Encourse Wiki

Liturgics — 13. Great Immovable (or Fixed) Feasts of the 12 Greatest Feasts (Dodekaorton).

Properties3
tagstopic
courseLiturgics
unit13. Great Immovable (or Fixed) Feasts of the 12 Greatest Feasts (Dodekaorton).

31 min read

Liturgics — 13. Great Immovable (or Fixed) Feasts of the 12 Greatest Feasts (Dodekaorton).

Great immovable feasts

It is known that the church (liturgical) year begins on 1 September, according to the Julian calendar, and on 14 September, according to the Gregorian calendar. This day is called “indiction”. It comes from the Greek word Ἰνδίκτον and means “naming” - the naming, the proclamation of new year. On this day, the church service has a special part - the “Polyeleos”, which is, unfortunately, very often altered. Since the church new year is an exceptional day and has a unique service, priests have to prepare thoroughly for it to avoid making big mistakes.

The first great feast after the Indiction is the Nativity of the Mother of God, celebrated on 8 September (the Julian calendar). Its forefeast is celebrated on 7 September, and the afterfeast ends on 12 September (the Julian calendar). Like most of the feasts related to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity is based on the Church tradition, not on the Holy Scriptures, which do not mention this event at all. The Nativity of the Mother of God is described in the Protoevangelium of James (the Gospel of James). It is an apocryphon, which means that it is not recognized by the Church as part of the God-inspired Holy Scriptures, but it is accepted as part of the Church tradition and is used in iconography and veneration. Thus, in contrast to the common belief, all apocrypha are not so called in a negative sense and do not contradict the Holy Scriptures. In many ways they are simply records of the Church tradition. As mentioned above, the feasts of the Entry of the Most Holy THeotokos into the Temple, the Annunciation and other Theotokos-related feasts are based on the Protoevangelium of James.

Most of the service of the feast tells us how the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary took place: She was born of aged parents after a divine promise and many years of prayers and sorrows; numerous Old Testament references are given: She is called “the new shrine”, “the flowered Aaron’s rod”, etc.

It is noteworthy that this Mother of God feast, as many others, strongly manifests the centricity of Christ (or Christocentricity - when Christ is considered as the center) of Orthodox Mariology. The Orthodox are sometimes criticized for their excessive veneration of the Virgin Mary, as if they would forget Christ because of that. In fact, this is not true. Let us consider a text that illustrates that. One of the Nativity of the Theotokos sticheron says: “This is the day of the Lord! Rejoice, O ye people!” It refers to the Mother of God feast as the day of the Lord. “For, lo! The bridal chamber of the Light and the book of the Word of life have issued forth from the womb, and the portal which faceth toward the east, having been born, awaiteth the entry of the great High Priest. She alone leadeth the one Christ into the world, for the salvation of our souls.”

Traditionally, on the next day after every Great Feast, there is a service dedicated to those who contributed to the feast, but whose role was secondary on the main celebration day. So, the day after the Nativity of the Mother of God we celebrate her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anna. The same logic will follow for the other eleven Great Feasts.

On 14 September (the Julian calendar), we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross with the Forefeast on 13 September and the Afterfeast lasting until 21 September. On this day, we commemorate the discovering of the Holy Cross that took place in 326 and was accompanied by miraculous events. Several crosses were found at the same time and nobody knew on which one Jesus Christ was crucified. It was after a miraculous resurrection of a dead man touched by the real Holy Cross that the relic was identified.

A day before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 13 September we celebrate a special feast: the Renewal of the Temple, commemorating its reconstruction in Jerusalem. It is related to the fact that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was consecrated on 13 September 335. Nowadays, many churches dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ celebrate their church feast on 13 September, on the Eve of the Exaltation of the Cross. The restauration of the feast of the Resurrection is comparable to the event of the Resurrection itself. In fact, the finding of the Holy Cross occurred around six months after Easter, so the Church authorities decided to link this event to Christ Resurrection and to consider it as a special remembrance day. The offices celebrated on this day totally repeat the most solemn Easter services.

