… After the Easter events, the disciples of Christ had not yet fully realized their full significance. It was enough for them to know that the Lord lives, that He is resurrected. They returned from Jerusalem to Galilee, and there He appeared to them more than once, now on the mountain, now on the shore of the lake. The bright world descended into their souls. The apostles hardly thought about the future.
When Christ lived among them, they relied on Him for everything. Now Jesus is here again, by his side. After long trials, the time of rest came … But the earthly path of the Messiah had already been completed, and from now on the disciples themselves had to pave the way for the Good News.
And so the Son of Man appeared before them on one of the Galilee hills. It was the fortieth day after His resurrection. The apostles fell on their faces before the Teacher and in the silence that reigned they heard what they could only guess. Their fate was decided: the disciples were to fulfill the apostolic mission in this world.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me,” said the Lord. - So go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and I am with you all the days until the end of the age."
Christ raised his hands and blessed the apostles. And so, blessing, he began to move away from them, ascend to heaven. A shining cloud of Heavenly Glory hid Him.
The disciples stood motionless, looked at the sky and waited …
Suddenly two angels in white robes appeared to them and announced: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing and looking at heaven? Jesus, ascended from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him ascending …”Then the apostles bowed down to the ascended Son of God and with joy in their souls, with a light heart, returned to Jerusalem.
Since then, on the fortieth day after Easter, Christians celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
Promotional video:
Mount of Olives, or Ascension, is the highest of the mountains that surround Jerusalem. In the place from which the Savior ascended, once stood a beautiful church, erected by St. Helena. From this place, Christ ascended to heaven, blessing his disciples. The Mount of Olives is also called the mountain of "three lights". It is illuminated by the light of the rising and setting sun, and in ancient times at night it was illuminated by the lights of Solomon's temple.
Many decades ago, on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension, many people came to the Mount of Olives, and there, with burning candles, they spent the whole night in prayer and singing. And the whole mountain seemed to be on fire.
… They came to take a look - the coffin was empty!
And the myrrh-bearers fled
Tell a miracle of miracles:
That there is no Him to seek!
Said: "I will rise again"! And he rose again!
They are running … silent … they dare not admit it.
That there is no death, that there will be an hour
Are they gro? would also be empty, Lightening by the fire of the sky!
(K. Sluchevsky)
In the 4th and 5th centuries, the feast of the Ascension was already universal in the Christian Church. Over time, a special service was drawn up for this holiday: it consists of canons belonging to the famous church songwriter - St. John of Damascus.
In ancient times, various customs and rituals were associated with the Ascension: in Europe, in some areas, the statue of Christ was raised to the ceiling of the temple, accompanied by special ceremonies and chants. In Russia, on Ascension, ladders of dough were baked - "Christ's ladders", and they ate them carefully, crossing themselves. Whoever breaks the ladder will not ascend to heaven, sins are too heavy.
Girls and girls went to Ascension with eggs and pancakes in the field. Each one looked for its own strip, threw the egg up three times, then broke it, bit off a piece of the egg and pancake, and buried the rest in the strip, while saying:
Christ, fly to heaven
Pull the ears of our horn.
Folk sayings said that spring is ending, summer is approaching:
And spring in Russia is glad to be a century old, and when Ascension comes on the day - it will bite like a cuckoo, it will fill with a nightingale, it will clean up its bosom by summer.
Ascension day will come, spring-red laziness will be thrown off, in the summer it will turn around - pretend to be - he will start working in the field.
The night before the Ascension is special - the nightingale. Nightingales sing louder and louder than at other times.
From the book: "100 Great Holidays". Elena Olegovna Chekulaeva