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The Ascension of Jesus (
anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...
from the
Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
s. According to the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
narrative, the Ascension occurred on the fortieth day counting from the
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
. In the Christian tradition, reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional statements, God
exalted ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and w ...
Jesus after his death, raising him from the dead and taking him to Heaven, where Jesus took his seat at the
right hand of God The right hand of God (''Dextera Domini'' "right hand of the Lord" in Latin) or God's right hand may refer to the Bible and common speech as a metaphor for the omnipotence of God and as a motif in art. In the Bible, to be at the right side "is ...
. In
Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...
, the ascending Jesus is often shown blessing an earthly group below him, signifying the entire Church. The
Feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...
is celebrated on the 40th day of
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, always a Thursday; some Orthodox traditions have a different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition, and while the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
continues to observe the feast, many
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
churches have abandoned the observance.


Biblical accounts

The ascension of Jesus is told in both Luke and
Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
, a pair of works from the same author, Luke. * Luke 24:51: Jesus leads the eleven remaining disciples to Bethany, a village on the
Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...
, and instructs them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit: "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." *
Acts 1 Acts 1 is the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Lu ...
: Jesus tells the disciples to remain in Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit; he is then taken up from the disciples in their sight, a cloud hides him from view, and two men in white appear to tell them that he will return "in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." The
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
has three references to ascension in Jesus' own words: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man" (); "What if you (the disciples) were to see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?" (); and to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father..." ( John 20:17). In the first and second Jesus is claiming to be the apocalyptic "one like a Son of Man" of Daniel 7; Various epistles (, , , , , and ) also refer to an Ascension, seeming, like Luke–Acts and John, to equate it with the post-Resurrection "exaltation" of Jesus to the right hand of God.


Views on the Ascension


Theology

In Christian theology, the death, Resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus are the most important events, and a foundation of the Christian faith. The early followers of Jesus believed that
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
had vindicated Jesus after his death, as reflected in the stories about his Resurrection, Ascension, and exaltation. The early followers of Jesus soon believed that Jesus was raised as first of the dead, taken into Heaven, and
exalted ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and w ...
, taking the seat at the right hand of God in Heaven, as stated in the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
: "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty." played an essential role in this interpretation of Jesus' death and the Resurrection appearances: "The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." It provided an interpretative frame for Jesus' followers to make sense of his death and the Resurrection appearances. This understanding is summarized by the theologian
Justus Knecht Friedrich Justus Heinrich Knecht (7 October 1839 – 31 January 1921) was a German Catholic theologian, writer and bishop in Freiburg, Germany. Early life and education Justus Knecht was born in Bruchsal, the fourth of seven children of Heinrich ...
who wrote: "Our Lord went up Body and Soul into heaven in the sight of His apostles, by His own power, to take possession of His glory, and to be our Advocate and Mediator in heaven with the Father. He ascended as Man, as Head of the redeemed, and has prepared a dwelling in heaven for all those who follow in His steps (Sixth article of the Creed)."


Background

Ascension stories were fairly common around the time of Jesus and the evangelists, signifying the deification of a noteworthy person (usually a Roman Emperor), and in Judaism as an indication of divine approval. Another function of heavenly ascent was as a mode of divine revelation reflected in Greco-Roman, early Jewish, and early Christian literary sources, in which particular individuals with prophetic or revelatory gifts are said to have experienced a heavenly journey during which they learned cosmic and divine secrets. Figures familiar to Jews would have included
Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
(from the
Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
and a popular non-Biblical work called 1 Enoch); the 5th-century sage Ezra; Baruch the companion of the prophet Jeremiah (from a work called
2 Baruch 2 Baruch is a Jewish pseudepigraphical text thought to have been written in the late 1st century CE or early 2nd century CE, after the destruction of the Temple in CE 70. It is attributed to the biblical Baruch and so is associated with the Old T ...
, in which Baruch is promised he will ascend to heaven after forty days);
Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...
the ancestor of priests; the
Teacher of Righteousness The Teacher of Righteousness (in Hebrew: מורה הצדק ''Moreh ha-Tzedek'') is a figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document. This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, proba ...
from the
Qumran Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...
community; the prophet
Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...
(from
2 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
); Moses, who was deified on entering heaven; and the children of Job, who according to the
Testament of Job The ''Testament of Job'' is a book written in the 1st century BC or the 1st century AD (thus part of a tradition often called " intertestamental literature" by Christian scholars). The earliest surviving manuscript is in Coptic, of the 5th centur ...
ascended heaven following their resurrection from the dead. Non-Jewish readers would have been familiar with the case of the emperor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, whose ascent was witnessed by Senators; Romulus the founder of Rome, who, like Jesus, was taken to heaven in a cloud; the Greek hero
Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
(Hercules); and others.


