Great feasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church
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History and overview
The Twelve Great Feasts are as follows (note that the liturgical year begins with the month of September):
- The Nativity of the Theotokos, 8 September [O.S.21 September]
- The Exaltation of the Cross, 14 September [O.S.27 September]
- The Presentation of the Theotokos, 21 November [O.S.4 December]
- The 7 January]
- The Epiphany), 6 January [O.S.19 January]
- The 15 February]
- The Annunciation, 25 March [O.S. 7 April]
- The Entry into Jerusalem (Flowery/Willow/Palm Sunday), the Sunday before Easter
- The Ascension of Christ, forty Days after Easter
- Pentecost, fifty Days after Easter
- The Transfiguration of Jesus, 6 August [O.S. 19 August]
- The Dormition of the Theotokos, 15 August [O.S.28 August]
With the exception of the Presentation/Entrance of the Theotokos, appointed hymns for all of the Twelve Great Feasts are found in the Georgian Iadgari (Chantbook) of Jerusalem[2] which was compiled in approximately the middle of the 6th century.[3] Thus eleven of the twelve feasts were celebrated in the Greek East for some time prior, as most of the hymnographic content is datable to the 5th century.[3]
Besides the Twelve Great Feasts, the Orthodox Church knows five other feasts that rank as great feasts, yet without being numbered among the twelve. They are: the
In
Explanations
Nativity of the Theotokos
Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (also called the Elevation of the Cross) commemorates the recovery of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The
Presentation of the Theotokos
According to Tradition, Mary was taken—presented—to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a young girl, where she lived and served until her betrothal to Joseph.[8][9]
Nativity of the Lord
December 25 -- Christmas. The nativity account (Gospel of Luke 2:1–20) begins with Mary and Joseph (Mary's betrothed) traveling to Bethlehem to be enrolled in the Roman census ordered by Augustus Caesar. On the way, they look for a place for Mary to give birth to her child, but all the inns are full and the only suitable place is a cave (show as a stable in most Western descriptions) where animals are kept. The Theotokos (God-bearer, the Virgin Mary) gives birth ineffably (without pain or travail) and remains virgin after childbirth.[10]
Theophany (Baptism of the Lord)
This observance commemorates Christ's baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, and the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry (Gospel of Matthew 3:13–17, Gospel of Mark 1:9–11). It is known by the Orthodox as both Epiphany (i.e., manifestation) and Theophany (manifestation of God). These are bundled, along with Christmas, differently in some eastern Christian traditions.[11]
Presentation of the Lord
In the
Annunciation
According to the
Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
A mere few days before His brutal crucifixion, Jesus was received by adoring throngs at his entry into Jerusalem on the back of young donkey (Gospel of Matthew 21:1–11). The crowds threw palm branches in his path in jubilation, and even the children shouted praises to Him. The Orthodox celebrate this day with joy, but with the realization that very sad events are soon to come. Among the Russian Orthodox, willow branches are substituted in the celebration of this event, owing to the lack of availability of palm trees in Slavic climes.
Ascension
Forty days after the Resurrection, while blessing His disciples (Gospel of Luke 24:50–51), Christ ascended into heaven (Gospel of Mark 16:19), taking His place at the right hand of the Father (Nicene Creed). While the disciples were still looking into the air for Jesus, an angel appeared and told them that the Lord would return again in the same manner as they had seen him go into heaven (Acts of the Apostles 1:9–11).
Pentecost
Fifty days after the Resurrection, on the existing Jewish feast of Shavuot, while the disciples and many other followers of Jesus were gathered together to pray, the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the form of "cloven tongues of fire", with the sound of a rushing mighty wind, and they began to speak in languages that they did not know. There were many visitors from the Jewish diaspora to Jerusalem at that time for the Jewish observance of the feast, and they were astonished to hear these untaught fishermen speaking praises to God in their alien tongues (Acts of the Apostles 2:1–11).
Transfiguration
Jesus had gone with his
Dormition of the Theotokos
The Orthodox feast of the
This event is seen as a first symbol of the resurrection of the faithful that will occur at the Second Coming of Christ. The event is normally called the "Dormition", though there are many Orthodox Churches with the name "Assumption". In Greek, "Dormition" is "Kimisis" (Coemesis) -- falling asleep in death—from which the word "cemetery" derives.[15]
See also
- Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar
- Paschal Cycle
References
- Ware, Kallistos, "The Festal Menaion", p. 41. St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, 1998.
- ^ Frøyshov, Stig Simeon. "[Hymnography of the] Rite of Jerusalem". Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology.
- ^ OCLC 1047578356.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link - ^ Moscow Typikon, 1904, reprinted Graz, Austria, 1964
- ISBN 0719539714
- ^ Ware, p. 47
- ^ Ware, p. 50
- ^ Ware, p. 51
- ^ M.R. James, "The Apocryphal New Testament, Oxford, 1924. Cited by Ware, p. 47
- ^ Ware, p. 52
- ^ Ware, p. 55
- ^ Ware, p. 60
- ^ Ware, p. 60
- ^ Ware, p. 61
- ^ Ware, p. 63
- Icons of the Church Year, Orthodox Church in America. Accessed October 15, 2007.
- The Major Feasts of the Church, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Accessed August 23, 2017.
- Feasts of the Church, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Accessed August 23, 2017.
Further reading
- Conrad Rudolph, "Heterodoxy and the Twelve Great Feasts of the Eastern Church," Comitatus 12 (1981) 13-30