During the small Vespers preceding the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Vigil, the Cross, decorated by flowers and prepared for veneration, is carried from the prothesis to the altar. The Typikon says:

“And the priest shall take the Holy Cross on a salver upon his head, and bring it into the holy altar, preceded by the servers with incense and lights. And he shall place the Holy Cross upon the holy altar on the place of the Gospel; and he shall place the Gospel behind it; and they shall light a candle before it for the whole night.”

On this day, the veneration of the Cross has a very special character. The service unites Menology and Triodion celebrations: the one for the Adoration of the Holy Cross is almost exactly the same as the one for the Exaltation of the Cross, with the same rite and texts.

The texts are joyful and unspeakably beautiful hymns. Here is one of them which has its own melody: “Rejoice, life-giving Cross of the Lord…” When reading different texts, it is easy to see how much the liturgical text can lose without its musical accompaniment. It is good that we can feel this. The liturgical text is a unity of word and music, and although the melodies we use are not always the best, even those we have are necessary for the liturgical service. Here is one of the stichera of the feast:

“Rejoice, life-giving Cross of the Lord, thou never conquered battle trophy of piety, support and staff of the faithful, the wall surrounding the Church, and the door that leadeth into Paradise. Through the hath corruption been made to vanish and be no more; death’s mighty power hath been vanquished and swallowed up, and we have been raised from the earth to celestial things. O truceless foe of demons, and our weapon invincible, thou art the glory of Martyrs and true adornment of all the Saints, calm port of salvation, that which granteth the Great Mercy of God unto the world.”

And then there are two more stichera that begin with the same words: “Rejoice, life-giving Cross of the Lord…” and a third one beginning with: “Rejoice, thou faithful guide of the blind…” This is, of course, a very striking and beautiful moment of the service.

On this day, the Typikon instructs that the Cross should be taken from the sanctuary after the great doxology. The Typikon also describes a special rite of the Exaltation of the Cross (nowadays, it is performed mostly in cathedrals). The deacon proclaims a special prayer and the choir sings the so- called “sotnitsy” four times. A “sotnitsa” (from “сотня”, “sotnia” meaning “a hundred”) is the short prayer “Lord, have mercy!” repeated a hundred times. It is necessary to mention that the ordinance to perform the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross only in cathedrals appeared in the Typikon just at the end of the 17th century. The modern Greek Typikon ordains that it should be performed in all churches. This is quite logical: we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross rather than the veneration of the Cross alone. At the end of the service, there is the veneration and the kissing of the Cross, with the singing of the same Lenten Triodion stichera that are sung during the Adoration of the Holy Cross week.

Although we have yet to talk about the Triodion, we will say a few words about these texts. They use a poetic technique, which is very common in the Triodion: separate parts, phrases have incompatible concepts, and every time it creates an obstacle to encounter using your mind: it is incompatible, it is impossible, but it is something that has already happened. It is incomprehensible for the mind, but it can be comprehended by a believing heart. Both during the feasts of the Exaltation and the Adoration of the Cross we hear the following:

“Today, the Master of creation and Lord of glory is nailed to the Cross…” The Master of creation and Lord of glory is, like some runaway slaves or rebellious gladiator, executed by the most shameful execution. “Today, the Master of creation and Lord of glory is nailed to the Cross and his side is pierced. He Who is the sweet drink of the Church tastes gall and vinegar! The One Who crowned the Heavens is crowned with thorns; He is vested in a robe of mockery. The Creator of the earth is struck with human hands. He accepts scourging, spitting and buffeting, all for the sake of me, as I stand condemned! He is my God and compassionate deliverer, Who saves the world from deceit!”

And these are perhaps even more striking words: “Today He Who is intangible in essence becometh tangible to me…” And then the chanters invite the believers to worship the Cross: “Come, ye faithful, let us bow down before the life- creating Tree.”

This solemn and powerful feast of the Menology becomes, on each occasion, the presence of the Lenten Triodion within the Menology; everything is remembered: the Lent, the Exaltation of the Cross and the Holy Week. On this day, the unity of the two parts of the annual cycle is very clear.

