FEAST OF THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
On the sixth of August we celebrate the solemn feast of the Holy
Transfiguration in commemoration of the glorious change in appearance of
our Lord Jesus Christ on a “high mountain” (Mt. 17:1), which, since the
fourth century, Christian tradition identifies with Mt. Tabor. The
Fathers refer to Christ’s transfiguration as to His “second epiphany” or
the second manifestation of His divinity. For this reason the Fathers
during the Christological disputes adduced the transfiguration of Christ
as a certain proof of His divinity. The establishment of the feast then
followed.
1. The glorious transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ is described
in detail by the three Evangelists (Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:1-7; Lk.
9:28-36). St. Peter also vividly recalled the event in his Epistle,
saying: “We have seen His majesty for ourselves. He was honored and
glorified by God the Father, when He spoke to Him and said: ‘This is my
beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’ We heard this ourselves ‘spoken
from heaven, when we were with Him on the Holy Mountain.” (II Pet. 1
:16-18)
The Holy Mountain in biblical sense is the mountain of the
manifestation of God’s glory. We are told that in the Old Testament God ”
called Moses to the top of the mountain” (Ex. 19 :20), and there
manifested Himself to him. It was the holy mountain of Sinai. Then
again, before appearing to the Prophet Elijah, God summoned him to
“Horeb, the mountain of God.” (I Kgs. 19:8) And in the New Testament
Jesus took three of His disciples to a “high mountain” (Mt. 17:1), and
there He was transfigured before them, manifesting to them His divine
glory. As we can see in the Bible a mountain is a favored place of God’s
manifestation to people, for which reason the mountain becomes the holy
mountain. At the same time, a mountain (a high place) properly
symbolizes the exalted dwelling place of God ” on high.” (Is. 33 :5)
Neither St. Peter nor the Evangelists have given us the name of the
mountain on the top of which the transfiguration has taken place. But
the Christian tradition since the fourth century designates the place as
Mt. Tabor, an imposing elevation near Nazareth, surging almost 2,000
feet high into the blue sky of the lush Plain of Esdraelon. There, on
the top of Mt. Tabor, St. Helen (d. about 330) built the church of the
Holy Transfiguration, which shortly afterwards became a favored place of
Christian pilgrimage.
The authentic witness of tradition, St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386),
did not hesitate to indicate Mt. Tabor as the place of Christ’s glorious
transfiguration . (cf. P.G., 33, 743) The famous inhabitant of
Bethlehem, St. Jerome (d. 420), agreed with him in his description of
the Palestinian itinerary of his friend, St. Paula. (cf. P.L., 22, 889).
After them, st. Proclus of Constantinople (d. 447) also testified : ”
Mt. Tabor is the mountain on the top of which Christ willed to be
transfigured.” (cf. P.G., 65, 770)
The modern church of the Holy Transfiguration built on the top of Mt.
Tabor over the ancient ruins in 1924, was designed by a famous Italian
architect, Professor A. Barluzzi.
The holy icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the Orthodox Church of Iringa, Tanzania (from here & here)
2. The importance of the feast of the Holy Transfiguration is
indicated by its high rank in the Byzantine liturgical calendar. The
feast belongs among the twelve Major Feasts and, usually, is represented
by one of the festive icons of the iconostasis. In the East the feast
has been celebrated since the fourth century. Its liturgical solemnity
was enhanced by the Christological disputes, since the transfiguration
was considered as an irrefutable argument for the divinity of Jesus
Christ by the Fathers of the Church. At the same time the commemoration
of the glorious event was to sustain the hope of the faithful in their
participation in Christ’s glory in heaven. The oldest homily for the
feast is ascribed to st. Proclus of Constantinople, who died in 447 A.D.
This would indicate that in Constantinople the feast was already
celebrated in the first half of the fifth century, passing there from
the Church of Jerusalem. Then the feast gradually was extended to other
regions of the Byzantine Church.
The most famous homilies for the feast of the Holy Transfiguration
are those delivered by St. Andrew of Crete (cf. P.G., 97, 931-958) and
St. John of Damascus (cf. P.G., 96, 545-576). The oldest work of art
representing the glorious transfiguration of Christ is a mosaic in the
church of the noted Greek monastery on Mt. Sinai from the sixth century.
The liturgical formation of the festal services took its final shape
during the eighth century, when the beautiful hymns and canons were
composed by the celebrated hymnographers, St. John of Damascus (d. 749)
and St. Cosmas of Maiuma (d. 760) . In the Byzantine Rite the feast of
the Holy Transfiguration was traditionally celebrated on August 6, since
on that day the first church on Mt. Tabor was solemnly dedicated.
