View source for The Blessings of Celebrating the Feast of the Holy Ascension

'''''By Fr (Dr) Jacob Mathew'''''

The Feast of the Holy Ascension is among the great salvific feasts of the Holy Church. Forty days after His glorious Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven before His holy disciples, not to abandon creation, but to complete the economy of salvation and open for humanity the gates of the heavenly Kingdom.

The Holy Church has celebrated this feast since the earliest apostolic times. Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea testifies that the Feast of the Ascension was already being observed in the life of the Church from ancient times, reflecting the apostolic memory preserved in Christian worship. Therefore, the Ascension is not a later theological development but part of the original proclamation of the apostolic faith, which flourished to its present form during the fourth Century.

Indeed, the confession of the Ascension is embedded within the very heart of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, where the Church proclaims concerning Christ: “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of His Father.”

This is not just a statement about Christ’s movement from earth to heaven. It is a proclamation of the glorification of humanity itself in Christ. The flesh that was born of the Holy Virgin Mary, crucified upon Golgotha, laid in the tomb, and raised in incorruptible glory, has now entered the heavenly sanctuary and is enthroned at the right hand of God the Father. Thus, the Ascension reveals humanity's destiny.

The angelic proclamation in Acts of the Apostles 1:11 states: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” In the Orthodox Syriac understanding, this verse is profoundly eschatological. The Christ who ascended in glory shall return in glory. Therefore, the Ascension is inseparably connected to the hope of the Second Coming and the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.

The Syriac liturgical tradition expresses this mystery with remarkable beauty. One of the Promion of the Holy Qurbana declares that Christ has “ascended into heaven and raised us also into heaven.” This statement encapsulates the entire theology of salvation in the Syriac Orthodox tradition. Christ did not ascend alone. He carried our humanity into the heavenly realm. The fallen nature of Adam, once exiled from Paradise, is now lifted above the cherubim through the victorious Christ.

The Syriac Fathers, especially Ephrem the Syrian, contemplate this feast with awe-filled poetry. Heaven marvels as the Son returns carrying redeemed humanity with Him. The angels who once guarded Paradise with flaming swords now behold human nature entering the heavenly sanctuary in Christ.

Therefore, the Ascension is not the absence of the presence of Christ on earth but the fulfillment of the aim of incarnation. Christ ascends, yet remains present. He is enthroned in glory but dwells in His Church. He is hidden from earthly sight but encountered in the Holy Mysteries.

The feast also becomes a call to spiritual ascent. As Christ ascended bodily, believers are called to ascend spiritually from sin to holiness,
from earthly attachments to heavenly contemplation,
from selfishness to communion with God.

The Church therefore celebrates this feast with joy, solemn prayer, incense, Scripture, and Eucharistic thanksgiving. The faithful are encouraged during this sacred season to deepen themselves in prayer and to direct their hearts toward the heavenly Kingdom.

The Ascension assures us that humanity’s final destiny is not corruption or death but glorification in Christ. As St. Paul teaches: “God raised us together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

Thus, in the Orthodox Syriac view, the Feast of the Ascension is a feast of hope, exaltation, and heavenly citizenship.

May the ascended Lord lift our hearts above the distractions of the world, prepare us for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and grant us grace, as it is said in the Eucharistic prayer, to seek “the things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).