The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple is celebrated on 21 November (the Julian calendar). The Forefeast is on 20 November and the Afterfeast lasts until 25 November. What makes this feast unique is that it is the only one in the Typikon that can be combined with a service to the saints. Usually, in the period of the Afterfeast the service for the saints is postponed and served on another day, with the exception of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.

This feast is mentioned quite early, in the fourth century. It is also based on the Church Tradition, the Protoevangelium of James. The liturgical texts recount the details of the events and their contents once again prove the Christocentric veneration of the Mother of God in Orthodoxy. Of course, this can mainly be seen in the troparion (Apolytikion or Dismissal Hymn) and the kontakion of the feast.

The troparion of the Nativity of Most Holy Mother of God:

“Your Nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from You, O Mother of God! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, He has granted us eternal Life.”

The troparion of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple:

“Today is the prelude of the good will of God, of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. The Virgin appears in the Temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all. Let us rejoice and sing to Her: Rejoice, O divine Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation!”

There are some very interesting words about the Mother of God in the canon of the Entrance:

“Three years old in the flesh and many years old in spirit, more spacious than the Heavens and higher than the powers above, let the Bride of God be praised in song.” (5th troparion 3rd ode of the canon).

You will remember that, according to the Church Tradition, the Mother of God was three years old at that time. “Three years old in the flesh and many years old in spirit” - these are the words the hymnographers found for the glorification of the Theotokos.

The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple has a connection with the Forefeast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Firstly, the Nativity Lent begins seven days before the feast of the Entry. Secondly, the Nativity katavasia is sung for the first time precisely during the service for the Entry. Its opening words are: “Christ is born, give ye glory. Christ is come from Heaven, receive ye Him…”

The katavasia is a cycle of irmos sung at the end of each canon ode during great feasts services. The katavasia of the feasts related to Jesus Christ are a sort of a Forefeast, i.e. the Lord’s katavasia are chanted during the period when the Church prepares us for the next feast of the Lord.

We have approached the centre of the Menology with Nativity and Epiphany, which in ancient times were celebrated as a single feast, called Epiphany. Only later were they divided into two. Not only theologically, but also liturgically, these two feasts form a very strong, inseparable unity. The services on these days are completely symmetrical: they each have five days of Forefeast, which includes two very similar Eves. The Nativity Afterfeast is shorter than that of Epiphany because of the feast of Circumcision of Jesus that follows it. Thus, we have to celebrate the Nativity Afterfeast earlier in order to celebrate the Circumcision of Christ.

The Church prepares us for Nativity almost like it prepares us for Easter: it is the center of the whole year and primarily the center of the Triodion cycle, while Nativity and Epiphany are the center of the Menology. Both Nativity and Easter are preceded by a forty-day Lent. It is true that the Nativity Lent is less severe and more joyful than the Great Lent, with more feasts and less food regulations. In the middle of the Nativity Lent, the feast of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified is celebrated. There is another katavasia on this day - the only one during this period.

In addition, both Nativity and Epiphany have five days of forefeast when, as on most other days of the year, a Compline is to be celebrated. The Charter prescribes special canons for these Complines. Five in total, they are symmetrical to those sung during the Holy Week, at the Matins from Tuesday through Saturday: on Tuesday the diodion is to be sung, on Wednesday – the triodion, on Thursday and Saturday – the entire canon and on Friday – the triodion again. During these five Forefeast days both before Nativity and Epiphany the canons are sung at the Compline, not at the Matins but in the same order with the only difference: the diodion is replaced by the triodion. Thus, the order is as follows: a triodion, a triodion, the entire canon, a triodion and once again the entire canon. There are interesting parallels with the texts read during the Holy Week. For example, the acrostic of the canon. “I honour the Holy Saturday…” Thus, on Nativity and Epiphany Eves, we commemorate the Holy Saturday because, as said above, Nativity and Epiphany are the center of the Menology, just as Easter is the center of the Triodion.

