Octave of Easter

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Octave of Easter

The Octave Day of Easter, sometimes known as Low Sunday (and also known historically as St. Thomas Sunday and Quasimodo Sunday), is the Sunday after Easter

Easter

Roman Catholic Church

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The Octave Day of Easter, sometimes known as Low Sunday (and also known historically as St. Thomas Sunday and Quasimodo Sunday), is the Sunday after Easter

Easter

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
. On April 30, 2000, it has also been designated as Divine Mercy Sunday
Divine Mercy Sunday

The Feast of the Divine Mercy or Divine Mercy Sunday falls on the Octave of Easter . It is dedicated to the devotion to the Divine Mercy promoted by Mary Faustina Kowalska, and is based upon an entry in St....
by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
.

Among Eastern Christians the day is known as Thomas Sunday.

Etymology

Octave
Octave (liturgical)

"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself....
refers to an eight-day feast; the eighth and final day is the "Octave Day".

Western Churches

St. Thomas Sunday is so called because the Gospel

Gospel

In Christianity, a gospel is generally one of the first four books of the New Testament that describe the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus....
reading always relates the story of "Doubting Thomas," in which Thomas the Apostle comes to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus only after having placed his finger in the nail marks and his hand in the side of Jesus. In the Gospel accounts, this event takes place on the eighth day after the Resurrection, hence their significance for this Sunday .

Divine Mercy Sunday is the culmination of the novena

Novena

Novena is the feminine form of the Medieval Latin word, novenus, "ninth", which is the ordinal number from novem, nine.In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of prayer said on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces....
to the Divine Mercy of Jesus, a devotion given to St. Faustina (Mary Faustina Kowalska) and is based upon an entry in her diary stating that anyone who participates in the Mass

Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
and receives the sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace." Examples of sacram...
s of Confession

Confession

The confession of one's sins is a religious practice important to many faiths, e.g., Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
and the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
on this day is assured by Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
of full remission of their sins. The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II, who officially set its commemoration on this Sunday in 2000.

Prior to the 1970 Roman this day was called Low Sunday. It was sometimes said that the name derives from its relative unimportance compared to the solemnities of Easter Day, but it is more likely that "low" is a corruption of the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
word Laudes, the first word of the Sequence

Sequence (poetry)

A sequence is a Gregorian chant sung or recited during the Mass , before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of Trent there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year....
of the day: "Laudes Salvatori voce modulemur supplici" (Let us sing praises to the Savior with humble voice). Laudes means "praise

Praise

In its common usage, praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. Praise is typically, but not exclusively, earned relative to achievement and accomplishment....
s".

Traditionally, the newly-baptised would receive baptismal gowns that would be worn until this day, and the official Latin name is Dominica in Albis [Depositis], "Sunday in [Setting Aside the] White Garments". Hence "White" and "Alb

Alb

The alb, one of the liturgy vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample garment of white linen coming down to the ankles and usually girded with a cincture....
" Sunday—which is also the etymology of Whitsunday (Pentecost

Pentecost

Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christianity liturgical year, celebrated the 49th day after Easter Sunday?or the 50th day, inclusively, whence its name is derived from the Greek....
).

The name Quasimodo came from the Latin text of the traditional Introit

Introit

The Introit is part of the opening of the celebration of the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheranism Divine Service. Specifically, it refers to the antiphon that is spoken or sung at the beginning of the celebration....
for this day, which begins "Quasi modo geniti infantes..." ("As newborn babes...", from the First Epistle of Peter . Literally, quasi modo means "as recently [sc. born babes]".

Eastern Churches

In the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and certain Eastern Catholic churches, the first Sunday after Pascha

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
(Easter) is known as Thomas Sunday, after the Gospel passage read that day which recounts the story of Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas in order to dispel his doubt about the Resurrection. It should be noted that among Eastern Christians the Apostle Thomas is not so much remembered as "doubting Thomas," but is rather remembered for his confession of faith: "My Lord and my God," thus being the first to publicly proclaim the two natures of Christ: human and divine.

