On August 19, the Orthodox Church celebrates the day on which the divine essence of Christ first appeared to the disciples.
On the way to Galilee, Christ, Peter, John, and James climbed the mountain for solitude and prayer.
The apostles fell asleep, but Jesus continued to pray. At this time, his appearance changed: he was illuminated by a bright, unearthly light. Even his clothes turned white. When the disciples woke up, they were astonished by what had happened: Christ, in heavenly glory, conversed with Moses and Elijah.
Admiration, reverence, fear — the feelings of the students were at their limit. At this time, out of the cloud that had descended, a voice was heard proclaiming that Christ was the son of God and must be obeyed.
For the common man, the intensity of emotions was too great. The apostles fell to the ground, covering their faces with terror.
After a while, they dared to look around. The moment has passed. Christ looked as usual and the prophets were nowhere to be seen. This event left an indelible impression on the hearts of the disciples, but Jesus forbade them to be told about it for the time being.
According to legend, the celebration of the Transfiguration was established by the mother of Constantine the Great – Helena. She also built a temple in honor of this event on Mount Tabor.
Although the event took place 40 days before the Savior’s death, it is celebrated in August. Historically, the church replaced pagan holidays with Christian ones. Before the spread of Christianity, this day was a festival of the harvest, in particular the grapes and patron of winemaking, Dionysius. In the Christian era, the custom of blessing the fruit remained. Only grapes in Russia were replaced by apples. Hence, the second name of the holiday: Apple Spas.
The significance of the holiday
For Orthodox history
Transformation is a story of hope. On this day the believers
We are to see the light of the Kingdom of God, where we will dwell in the eternity of the Lord.
The Savior allowed the disciples to see the rebirth that awaits every Christian in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is possible to return to the world filled with God’s light without sin. That the light of Tabor transformed not only Christ, but all surrounding reality.
On this day, the church reminds the parishioners — who repented of their sins and proclaimed Jesus the Savior, is able to free their heart from contamination to receive the divine light, which was first seen by the apostles on Mount Tabor.
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