The Church prepares us for Nativity, firstly, with a forty-day Lent, secondly, with repeated singing of the Nativity katavasia, and thirdly, with solemn services. For example, during the service of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (celebrated on 6 December (the Julian calendar)), Christmas stichera are already sung, although formally the Nativity Forefeast has not yet begun. In addition, the Nativity is preceded by the week of the Holy Forefathers and the week of the Holy Fathers. On these days, we remember those who did not meet Christ in person despite their expectations but formed an unbroken chain of those waiting for the Messiah.

Finally, both Nativity and Epiphany have a special forefeast day: Christmas Eve and Epiphany eve. These are days of strict fasting and unique church services.

If Nativity Eve or Epiphany Eve fall on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, then Royal Hours, the Typica, Vespers with Prophecies and the liturgy of Saint Basil the Great are to be served on that day. Since the Vespers always include two days and the feast stichera are already sung during the Vespers, the Nativity extends to become the longest church day. At the end of the Liturgy of Saint Basil, a solemn doxology takes place: a candle is carried out of the sanctuary and the feast troparion and kontakion are sung. In a certain way it can be considered as the beginning of Nativity.

A special all-night Vigil is served for the feast itself. It does not contain a great Vespers and Matins, but includes a great Compline, a Lity and Matins instead.

Nativity is celebrated on 25 December (the Julian calendar). If it falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, the liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is held. If Nativity falls on a Sunday or Monday and so Christmas Eve falls, respectively, on a Saturday or Sunday, then the liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is served on Christmas Eve and the liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is served on Nativity day itself.

In addition, the Royal Hours are never read on a Saturday or Sunday, as this service is associated with a strict lent, whereas these two days by their very nature cannot be days of fasting (not in the sense of food, but in the sense of the church service). In this case, the Royal Hours are moved to Friday. Hence, if Nativity Eve falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Royal Hours are read on Friday with no liturgy.

It is important to say that the Nativity Forefeast service is in many aspects more beautiful than the service of Nativity itself. The Matins canon, written by John of Damascus, is difficult to understand, because its translation is not very successful despite its interesting iambic meter. The feast Compline is characterized by unique canons with amazing texts that in many ways repeat those of the Holy week. Thus, in the royal hours there is a sticheron symmetrical to the one of the Holy Friday:

“Today He Who holds the whole creation in His hand is born of a Virgin. He Whose essence none can touch is bound in swaddling-clothes as a mortal Man. God, Who in the beginning fashioned the Heavens, lies in a manger. He Who rained manna on His people in the wilderness is fed on milk from His mother’s breast. The Bridegroom of the Church summons the wise men; the Son of the Virgin accepts their gifts. We worship Your birth, O Christ. We worship Your birth, O Christ. We worship Your birth, O Christ. Show us also Your Holy Theophany!”

It reminds us of the words of the Holy Friday sticheron: “We worship Your passion, O Christ (sung three times). Show us also Your Holy Resurrection!”

One of the most wonderful Christmas hymns says:

“What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, in that Thou hast appeared on earth as a man for our sake? For every creature fashioned by Thee offereth Thee thanksgiving: the angels, hymnody; the Heavens, a star; the magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, a cave; the wilderness, a manger; and we, the Virgin Mother. O God Who hast existed from before time, have mercy upon us!”

It is a wonderful part of the service, one of the jewels of liturgical theology: first the perplexity of how to meet, how to bestow the Lord, and then the most precious gift that could ever be offered to Him, the Mother of God. It turned out that the human race had a pure, sinless Virgin, who alone could serve the deed that surpasses all reason - the Incarnation of God.

The service texts of the Forefeast and Nativity itself are full of vivid dialogues between Joseph and the Mother of God (verses at the Royal Hours), in which Joseph is perplexed by the events and the Theotokos reassures him. These texts are amazing in that they reveal the doubts and confusion of a holy man.

The texts first of all tell us that “the Creator of the law fulfilleth the prescriptions of the law”, meaning that He Who gave the law is its fulfiller.

