Christian feast day
The
Feast of the Transfiguration
is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the
transfiguration of Jesus
. The origins of the feast are less than certain and may have derived from the dedication of three basilicas on
Mount Tabor
.
[1]
The feast was present in various forms by the 9th century, and in the
Western Church
was made a universal feast celebrated on 6 August by
Pope Callixtus III
to commemorate the raising of the
siege of Belgrade (1456)
.
[2]
In the
Syriac Orthodox
,
Malankara Orthodox
,
Revised Julian calendars
within
Eastern Orthodoxy
,
Catholic
,
Old Catholic
, and
Anglican
churches, the Feast of the Transfiguration is observed on 6 August. In the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, the Feast of the Transfiguration is observed on the fourteenth Sunday after Easter.
[3]
In some Lutheran traditions preceding the reforms to the liturgy in the 1970s, 6 August was also observed as the Feast of the Transfiguration. In those Orthodox churches which continue to follow the
Julian Calendar
, 6 August falls on 19 August of the
Gregorian Calendar
. The
Transfiguration
is considered a major feast, numbered among the twelve
Great Feasts
in Byzantine Catholicism and Orthodoxy. In all these churches, if the feast falls on a Sunday, its liturgy is not combined with the Sunday liturgy, but completely replaces it.
The transfiguration can also be remembered at other points in the liturgical year, sometimes in addition to the feast itself. In the ancient western lectionary, the
Ember Saturday in Lent
included the gospel of the Transfiguration. In the Catholic lectionary, on the second Sunday in Lent the gospel of the Transfiguration is read. In the
Revised Common Lectionary
, followed by some Lutherans, United Methodists, Anglicans, and others, the last Sunday in the
Epiphany season
(that immediately preceding
Ash Wednesday
) uses the gospel account, which has led some churches without established festal calendars to refer to this day as "Transfiguration Sunday". In the
Church of Sweden
and the
Church of Finland
, the story is read on the seventh Sunday after
Trinity
, the eighth Sunday after Pentecost.
Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches
[
edit
]
In the Byzantine Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox Churches
, the Transfiguration falls during the
Dormition Fast
, but in recognition of the feast the fast is relaxed somewhat and the consumption of fish, wine and oil is allowed on this day.
In the Byzantine view the Transfiguration is not only a feast in honor of Jesus, but a feast of the
Holy Trinity
, for all three Persons of the Trinity are interpreted as being present at that moment:
God the Father
spoke from heaven;
God the Son
was the one being transfigured, and
God the Holy Spirit
was present in the form of a cloud. In this sense, the transfiguration is also considered the "Small Epiphany" (the "Great Epiphany" being the
Baptism of Jesus
, when the Holy Trinity appeared in a similar pattern).
The Transfiguration is ranked as one of the
Twelve Great Feasts
of the
Byzantine liturgical calendar
, and is celebrated with an
All-Night Vigil
beginning on the eve of the Feast.
Grapes are traditionally brought to church to be blessed after the
Divine Liturgy
on the day of the Transfiguration. If grapes are not available in the area, apples or some other fruit may be brought. This begins the "Blessing of
First Fruits
" for the year.
The Transfiguration is the second of the "Three Feasts of the Saviour in August", the other two being the
Procession of the Cross
on 1 August and the
Icon
of Christ
Not Made by Hand
on 16 August. The Transfiguration is preceded by a one-day
Forefeast
and is followed by an
Afterfeast
of eight days, ending the day before the Forefeast of the Dormition.
In Byzantine theology, the
Tabor Light
is the light revealed on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration of Jesus, identified with the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascus.
Armenian Apostolic Church
[
edit
]
The
Armenian Apostolic Church
celebrates the feast of the transfiguration (????????????????? in Armenian
[4]
) on the fourteenth Sunday after Easter. It is one of the five major feasts in the Armenian Church calendar. It is also called
Vardavar
(???????? or rose festival), a pagan celebration that the observance of the transfiguration officially replaced but some of whose customs and traditions are still observed by Christian Armenians and Muslim
Hemshin people
.
[5]
Coptic Catholic and Orthodox Churches
[
edit
]
The Coptic Orthodox Church Celebrates the feast of transfiguration on the 13th of Mesri according to the
Coptic calendar
(i.e. 6 August
O.S.
or 19 August
N.S.
). The Transfiguration always falls during
St Mary's Fast
so it is observed as a fasting feast. The feast is considered one of the seven minor Feasts of the Lord, and is celebrated in the joyful tune.
[
clarification needed
]
Ethiopian Catholic and Orthodox Churches
[
edit
]
The
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
holds the ceremony of
Buhe
on the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Roman Catholic Church
[
edit
]
In the
Roman Catholic Church
, the Transfiguration was once celebrated locally in various parts of the Catholic world on different days, including 6 August, but was not universally recognized. In 1456, the
Kingdom of Hungary
repulsed an
Ottoman
invasion of the Balkans by breaking the
siege of Belgrade
. News of the victory arrived in Rome on 6 August.
