The Transfiguration of the Saviour
The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Saviour (August 6)
The Transfiguration of the Saviour
The Transfiguration of the Saviour occupies a central position in the Orthodox Church and theology. It is the event that reveals the glory of the Church and of the faithful. It is the evidence of the new situation that entered history through the advent of Christ. At the Transfiguration, Christ manifested through His human nature the uncreated glory of His Divinity. At the same time, He caught up the men with Him in the uncreated divine glory. Moses and Elijah share the same brightness as the Lord. The only difference is that Christ is the source, whereas they are the recipients of divine brightness. The reason why Christ was transfigured before his disciples was the approach of the day when he would be crucified: “So that when they see you crucified, they will understand your voluntary passion”.
On the Transfiguration of our Lord by Saint Efrem the Syrian
From the land comes the joy of harvest, from the vineyard fruits that give food, and from the Scriptures teaching that gives life. The land has one season for the harvest, and the vineyard has one season for the vintage, but the Scripture when read always overflows with teaching that gives life. The land when it has been harvested lies fallow and the vineyard when the grapes have been picked is unproductive, but when Scripture is harvested the grapes of those who expound it are not lacking in it. It is picked every day and the grape clusters of the hope in it are never exhausted. Let us then draw near to this land and enjoy its life-giving furrows; and let us harvest from it grapes of life, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said to his Disciples, ‘There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in his glory’.
Why Peter, James and John were Chosen Witnesses of the Transfiguration
According to the explanation of St. John of Damascus, “the Lord took Peter in order to show that His testimony truly given to him will be affirmed by the testimony of the Father and that one should believe him in His words, that the heavenly Father revealed this testimony to him (Mt. 16:17). He took James as […]
Why the Transfiguration is Celebrated on August 6
The Transfiguration of the Lord happened in February and not in August as it is now celebrated in our Orthodox Church. The Church of Christ transferred this feast from February to August because, without transferring it to the other month, the majestic feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord would occur during the days of the Holy Forty […]
Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ
The Transfiguration of Christ is one of the central events recorded in the Gospels. Immedi- ately after the Lord was recognized by His Apostles as “The Christ, the Son of the Living God” He told them that “He must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things…and be killed and on the third day be […]
Saint Gregory Palamas on the Transfiguration
For an explanation of the present feastday and discernment of its truth, it is necessary for us to turn to the very start of the present-day reading from the Gospel: “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and leadeth them up onto an high mountain apart” (Mt. 17: 1). First […]
Saint Leo the Great on the Transfiguration of the Lord
I. Peter’s confession shown to lead up to the Transfiguration The Gospel lesson, dearly-beloved, which has reached the inner hearing of our minds through our bodily ears, calls us to the understanding of a great mystery, to which we shall by the help of God’s grace the better attain, if we turn our attention to […]
Saint Anastasios of Sinai on the Transfiguration of the Lord
Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in […]
An Interpretation of the Icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord
The icon of the Transfiguration constitutes the key to Orthodox theology on the vision of God. The light which appeared to the Apostles was the expression of the Divine brilliance, of the timeless and uncreated glory, the recognition of the two natures of Christ, the divine and the human. At the same time, it was a […]