On Thursday of the 6th week of Pascha, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
This Feast is based on the New Testament texts from Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:1-12 which speaks about the event of Jesus’s Ascension forty days after Easter. The day before this Feast is the Afterfeast of Easter, the last day on which the Paschal hymn Christ is Risen from the dead is chanted.
The Feast of the Ascension marks the end to the early sequence of Christ’s Resurrection appearances. The Feast signifies the enthronement of Christ as Lord who exercises sovereignty over all things. The Feast also indicates the glorification of human nature in the Risen Christ and anticipates the gift of the Spirit on Pentecost.
As the hymn of Praises for that day sing, “Together with the angels, let us on earth celebrate the Savior’s Ascension in glory. Christ our God, You became man according to Your own will. You appeared among us according to Your good pleasure. You suffered in the flesh and rose from the dead, trampling down death by death. You ascended in glory, filling all creation with Your presence….and You sent us the Holy Spirit that we may praise and glorify Your divinity, Lord glory to You!”
