Transfiguration...

[Llauralin]

It's tommorow, apprently. Do you do anything special in homnor of the Transfiguration of Christ?

[StChristopherofPalestine]

We're celebrating the Divine Liturgy at too early in the morning. I don't know if we're doing anything else.

[choirfiend]

It's one of the 12 main feasts of the Church--big deal!!!

Here's a sermon from St. Gregory Palamas
http://www.oca.org/FSsermons-details.asp?SID=4&ID=7

[MariaRegina]

In many Orthodox Churches, the people bring fruits from their own gardens ....

grapes, nectarines, apricots, cherries, lemons, oranges, zucchini, oranges, avocados ....

And these fresh fruits are nicely arranged in baskets or bowls, which the priest blesses. Then we share these fruits with all present.

[choirfiend]

There are different items to bless at different times, too. There's flowers, herbs, the aforementioned fruit--we bring all of the natural world in to be blessed and sanctified.

[MariaRegina]

St. Seraphim reminds us that we are all to be transfigured into Christ on this very earth ....

Sadly, most of us miss that fact that we are all called to theosis .. to put on Christ ... to be Christ to all we meet.

Lord have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

[Llauralin]

Is this fruit-blessing part of the Liturgy?

[MariaRegina]

Is this fruit-blessing part of the Liturgy?

Some do the blessing of the fruit just before the Divine Liturgy and others do it immediately after the Divine Liturgy.

[Llauralin]

It's one of the 12 main feasts of the Church--big deal!!!

Here's a sermon from St. Gregory Palamas
http://www.oca.org/FSsermons-details.asp?SID=4&ID=7
Thanks!


Some do the blessing of the fruit just before the Divine Liturgy and others do it immediately after the Divine Liturgy.

Alright; that sounds neat!

[MariaRegina]

Does anyone know why fruit is blessed on the Feast of the Transfiguration? Can you cite a reference?

[xristos.anesti]

Many years,

why is it blessed? Because it is time of the year in northern hemisphere when the fruits of the land are coming to be harvested. So, Orthodox farmers being good citizens of their lands and caring for the fruit of the land and multiplication of it, take their first fruits to the Church so it can be blessed, so that it can multiply so that land (people) can be fed.

Feast of Transfiguration is one of those feasts when this is done, but as everything else, it (blessing of the fruits, cars, buildings...) can be done any time... Of course, you can not bless water-mellon or a plum in January (well, lets say you could have not done so... 100 years ago).

That is why... it is proper and right to do for time has arrived to do it..

I hope this helps a little bit.
I could probably do some research and find theological connection, but this is "of top of my head"...



P.S. When I say do some research, I mean (really) do some copy/cut and paste job...:)

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

I'm soooooo bummed that I've missed this feast.:( I'll at least sing the troparia here at home. My priest is out of town (and we have no deacon) and the drive to the next nearest parish is too far for me right now (price of gas is outrageous again!). Lord, have mercy.

[Mary of Bethany]

I had to miss everything this weekend because it was my "turn" to stay with my mother all weekend. I really hate it when it happens on a Feast Day.


Mary

[HandmaidenOfGod]

As choirfiend said, it's one of the Great 12 Feasts, so it is a big deal. :clap:

Here is some more info (http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/transfiguration/learn/) on it if you are interested, and here is the icon we use to commemorate this Holy Feast: :bow:

http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/transfiguration/images/Transfig.jpg
P.S. I don't know if this "local" tradition or not, but our priest handed out little bunches of grapes as we venerated the cross on our way out. I thought it was kind of neat. :thumbsup:

[HandmaidenOfGod]

Mary & Elizabeth,

(How cool is it that I get to use those two names in a sentence? Anyhoo…)

If it makes you feel any better, I am missing the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos b/c I wasn’t thinking when I planned my trip to visit my Protestant cousins in Nashville. :doh:

I love them, but I really would rather be in church this coming weekend…

Ah well, to everything there is a purpose.

J

~Maureen

[Matrona]

I also had to miss the Transfiguration, on account of my sister's wedding.

