Shepherds of Bethlehem

The Shepherds of Bethlehem are the unnamed herdsmen of the Gospel of Luke who, while keeping watch over their flocks by night in the fields near Bethlehem, received the angelic announcement of the birth of Christ and went to worship the newborn Lord. The Orthodox Church commemorates them on December 25, the feast of the Nativity, where their adoration is honored alongside the Nativity itself and the adoration of the Magi.

According to the account in Luke 2, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and the angel proclaimed: 'Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord.' A multitude of the heavenly host then appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' Having heard this proclamation, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the child, becoming among the first to offer Him worship.

In the Orthodox tradition the shepherds are remembered as righteous witnesses whose lowly station is itself significant: that the announcement of the Savior's birth came first to humble herdsmen, rather than to the powerful, is understood as fitting to Christ, who took upon Himself the form of a servant for the salvation of mankind. By tradition the synaxarion numbers them as three. They are reckoned among the Righteous of the Apostolic Age, of the first century, from the region of Palestine and the Holy Land.