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WHEN WAS JESUS BORN?: M. M. NINAN<br />
So, then, in expectation of His coming we worship facing towards the<br />
East.<br />
It is a strong tradition since the Apostolic times and it has biblical<br />
foundation: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far<br />
as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (St. Matthew<br />
24:27).<br />
In its prayers, the Church awaits the Second Coming from the east.<br />
During the birth of <strong>Jesus</strong>, signs were seen in the east (St. Matthew 2:2).<br />
“…the Sun of justice shall arise from the east” (Malachi 4:2).<br />
The glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east<br />
(Ezekiel 43:4).<br />
The gate facing the east shall be opened during worship (Ezekiel.<br />
46:12).<br />
There are references in the Apostolic Constitution, Martyrdom of<br />
Polycarp and other patristic writings about the Church in the early days<br />
praying facing the east.<br />
" And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he<br />
put the man whom he had formed ( Gen. 2:8). Eventually Adam and<br />
Eve, after their act of disobedience were sent out from the Garden of<br />
Eden in the East. According to Christian interpretation, since the time<br />
of this expulsion of the first parents by the eastern gate of paradise<br />
(=garden), all children of Adam and Eve look back to their lost home,<br />
the paradise in the East, with a deep sense of spiritual home sickness.<br />
So salvation is understood partly as a return to the original home.<br />
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