Righteous Forefather Adam + Commemorated on The Sunday before the Nativity
Adam and Eve were the first humans, created by God on the sixth day of creation, the ancestors of the entire human race. Adam was formed from the dust of the earth, and Eve from Adam's rib, to be his helper. Placed in the Garden of Eden, they were commanded not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but, deceived by the serpent, broke this commandment and were expelled from paradise. Despite the Fall, the Church honors Adam and Eve as forefathers who received the promise of a future Savior (the "Protoevangelium," Gen. 3:15), and includes them among the holy forefathers commemorated on the Sunday of the Forefathers and the Sunday of the Fathers before the Nativity of Christ. In the iconography of Christ's Resurrection (the Descent into Hades), Adam and Eve are traditionally shown as the first whom the Savior draws out of Hades by the hand.
The Sunday of the Fathers is the Sunday before the Nativity of the Lord (December 18-24). On this day the Church honors all those who were well-pleasing to God from all ages, from Adam and Eve (the first-created) to St Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos, those who are mentioned in the genealogy of Luke 3:23-38. The holy prophets and prophetesses are also remembered on this day, especially the Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths. The previous Sunday, the Sunday of the Forefathers, the Church commemorated all the righteous of the Old Testament who awaited the coming of Christ, this day remembers all those in the Old Testament who were related to Christ by blood and those who spoke of his birth as a man. This Sunday is part of the Forefeast of the Nativity, which strictly speaking begins on December 20.
