 | Ascension: Encyclopedia - Ascension
Ascension
- Advent
- Christmastide
- Epiphany
- Pre-Lent
- Lent
- Eastertide
- Ascension Day
- Pentecost
- Ordinary Time
- Pre-Advent
- Feast of Cross
- Nativity Fast
- Nativity
- Theophany
- Great Lent
- Pascha
- Pentecost
- Transfiguration
- Dormition
- Intercession
The Christian doctrine of the Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven following his resurrection. This is affirmed by Christians in the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Ascension - Biblical Accounts
The first account of the Ascension found in the Christian Bible is in the Gospel of Mark (16:14-19). The description is brief. Jesus and the remaining eleven Disciples are seated at a table, presumably in a room in or near Jerusalem. Jesus commands his followers to spread the Gospel, and that those who believe will be known by their invulnerability to poison, ability to heal the sick, and the like. After delivering these final words, Jesus is received into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God. No description of the Ascension itself is given; Mark simply states the fact that it happened.
The Gospel of Luke is even more brief in its description (24:50-51). Jesus led the eleven to Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. While in the act of blessing them, Jesus was carried up to Heaven.
In both Mark and Luke, the Ascension takes place immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus.
The third account of the Ascension is in the Acts of the Apostles (1:9-12). For forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus continued to preach the Gospel. Jesus and the eleven were gathered near Mt. Olivet, to the northeast of Bethany. Jesus tells disciples that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will spread his message the world over. Jesus is taken up and received by a cloud. Two men clothed in white appear and tell the disciples that Jesus will return in the same manner as he was taken.
The Gospel of Matthew ends at a mountain in Galilee, with Jesus commanding the Disciples to spread the Gospel. No mention of the Ascension is made.
There are no extra-Biblical accounts of the Ascension.
Ascension - Feast
The Ascension is one of the great feasts in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the Ascension is one of twelve Great Feasts. Ascension Day is always Thursday (the fortieth day from Easter); in some churches (especially in the United States) it is commemorated on the subsequent Sunday (the Sunday before Pentecost). The three days before Ascension Thursday are sometimes referred to as the Rogation days (and the previous Sunday, the Fifth Sunday after Easter, as Rogation Sunday).
In some countries (e.g. Scandinavia or Germany) it is a public holiday; Germany also holds its Father's Day on the same date.
In Western Christianity, the earliest possible date is April 27, the latest possible date is June 3.
Ascension - Superstitions
- According to Welsh superstition, it is unlucky to do any work on Ascension Day.
- In Devon, it was an ancient belief that the clouds always formed into the familiar Christian image of a lamb.
- If the weather is sunny, the summer will be long and hot; but if it rains, crops will do badly and livestock, especially cattle, will suffer from disease.
- Eggs laid on this day will never go bad and will guarantee good luck for a household if placed in the roof.
- Rain collected on Ascension Day is said to be good for inflamed or diseased eyes.
- Those suffering from goitre should bite into the bark of a peach tree at midnight on Ascension Day, so that the disease passes to the tree and the sufferer is cured.
- Gifts to the blind or lame made on this day are sure to be rewarded with great wealth within the following twelve months.
- Nativity
- Childhood
- Baptism
- Temptation
- Sermon on the Mount
- Transfiguration
- Last Supper
- Passion
- Crucifixion
- Hell
- Resurrection
- Ascension
Categories: Christian festivals | Eastern Orthodoxy | Glorious Mysteries | Christian theology | Liturgical Calendar
Other related archivesActs of the Apostles, Advent, Apostles' Creed, April 27, Baptism, Bible, Childhood, Christian, Christian festivals, Christian theology, Christmastide, Crucifixion, Devon, Dormition, Easter, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastertide, Eggs, Epiphany, Father's Day, Feast of Cross, Germany, Glorious Mysteries, God, Gospel, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Great Feasts, Great Lent, Heaven, Hell, Intercession, Jesus, June 3, Last Supper, Lent, Liturgical Calendar, Nativity, Nativity Fast, Nicene Creed, Ordinary Time, Pascha, Passion, Pentecost, Pre-Lent, Rain, Resurrection, Resurrection of Jesus, Rogation Sunday, Rogation days, Scandinavia, Sermon on the Mount, Temptation, Theophany, Thursday, Transfiguration, United States, Welsh, Western Christianity, cattle, disease, eyes, goitre, liturgical calendar, livestock, resurrection
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