Meaning
The Day of Ascension commemorates the Ascension (to the
spiritual level of 100% or Final
Liberation) of Jesus Christ, forty
days after His resurrection. It signifies the event of Jesus Christ
ascending to Heaven with His body, after completing His mission of
teaching and guiding seekers and His disciples.
This feast (festival) is always celebrated on a
Thursday. Thursday also happens to be the day of the week when the
Teaching Principle of God (Guru
principle) is most active. This year, the Orthodox Christian
Ascension of Jesus Christ is on June 13.
Historical perspective
Forty days after the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, His disciples had gathered for dinner. At that moment Jesus
Christ appeared, commanding Them to spread Spirituality to the
masses (The Holy Bible, Mark 16: 15-16). This teaching reiterates
the importance of collective spiritual practice (samashti
sadhana), the most important aspect of spiritual practice in the
current era (Kaliyug).
Jesus Christ told the disciples that They would soon be anointed by
the Holy Spirit (Guru principle), which is essential in effectively
spreading Spirituality. He further told the disciples to stay in
Jerusalem, Israel and wait for the Holy Spirit. So saying, Jesus
Christ invited the disciples to witness His Ascension on the Holy
Mount Olivet (near Jerusalem).
Upon reaching the Mount, Jesus raised His arms,
blessed the disciples, and began His Ascension with the body. The
disciples stood in awe and watched Jesus Christ ascend until the
clouds covered Their view. After witnessing His ascension, the
disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait for the descending of the
Holy Spirit, as Jesus Christ had instructed.
Celebration
The Day of Ascension of Jesus Christ is
celebrated by attending the Holy liturgy (worship service), which
addresses the sections from the Holy Bible (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51,
and Acts 1:2) in which this event is described. It is generally
celebrated by serious followers of Christianity and Christian monks,
who do daily spiritual
practice.
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