Finally, Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January (the Julian calendar). The Forefeast begins on 2 January and the Afterfeast ends on 14 January. Everything said about the five Forefeast days of Nativity and its Eve also applies to the feast of Epiphany, since the services are symmetrical. The meaning of this feast can be hard to comprehend and further reading is needed for its understanding. It is difficult to realize what changes in the earthly service of Christ occurred during the events of Epiphany.

On the Eve of the feast, a service of the Great Blessing of Waters takes place. According to the current practice, Holy Water is blessed twice: at the end of the divine liturgy on the feast Eve and on the morning of Epiphany, but this is a later tradition. The modern version of the Typicon prescribes the Blessing of Waters only on Epiphany Eve. On this day, the Blessing of Waters Service is much more solemn than usual. It includes a prayer, which is almost the same as in the sacrament of the Baptism, which clearly shows that dividing the services into sacraments and non-sacraments is conventional. The Blessing of Water is not usually considered one of the main sacraments (there are seven of them), but there is a clear link between them.

The feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ is celebrated on 2 February with the Forefeast on 1 February and the Afterfeast on 9 February. Sometimes the Afterfeast can be celebrated earlier, depending on the beginning of the Lenten Triodion. This feast, based on the Gospel (Luke 2), has been known since the fourth century. It has been solemnly celebrated since the sixth century, after a terrible plague. In the liturgical sense, there is a very special and interesting aspect to this feast: it is both a feast of the Theotokos and of the Lord. It is called the Presentation of the Jesus Christ, but the vestments are blue (however, the colour symbolism of the vestments that we are used to, is rather conventional and not identical in the various churches; the Typicon says almost nothing about it). The troparion: “Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of grace” is addressed to the Mother of God, and the kontakion is about the Lord: “O Thou Who didst hallow the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth and didst bless the hands of Symeon.”

The antiphons in the liturgy are pictorial, but there is an entrance verse. The connection with the Sunday service is the same as for the Theotokos- related feasts but there is a festive dismissal. This feast is on the borderline between a Lord’s and a Theotokos’ feast, and it is very interesting to look through its texts and understand what is connected to Jesus Christ and what to the Theotokos. This duality gives this feast a very special character among the other twelve Great Feasts.

The Afterfeast is not always celebrated on February 9, because the feast falls in the time when the Lenten Triodion may begin. There are many chapters from the Gospel of Mark in the Tipikon, which consider the cases when the feast coincides with the various days of the Lenten Triodion. Depending on this, the celebration of the Afterfeast may be shortened. The second day of the feast has a special dedication. The day after the Nativity we celebrate the Synaxis of the Theotokos, the day after the Epiphany we celebrate the Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist, and the day after the Presentation of Jesus Christ we celebrate Saint Simeon the God-receiver and Saint Anna the Prophetess.

On 25 March (according to the Julian calendar) the Annunciation of the Theotokos is celebrated, and here again we see a very special moment in the history of religious services, when an ancient feast dedicated of the Christ became a feast dedicated to the Theotokos. In ancient times the Annunciation was called the day of the Incarnation and was celebrated as a feast of the Lord, while we celebrate it and perceive it as a purely Theotokos feast. Remember its troparion: “Today is the crown of our salvation…”. There are as many chapters in Mark’s chapters about the Annunciation as there are about the Presentation of Jesus Christ, because there is a huge number of coincidences with different days of the Lenten Triodion and Festal Triodion.

The service of the feast is centred on the dialogue that took place between the Archangel Gabriel and the Mother of God and is presented in detail in the Gospel ( Luke 1: 26-38). This dialogue is most vividly presented in the canon, but also in other places. For example, there is the following sticheron:

“Today Gabriel announceth to her who is full of grace: “Rejoice, O Mother unwed, who knewest not wedlock! Be not amazed by my strange appearance, neither be thou afraid; for I am an archangel! The serpent once deceived Eve; but now I announce joy unto thee: thou wilt remain incorrupt and wilt give birth to the Lord, O all-holy one!”

