The next feasts to be considered, as we trace the development of our Church feasts, are the THEOPHANY and the NATIVITY.

The Cyrillian Feasts were not the only ones which owed their beginnings to Arianism. Just as the Council of Constantinople signaled the defeat of Arianism and helped rapidly disseminate the Cyrillian Group, it also seems to have encouraged the general adoption in the East of two other feasts concerned with the nature of Christ: the Theophany and the Nativity.

The Theophany is a feast of the “manifestation” of Christ and has at various times commemorated his birth, his baptism, the adoration of the Magi and the miracle at the marriage feast of Cana. There was originally only one feast that included all the Theophanies of God in the world.

The feast celebrating Christ’s birth and was originally observed locally by at least the third century. The Nativity of Christ, the only one among the twelve Great Feasts which was of Western origin, was being celebrated in Rome by 354 but was probably observed locally elsewhere in the West before this date. The Christian feast of the Nativity coincided with the pagan festival of Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birth of the Invincible Sun. The cult of the Invincible Sun had sprung up before the time of Constantine who personally as-sociated himself with the deity, but it was only during his reign that it began to become officially accepted in the West. The Christian Feast of the Nativity celebrates the birth of Christ, who possesses full humanity and full divinity and who is co-eternal with the Father. Its observance on the festival of Natalis Solis Invicti no doubt drove home the point of Christ’s divinity, the birth itself indicating his humanity.

The introduction of the Nativity into the East from Rome seems to have been quite deliberate and closely coordinated with Theodosius’ anti-Arian policy. It first appeared in the East at Constantinople and Antioch around 385 – that is after the Council of Constantinople and Theodosius’ order that all Christians profess the faith of the Bishop of Rome. Constantinople was currently undergoing forcible conversion from Arianism to the true faith expressed by the Councils by Theodosius and Patriarch Meletius of Antioch, who was exiled for his faith by the Arianizing emperor Constantius II, was made president of the Council by Theodosius. Thus the Nativity Feast’s early appearance in Constantinople and Antioch rather than some other cities is indicative of their part in a larger scheme. More to follow