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HOLY
PASCHA
The
feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, called Holy Pascha
(in the Latin West this Feast is known as "Easter"),
is the greatest of the Feasts of the Orthodox Church.
It is also called the Feast of Feasts, and The Feast of
The LORD's Passover.
The
general "rule of thumb" for calculating the date
of Holy Pascha is as follows: it is celebrated on the first
Sunday after the full moon that follows the Vernal Equinox
(March 21st) according to the Julian calendar (see Paschalion),
and must never be celebrated in advance of the Hebraic Passover.
These last two rules account for the discrepancy that often
occurs between the date upon which the Orthodox Church celebrates
this great Feast and the date that it is celebrated in the
Western Churches. Once in a while, the two celebrations
coincide on the same date; however, these occurrences are
not frequent, nor do they occur in any pattern. (For a detailed
discussion of the calendar issues, go to the following website:
http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/ortheast.html
and http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7050.asp)
THE
12 GREAT FEASTS OF THE CHURCH & their commemoration
The Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church are the twelve
other major celebrations, besides Holy Pascha, which are
commemorated throughout the liturgical year. While various
saints and events are commemorated with significance on
the local level, the entire Orthodox Church celebrates these
12 Great Feasts.
There
is, unfortunately, the issue of New Calendar/Old Calendar
usage among the various Orthodox jurisdictions, and this
complicates the observance of these 12 Great Feasts.
The
"canonical" Orthodox jurisdictions in North
America ("canonical" means those jurisdictions
which are in communion with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
of Constantinople -- in North America, these jurisdictions
are identified as being members in the Standing Conference
of Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, SCOBA)
keep the Feasts according to the Gregorian Calendar (i.e.,
New Calendar).
There
are a few parishes in North America that use the Julian
Calendar (i.e., Old Calendar). These parishes are mainly
those which are directly under the authority of the Patriarchate
of Moscow or of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. However,
the majority of "canonical" Orthodox parishes
in North America belong to SCOBA-member jurisdictions. The
use of the Gregorian Calendar to calculate the commemorations
of saints and feasts during most of the year does not pertain
to the feast of Holy Pascha and the three Great Feasts which
are calculated in relation to Pascha: Palm Sunday, Ascension,
and Pentecost. Every "canonical" Orthodox jurisdiction
in the world calculates the celebration of Holy Pascha according
to the Julian Calendar, because this was the rule established
by the First Ecumenical Council in 325A.D.
There
are numerous other non-canonical
jurisdictions, which use the term "Orthodox" in
their names in North America, which are not in communion
with the "canonical" jurisdictions. Several of
them use the Julian Calendar for calculating the Feasts.
Many of these non-Orthodox churches have numerous other
peculiarities and quirks that overshadow the calendar issue.
Be aware that it is not permitted for members of "canonical"
Orthodox parishes to visit or pray with any of these "non-canonical"
churches.
St.
Michael's parish is a member of the "canonical"
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America,
which is a SCOBA-member jurisdiction. We follow the practice
of the SCOBA member-churches, and use the Gregorian Calendar
to calculate all of the feasts during the year (except,
of course, for the Paschal Cycle).
12
GREAT FEASTS of OUR LORD & of the THEOTOKOS
The 12 Great Feasts hold significance in the life of the
Church because they commemorate certain major events in
the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Theotokos.
Of
these twelve, there
are 8 great feasts that honor our Lord
Jesus Christ and 4 great feasts which honor His
holy mother, the Theotokos.
September
8 -- the
Nativity of the Theotokos
September 14 -- the
Exaltation of the Holy & Life-giving Cross
November 21 -- the
Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple
December 25 -- the
Nativity of God in the Flesh (Christmas)
January 6 -- the
Theophany (the Baptism of Christ by John in the
Jordan) w/the Great Blessing of the Waters
February 2 -- the
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
March 25 -- the
Annunciation of the Incarnation to the Holy Theotokos
Palm
Sunday -- Palm
Sunday is the day upon which our Lord entered
Jerusalem in preparation for celebrating the Passover,
it is commemorated on the Sunday before Holy Pascha
The
Ascension of Christ -- the
Ascension occurs Forty Days after Holy Pascha;
this Feast commemorates the moment in time when the
Resurrected Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Deity, joins
the restored and perfected materiality of Mankind
to the Throne of Glory in the Majesty of the Triune
Godhead.
Holy
Pentecost -- Holy
Pentecost occurs Fifty Days after Holy Pascha;
this Feast commemorates the descent of God, the Holy
Spirit, upon the disciples.
August
6
-- the
Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor
August 15 -- the
Dormition (the repose) of the Theotokos
For
sermons by the great Fathers of the Church on these Feasts,
see the following link:
http://www.oca.org/FSsermons.asp?SID=4
See
this website for information about the major saints of the
Holy Orthodox Church and their feast days throughout the
calendar year:
http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/lives.htm
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