We see an interesting opposition between the conversation of the Archangel Gabriel with the Theotokos and the serpent with Eve. He says that the serpent deceived Eve, but I tell you the truth. And then the canon is sung, which in its main part is a creation of Saint Theophanes, Metropolitan of Nicaea (a 9th century hymnographer). This canon represents a dialogue between the Archangel Gabriel and the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and now (it has not always been so) in our divine service it is read with the special refrains “The Theotokos” meaning that the Theotokos is speaking and “The Angel” meaning that the Archangel is speaking. And every troparion represents the speaking of one of the participants in this dialogue. At the moment when the Blessed Virgin asks: “How shall what thou hast said come to pass?”, i.e. how can this be what you are talking about, the Archange says: “O Virgin, thou seekest to learn from me the manner of thy conceiving; yet it is indescribable. The Holy Spirit, overshadowing thee, shall accomplish it by His creative power.” You want to know how it will happen, but it is unknowable, impossible to explain. And the Virgin Mary remembers Eve: “My first mother, accepting the serpent’s knowledge, was driven away from divine sustenance; wherefore, I fear thy strange salutation, wary lest I stumble.” Eve was deceived by the serpent, and I too am afraid of being deceived.

The Gospel says that the Blessed Virgin was confused (Luke 1:29), i.e. she did not immediately accept the words of the Archangel, but tried to comprehend and process them. And in the canon Archangel again says to Her: “I am sent as a divine intercessor to convey to thee the counsel of God. Wherefore fearest thou me who am even more in awe of thee, O most immaculate one? Why dost thou render homage to me who render homage to thee with honor, O Mistress?” You are afraid of me, but I myself am afraid of what I am saying, because something unbelievable is happening.

The further development of the canon and this dialogue finally leads to the point where the Gospel words “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1: 38) are paraphrased. In the 8th ode of the canon this acceptance and affirmation of the will of God takes place. “Thou showest thyself to me as a herald of the truth,” (I believe what you are saying) the Virgin said, “for thou hast come as a harbinger of common joy. I have therefore cleansed soul and body. Be it unto me according to thy word, that God may dwell in me, to Whom I cry out with thee: ‘Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord, and exalt Him supremely forever!” The earlier misunderstanding in this dialogue, in this conversation, disappears in the final odes of the canon, and a harmonious, joyful hymn appears. And, of course, the Incarnation of the Son of God could only be when the Blessed Virgin responded in agreement: “Thou showest thyself to me as a herald of the truth”, I believe that your words are the words of God.

Every year the Annunciation service is as if in new clothes, in a new guise because of the different combinations with the days of the Lenten Triodion or the Festive Triodion. The feast can fall on any day from Thursday of the third week of the Great Lent to Wednesday of the Holy Week. The service depends on the day. It will be completely different on a Lent day and on Holy Thursday, for example. For every case, the Typicon gives a detailed explanation of the service, reflecting both the hierarchy of the feasts and the desire to combine them in such a way that no part will be missed.

After the Annunciation, the most important moveable feasts of the Church are celebrated: the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Easter, the second Sunday of Easter, Mid-Pentecost, Ascension and Pentecost (these feasts will be covered in a separate lesson).

The next fast, the Dormition Fast, prepares us for the Dormition of the Mother of God, but before we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus (6 August, Julian calendar). This is an important feast related of the Lord, and the fact that the feast coincides with the time of Fast has an impact on it. The Fast of the Dormition is very strict in food, but not so strict terms of services, because the Forefeast and Afterfeast of the Transfiguration makes it impossible to serve lent services that are prescribed for the other fasts.

The feast of the Transfiguration has all the characteristics of the other Great Lord’s feasts: if it falls on a Sunday, it cancels the Sunday service, there is always a Vigil (the entire feast service), festive antiphons at the liturgy, etc.

This celebration is based on the Gospel. But why do we celebrate it on 6 August? The Gospel does not speak explicitly about the time of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor (Mark 17: 1-9). There is the Church Tradition according to which the Transfiguration of Our Lord took place 40 days before the Crucifixion and death of the Saviour. According to our Church calendar, the Feast of Transfiguration is celebrated 40 days before the Exaltation of the Cross, as if forming a special cycle. Transfiguration has its deep inner meaning connected with expectation of sufferings, prediction of them. The Lord showed His Glory to the apostles so that when they saw Him crucified they understood that this was “suffering of His own free will”. This is what the texts of the feast teach us.