Cosmology

The
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
of the author of Luke-Acts reflects the beliefs of his age, which envisioned a three-part cosmos with the heavens above, an Earth centered on Jerusalem in the middle, and the underworld below. Heaven was separated from the Earth by the
firmament In biblical cosmology, the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God during his creation of the world to divide the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear. The concept was adopted into the subsequent ...
, the visible sky, a solid inverted bowl where God's palace sat on pillars in the celestial sea. Humans looking up from Earth saw the floor of Heaven, made of clear blue
lapis-lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...
(), as was God's throne (). According to Dunn, "the typical mind-set and worldview of the time conditioned what was actually seen and how the recording of such seeings was conceptualized," and "departure into heaven could only be conceived in terms of 'being taken up ', a literal ascension." In modern times, a literal reading of the Ascension-stories has become problematic, due to the differences between the pre-scientific cosmology of the times of Jesus, and the scientific worldview that leaves no place for a Heaven above earth. Theologian James Dunn describes the Ascension as at best a puzzle and at worst an embarrassment for an age that no longer conceives of a physical Heaven located above the Earth. Similarly, in the words of McGill University's Douglas Farrow, in modern times the Ascension is seen less as the climax of the mystery of Christ than as "something of an embarrassment in the age of the telescope and the space probe," an "idea
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
conjures up an outdated cosmology." Yet, according to Dunn, a sole focus on this disparity is beside the real importance of Jesus' Ascension, namely the Resurrection and subsequent exaltation of Jesus. Farrow notes that, already in the third century, the Ascension-story was read by Origen in a mystical way, as an "ascension of the mind rather than of the body," representing one of two basic Ascension theologies. The real problem is the fact that Jesus is both present and absent, an ambiguity which points to a "something more" to which the Eucharist gives entry.


Liturgy: Feast of the Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension is a major feast day of the Christian liturgical year, along with the Passion,
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, Pentecost, and
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on the sixth Thursday after Easter Sunday, the fortieth day from
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
day, although some Roman Catholic provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday to facilitate the obligation to attend Mass.
Saint Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
held that it was of apostolic origin, but in fact the Ascension was originally part of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit), and developed as a separate celebration only slowly from the late 4th century onward. In the Catholic tradition it begins with a three-day "rogation" to ask for God's mercy, and the feast itself includes a procession of torches and banners symbolising Christ's journey to the Mount of Olives and entry into Heaven, the extinguishing of the Paschal candle, and an all-night vigil; white is the liturgical colour. The
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
tradition has a slightly different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition. The feast was retained at the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. It continues to be observed in
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, Anglican,
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, and most Reformed churches. Most other Protestant churches do not celebrate it as they do not adhere to the traditional Christian calendar of feasts. One of the Ascension hymns is Christ fuhr gen Himmel.


In Christian art

The Ascension has been a frequent subject in
Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...
. By the 6th century, the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century, Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. The
Rabbula Gospels The Rabbula Gospels, or Rabula Gospels, (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. Plut. I, 56) is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript, illuminated Syriac language, Syriac Gospel Book. One of the finest Byzantine works produced in Western A ...
(c. 586) include some of the earliest images of the Ascension. Many Ascension scenes have two parts, an upper (Heavenly) part and a lower (earthly) part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a Resurrection banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his right hand is directed towards the earthly group below him and signifies that he is blessing the entire Church. In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, signifying teaching and preaching. The
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church. In many Eastern icons, the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
is placed at the center of the scene in the earthly part of the depiction, with her hands raised towards Heaven, often accompanied by various Apostles. The upwards-looking depiction of the earthly group matches the Eastern liturgy on the Feast of the Ascension: "Come, let us rise and turn our eyes and thoughts high ..."


