This is in keeping with a trend to move Holy Days of Obligation from weekdays to Sunday, to encourage more Christians to observe feasts considered important. Similarly, the United Methodist Church allows the traditional celebration on Holy Thursday to be moved to Sunday. Roman Catholic parishes in a number of countries that do not observe the feast as a public holiday have obtained permission from the Vatican to move observance of the Feast of the Ascension from the traditional Thursday to the following Sunday, the Sunday before Pentecost. Sunday observance Dates for Ascension Thursday & Sunday, 2000–2025 In traditional Methodist usage, The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) provides the following Collect for Ascension Day, commonly called Holy Thursday: Īlmighty God, whose blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that according to his promise he abideth with his Church on earth, even unto the end of the world through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. The three days before Ascension Thursday are sometimes referred to as the Rogation days, and the previous Sunday-the Sixth Sunday of Easter (or the Fifth Sunday after Easter)-as Rogation Sunday.Īscension has a vigil and, since the 15th century, an octave, which is set apart for a novena of preparation for Pentecost. In the Anglican Communion, Ascension Day is a Principal Feast. In Roman Catholicism, the Ascension of the Lord is ranked as a Solemnity and is a Holy Day of Obligation. In Western Christianity, the earliest possible date is April 30 (as in 18), the latest possible date is June 3 (as in 19). William Blake's poem ' Holy Thursday' refers to Ascension Day Thomas Pruen used the term to refer to Ascension Day in his Illustration of the Liturgy of the Church of England, published in 1820 however use of the term 'Holy Thursday' to mean Ascension Day is rare, and the term is more generally applied by most Christian denominations to Maundy Thursday in Holy Week. In the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Communion, 'Holy Thursday' is listed as another name for Ascension Day. The Latin terms used for the feast, ascensio and, occasionally, ascensa, signify that Christ was raised up by his own powers, and it is from these terms that the holy day gets its name.

Hymns for this feast are found in the Georgian Chantbook of Jerusalem, which contains material composed during the 5th century. Representations of the mystery are found in diptychs and frescoes dating as early as the 5th century. 300) condemning the practice of observing a feast on the fortieth day after Easter and neglecting to keep Pentecost on the fiftieth day, implies that the proper usage of the time was to commemorate the Ascension along with Pentecost. Some believe that the much-disputed forty-third decree of the Synod of Elvira ( c. It may be that prior to the 5th century the event narrated in the Gospels was commemorated in conjunction with the feast of Easter or Pentecost. The Pilgrimage of Aetheria speaks of the vigil of this feast and of the feast itself, as they were kept in the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem in which Christ is traditionally regarded as having been born. Frequent mention of it is made in the writings of John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, and in the Constitution of the Apostles.

At the beginning of the 5th century, Augustine of Hippo says that it is of Apostolic origin, and he speaks of it in a way that shows it was the universal observance of the Catholic Church long before his time. Eusebius seems to hint at the celebration of it in the 4th century. The observance of this feast is of great antiquity. The Sunday within that period may be referred to as the Seventh Sunday of Easter or the Sunday in Ascensiontide. The day of observance varies by ecclesiastical province in many Christian denominations, as with Methodists and Catholics, for example.Īscensiontide refers to the ten-day period between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. Following the account of Acts 1:3 that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes called Ascension Sunday. It is one of the ecumenical (shared by multiple denominations) feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion and Pentecost. The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday ) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven.

Ascension day 2021 mass