Holy Prophet Ezra + Commemorated on The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers
The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers is the Sunday that falls between December 11-17, the second Sunday before the Nativity. The ancestors of Christ according to the flesh are remembered on this Sunday of the Nativity Fast. All the great Fathers and Mothers and Prophets of the Old Testament, starting with Adam, Abraham, the Righteous Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, including Holy Prophet Elias and Daniel, and concluding with Holy Prophet Zechariah (Zachary), Joachim and Anna, Holy Prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist and The Theotokos. They lived before the Law and under the Law, especially the Patriarch Abraham, to whom God said, "In thy seed shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3, 22:18).
"Await your shepherd, he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand. Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you forever" (4 Ezra 2:34-35)
Troparion — Tone 2
By faith You justified the Forefathers, when through them You betrothed Yourself beforehand to the Church of the Gentiles. The saints boast in glory, that from their seed there is a glorious fruit: she who bore You without seed. By their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.
