My Beloved the Benevolent                  December 2024    

Grace and peace, wishing you all goodness and blessings

The month of December is marked by the month of Kiahk, which will begin on Tuesday, December 10, and ends with our celebration of the Nativity on the 29^th of Kiahk. The month of Kiahk is the month of praises and glorification of our Good Lord for His love and willingness to empty Himself and take our human nature which He acquired from the Virgin Mary. Therefore, we find that in the praises of Kiahk we praise the Virgin, the mother of God.

While we praise the Virgin Mary in the annual Midnight Prayer, in the month of Kiahk, the Church has arranged special Doxologies for the Virgin. I would like to meditate with you on the first and second Doxologies for the Virgin the Mother of God during of the month of Kiahk.

+ The First Doxology of the month of Kiahk:

1. It begins with the following:

“For when I speak about you, O cherubic throne, my tongue never wearies, from blessing you.“ We rejoice and glorify the Virgin because she is the cherubic throne, because she is the one who carries the Divine throne; the Virgin carried the incarnate God, our Lord Jesus Christ, in her womb, then carried Him in her arms and nursed Him with milk. The Church draws our attention to the fact that the main reason for honoring the Virgin is that she is the mother of God and that she is worthy to bear the incarnate God. Indeed, the Virgin has many virtues, but the main reason to glorify her is the mystery of the Divine incarnation.

2. The Doxology then talks about the Virgin from the tribe of Judah, in which the prophecies were fulfilled about the tribe of Judah, from whom the Savior comes, “For God has stood at the borders of Judea and joyfully granted His voice, which the tribe of Judah accepted.” In the Angel’s Annunciation to the Virgin, he said to her, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.”  Lu. 1:31-33

3. The Doxology confirms the Virgin’s virginity, “The tribe of Judah is the Virgin, who gave birth to our Savior, and after His Birth, she remained a virgin.” We believe in the permanence of the Virgin’s virginity before the birth of Christ, during childbirth, and after the birth.  The prophecy of Ezekiel mentions the door in the east that the Lord passed through and that the door remained shut, indicating the permanence of her virginity. “And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.” Ezekiel 44:2

+ The second Doxology of the month of Kiahk of the Virgin:

1. The second Doxology affirms the honor of the Virgin by seating her at the right hand of the King, “The adornment of the Virgin, Mary the daughter of King David, at the right hand of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God.“ The Church always affirms that the main reason for honoring the Virgin is the grace that was given to her which was not given to any other human being, to become the mother of God: “You are exalted more than the Cherubim, O Mother of the mighty God, and more honored than the Seraphim, in heaven and on earth.”

“Blessed are you O Mary, for you have borne the True One, while remaining a virgin; and your virginity is sealed.” “We exalt you day by day, saying with Gabriel, “Hail to you O full of grace, the Lord is with you.”

We pray that God grant us the joy of this blessed month, the month of Kiahk, to praise our righteous God, Who was incarnate of the Virgin Mary for our salvation, and to praise the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, asking for her prayers and intercession for us.

May the Lord bless your offerings to support Santa Verena Charity programs.

Metropolitan Serapion