Thus Blessed Theophylact discusses this: "Why," he says, "have the Magi come? For the condemnation of the Jews, for if the Magi, being pagans, believed, what answer can the Jews give? The Magi from such distant lands came to worship Christ, but the Jews, having Him with them, persecuted Him."

The Magi, having entered the capital city of Jerusalem, asked about the newborn King: "Where is the King of the Jews who is born? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him" (Matt. 2:2). And immediately this news surprised the people and confused King Herod and all the leaders of Jerusalem. The king, having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes, asked them:

- Where is Christ to be born?

He began to fear that the kingdom would be taken away from him, and he pondered how to kill the newborn King. Learning that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, he summoned the Magi and tortured them about the time of the star's appearance. Then, concealing the deception, having an unrighteous thought and an evil intention, he said slyly:

- "Go, search carefully about the Child, and when you find it, inform me, that I also may go and worship Him" (Matt. 2:8).

When the Magi departed from Jerusalem, immediately a star appeared guiding them, and went before them, and they rejoiced greatly at its second appearance. And she walked before them until she brought them to Bethlehem, to a cave, and stopped over the place where the Child was. Over the dwelling where the Child was, a star stopped, i.e. it descended from the height and approached the earth. Otherwise, it would be impossible to know what place it stands over if it did not descend lower. Thus also Blessed Theophylact argues, following St. Chrysostom: "This was an extraordinary sign," he says, "for the star descended from on high, and, descending to the earth, showed the Magi a place. For if it had been on high, how could they have known a certain place where Christ was? Because each star dominates many places. As you often see the moon at the top of your house, so it seems to me that it is above my house, and it seems to everyone to be the same, namely, that only above them stands the moon or some star. In the same way, that star could not clearly point to Christ, if it had not descended and stopped over the head of the Child." And by this miracle it is evident that that star was not one of the stars in the firmament of heaven, but was a special power of God. So, the Magi found the One Whom they were looking for when they entered the house, as the Gospel says. On this basis, many believe that they did not find Christ in a cave, but in one of the houses of the city, since the Gospel does not mention a cave, but a house. In this opinion, the Gospel seems to say: "When the multitude of people who had come for the census dispersed, then the common inn and other houses of the citizens of Bethlehem became free, then the Mother and Child were transferred from the cave to one of the houses. But the Holy Martyrs Justin, Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa and Jerome say that the Lord remained in the cave where He was born, until the very time of purification, which took place on the 40th day, and that the Magi also found Him there. And so it happened so that the earthly kings would know that the Kingdom of the newborn King is in poverty, in humility and in contempt for worldly glory, and not in riches, vanity and chambers. The purpose of this was also that their faith might be more strongly manifested, by virtue of which they did not repent and did not murmur when they found Him for Whom they had made such a long journey and Whom they hoped to find in the king's chambers - in such poverty."

Finding the Lord in the cave, the Magi worshipped Him fallen, that is, not with simple worship, but befitting God, not only as a man, but also as God, because, as St. Irenaeus and Pope Leo say: "Those Magi, mysteriously enlightened by the grace of the Lord, when they saw the Child, knew and believed that He was God, and therefore worshipped Him not only as King, but also as God, by worship befitting God. That is why it is written: "Having fallen, and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts" (Matt. 2:11), fulfilling the commandment: "Let them not appear before the Lord empty-handed" (Exodus 23:15). What are the gifts? Gold, frankincense and myrrh, gold as to the King, frankincense as to God, myrrh as to mortal man (Blessed Theophylact). For the Jews anointed the body of the dead with myrrh, wishing to preserve it whole. In this way, the three kings honored the One of the Trinity with three gifts, and with these gifts they confessed in Him two natures. About this St. Leo says the following: "They bring frankincense to God, myrrh to man, gold to the King, rightly honoring God's and human nature in unity, they believe in it with their hearts, and confess it with their gifts."

And their names are as follows: the first is Melchior, old and gray, with long hair and beard; he brought gold to the King and Lord. The second is Gaspard, young and without a beard, with a ruddy face; he brought frankincense to the incarnate God. The third, Belshazzar, with a swarthy face, with a long beard, he brought myrrh to the mortal Son of Man. Their bodies, after many years, were transferred first to Constantinople, then to Milan [18], then to Cologne [19], in honor of the incarnate Christ God, to Whom with Him begat Him be glory from us forever. Amen.

