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Transfiguration of Jesus
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The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain ( ). Jesus becomes radiant, speaks with Moses and Elijah, and is called "Son" by God. The transfiguration put Jesus above Moses and Elijah, the two preeminent figures of Judaism. It also supports his identity as the Son of God. In keeping with the Messianic secret, Jesus tells the witnesses (Saint Peter, James, son of Zebedee and John the Apostle) not to tell others what they saw until He has risen on the third day after his death on the cross.
The principal account is that in the Synoptic Gospels; 2 Peter and the Gospel of John may also briefly allude to the event ().
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The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain ( ). Jesus becomes radiant, speaks with Moses and Elijah, and is called "Son" by God. The transfiguration put Jesus above Moses and Elijah, the two preeminent figures of Judaism. It also supports his identity as the Son of God. In keeping with the Messianic secret, Jesus tells the witnesses (Saint Peter, James, son of Zebedee and John the Apostle) not to tell others what they saw until He has risen on the third day after his death on the cross.
The principal account is that in the Synoptic Gospels; 2 Peter and the Gospel of John may also briefly allude to the event (). Peter describes himself as an eyewitness "of his sovereign majesty." None of the accounts identifies the "high mountain" of the scene by name. The earliest identification of the mountain as Mount Tabor is in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis. RT France notes that Mount Hermon is closest to Caesarea Philippi, mentioned in the previous chapter of Matthew.
Interpretation of the passage
In the narrative, after the voice speaks, Elijah and Moses have disappeared, and Jesus and the three Apostles head down the mountain, Jesus telling his Apostles to keep the event a secret until the "Son of Man" had risen from the dead. The Apostles are described as questioning among themselves as to what Jesus meant by "risen from the dead" The Apostles are also described as questioning Jesus about Elijah, and He as responding "...Elijah comes first, and restores all things ... but ... Elijah has come indeed ..." . It was commonly believed that Elijah would reappear before the coming of the Messiah, as predicted in the Book of Malachi , and the three Apostles are described as interpreting Jesus' statement as a reference to John the Baptist.
Symbolic readings take Moses and Elijah to represent the Law and the Prophets respectively, and their recognition of and conversation with Jesus symbolize how Jesus fulfils "the law and the prophets" (see also Expounding of the Law).
In general, the events in Jesus's life that are said to have taken place in secret, such as the transfiguration, are given less weight by scholars of the historical Jesus than public events.
In Catharism transfiguration is meant as personal transformation and evolution as opposed to referring to an actual Jesus. The meaning is esoteric.
Maximus the Confessor said that the senses of the apostles were likewise transfigured to enable them to perceive the true glory of Christ.
Christian commemorations of the Transfiguration
In the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican churches, the Feast of the Transfiguration is observed on 6 August and is considered a major feast, numbered among the twelve Great Feasts in Orthodoxy. In all three churches, if the feast falls on a Sunday, its liturgy takes the place of the Sunday liturgy. In some liturgical calendars (e.g. the Lutheran) the last Sunday in the Epiphany season (that immediately preceding Ash Wednesday) is also devoted to this event.
Eastern Orthodox practices
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grapes are traditionally brought to church to be blessed after the Divine Liturgy on this day If grapes are not available in the area, apples or some other fruit may be brought. This begins the "Blessing of First Fruits" for the year. The Transfiguration falls during the Dormition Fast, but the consumption of fish, wine and oil is allowed on this day in recognition of the feast. The Transfiguration is the second of the "Three Feasts of the Saviour in August", the other two being the Procession of the Cross on August 1 and the Icon of Christ Not Made by Hand on August 16. The Orthodox view the Transfiguration is of a feast not only in honor of Jesus, but a feast of the Holy Trinity, for all three persons were supposedly present: God the Father spoke from heaven; God the Son was the one being transfigured, and God the Holy Spirit was present in the form of a cloud. In this sense, the transfiguration is also considered the "Small Epiphany", (the "Great Epiphany" being that of the Baptism, where the Holy Trinity appears in a similar pattern).
Catholic church
In the Catholic church, the Transfiguration was once celebrated locally in various parts of the Catholic world on different days, including August 6, but was not universally recognized. In 1456, the Kingdom of Hungary repulsed an Ottoman invasion of the Balkans by breaking the Siege of Belgrade. News of the victory arrived in Rome on August 6. Given the importance to international politics at that time of such battles between Christian and Muslim nations, in celebration of the victory Pope Callixtus III elevated the Transfiguration to a Feast day to be celebrated in the entire Catholic Church.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II selected the Transfiguration as one of the five Luminous Mysteries of the rosary.
See also
External links
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- by Michele Piccirillo
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- Orthodox icon and synaxarion
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