Feast of the Ascension

TheFeast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ(also called theSolemnity of the Ascension of the Lord,Ascension Day,Ascension Thursday, or sometimesHoly Thursday)commemorates the Christian belief of the bodilyAscension of Jesusinto Heaven. It is one of theecumenical(shared by multiple denominations) feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of thePassionandPentecost. Following the account ofActs 1:3that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day ofEasteraccording toinclusive counting, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes calledAscension Sunday. The day of observance varies by ecclesiastical province in many Christian denominations, as with Methodists and Catholics, for example.
Ascensiontiderefers to the ten-day period between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost.The Sunday within that period may be referred to as the Seventh Sunday of Easter or the Sunday in Ascensiontide.
The observance of this feast is of great antiquity.Eusebiusseems to hint at the celebration of it in the 4th century.At the beginning of the 5th century,Augustine of Hipposays that it is ofApostolicorigin, and he speaks of it in a way that shows it was the universal observance of the Catholic Church long before his time. Frequent mention of it is made in the writings ofJohn Chrysostom,Gregory of Nyssa, and in theConstitution of the Apostles. ThePilgrimage of Aetheriaspeaks of the vigil of this feast and of the feast itself, as they were kept in the church built over the grotto inBethlehemin which Christ is traditionally regarded as having been born.It may be that prior to the 5th century the event narrated in the Gospels was commemorated in conjunction with the feast of Easter or Pentecost. Somebelieve that the much-disputed forty-third decree of theSynod of Elvira(c.300) condemning the practice of observing a feast on the fortieth day after Easter and neglecting to keep Pentecost on the fiftieth day, implies that the proper usage of the time was to commemorate the Ascension along with Pentecost.Representations of themysteryare found indiptychsandfrescoesdating as early as the 5th century.Hymns for this feast are found in the Georgian Chantbook of Jerusalem,which contains material composed during the 5th century.
The Latin terms used for the feast,ascensioand, occasionally,ascensa, signify that Christ was raised up by his own powers, and it is from these terms that the holy day gets its name. In theBook of Common Prayerof theAnglican Communion, "Holy Thursday" is listed as another name for Ascension Day.William Blake's poem "Holy Thursday" refers to Ascension Day; Thomas Pruen used the term to refer to Ascension Day in hisIllustration of the Liturgy of the Church of England, published in 1820;however use of the term "Holy Thursday" to mean Ascension Day is rare,and the term is more generally applied by most Christian denominations toMaundy ThursdayinHoly Week.
InWestern Christianity, the earliest possible date is April 30 (as in 1818 and 2285), the latest possible date is June 3 (as in 1943 and 2038). In theCatholic Church, the Ascension of the Lord is ranked as aSolemnityand is aHoly Day of Obligation. In theAnglican Communion, Ascension Day is aPrincipal Feast.
The three days before Ascension Thursday are sometimes referred to as theRogation days, and the previous Sunday—the Sixth Sunday of Easter (or the Fifth SundayafterEaster)—asRogation Sunday.
Ascension has avigiland, since the 15th century, anoctave, which is set apart for anovenaof preparation for Pentecost.
In traditional Methodist usage,The Book of Worship for Church and Home(1965) provides the followingCollectfor Ascension Day, commonly called Holy Thursday:
Catholic parishes in a number of countries that do not observe the feast as a public holiday have obtained permission from theVaticanto move observance of the Feast of the Ascension from the traditional Thursday to the following Sunday, the Sunday before Pentecost. Similarly, theUnited Methodist Churchallows the traditional celebration on Holy Thursday to be moved to Sunday.This is in keeping with a trend to moveHoly Days of Obligationfrom weekdays to Sunday, to encourage more Christians to observe feasts considered important.The decision to move a feast is made by eachConference of Catholic Bishopswith prior approval of theApostolic See.In some cases the Conference may delegate the determination for specific feasts to the bishops of anecclesiastical provincewithin the conference, i.e. anarchbishopand the neighbouring bishops.
