“And
when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight."
(Acts 1:9)
The
fortieth day after Easter Sunday commemorates the Ascension of Jesus
Christ into heaven. The term used in the Western Church,
ascensio signifies
that Christ was raised up by His own powers. Within the
Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis,
the taking up, and also as the episozomene,
salvation from on high – denoting that by ascending
Christ completed the work of our redemption. Holy
Tradition designates Mount Olivet near Bethany as
the place where Christ left the earth. As an Ecumenical feast it
ranks with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter, and
of Pentecost as being amongst the most solemn of the liturgical
calender.
The
Ascension is the capstone of the life of Jesus Christ, and is made up
of three key events: (1) Christ's final departure from the earth; (2)
His going up into heaven; and, (3) The taking of His place at the
right hand of the Father. These events are affirmed in the Nicene
Creed and in the
Apostles' Creed,
and implies Jesus' humanity as being taken into Heaven.
The
historical observance of the Ascension is located in the time of the
Church Fathers, and although there is little evidence of it prior to
the fifth century, St. Augustine affirmed that it is of
Apostolic origin and claimed that it was of universal observance
before his time. Mention of the feast is also found in the
writings of St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and
in the Constitution of the Apostles.
Certain
local customs are connected with the liturgy during this feast, such
as the blessing of beans and grapes after the Commemoration of the
Dead in the Latin
Canon, the blessing
of first fruits within the English Book
of Common Prayer
on Rogation Days, and processions with banners outside
the churches to commemorate the entry of Christ into
heaven. There is also a uniquely English custom of carrying at the
head of the procession a banner bearing the device of the lion, and
at the foot the banner, an image of a dragon to symbolize the
triumph of Christ in His ascension over the evil
one.
The story of
Christ's ascension can be found in the Gospel
of Luke and the Book
of Acts.
