Renovation

Website for
Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF)

CHARITIES

It is important to do good works all throughout the year. The following list of charities are a portion of those to whom we donate from St. John's on a regular basis. You can find out more about them by visiting their web sites. Links to some of these charities are in the left margin.

International Orthodox Christian Charities

NJ Right to Life

The Nativity of Christ

The Birth of Christ is a celebration of joy. The fact that God became man and entered into our human life is seen in the Icon of the Nativity. Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is the Christ Child. All the details of the Icon relate to His presence. The black mouth of the cave is the fallen world in which Christ’s birth radiates through. The Virgin Mother is shown half-sitting, supported by a hammock-type bed used by the early Jews in their travels. The Wise Men represent the learned and astute, and the shepherds represent the humble of this world. A multitude of Angels give glory to God and announce this good news to mankind. In the Icon, several episodes are grouped together and shown simultaneously. In the bottom left corner, Joseph sits in painful thought, while the Devil, under the guise of an old and bent shepherd, suggests new doubts and suspicions to him. In the opposite corner, two women are seen bathing the new-born Infant, to show the real humanity of Jesus. All of creation takes part in the birth of the Savior. In the cave, the Infant lies guarded by an ox and a donkey. The Gospels do not speak of them but all icons of the Nativity portray them because of the manifest fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, “An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger.” (Is. 1:3) The tree painted across from the image of Joseph is a symbol of the Tree of Jesse.

The Icon of the Nativity calls us to praise and glorify the Birth of Christ. Hymns of Vespers say “Every creature brings thanks to You; Angels their songs; the heavens a star; Wise Men gifts; Shepherds amazement; the earth a cave; the wilderness a manger; but we – the Virgin Mother.”