[6]
Given the importance to international politics at that time of such battles between Christian and Muslim nations, in celebration of the victory, Pope
Callixtus III
elevated the Transfiguration to a Feast day to be celebrated in the entire
Roman rite
.
In 2002,
Pope John Paul II
selected the Transfiguration as one of the five
Luminous Mysteries
of the
Rosary
.
Old Catholic Church
[
edit
]
The
Old Catholic Church
celebrates the Transfiguration typically on 6 August, according to the Roman rite calendar; however, every local Old Catholic Church throughout the world has the option to celebrate this major feast on a different day. The Old Catholic theological view of the Transfiguration shares much in common with the Eastern Orthodox perspective. Old Catholics also believe that the transfiguration was a major event that revealed the divinity of Christ; that Jesus is indeed the splendor and
eikon
of the Father. The Transfiguration shows forth humanity in the splendor of its original form when it was united in the life-giving love of the Triune God. This event reveals the possibility of humanity's
theosis
.
If the Transfiguration falls on a Sunday, it replaces the ordinary liturgical Ordo of the season for Sacred Liturgy.
Anglican Communion
[
edit
]
In the
Book of Common Prayer
(1549 and 1552) the feast of the Transfiguration, which had had a relatively low rank in the Sarum Calendar, is omitted, but was restored to the Calendar, without a collect and reading being provided, by royal order in 1560. This state of affairs is perpetuated in the 1662 Prayer Book, but would have been remedied had the 1928 Proposed BCP been approved by Parliament. As it was, the Bishops of the Church of England refused to sanction those who used the abortive 1928 Book of Common Prayer, and the 6 August date came into general use. The Feast of the Transfiguration is retained in the Common Worship lectionary of the Church of England (6 August). The American
Book of Common Prayer
of 1892 introduced it to Episcopalian use, and from there it has been taken into most modern Anglican calendars (sometimes called "The Transfiguration of Our Lord").
[7]
Protestantism
[
edit
]
After the Reformation the Feast of the Transfiguration was abandoned in the Protestant parts of Germany, but continued to be observed in Sweden.
Lutheran Churches in America
[
edit
]
The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
,
Lutheran Church?Missouri Synod
, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
, and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) observe the Feast of the Transfiguration as the last Sunday after the
Epiphany
, which is the Sunday immediately preceding
Ash Wednesday
and the season of
Lent
.
[8]
Reformed Calvinist and Presbyterian
[
edit
]
In the
Presbyterian Church
, the Sunday of the Transfiguration marks the last day of the Epiphany season, on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday. The inceptive Calvinist tradition rejected all liturgical feasts, including the Feast of the Transfiguration. This, however, does not mean that the Transfiguration itself was ignored by the Calvinists. Calvin's own views on the Transfiguration were far from ambivalent:
- "It might be asked whether it was really Moses and Elijah who were present or whether only their spectres were set before the disciples, just as often the prophets saw visions of absent things. Although there is much to be said on both sides, as they say, it seems more likely to me that they really were brought to that place."
[9]
With time, most major feasts were restored to the Reformed ecclesiastical calendar. The Sunday of Transfiguration is now a part of the
Revised Common Lectionary
. Whether it is celebrated liturgically or in name only, it is left to the discretion of the clergy or Session.
The Book of Common Worship of 1993
(
Presbyterian Church USA
) contains the order of the service for Transfiguration of the Lord. This order is either combined with the Sunday liturgy or replaces it in those congregations which orient themselves towards liturgical practices and observances.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Festival icons for the Christian year
by John Baggley 2000
ISBN
0-264-67487-1
pages 58?60
- ^
Christian liturgy
by Ignatius Puthiadam 2003
ISBN
81-7109-585-2
page 169
- ^
"Feast of the Transfiguration"
.
- ^
"????????????????? ? VEMKAR"
.
- ^
"The Point of Armenia's Splashy Holiday is Getting Wet"
.
- ^
Kitchin, Rev. William P. H., Ph.D. (April 1916).
"Priests as Soldiers"
.
The American Ecclesiastical Review; A Monthly Publication for the Clergy
.
54
(4). Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press: 431.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Philip H. Pfatteicher
New Book of Festivals and Commemorations: A Proposed Common Calendar of Saints
2008 p378
- ^
"Epiphany"
. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Archived from
the original
on 15 November 2012
. Retrieved
19 August
2011
.
- ^
Quoted after "A Harmony of the Gospels, II" Edinburgh: St Andrew Press, 1972, p. 199.
- ^
The Book of Common Worship, PCUSA.
ISBN
0-664-22088-6
Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, London, 1993, pages 214?220
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