I’m writing this just a few days after the graduation ceremonies for our church school, and looking forward, with all the kids, to a long summer off… NOT!! Are you kidding? We have a lot to do this summer, as we head into the final stretch of the church year.
Five weeks and four days after Pascha (May 20, this year), we celebrate the Leavetaking of Pascha – saying our farewells to the feast and singing our final “Christ is Risen!” for the year. But on the very next day, the 40th after the resurrection (May 21), we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, remembering that after He rose from the dead, Jesus “ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end.”
On the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday (May 30), we celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the church. We resume the singing of “O Heavenly King” during Vespers the evening before, and at Vespers on the day of Pentecost itself, we read the beautiful and moving “Kneeling Prayers.” The following Monday (June 1) is dedicated to “the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.” The dates of Ascension and Pentecost vary each year, as they are based on the date of Pascha, but they generally fall in late May or early June.
All Saints Day is the Sunday after Pentecost (June 7), and is an extension of feast – as we remember all those who, nourished by the Holy Spirit, grew up and bore fruit in the garden of the church. The Monday after All Saints (June 8) marks the beginning of the Apostles’ Fast, which ends with the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29. When Pascha and the feasts connected to it come early, the fast is long. When Pascha comes very late, the fast can vanish entirely, ending before it begins! (But only on the New Calendar. On the Old Calendar, it’s always 13 days longer!) June ends with the Synaxis (gathering-in-honor) of the Holy Apostles on June 30… marking the end of the first of three very busy, very joyful months in the life of the church. I’ll tell you more about July next time – but as a hint, it’s all about the saints!