During the eighth century the celebration of the feast penetrated into
the West, where it was observed by the local Churches at various dates.
It was only in 1457, that Pope Callistus III extended the solemn
celebration of the feast to the entire Latin Rite Church and introduced
the traditional date of August 6. Thus the feast of the Holy
Transfiguration became a universal holyday and was solemnly celebrated
by both Eastern and Western Churches on August 6.
"After the feast of Holy Transfiguration we did the blessings of the first fruit of harvest" Kenya, from here
3. Since the Gospels describe Christ’s transfiguration in detail, it
was not hard for hymnographers to compose liturgical hymns and
sticheras. It requi red only some appl ication of the scriptural text to
Christian life in poetic form . Making such ” spiritual application” of
the text, at the same time the hymnographers explained the deep
spiritual and liturgical meaning of the feast in order to help the
faithful in their spiritual growth. Thus the liturgical compositions of
the Byzantine Rite have also an educational value.
Some sticheras for the feast describe the entire event of Christ’s
glorious transfiguration as it was recorded by the Evangelists. Thus,
for example, at Matins we sing: “Christ, taking with Him aside Peter,
James and John to a high mountain, was transfigured in their
presence-His face shining like a sun, and His clothes becoming as white
as the light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Him. Suddenly
a bright cloud covered them with shadow and from the cloud there came a
voice, saying : 'This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
Listen to Him!' ”
This stichera, besides repeating almost wordfor- word the Matthean
description of the event, also presents to us the theological meaning of
the transfiguration, namely: the manifestation of the divinity of Jesus
Christ. Christ’s glorified body, the testimony of Moses and Elijah, and
the Father’s voice from heaven are incontestable witnesses to the truth
of the previous confession of St. Peter about Jesus, saying: “You are
Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Mt. 16:16)
The second theme recurring in the festive sticheras is the
encouragement of the Apostles to trust Jesus as they were about to face
the humiliating passion of their Master. This point is emphasized by St.
Luke, who reports that Moses and Elijah “were speaking of His passing
(death), which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem.” (Lk. 9:31 ) So at
Vespers we sing : “As You were transfigured before Your crucifiixion, 0
Lord, . .. Peter, James and John were present, the very same Apostles
who were to be with You at the time of Your betrayal ; so that having
seen You in glory, they would not be dismayed at the time of Your
sufferings.” This stichera is also a reminder to the fai thful-to
recognize in the sufferings and death of Christ the infinite mercy of
God.
The third meaning of the festivity is the assurance of our own
participation in Christ’s glory. Thus at Vespers we are professing :
“Through Your transfiguration, O Lord, You renewed Adam’s fallen nature
to its original beauty, restoring it to the glory and splendor of Your
divinity.” And again at Matins: “As You were transfigured on Mt. Tabor, O
Savior, You manifested the transformation of mankind by Your glory,
which will take place at Your awesome second coming.” Thus, the enti re
liturgy of the Holy Transfiguration is filled with a joyful assurance,
encouragement and hope of our own glorification with Jesus as we “grow
brighter and brighter into His image.” (II Cor. 3:18).
4. The feast of the Holy Transfiguration is celebrated late in
summer, at the time of the first fruits, which remind us of God’s great
goodness and His infinite bounty. To express our recognition and
gratitude to God for His generosity we bring some of these first fruits
to the church for blessing. The custom to bless the first fruits passed
to us from the Old Testament, since the Jews at the very beginning of
their exodus were ordered by Almighty God : “You must bring the best of
the first-fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord, your God.” (Ex.
23:19) St. Gregory of Nazianz (d. 389) calls the practice to bless the
fruits in church a “just and holy” custom. (cf. P.G., 37, 119)
The Christian practice to bless the fruits in church can be traced
back to Apostolic times. The oldest prayer for the blessing of fruits is
registered by the Apostolic Constitutions in the fourth century. But
there is also an older Prayer of Thanksgiving for the new fruits in the
work of St. Hyppolytus, the Apostolic Tradition, composed about 220 A.D.
St. Hippolytus mentions the following fruits usually blessed: grapes,
figs, pomegranates, pears, mulberries, peaches, and almonds.
The sixth Ecumenical Council, celebrated in Constantinople (680-681),
prescribed that the new “wheat and grapes” were to be blessed in church
on the feast of the Holy Transfiguration (canon 28). For this reason
some older books of blessings, called Euchologia, forbid the faithful to
eat new fruits of the season before they have been blessed in church.
In the land of our ancestors, in Subcarpathia, the fruits of the
season were apples, plums, and pears. These usually were brought to the
church and blessed. In the United States grapes are also added. [Note of our blog: grapes are blessed on this day in Greece and other orthodox countries. You can see photos here]
