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Forefeast
An Afterfeast, or Postfeast, is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Churches (somewhat analogous to what in Western Christianity would be called an Octave). The celebration of the Great Feasts of the church year is extended for a number of days, depending upon the particular Feast. Each day of an Afterfeast will have particular hymns assigned to it, continuing the theme of the Feast being celebrated. At each of the divine services during an Afterfeast, the troparion and kontakion of the feast are read or chanted. The canon of the feast will usually be chanted on every day of the Afterfeast (if two canons were chanted on the day of the feast, they will be alternated on the days of the afterfeast). Most of these Great Feasts also have a day or more of preparation called a Forefeast (most Feasts that are on the moveable Paschal Cycle do not have Forefeasts). Forefeasts and Afterfeasts will affect th ...
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Exaltation Of The Cross
The Feast of the Holy Cross, or Feast of the Cross, commemorates True Cross, the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christianity, Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations which honor and celebrate the cross used in the crucifixion. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the Passion (Christianity), passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these feast days celebrate the Cross itself, as the sign of salvation. It is chiefly celebrated by Catholic Church, Catholics (Latin Church, Latin Church Catholics, Eastern Catholicism, Eastern Catholics), Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Lutheranism, Lutherans and Anglicanism, Anglicans, and to a lesser extent by Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists. The most common day of commemoration is September 14 for churches that use the Gregorian calendar and September 27 for churches that use the Julian cale ...
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Presentation Of Jesus At The Temple
The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, or the "Feast of the Presentation of Jesus". The episode is described in Luke 2, chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Within the account, "Luke's narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2, )." In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, Great Feasts, and is sometimes called ''Hypapante'' (, "meeting" in Greek). The Orthodox Churches which use the Julian Calendar celebrate it on 15 February, and the Armenian Church on 14 February. In Western Christianity, the ''Feast of the Presentation of the Lord'' is also known by its earlier name as the ''Feast of the Purific ...
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Paramony
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. Christmas celebrations in the denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition, and based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night (based in Luke 2:6-8), Midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve, traditionally at midnight, in commem ...
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Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western world, Western society. Christmas celebrations in the Christian denomination, denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition, and based on the Genesis creation narrative, story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold Christian prayer, prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. ...
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Compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English word is derived from the Latin , as compline is the completion of the waking day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century in the ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' (''Regula Benedicti''; hereafter, RB), in Chapters 16, 17, 18, and 42, and he uses the verb ''compleo'' to signify compline: "''Omnes ergo in unum positi compleant''" ("All having assembled in one place, let them say compline"); "''et exeuntes a completorio''" ("and, after going out from compline")… (RB, Chap. 42). Compline liturgies are a part of Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and certain other Christian liturgical traditions. In Western Christianity, Compline tends to be a contemplative office that emphasizes sp ...
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Great Feasts
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the death and Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of Twelve Great Feasts (Greek: Δωδεκάορτον). Together with Pascha, these are the most significant dates on the Orthodox liturgical calendar. Eight of the great feasts are in honor of Jesus Christ, while the other four are dedicated to the Virgin Mary—the Theotokos. History and overview The Twelve Great Feasts are as follows (note that the liturgical year begins with the month of September): # The Nativity of the Theotokos, # The Exaltation of the Cross, # The Presentation of the Theotokos, # The Nativity of Christ (Christmas), # The Baptism of Christ (Theophany, also called Epiphany), # The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Candlemas), # The Annunciation, # The Entry into Jerusalem (Flowery/Willow/Palm Sunday), ...
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Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divine Liturgy transcends both time and the world. All believers are seen as united in worship in the Kingdom of God along with the departed saints and the angels of heaven. Everything in the liturgy is seen as symbolic, but not merely so, for it makes present the unseen reality. According to Eastern tradition and belief, the liturgy's roots go back to the adaptation of Jewish liturgy by Early Christians. The first part, termed the "Liturgy of the Catechumens", includes the Lection, reading of scriptures like those in a synagogue, and in some places, also a Sermon#Christianity, sermon/homily. The second half, the "Liturgy of the Faithful", is based on the Last Supper and the first Eucharistic celebrations by Early Christians. Eastern Christian ...
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Julian Calendar
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts of Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodoxy as well as by the Amazigh, Amazigh people (also known as the Berbers). The Julian calendar was proposed in 46 BC by (and takes its name from) Julius Caesar, as a reform of the earlier Roman calendar, which was largely a lunisolar calendar, lunisolar one. It took effect on , by his edict. Caesar's calendar became the predominant calendar in the Roman Empire and subsequently most of the Western world for more than 1,600 years, until 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII promulgated a revised calendar. Ancient Romans typically designated years by the names of ruling consuls; the ''Anno Domini'' system of numbering years was not devised until 525, and became widespread in Europe in the eighth cent ...
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Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honor Jesus Christ as he entered the city. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week; in Western Christianity, this is the beginning of the last week of the solemn season of Lent, preceding Eastertide, while in Eastern Christianity, Holy Week commences after the conclusion of Great Lent. In most Christian rites, Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches (or the branches of other native trees), representing the palm branches that the crowd scattered before Christ as he rode into Jerusalem. These palms are sometimes woven into Christian cross, crosses. The difficulty of procuring palms in unfavorable climates led to the substitution of branches of native trees, includi ...
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Lazarus Saturday
Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches) refers to the moveable feast before Palm Sunday to which it is liturgically linked. It celebrates the Raising of Lazarus, raising of Lazarus of Bethany. Bethany is recorded in the New Testament as a small village in Judaea, the home of the siblings Mary of Bethany, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper. Gospel of John, John's gospel reports that ''"Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."'' Presumably, it is where he spent the Great Sabbath that occurs immediately before Passover, prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is reported to have lodged there during Holy Week, and it is where anointing of Jesus, his anointing by Lazarus' sister Mary of Bethany, Mary took ...
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Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity. It is intended to prepare Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter, Pascha (Easter). Great Lent shares its origins with the Lent, Lent of Western Christianity and has many similarities with it. There are some differences in the timing of Lent, besides calculating the date of Easter and how it is practiced, both liturgically in the public worship of the church and individually. One difference between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity is the calculation of the date of Easter (see Computus). Most years, the Eastern Pascha falls after the Western Easter, and it may be as much as five weeks later; occasionally, the two dat ...
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Epiphany (Christian)
Epiphany ( ), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the Biblical Magi, visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the Biblical Magi, visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus Christ's physical manifestation to the Gentiles. It is sometimes called Three Kings' Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some Christian denominations, denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God, and celebrate it as the Feast of the Epiphany or of the Theophany. The traditional site of the ministry of John the Baptist is in Al-Maghtas in Jordan, with the baptism of Jesus once m ...
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