Kontakion, tone 6:

Who before Lucifer was born of the Father without a mother, Thou didst be incarnated on earth without a father today from Thee: by the same star the good news is preached by the sorcerer, and the angels with the shepherds sing Thy ineffable Nativity, O Blessed One.

Feast day: 26 December

The Legend of the Flight of the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God with the Divine Infant to Egypt

After the Magi left Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, commanding him that he, together with the newborn infant Jesus Christ and His Mother, the Most-Pure Virgin Mary, should flee to Egypt and remain there until he was commanded to return from there, since Herod wanted to seek the Infant in order to destroy Him. Joseph arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and went into Egypt. But first, before his departure there, he fulfilled in the temple of Solomon all that was ordained by the law of the Lord, for the days of purification of the Most-Pure and Immaculate Mother of God had already come, and in that temple our elder Simeon and Anna the prophetess met our Lord. Then, having fulfilled all that was prescribed in the law, Joseph went to Nazareth, to his house. For thus says St. Luke: "And when they had done all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their city of Nazareth" (Luke 2:39). From this it is evident that they did not immediately go from Bethlehem to Egypt, but first went to the temple of the Lord, then to Nazareth, and finally to Egypt. St. Theophylact also bears witness to this in his commentary on the Evangelist Matthew, when he writes thus: "Question: How does the Evangelist Luke say that the Lord departed to Nazareth 40 days after His birth and after His meeting by the elder Simeon? And here St. Matthew says that he came to Nazareth after his return from Egypt? Answer: Know that the Evangelist Luke mentions what the Evangelist Matthew was silent about, namely, that the Lord (says Luke) went to Nazareth after His birth. And Matthew speaks of what happened after that, namely, how our Lord fled to Egypt, and how, on his return from there, He went again to Nazareth. In general, the Evangelists do not contradict each other, but only Luke speaks of Christ's departure from Bethlehem to Nazareth, and Matthew tells of His return to Nazareth from Egypt." And so, upon leaving the temple of the Lord, the holy travelers first set off for Nazareth and immediately made arrangements regarding their home, and then, having taken with them everything necessary for the journey, they hurriedly set out by night (so that the nearest neighbors would not know this) along the road to Egypt. At the same time, they took with them, for service, Jacob, the eldest son of Joseph, who was later called the brother of the Lord, which is evident from the church hymn for October 23, where it is sung thus: "A brother thou didst appear, a disciple, and a self-seer of the divine mysteries, running with him, and being in Egypt with Joseph" [1]. From this it is evident that James also accompanied the holy family on the way to Egypt, serving them during the journey. And the Lord fled to Egypt partly in order to show that He is a true incarnate man, and not a spirit and a ghost (to which St. Ephraim points in his homily on the Transfiguration, when he says: "If He had not been flesh, then with Whom did Joseph flee to Egypt"); Chrysostom explains in this way: "In His flight," he said, "the Lord teaches us to give place to rage, that is, to flee from human rage. And if the Almighty flees, then we, the proud, learn not to expose ourselves to danger." The purpose of the Lord's flight into Egypt was to cleanse Egypt of idols, and, as the holy Pope Leo says, so that the sacrament of the most holy sacrifice would be prepared not without this country, in which for the first time through the slaughter of the lamb the saving sign of the cross and the Passover of the Lord were foretaught. Likewise, so that the following prophecy of Isaiah may be fulfilled: "The Lord will sit on a light cloud, and is coming in Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall shake at His presence" (Isaiah 19:1). In this place, under the cloud, St. Ambrose understands the Most-Pure Virgin, Who brought the Lord in Her arms to Egypt, and the idols of the Egyptian gods fell. That cloud, Most-Pure Virgin, is light, for She is not burdened with any burden of any sin or carnal lust and knowledge of marriage.

It is also reported that when the righteous Joseph, the Most-Pure Virgin and the Divine Infant were going to Egypt, robbers attacked them in a certain desert place and wanted to take away from them the donkey, on which they carried what little they needed for the journey, and on which they sometimes rode themselves. One of those thieves, seeing the Child of extraordinary beauty and being amazed at such beauty, said: