The last act of Christ on earth was His departure from the earth to heaven—that is, His glorious Ascension. He descended to earth in silence; He ascended into heaven in glory. It was indeed a great and deeply moving event.
No one knows exactly when this took place—on what precise day or at what exact hour. Luke the Evangelist tells us that, for forty days after His Resurrection, Christ appeared to and met with His disciples (Acts 1:3), but he does not state explicitly that the Ascension occurred immediately afterward. Thus, until the fourth century, the Feast of the Ascension was celebrated on the eve of Pentecost, as noted by Eusebius of Caesarea (P.G. 20:1220). For this reason, the entire liturgical period of the Pentecostarion was regarded as a season of the Resurrection (Canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Council).
From the fifth century onward, however, the feast began to be celebrated forty days after Easter, on a Thursday, and this practice has remained in effect to the present day.
It was known among the Lord’s followers that His departure would take place from the Mount of Olives. In addition to the disciples, many others beyond His immediate circle had gathered there as well—more than five hundred persons in all (1 Cor. 15:6). When they saw the risen Christ, some hesitated and were afraid to worship Him (Mt. 28:17). It is no simple thing to comprehend that this Man had been crucified, had died, and had been buried—and then to behold Him standing alive before you.
Christ physically made the great journey from earth to heaven. But by what means did He depart? How could He ascend without first securing a means of transportation? Such a question applies to an ordinary human being. Christ, however, was both man and God. Therefore, as God, He caused the human Jesus to rise by His own divine power. He was certain that this would happen; otherwise, He would not have gone to the mountain to depart without any visible means of ascent. The angels who appeared were not there to help Him in His Ascension. Rather, they came to accompany Christ at His Ascension. That is why they appeared at the moment when He began to rise into heaven.
Thus, as Christ stood on the Mount of Olives, He suddenly ceased to stand upon the earth and began to ascend into heaven. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight! The hymnographer describes the Ascension as “the awe-inspiring moment of elevation” (Pentecostarion, Matins of the Feast of the Ascension). It was the final miracle that Christ performed on earth. The disciples, together with all who were present, saw two men in white garments (Acts 1:10)—that is, angels who had come from heaven to accompany Christ into heaven. He ascended accompanied by angels; He will return accompanied by all the angels (Mt. 25:31).
Necessary Clarification
Christ ascended while blessing His disciples (Lk. 24:51). Accordingly, the troparion-apolytikion of the feast proclaims that “through the blessing the disciples were assured that You are the Son of God.” Yet the disciples had already become convinced that Christ is the Son of God when they saw Him risen from the dead (Lk. 24:39–41), and this conviction was continually strengthened during the forty days in which He appeared to them after His Resurrection (Acts 1:3). Therefore, the troparion-apolytikion conveys a different meaning.
The Greek word εὐλογία (“blessing”) literally means “good speaking” (eu = good; logos = word). In this context, it should be understood as referring to the gracious and life-giving words that the disciples heard from Christ, especially during the forty days following His Resurrection. Through these words, they were firmly confirmed in the truth that He is indeed the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
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