Olivet and the Chapel of the Ascension

The traditional site of the Ascension is
Mount Olivet The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Old C ...
(the "Mount of Olives"), on which the village of Bethany sits. Before the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD, early Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount, and by 384 the Ascension was venerated on the present site, uphill from the cave. Around the year 390 a wealthy Roman woman named Poimenia financed construction of the original church called " Eleona Basilica" (''elaion'' in Greek means "olive garden", from ''elaia'' "olive tree", and has an oft-mentioned similarity to ''eleos'' meaning "mercy"). This church was destroyed by Sassanid Persians in 614. It was subsequently rebuilt, destroyed, and rebuilt again by the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. This final church was later destroyed by Muslims, leaving only a 12×12 meter octagonal structure (called a ''martyrium''—"memorial"—or "Edicule") that remains to this day. The site was ultimately acquired by two emissaries of Saladin in the year 1198 and has remained in the possession of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem ever since. The
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
also maintains a
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
of the Ascension on the top of the Mount of Olives.


Gallery

File:RabulaGospelsFol13vAscension.jpg,
Rabbula Gospels The Rabbula Gospels, or Rabula Gospels, (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. Plut. I, 56) is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript, illuminated Syriac language, Syriac Gospel Book. One of the finest Byzantine works produced in Western A ...

6th century File:Enluminure Drogon c.jpg,
Drogo Sacramentary The Drogo Sacramentary (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de FranceMS lat. 9428 is a Carolingian illuminated manuscript on vellum from 850 AD, one of the monuments of Carolingian book illumination. It is a sacramentary, a book containing all th ...

c. 850 File:Ascension from Vasilyevskiy chin (15th c., GTG).jpg, Andrei Rublev
1408 File:Pietro Perugino cat48c.jpg, Pietro Perugino
1496–1500 File:Dosso Dossi 022.jpg, ''The Ascension'', Dosso Dossi, 16th century. File:Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo - Ascension of Christ - WGA08474.jpg, Garofalo
1520 File:Bodleian Library MS. Arm. d.13. Armenian Gospels-0023-0.jpg, Armenian Gospel manuscript
1609 File:Rembrandt van Rijn 192.jpg, Rembrandt
1636 File:Voznesenie Sv. Petka Malovište.jpg, Macedonian icon, Bitola, Macedonia
19th century File:ND Rosaire mosaïque 03.jpg,
Rosary Basilica The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (french: Notre Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary. H ...
,
Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

19th century


See also

*
Ascension Parish Ascension Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ascension, es, Parroquia de Ascensión) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created ...
*
Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...
*
Chronology of Jesus A chronology of Jesus aims to establish a timeline for the events of the life of Jesus. Scholars have correlated Jewish and Greco-Roman documents and astronomical calendars with the New Testament accounts to estimate dates for the major even ...
* Church of the Ascension (disambiguation) * Entering Heaven Alive *
Life of Jesus in the New Testament The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of ...
* Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus * Rapture *
Session of Christ The Session of Christ or heavenly session is a Christian doctrine stating that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven—the word "session" is an archaic noun meaning "sitting". Although the word formerly meant " ...
* Transfiguration of Jesus


References


Notes


Citations


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * Davies, J. G. (1958). ''He Ascended into Heaven'', London: Lutterworth Press. * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ascension Of Jesus Acts of the Apostles Angelic apparitions in the Bible Articles containing video clips Christian terminology Christianity and Islam Eastertide Entering heaven alive Glorious Mysteries Gospel episodes Heaven in Christianity Life of Jesus in the New Testament fr:Ascension (fête)#Les sources néotestamentaires