I'm also having to miss the Dormition. :( I'm so sad about it I'm thinking about taking a trip to visit an old calendar church so I can still recognize them.

[HandmaidenOfGod]

LOL, God bless the Orthodox Church!

Miss a holiday? No problem! Just go Old Calendar!

The West thinks we’re crazy – we’re not crazy, just accommodating!

P.S. I was raised in an Old Calendar Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and my Dad always jokes that the Ukrainians were just smarter than the rest of the world to have Christmas on Jan. 7 this way we get to benefit from all the "After-Christmas" sales!

[Rilian]

We have blessing of the fruit after the liturgy.

[Greg the byzantine]

Mary & Elizabeth,

(How cool is it that I get to use those two names in a sentence? Anyhoo…)

If it makes you feel any better, I am missing the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos b/c I wasn’t thinking when I planned my trip to visit my Protestant cousins in Nashville. :doh:

I love them, but I really would rather be in church this coming weekend…

Ah well, to everything there is a purpose.

J

~Maureen
Don't feel bad, I'm missing it too because my dad scheduled our vacation for the same time, although there is a Greek Church on Naussau in the Bahamas.

[pilgrimtim]

The Blessing of the First Fruits in the liturgy of Holy Transfiguration is from our Jewish roots. The time of this event was during the festival of booths in Israel. The festival of booths is remembering when GOD dwelt in a tent with the people of Israel, in the form of the Ark of the Covenant. During this festival people brought the the levites the first fruits from the gardens and farms. So we also offer to GOD the first fruits of our farms. GOD in return gives them back to us through His Holy church.
At this time we also remember that Jesus becomes the first fruits of the resurrrection. He show in himself what we will be like in the resurrectioned life.

[HandmaidenOfGod]

Don't feel bad, I'm missing it too because my dad scheduled our vacation for the same time, although there is a Greek Church on Naussau in the Bahamas.

Wow! Church in the Bahamas! Does it get any better than that?



Talk about heaven on earth! :clap:

[prodromos]

Interesting fact.

The church placed the feast day of the Transfiguration forty days before the feast day of the Raising of the Cross rather than forty days before Pascha because it would have been inappropriate for the feast to be celebrated during Lent, but they still wanted the feast to be placed relative to the cross.

John

[MariaRegina]

Interesting fact.

The church placed the feast day of the Transfiguration forty days before the feast day of the Raising of the Cross rather than forty days before Pascha because it would have been inappropriate for the feast to be celebrated during Lent, but they still wanted the feast to be placed relative to the cross.

John

But it is celebrated within a Lenten period of fasting - the fast of the Theotokos.

So we eat fruit. :D

[Kolya]

I'm OC, so Transfiguration is only on August 19. But living in the Southern Hemisphere means I have to buy all the fruit that is imported from the North.:) But our strawberries are just coming in now, the first bloom of spring is here.:clap:

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

I'm OC, so Transfiguration is only on August 19. But living in the Southern Hemisphere means I have to buy all the fruit that is imported from the North.:) But our strawberries are just coming in now, the first bloom of spring is here.
Cool. The OC Transfiguration is on my b-day.:thumbsup:

[Kolya]

Cool. The OC Transfiguration is on my b-day.:thumbsup:


Congratulations! So your B-day is 5 days after my daughter, who turns 25 this year. Her birthday is on the 14th, but we'll celebrate it on Saturday the 13th so we won't be affected by the fast.:)

[Marjorie]

I know this is late but also the Transfiguration is the Sukkot of the New Covenant. Sukkot was the "Feast of Booths," celebrating the time we lived in tents in the desert, and especially when God's presence was here in the tents on earth... I don't remember why but for some reason this day was associated with the coming of the Messiah. This is perhaps why Peter said to Jesus that they would make three booths, one for Him, one for Elijah, and one for Moses... anyway, Sukkot is a harvest festival, and I remember when we were little we would eat outside in a homemade booth on Sukkot, with a roof of like sticks or something to that extent, and I would try every year to sleep in the booth like you're supposed to but it was way too cold.

In IC XC,
Marjorie