The entire week from Pascha to Thomas Sunday, known as Bright Week
Bright Week

Bright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday....
or Renewal Week, is considered to be one continuous day. The hymns chanted every day are identical to those chanted on the Sunday of Pascha, with the exception of a few parts that are taken from the Octoechos

Octoechos (liturgy)

The Octoechos —literally, the book "of the Eight Tones"—contains an eight-week cycle, providing texts to be chanted for every day at Vespers, Matins, the Divine Liturgy, Compline and the Midnight Office....
(the "Book of the Eight Tones"). Each day has a different tone: Easter Sunday is Tone One, Bright Monday is Tone Two, and so on through the eight tones (skipping Tone Seven, the "Grave Tone"). On Bright Friday, in addition to the normal Paschal hymns, special stichera

Sticheron

A sticheron is a particular kind of hymn used in the Divine Liturgy, acolouthia or other services of the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
and a canon

Canon (hymnography)

A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodoxy services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles....
in honor of the Theotokos

Theotokos

Theotokos is a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches....
(Mother of God) are chanted in commemoration of her Icon

Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
of the "Life-giving Spring." During all of Bright Week the Royal Doors

Royal Doors

The Royal Doors, Holy Doors, or Beautiful Gates are the central doors of the Iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches Church....
on the Iconostasis

Iconostasis

In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis , also called the templon, is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church ....
are kept open—the only time of the year when this occurs. The doors are closed before the Ninth Hour on the eve of Thomas Sunday. However, the Afterfeast

Afterfeast

An Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches ....
of Pascha will continue until the eve of the Ascension.

Thomas Sunday is also called Antipascha (literally, "in the place of Pascha") because those who for honorable reason were not able to attend the Paschal Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus....
, may attend services on this day instead. Pascha is a unique feast in the church year; being the "Feast of Feasts" it follows a format unlike any other day. Those liturgical elements normal to a Great Feast of the Lord which were displaced by Pascha's unique elements are instead chanted on Thomas Sunday.

All Sundays of the year are determined by the date of Pascha. Thomas Sunday is the first Sunday of the liturgical year

Liturgical year

The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgy seasons in Christianity churches which determines when Calendar of saints, Memorial s, Commemoration s, and Solemnity are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read....
that takes its character and naming from the current Pascha (all earlier Sundays having depended on the previous Pascha).

The days following Thomas Sunday are traditional days for visiting the cemeteries to greet departed loved ones with the joyous good news of the Resurrection. In Russia this normally takes place on the Tuesday following Thomas Sunday and is called Radonitsa ("Day of Rejoicing"). The week that follows Thomas Sunday is called Thomas Week, and a number of the hymns from Thomas Sunday are repeated throughout the week, as well as new ones from the Pentecostarion

Pentecostarion

The Pentecostarion is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite during the Paschal Season which extends from Easter to the Sunday following All Saints Day ....
developing the theme of Thomas Sunday.

Literary Note

Quasimodo
Quasimodo

Quasimodo is a central character from French author Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris. Against Hugo's wishes, most English translations of the work have renamed it The Hunchback of Notre Dame, making Quasimodo the title character....
, protagonist
Protagonist

A protagonist is the main Character of a drama or Narrative. The word "protagonist" derives from the Greek language p??ta????st?? , "one who plays the first part, chief actor." In the theatre of Ancient Greece, three actors played all of the main dramatic roles in a tragedy; the leading role was played by the protagonist, while the othe...
of the 1831 French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
novel
Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is an 1831 French novel written by Victor Hugo. It is set in 1482 in Paris, in and around the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris....
by Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a France poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romanticism movement in France....
, was found abandoned on the doorsteps of Notre Dame
Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris is a Gothic architecture cathedral on the eastern half of the ?le de la Cit? in the 4th arrondissement of Paris of Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west....
on the Sunday after Easter and was named after this day.

External links

Orthodox icon

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