December 26

A synaxis, (Greek: assembly, synod), in the Byzantine rite, is a feast on which we honor those saints who are connected with the saints or mystery celebrated on the previous day. Thus for example, on the day after the Nativity of the Mother of God, we celebrate the feast of her parents, Joachim and Ann; the day after Epiphany, we celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist; the day after the Presentation of our Lord we commemorate St. Simeon and Anne, the prophetess; and, after the Annunciation, we celebrate the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. Similarly on the day after the Nativity of our Lord we celebrate the Synaxis of the Mother of God.

The Church established this feast to draw our attention to Christ’s Holy Mother and to give us an opportunity to praise her after the birth of her Divine Son. In addition, the feast reminds us of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt to save the Divine Infant from the massacre of innocent children ordered by King Herod after the departure of the Magi, as described in the Gospel read in the Divine Liturgy (Mt 2:13-23).

According to tradition of the Eastern Church on Synaxis, that is on the day after certain feast days, the clergy of a given region gathered in a larger city and together with the bishop concelebrated the Holy Liturgy, after which they usually had a regional convention. (Synod).

–Basil Shereghy

Next Feast Days