The Ascension

Forty days after Pascha, Christ ascends, and carries our human nature up to the throne of God.

The Ascension is the feast of Christ's going up into heaven forty days after His Resurrection, as the Acts of the Apostles tells. Because it is forty days after Pascha it always falls on a Thursday, the same day on both calendars. It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts, and it closes the forty days of the Paschal greeting.

In 2027 the Ascension falls on Thursday, June 10, for nearly all Orthodox Christians.

Reckoning the date…

Next in the calendar: June 10, 2027

The moveable cycle in 2027 ›

Forty days after the Resurrection, Christ leads His disciples out to the Mount of Olives, blesses them, and is taken up into heaven. The Ascension is not a departure that leaves us orphaned; it is the raising of human nature itself to the right hand of the Father. Where the Head has gone, the body may follow, our flesh, taken by God at the Nativity, is now enthroned in glory.

The feast answers a fear as old as humanity: that heaven is closed to us. In Christ ascended, it is opened; a man sits on the throne of God, and our nature is no longer a stranger there. The disciples return, the Gospel says, not in grief but with great joy, for the Lord who ascended has promised to send the Comforter and to be with them always.

The Ascension is measured from Pascha and always falls on a Thursday, ten days before Pentecost. It completes the Lord's earthly work and opens the short expectant season before the coming of the Spirit.

Questions about the Ascension

When is the Ascension?

On the Thursday forty days after Pascha, so its date moves with Pascha each year. Both calendars keep it on the same day.

What happened at the Ascension?

After appearing to His disciples for forty days, Christ blessed them and was taken up into heaven, promising to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3-11).

Is the Ascension a fast day?

No. It always falls on a Thursday in the Paschal season, and there is no fast.

When does the Paschal greeting end?

At the leave-taking of Pascha, the day before the Ascension. From then until Pentecost the Church looks toward the coming of the Spirit.

When is the Ascension in 2027?

In 2027 the Ascension falls on Thursday, June 10, for nearly all Orthodox Christians.

What are the readings for the Ascension?

For the feast:

At the Liturgy, the Epistle is Acts 1.1-12 and the Gospel is Luke 24.36-53.
The Matins Gospel is Mark 16.9-20.
At Vespers, the readings include Isaiah 2.2-3.

On the day itself the calendar may also list another commemoration's readings.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

In Orthros

The Ascension is reckoned from the paschalion and kept in Orthros with its hymns and catechesis, free to read, each with its source named.