«After six days had passed, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain alone, and was transfigured before them: and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. At this Peter said to Jesus: Lord! it’s good for us to be here; if you wish, we will make three tabernacles here: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him» (Mt. 17, 1-5).
This is how the Gospel describes one of the greatest events in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ – the Transfiguration.
Scripture does not specify exactly where this happened, but Tradition points to Mount Tabor, which is located 9 km from Nazareth. Although some modern researchers believe that with a greater degree of probability this happened on another peak – Hermon, which was higher and was deserted at that time, while there was a Roman fortification on Tabor. However, it is not the place that is important, but the event itself, because this was the first time the Lord appeared before people in all His Divine radiance. He knew that the upcoming trials were already close, that the apostles would have to test their faith for strength, and therefore he showed them a miracle, allowing them to see for themselves what they had previously known only from His words.
After all, despite the large number of miracles performed by the Lord, the disciples still in the depths of their souls perceived Him as a wise teacher, a good person, but still not God. And on Mount Tabor, He revealed to them His unearthly essence, and this happened very clearly, informatively and easily understood. The whiteness of the Savior’s clothes became such that no earthly master could create. The presence of Moses and the prophet Elijah at the Transfiguration was also very important. By their presence, they showed that the Lord does not reject the Old Testament teaching, as the Pharisees believed, and the prophets themselves, obeying Him, showed that He is the true God. In addition, some people at that time mistook Jesus for the returned prophet Elijah, but now everything has fallen into place.
The Lord showed His true Divine essence to the apostles and to all of us, Christians, of little faith and eternal doubters.
When celebrated
The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord or, as it is popularly called, the Apple Savior, refers to the Twelve Feasts (twelve main events in the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin) and is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on August 19 (6th according to the Gregorian calendar).
Of course, today it is impossible to accurately determine the date of this event, but Christian historians indicate that, most likely, this happened shortly before the Savior’s Death on the Cross – around February or March. But why then do we celebrate the Transfiguration at the end of August?
The fact is that, having reigned in the world, the Christian Church tried not so much to ban pagan holidays as to organically replace them. Contrary to the now fashionable myth about violence against idolaters, which was allegedly perpetrated by the bearers of the new faith, Christianity entered the consciousness of people gradually, without destroying most folk traditions (unless, of course, they contradicted the commandments). So, the harvest festival, celebrated everywhere at the end of summer, turned into the Day of the Transfiguration of the Lord – one might say, it also changed. In the south, grape harvest was celebrated on this day, and in Our Country, where it does not grow, apples replaced the sunny vine. So the popular name of the Transfiguration appeared – Apple Savior. This is such a peaceful combination of a folk day of fruit gathering and an Orthodox holiday.
history of the holiday
For the first time, the Transfiguration began to be celebrated by the early Christian churches of Armenia and Cappadocia, gradually replacing the pagan Vardavar – honoring the goddess Astghik (Asia Minor analogue of ancient Venus), but then the modern date of August 6 (19) had not yet arisen, the holiday was celebrated in the sixth week after Easter. But at the end of the summer, he moved to the Roman Empire, where Bacchanalia (worship of the god of winemaking Bacchus) took place at that time. The festivities were accompanied by violent drinking and revelry, which, of course, contradicted Christian morality. In order to somehow stop this, but at the same time not deprive people of the holiday and thereby not cause discontent among the people, it was decided to give up historicity and combine the date of the Transfiguration with the pagan harvest days. After all, it was not so easy to call ordinary people from remote villages to the temple, it required not only a good reason, but also a certain ritual, so these days a thanksgiving prayer service was appointed for the God-given grape harvest, the consecration of fruits, and most importantly, people had opportunity to partake of the Holy Mysteries. The very first temple in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord was erected on Mount Tabor by Equal-to-the-Apostles Elena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great in the XNUMXth century.
The feast of the Transfiguration and consecration of the gifts of the earth came to the Slavs from Byzantium. But in the West it appeared quite late – only in the Middle Ages. By the way, some Protestant denominations still celebrate the Transfiguration in the spring.
Today this day is celebrated by the Orthodox Church everywhere. Bells ring all over the country on August 19, and people go to temples and bring apples there to bless them and share with loved ones.
Holiday traditions
The twelfth feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is filled with many folk traditions, organically combining them with the Orthodox. Like thousands of years ago, modern people are very fond of rituals and rituals, and the rite of consecrating apples, performed after the Divine Liturgy, appealed to everyone.
On the eve of the holiday, a vigil is served, and in the morning the canons of St. Cosmas of Mayum and John of Damascus are read. On this day, the clergy wear white robes, symbolizing the shining clothes in which Christ appeared to His disciples.
The holiday falls on the Assumption Fast, but on this day it is allowed to relax: it is permissible to eat fish, vegetable oil and drink wine. And also, according to tradition, this is the first day when you can start eating the fruits of the new harvest. Previously, people strictly observed this rule and did not touch apples until the Second Savior. Then the first, consecrated fruits were eaten, and after that it was possible to bake apple pies, make jam and just enjoy the juicy gifts of the gardens.
Father’s word
He speaks about the spiritual meaning of the Transfiguration for each of us father Igor (Silchenkov), rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Rybachye, Alushta deanery, Simferopol and Crimean diocese of the Orthodox Church MP: “On this day, we read the beautiful words of the kontakion prayer that the apostles saw the glory of Christ as much as their heart could contain it. And it is worth paying special attention to this. Probably, there could be other people on Mount Tabor, but they would simply not see anything. They would have stood nearby, but did not see the transfigured Christ.
As then, so today people live side by side, eat the same food, breathe the same air, but one person burns with faith in Christ and cherishes every second of his life in order to dedicate it to the Lord and the salvation of his soul , while the other indifferently passes by the temple and does not even look there, despite the great holiday. One person is never afraid of whether he will have food and clothing, what will happen tomorrow and whether he will have money, because he knows that the only thing he really needs today, tomorrow and always is the salvation of the soul, prayer and repentance, and only this he fears to lose and cherishes this, and this man sees the Glory of God and contains it in his heart. And the other, the one who did not go to the temple, then asks God, where did so many failures and misfortunes come from in life, why nothing works out: neither in work, nor in the family, nor with children. And the answer is very simple: because he did not pray and did not ask God for help about all this. A person cannot contain the Grace of God if his soul is overflowing with filth, self-justification, laziness. Such a person, of course, will never be able to see the Glory of God. Each of us begins to see it and contain it in our hearts only when we stop from earthly vanity, realize our sins and begin to prepare for repentance.”