The switch to Sunday was made in 1992 by theConference of Catholic Bishops in Australia;before 1996 in parts of Europe;in 1997 inIreland;before 1998in Canadaand parts of the western United States;in many other partsin the United Statesfrom 1999;and inEngland and Walesfrom 2007 to 2017, but in 2018 reinstated toThursday.In the U.S., the determination of whether to move Ascension was delegated to the provinces by theUSCCB, and the ecclesiastical provinces which retain Thursday observance in 2022 areBoston,Hartford,New York,Omaha,Philadelphia,and thePersonal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. When celebrated on Sunday, the earliest possible date is May 3, and the latest is June 6.
In theEastern Churchthis feast is known in Greek asAnalepsis, the "taking up", and also as theEpisozomene, the "salvation from on high", denoting that by ascending into his glory Christ completed the work of ourredemption.Ascension is one of the TwelveGreat Feastsof the Orthodoxliturgical year.
The feast is always observed with anAll-night vigil. The day before is theApodosis(leave-taking) of Easter (i.e., the last day of the Feast of Easter). Before the Vigil, thePaschal Hoursare said for the last time and thePaschal greetingis exchanged.
TheParoemia(Old Testamentreadings) atVesperson the eve of the Feast areIsaiah 2:2–3;Isaiah 62:10–63:3,63:7–9; andZechariah 14:1–4,14:8–11.ALityis celebrated. Thetroparionof the day is sung, which says:
During thePolyeleosatMatins, theEpitaphios, which was placed on the altar onHoly Saturday(either at Matins or theMidnight Office, depending on local custom) is taken from the altar and carried in procession around the church. It is then put in the place reserved for it. The Gospel isMark 16:9–20. The kontakion is sung, which announces:
Themegalynarionandirmosfrom Ode IX of the Canon (also sung at liturgy) is:
At theDivine Liturgy, special antiphons are sung in place of Psalms 102 and 145 and the Beatitudes. TheEpistleisActs 1:1–12, and theGospelisLuke 24:36–53.
Ascension Thursday also commemorates the HolyGeorgianMartyrsof Persia (17th–18th centuries).
Ascension has anAfterfeastof eight days. The Sunday after Ascension is the Sunday of theHoly Fathersof theFirst Ecumenical CouncilatNicaea.This council formulated theNicene Creedup to the words, "He (Jesus) ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end."The Afterfeast ends on the following Friday, the Friday before Pentecost. The next day is appropriately aSaturday of the Dead(general commemoration of all faithful departed).
The Eastern Orthodox Church uses a different method ofcalculatingthedate of Easter, so the Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Ascension will usually be after the western observance (either one week, or four weeks, or five weeks later; but occasionally on the same day). The earliest possible date for the feast is May 13 (of the Western calendar), and the latest possible date is June 16. Some of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, however, observe Ascension on the same date as the Western Churches.
Thefeast has been associatedwith specific hymns and other church music. The oldesthymnin German related to the feast is theLeise"Christ fuhr gen Himmel", first published in 1480.Johann Sebastian Bachcomposed severalcantatasand theAscension Oratorioto be performed in church services on the feast day. He first performedWer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37, on 18 May 1724,Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128, on 10 May 1725,Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43, on 30 May 1726 and the oratorio,Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, BWV 11, on 19 May 1735.
ManyMessianic psalmsare used at the feast of Ascension includingPsalm 24,Psalm 47andPsalm 68. The dialogue "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" from Psalm 24 (verses 7–10) has inspired Handel's setting in Part II of hisMessiahin the scene "Ascension", andChristoph Bernhard Verspoell's 1810 hymn in German, "Öffnet eure Tore".Phillip Moore's anthemThe Ascensionsets words based on the same verses.
Olivier Messiaenwrote an orchestral suite, later partly transcribed for organ, calledL'Ascensionin the 1930s.
Settings of "God is gone up" have been composed byWilliam Croft,Arthur HutchingsandGerald Finzi(words by Edward Taylor).Other settings suitable for the occasion includeWilliam Matthias'sLift up your heads. "Im Himmel hoch verherrlicht ist" (Highly gloryfied in Heaven) is a 1973 hymn in German for the occasion.
TheRSCMhas produced an extensive list of music (including hymns, anthems and organ music) suitable for Ascension.