In the service of the Transfiguration two main themes of church hymnography can be identified. The first theme is light. Let us recall the difficult debates about the nature of the Tabor Light in the fourteenth century. The feast service speaks extensively of this Light.

The divine glory was revealed so that the disciples, seeing the suffering on the Cross, would not doubt that it was the God-man who was suffering on the Cross, so that they would know that God was suffering freely and not the man was overcome by stronger ones.

At the end of the Dormition Fast we celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos (15 August according to the Julian calendar; the Forefeast is on 14 August, the Afterfeast ends on 23 August). Like most of the Theotokos-related feasts, it is based on the Church Tradition. The Holy Scripture does not say a word about the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The tradition goes back to the testimony of Dionysius the Areopagite in the first century. A more detailed account of the Assumption belongs to the fourteenth century and is attributed to Nicephorus Callistus. It is a small and interesting text that describes in detail all that we know about this event and what is stated and understood in the liturgical texts.

What themes appear in the divine service? First, the miraculous gathering of the Apostles, who were carried to Jerusalem by air. The icon shows them as if on clouds, carrying them to the place of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Other themes also appear, such as the deathbed conversation, the death and the burial of the Theotokos. The Apostle Thomas is mentioned separately: he was late, they opened the tomb for him and saw that the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not there anymore, that She was taken together with Her body to Heaven.

The texts of the solemn service describe very movingly the Apostles’ farewell to the Mother of God (sticheron after Psalm 50):

When the repose of thine all-pure body drew nigh, the apostles, standing about thy bed, looked upon thee with trembling; and, gazing at thy body, they were seized with awe. And Peter cried aloud to thee, weeping: “ O Virgin, I behold thee clearly stretched out, the life of all, and I am amazed, for in thy body the Delight of the life to come made His abode!” O all-pure one, earnestly entreat thy Son and God, that thy flock be saved unharmed.

Peter is perplexed, struck by the contradiction: The one who was the receptacle, the home, the temple the kiot of the Life is also subject to the law of death. How is this possible?

The feast Exapostilarion is interesting:

“O ye apostles, having gathered here from the ends of the earth, bury my body in the Garden of Gethsemane. And do Thou, O my Son and God, receive my spirit!”

It is quite clear that the hymnographer made the Mother of God say these amazing words, She tells the apostles to bury Her body in the Gethsemane and then addresses Her prayer to Her Son and God.

There is a lot of direct speech in our services. We do not find such words in the Gospel nor in the Church Tradition, but the hymnographer dares to compose them, putting them into the mouth of one or another person involved in the events of the feast. These texts show us the amazing breadth, freedom and audacity of liturgical creativity and teach us a great deal.

The feast of the Dormition is linked to a special service, the burial of the Epitaphios of the Theotokos. This service is not indicated in the current edition of the Typicon, but is mentioned in the modern Greek Typicon. The date of this service varies from church to church: somewhere the burial takes place on the day of the Dormition, somewhere on the next day, somewhere on the Afterfeast, and it varies everywhere.

The service of the Burial of the Epitaphios of the Most Holy Theotokos is mentioned in the modern Greek Typikon, in the edition of the Jerusalem Typikon, which was translated in Constantinople by Athanasios of Vysotsk with the blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the fourteenth century - it is the most complete, authoritative and thoroughly detailed of the Typikons. We must constantly refer to it, for our Tipikon has been edited, rearranged, supplemented many times and is not as logical as the modern Greek Typikon. The service was mentioned there, but by no means in its present form. The modern Greek Tipikon does not know the rite of burial of the Theotokos, but in some churches it is still performed. The service that we know, appears quite late and is celebrated in the temple in the Gethsemane in Jerusalem, where this event really took place. This service appeared in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. At first it was celebrated only in the Gethsemane skete near the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius, but in the sixties of the twentieth century it became widespread.

  • Great Immovable Feasts.

Graph View

Backlinks