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς· ῾Ραχὴλ κλαίουσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελε παρακληθῆναι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσίν. Τελευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ ῾Ηρῴδου ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κατ᾿ ὄναρ φαίνεται τῷ ᾿Ιωσὴφ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳλέγων· ἐγερθεὶς παράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πορεύου εἰς γῆν ᾿Ισραήλ· τεθνήκασι γὰρ οἱ ζητοῦντες τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίου. ὁ δὲ ἐγερθεὶς παρέλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς γῆν ᾿Ισραήλ. ἀκούσας δὲ ὅτι ᾿Αρχέλαος βασιλεύει ἐπὶ τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας ἀντὶ ῾Ηρῴδου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν· χρηματισθεὶς δὲ κατ᾿ ὄναρ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὰ μέρη τῆς Γαλιλαίας, καὶ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην Ναζαρέτ, ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται.

Saints and Feasts

December 26

Sunday after Nativity

On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the twenty-sixth of this month, we make commemoration of Saints Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin; David, the Prophet and King; and James, the Brother of God. When there is no Sunday within this period, we celebrate this commemoration on the 26th.

Saint Joseph (whose name means "one who increases") was the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law - and hence, as it were, the son - of Eli (who was also called Eliakim or Joachim), who was the father of Mary the Virgin (Matt. 1:16; Luke 3:23). He was of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, an inhabitant of Nazareth, a carpenter by Trade, and advanced in age when, by God's good will, he was betrothed to the Virgin, that he might minister to the great mystery of God's dispensation in the flesh by protecting her, providing for her, and being known as her husband so that she, being a virgin, would not suffer reproach when she was found to be with child. Joseph had been married before his betrothal to our Lady; they who are called Jesus' "brethren and sisters" (Matt. 13:55-56) are the children of Joseph by his first marriage. From Scripture, we know that Saint Joseph lived at least until the Twelfth year after the birth of Christ (Luke 2:41-52); according to the tradition of the Fathers, he reposed before the beginning of the public ministry of Christ.

The child of God and ancestor of God, David, the great Prophet after Moses, sprang from the tribe of Judah. He was the son of Jesse, and was born in Bethlehem (whence it is called the City of David), in the year 1085 before Christ. While yet a youth, at the command of God he was anointed secretly by the Prophet Samuel to be the second King of the Israelites, while Saul - who had already been deprived of divine grace - was yet living. In the thirtieth year of his life, when Saul had been slain in battle, David was raised to the dignity of King, first, by his own tribe, and then by all the Israelite people, and he reigned for forty years. Having lived seventy years, he reposed in 1015 before Christ, having proclaimed beforehand that his son Solomon was to be the successor to the throne.

The sacred history has recorded not only the grace of the Spirit that dwelt in him from his youth, his heroic exploits in war, and his great piety towards God, but also his transgressions and failings as a man. Yet his repentance was greater than his transgresssions, and his love for God fervent and exemplary; so highly did God honour this man, that when his son Solomon sinned, the Lord told him that He would not rend the kingdom in his lifetime "for David thy father's sake" (III Kings 12:12). Of The Kings of Israel, Jesus the Son of Sirach testifies, "All, except David and Hezekias and Josias, were defective" (Ecclus. 49:4). The name David means "beloved."

His melodious Psalter is the foundation of all the services of the Church; there is not one service that is not filled with Psalms and psalmic verses. It was the means whereby old Israel praised God, and was used by the Apostles and the Lord Himself. It is so imbued with the spirit of prayer that the monastic fathers of all ages have used it as their trainer and teacher for their inner life of converse with God. Besides eloquently portraying every state and emotion of the soul before her Maker, the Psalter is filled with prophecies of the coming of Christ. It foretells His Incarnation, "He bowed the heavens and came down" (Psalm 17:9), His Baptism in the Jordan, "The waters saw Thee, O God, The waters saw Thee and were afraid" (76:15), His Crucifixion in its details, "They have pierced My hands and My feet .... They have parted My garments amongst themselves, and for My vesture have they cast lots" (21:16, 18). "For My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (68:26), His descent into Hades, "For Thou wilt not abandon My soul in Hades, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption" (15:10) and Resurrection, "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered" (67:1). His Ascension, "God is gone up in jubilation" (46:5), and so forth.

As for James, the Brother of God, see October 23.

December 26

Synaxis of the Holy Theotokos

This Synaxis - which is to say, our coming together to glorify the Theotokos - is celebrated especially in her honour because she gave birth supernaturally to the Son and Word Of God, and thus became the instrument of the salvation of mankind.

December 27

Stephen, Archdeacon & First Martyr

Saint Stephen was a Jew, by race, and, as some say, a disciple of Gamaliel, the teacher of the Law mentioned in Acts 5:34 and 22:3. He was the first of the seven deacons whom the Apostles established in Jerusalem to care for the poor, and to distribute alms to them. Being a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, he performed great signs and wonders among the people. While disputing with the Jews concerning Jesus, and wisely refuting their every contradiction, so that no one was able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit whereby he spake, he was slandered as a blasphemer and was dragged off to the Sanhedrin of the elders. There with boldness he proved from the divine Scriptures the coming of the Just One (Jesus), of Whom they had become the betrayers and murderers, and he reproved their faithless and hardheartedness. And finally, gazing into Heaven and beholding the divine glory, he said: "Lo, I see the Heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." But when they heard this, they stopped up their ears, and with anger cast him out of the city and stoned him, while he was calling out and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then, imitating the long-suffering of the Master, he bent his knees and prayed in a loud voice for them that were stoning him, and he said, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," And saying this, he fell asleep (Acts 6, 7), thus becoming the first among the Martyrs of the Church of Christ.

Wisdom of the Fathers

Nathanael too enters ... saying, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" ... Nevertheless, He is not ashamed to be named even from thence, signifying that He needs not ought of the things of men; and His disciples also He chooses out of Galilee.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 9 on Matthew 2, 4th Century

At His birth [He] is laid in a manger, and abides in an inn, and takes a mother of low estate; teaching us to think no such thing a disgrace, and from the first outset trampling under foot the haughtiness of man, and bidding us give ourselves up to virtue only. For why do you pride yourself on your country, when I am commanding thee to be a stranger to the whole world?