Ascension Eve

Ascension Eve

Note: The inclusion of this event in the online calendar is for educational purposes. It is to remind us all of the end of the 40 day period which the Bridegroom had spent after His glorious Resurrection, and what He imparted to the Holy Apostles during this time. This is not an annually recurring event or feast in standard calendars of the Syriac Church.In this beautiful message from our beloved Patriarch, we learn about the teachings our Lord imparted upon the Holy Apostles during the forty days following His glorious Resurrection. The received wisdom was then passed on by the Holy Apostles to their direct successors, forming what we call today the "Apostolic Tradition", and encompasses - together with Scripture and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers - the earliest teachings of the Holy Church.As St. Paul extols in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, "Brethren stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle."For the written sources of these instructions and traditions, much can be gathered from various excerpts in the works of the Church Fathers, such as their commentaries on the Holy Mysteries. Additionally, the Church has received the instructions of the Holy Apostles found in texts categorized by modern scholars as "Apostolic Church Orders". Although scholars have determined these texts to be of varying geographical provenance, it is interesting to note the considerable overlap in content. Therefore, we understand that the Holy Apostles passed on a very unified & consistent faith and set of practices to their earliest successors, regardless of where they evangelized.The most influential of these various "Church Orders" in the Syriac Orthodox Church includes the 'Didache', the 'Didascalia Apostolorum', the 'Testamentum Domini', the 'Clementine Octateuch', and the 'Teaching of the Apostles'.May we hold fast to the traditions that we have received from the Church of God. As St. Athanasius of Alexandria wrote in his letter to Serapion, "Let us look at the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the catholic Church from the very beginning, which the Logos gave, the Apostles preached, and the Fathers preserved. Upon this the Church is founded."