The Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the twelve major Christian holidays. It ends the memory of Orthodox people of the event of the blessed Christ Resurrection. Ascension is a celebration that is not fixed under a certain date, so every year the time of celebration of this event changes.
The historical event of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that the Lord, after being on earth, ascended into heaven. He died at first, then rose again, and on the fortieth day ascended to his heavenly Father.
The time of the celebration of the Ascension of Christ depends on the dating of Easter. The Resurrection of the Lord is the central day in the liturgical life of an Orthodox person. This is the beginning of a new liturgical circle, so some church holidays take their account from the time of Easter. The Ascension is triumphed by the Orthodox Church on the fortieth day. The New Testament scripture openly proclaims to people that it was at this time that the Lord ascended into heaven. For thirty-nine days, Christ appeared to his disciples and apostles, but then the time came to return to God the Father.
In the Orthodox calendar, the Ascension Day of Christ is on the fortieth day after Easter. The number forty has always been symbolic for both the New Testament and the Old. Even at the time of Moses and the prophets, the symbolism of the number 40 had a special meaning. She was special and secret. So, for forty years, the Jewish people wandered through the wilderness as a punishment, but Moses spent forty days on the mountain before receiving the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament, Christ fasted for forty days in the desert, and already in modern times, on the fortieth day, the wake of the deceased is noted.
It turns out that in order to find out the time of the celebration of the Ascension, it is necessary to count forty days from the day of the Passover of the Lord. It is worth pointing out that the recollection of the event of Christ's ascension to heaven always falls on Thursday.
