Feast of the Transfiguration
| The Transfiguration of the Lord | |
|---|---|
6 August | |
| Frequency | Annual |
The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the
In the
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
Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches
In the Byzantine Catholic and
In the Byzantine view the Transfiguration is not only a feast in honor of Jesus, but a feast of the
The Transfiguration is ranked as one of the
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
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
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the feast of the transfiguration (Պայծառակերպութիւն 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 (Վարդավառ 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
The Coptic Orthodox Church Celebrates the feast of transfiguration on the 13th of Mesri according to the
Ethiopian Catholic and Orthodox Churches
| Liturgical seasons |
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The
Roman Catholic Church
In the
In 2002, Pope John Paul II selected the Transfiguration as one of the five Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
Old Catholic Church
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
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
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
The
Reformed Calvinist and Presbyterian
In the
- "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.
See also
- Feast of the Ascension
- Ministry of Jesus
- Miracles of Jesus
- Transfiguration of Jesus in Christian art
References
- ISBN 0-264-67487-1pages 58–60
- ISBN 81-7109-585-2page 169
- ^ "Feast of the Transfiguration".
- ^ "Պայծառակերպութիւն – 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.
- ISBN 0-664-22088-6Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, London, 1993, pages 214–220
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